2021-10-22: More Moss, More Problems
- Log: More Moss, More Problems
- Cast: Loren Voss, Seraph Lanval, Seraph Clarine
- Where: Yder Cave
- Date: October 22, 2021
- Summary: Loren, on assignment, explores Yder Cave, and in so doing, encounters a familiar face (and a familiar voice). Attached to some familiar Seraphim.
DG: A party led by Loren Voss is now entering Yder Cave. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Enigmatic Statue *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The gap that leads into Yder Cave proper is a large one -- large enough to even admit something on the size of a Gear or similar. From there it's a steep descent down, but not terribly difficult to do even on foot -- explorers in the past have left guidelines in place. It's when the entry shaft bottoms out that you encounter your first real obstacle: a large and even more importantly heavy enigmatic statue that stands before you. It's largely blocking the only tunnel around that you can see, which means that you're going to have to move it. And it's promising to not be precisely easy to move, either -- remember that bit about its weight? It's oddly weighted to an extent that even a Gear will have trouble. Perhaps now might be the time for the explosives. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8CSTtFkFQ =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Lunar is, in Loren's opinion, the actual worst.
Well, okay. He can more or less take-or-leave Spira, considering there's at least a vague approximation of home comforts out near Macalania. But the rest of Lunar...
There's no base out this way, just to start. That means any expeditions are going to be prolongued, at least until Command can figure out to get some light crafts Lunar-side for faster-than-Gear travel. At least the fuel efficiency part of the equation's not a problem, but even coming through Azado (wow, those are some memories, there) it's still a pain in the ass.
Given his field experience prior, they'd asked that he lead with taking some on-the-ground measurements in various sites. This one had ended up being enough out of the way that he'd thought it would be better to come in here alone -- which is to say, without his subordinants. He should use them more. They have to get experience somehow. But...
He tilts his head upwards to regard the statue, tossing the stone he's palmed from out of his pockets up and down in his left hand. Absently, he juggles it to the other hand, catching it without even looking. It's warm with body heat, however chill the ambient air has gotten.
"Odd. It doesn't look like the other structures around here," he muses aloud. His fingers tighten around the smooth stone and, focusing once his will into the ground and pulling, he heaves up a block of stone to try and jostle it aside.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Worry Stone toward his party's challenge, The Enigmatic Statue.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
There are some things in life that, as for how or why, just cannot be described in conventional terms. It's best to say, 'this is something that's happening to Loren,' and that is all the classification and description an event needs to be considered a valid thing that exists sometimes.
What the something that's happening to Loren is: Seraph Lanval, the bottle that drank another bottle.
Currently he is, in fact, inside a bottle and has been rolling about the Malevolence-blasted Glenwood hellscape with presumably a very important reason or mission in mind, but because this is happening to Loren, no other explanation needs to be provided as it takes the optimal route down a slope as to not shatter upon impact with inevitable acceleration, all for the sake of meeting bottle necks to finish off an unspecified beverage left behind.
It bumps into the huge block of stone, a thing that will have no consequences of the real or funny kind whatsoever.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Enigmatic Statue.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
As a cave system alongside Biroclef Ridge, Clarine has some familiarity with with Yder Cave. But... she's not quite as familiar with it as she is the rest of the Ridge, because its sheer size means that it's difficult even for a Seraph to get around unless they have some manner of flight.
Now, however, she is in possession(in multiple senses of the word) of a Gear, which means its time to give Yder Cave a more proper, thorough exploration. That her Gear has recently undergone repairs that she would like to ensure have returned it to proper working order is also a convenient excuse.
This is the thought process that results in a large machine, fairly rounded, brightly colored, and shaped like a cricket hopping through Biroclef Ridge with purpose, eventually coming to a stop in front of one of the entrances to the cave. While there is a hatch on the abdomen for carrying supplies and passengers, there is no apparent sign of a cockpit. Fortunately, Clarine doesn't need this, as she is possessing the machine directly. Her antennae flick here and there as she studies the situation... and then, a pair of insect eyes fixate on Loren. There is a moment of quiet.
"Ah... my apologies. I did not realise there was another here. Please allow me to assist." She speaks from within the machine. If she recognizes him it doesn't reflect in her voice... but she does keep an eye on him. The front legs of the Gear rise to try and help push the statue... but, this machine isn't made for physical activity like this, so it may be only a slight help.
As she works a round, red drone equipped with a flight rotor emerges from a hatch between the Gear's wings, an arm extending from it to make minute adjustments to the Gear's performance. It may also, briefly, make small, investigative pokes at Loren and a certain rolling bottle before acknowledging them as not made of metal and not in need of repairs before apparently getting bored and returning to its hatch.
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Repair Unit toward her party's challenge, The Enigmatic Statue.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Enigmatic Statue *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The gap that leads into Yder Cave proper is a large one -- large enough to even admit something on the size of a Gear or similar. From there it's a steep descent down, but not terribly difficult to do even on foot -- explorers in the past have left guidelines in place. It's when the entry shaft bottoms out that you encounter your first real obstacle: a large and even more importantly heavy enigmatic statue that stands before you. It's largely blocking the only tunnel around that you can see, which means that you're going to have to move it. And it's promising to not be precisely easy to move, either -- remember that bit about its weight? It's oddly weighted to an extent that even a Gear will have trouble. Perhaps now might be the time for the explosives. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8CSTtFkFQ =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
===========================<* Yder Cave - Round 1 *>============================ =======================< Results - The Enigmatic Statue >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 0 --(7)--> 7 Pass Worry Stone 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Clarine 0 --(7)--> 7 Pass Repair Unit 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Conditions: Weaken(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Loren Voss has posed.
Sometimes, the best sort of explanation for anything is 'this is something that is happening, to Loren in particular'. Something is happening right now, in those moments after he jostles the statue with an upswelling of earth and rock. It teeters on edge for a moment... and in that moment, a bottle rolls into the base of the statue.
Actually make that two bottles. As if the bottle were drinking... from...
"YOU!!" Loren roars in fury, pointing at the bottle in sudden incandescent rage. No one ever believed him about the report! And it's happening again, right in front of him!!
The fact that there is actually a Gear that has entered the chamber is a fact that falls by the wayside until the small red drone emerges and buzzes right past him which is a direct cause for, once he looks up and realizes that, holy shit, there's a Gear in here, him falling on his ass.
This is a good thing because it means when the statue suddenly topples (a wedge of stone missing at its bottom gives enough space for a bottle to fit, miraculously unharmed) to the cave floor with a crash, he's not at all in its way.
"What? --What kind of Gear is that? It looks like a bug!"
It's not his finest hour. But it rarely is.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - The Aerial Annoyances *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you negotiate the tunnels of the caves, you receive an advance warning in the form of the sound of some leathery wings. The more sensitive among you might also sense the presence of Malevolence -- even here, there are Hellions. You'll catch sight of them moments before they go on the attack: a swarm of Hellion bats that disengage from the roof of the cave here and stream down to attack you! Time to fight! =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
The red drone pokes at a nearby bottle, and - should it have the onboard instruments - report that there is somehow both no volume but also way more volume in the bottle than is physically possible, and that the other bottle's contents is delicious. (The instruments are probably not that exacting, but the technology in theory* exists.)
* no comment
"Mmmmmph. Hey," comes a voice from the bottle, "are ya all right? Yer lookin' riled up. Did ya drop it? Did ya shpill it?" He asks of Loren, the bottle sitting up on its base as it 'looks' up. Sort of? Kind of? "'m shorry, ya really shouldn't get worked up in a place like thish. Here--"
A PEACE OFFERING IS MADE! The fractional contents of what the bottle is drinking. "...can't reach far, shooo--"
Before anyone can raise an objection about how a bottle with no muscles or even and flexibility can successfully lift and manipulate another bottle, a giant Hellionized bat comes down and snatches it away. This may not be an intent to steal a drink moreso than it just happened to safeguard Lanval's bottle from being snatched, but that's not the only bat that descends upon the gathered with frenzied screeching.
"Yep, place ish real loushy with 'em," not that Lanval really needs to tell Clarine's Gear that as the bottle flops over on its 'back.' He's rolling around in her neck of the... cliffs.
Another Hellion bat swoops down with over-enlarged claw feet to grab at whatever weird presence it wants to vent out its aggressive base feelings on, only to be met with a geyser-like spray of sanctified Holy Bottle water to try and push the lot of them back.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, The Aerial Annoyances.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Clarine's head tilts in confusion as, suddenly, Loren roars with fury, pointing at... a bottle?? She wasn't there for the incident. She doesn't realise that he has history with that bottle, which she recognizes as Lanval.
She watches as Loren falls over... but, thankfully, not in the path of the statue as it too falls over.
"It does. It is quite adorable, is it not?" Clarine replies with a hint of pride, not at all answering Loren's question. She turns her attention to Lanval's bottle, then. "It is good to see you... are you well?"
Unfortunately, further pleasantries will have to wait as, indeed, this place is lousy with bats! Big ones.
In response, Clarine's Gear undergoes a transformation. Its form factor shifts to one more resembling a firefly than a cricket and it flies up to cling onto the ceiling. A clear bulb emerges, which begins to emanate light - a faint, slowly strobing light. It's the perfect thing to attract attention and hopefully draw the bats away from Lanval and Loren, or at least disorient them. Once the bats are significantly distracted, though... the bulb begins to emit rays of light! They're dangerous, but meant more as a deterrent to drive the bats away than to do significant lasting harm.
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Lure Bulb toward her party's challenge, The Aerial Annoyances.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"I guess? But it's pretty weird. Who makes a Gear that looks like a bug?" ...Her voice sounds familiar. He's not placing it, however. Before he can follow up on this line of conversation, though, Lanval pipes up!
"No, I didn't drop it!" Loren snaps back at the (and this is important) bottle in the aftermath of the tumbling statue. "What are you-- why are you-- NO I DON'T WANT A DRINK--"
It may be a blessing that the bottle is stolen away by a Hellionized bat, ending that line of argument in a hurry. Loren's chest heaves for a moment, his eyes wide, pupils dilated. Slowly, his attention tilts upwards towards the ceiling. "...Uh," he says, more quietly than before (which is to say, he's at a normal volume again).
"There's... a lot of them."
He's lept upwards to his feet, drawing his blade in the process; it slides from its sheath with a quiet ring of metal as he prepares himself for the strike he's about to make.
"Fighting winged things is a pain," he mutters, before taking a swing at a low-swooping Hellion.
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Aerial Annoyances.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - The Aerial Annoyances *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you negotiate the tunnels of the caves, you receive an advance warning in the form of the sound of some leathery wings. The more sensitive among you might also sense the presence of Malevolence -- even here, there are Hellions. You'll catch sight of them moments before they go on the attack: a swarm of Hellion bats that disengage from the roof of the cave here and stream down to attack you! Time to fight! =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
===========================<* Yder Cave - Round 2 *>============================ ======================< Results - The Aerial Annoyances >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 7 --(8)--> 15 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 15 --(8)--> 23 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Clarine 7 --(8)--> 15 Pass Lure Bulb 1 Combat Effects: Fanfare and Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 15 --(20)--> 35 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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 Lanval has posed.
Everything is a pain, sometimes. Fighting winged things is one of them, but what is Loren if not someone who has to fight his way through everything being a pain in his life?
Nonetheless, the Gear and the bottle both prove to be effective deterrents - first with that concoction that has been proven world-wide (twice-over, in fact) to repel just about any sort of hostile entity, and with bright flashing lights to disorient them. There's one that doesn't get away.
Because Loren beat bat, man. He could hit them with a rock. (It would need to be a big rock, one would have to say sheepishly, but there would be no 'almost' getting them.)
So, they're fine. "Yep! Jusht great," Lanval replies belatedly to Clarine as the bottle continues to roll along. "Tell ya what! We're gonna find thish mortal shomethin' ta drink!" Within these caverns, that have existed for many years, swarmed with dangerous concentrations of Malevolence.
Yes. This is his plan.
DG: Seraph Clarine has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Yder Cave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Weakened Wall *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you make your way through Yder Cave, you eventually notice a particular section of wall as you round a particular loop. This wall... is cracked! There's no question about it: a good ear will even notice the sound of wind whistling through it, which suggests that it opens onto another tunnel. This could be a good chance to get somewhere you might not otherwise reach. However. Breaking the wall is the easy part. The harder part is moving all the rubble out of the way once the deed is done. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
"Is it so strange? Perhaps I am unfamiliar with what is normal for a Gear. However, I find it possesses many advantages that a Gear shaped like a man simply lacks." Clarine replies. It's sort of a verbal shrug. But then there are bats which, thankfully, between the three of them prove to be a non-issue. And Lanval... has a plan.
"Hmm." Clarine considers. She's not sure if it's the best plan, but at the same time, she's sure that Lanval will keep anything too bad from happening, so it should be fine to humor him. "Yes, let us do that."
Her Gear carefully drops from the ceiling with a flutter of wings to regulate its speed, returning to cricket form and beginning to hop through the tunnels. She remains mindful of the location of the bottle and Loren as she does. Until... eventually, she stops!
"There is... something. Here, perhaps...?" Clarine murmurs to herself. Her Gear begins to scratch at a specific section of the wall. There certainly seems to be something behind it - the wall is cracked, and they might even be able to hear the wind. But... there's a lot of wall, which means a lot of rubble, so getting through might end up being a complex matter.
Once again that drone emerges, taking a moment to do some light patching up after the fight with the bats.
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Repair Unit toward her party's challenge, The Weakened Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmm. All right, I got an idea," no he doesn't, as Lanval's bottle just somehow rolls along underfoot without being crushed by Gear weight or seismic force jostling him, or whatever, he's that good. "'m thinkin'... there'sh a crack here, right? I can fit right through, 'n tell ya if there'sh shomethin' good on the other end."
Lanval proceeds to... get himself, via bottle, through, the crack, and...
The crack collapses behind him.
"Welp!" His voice can still be heard. "Didn't get shtuck in the wall. Ha ha ha!"
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Weakened Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"A little," Loren allows. Most Gears are humanoid. There's an advantage to that shape -- but he's aware of the fact that quadruped Gears are more stable in exchange for their lack of functional hands. "I've just never seen one shaped liked... well," he finishes a touch lamely, realizing he's repeating himself. Does it function like a bug? Can it leap higher than most comparatively?
"Piloting it must be a little weird," is what he settles for, at length.
Which is when the bottle says that its goal now is to find Loren a drink.
"No, you're not," he tells the bottle, pitching a glance at the Gear as if to ask silently, 'are you hearing this shit too'. He's not hallucinating -- he knows that! But it's still hard to believe, at the same time, that this is actually happening to him.
A flock of giant bats by comparison is child's play.
"Why are you like this?" he asks as the bottle rolls along, particularly since he really doesn't have much choice but to follow. There's only one obvious way in and he's not looking forward to writing the expedition summary that says 'and then the bottle started talking to me so I left'. No. He's going to omit the bottle, that's what he'll do!
Hopefully the situation will permit him to do so, anyway.
"..."
There's a lot of reasons why he doesn't say anything at all when Lanval, as a bottle, slips through a crack and becomes stuck somewhere inside the wall. He just closes his eyes and sighs deeply. Affrontedly.
Palming the smooth stone in his left hand he fidgets with it briefly.
Then! Then there may be a minor localized earthquake. Cleaning up the mess after will be a new one for him.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Worry Stone toward his party's challenge, The Weakened Wall.
===============================<* Yder Cave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Weakened Wall *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you make your way through Yder Cave, you eventually notice a particular section of wall as you round a particular loop. This wall... is cracked! There's no question about it: a good ear will even notice the sound of wind whistling through it, which suggests that it opens onto another tunnel. This could be a good chance to get somewhere you might not otherwise reach. However. Breaking the wall is the easy part. The harder part is moving all the rubble out of the way once the deed is done. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
==========================<* Yder Cave - Round 3 *>=========================== =======================< Results - The Weakened Wall >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Worry Stone 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 23 --(0)--> 23 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Clarine 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Repair Unit 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 35 --(20)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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 Clarine has posed.
"It was a little difficult at first, I admit, but I found it remarkably elegant once I adjusted." Clarine replies. Of course, she's also possessing it directly rather than utilizing a physical control system so it's a different matter for her... which is something that she isn't unaware of.
Lanval is the first of the group to make it through the crack, just wedging himself on in there and making his way through. It collapses a little behind them.
"Well, I suppose that it is good... Do not fear, we shall be right behind you." Clarine replies to Lanval. And then there is, indeed, a minor localized earthquake! The rest of the surrounding wall, already damaged, begins to shake itself loose. Now, rather than a wall in the way, there is... a pile of rubble. It'll take a little time to clear out, but before long they'll have a way through to follow after Lanval.
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Crystal Spray *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are signs of crystal growth here and there within the cave. You might have even seen some of them already in your exploration (and if you haven't: look, there's some now!). They're quite impressive and, unfortunately, quite inconvenient for you. This particular spray of crystals is actually /blocking/ your advance further along this tunnel, which means that you are going to have to remove them if you want to go any further this way. They're quite large and solidly rooted to the cave floor. This will take some doing. =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Injure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"Guess that makes sense," is Loren's reply, though he would have an entirely different reaction right now if he knew that Clarine was a little less piloting it, a little more possessing it. Among potential reactions especially the following: 'oh no, they can use Gears'.
For now, him thinking about what it would be like to pilot a non-humanoid Gear is solidly leading the pack.
As is 'why is this happening to me', though to be fair, it's just his natural reaction towards the 'haunted bottle'.
The crack in the wall shatters with the application of the localized quake and then, after he kicks a few rocks aside,
and then
There's a lot of crystals in here.
"Huh."
There's a whole lot of crystals in here.
"Guess we'll have to break them. Pity," Loren remarks, and he tosses the stone he's got in his hands up into the air a few times, catching it neatly in that hand.
The fact that another localized quake rolls through the cave after (he tries to spin the vibrations up, to point them towards the crystals and where they're rooted to the floor) goes perhaps without saying.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Worry Stone toward his party's challenge, The Crystal Spray.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"There'sh a whole lotta pretty cryshtalsh here!" Says the bottle, keyed just in time after Loren's 'huh,' spinning back upright with another mirthful laugh, as if just the sight of all these beautiful, impressive, unexpected crystals would be just enough to...
'Guess we'll have to break them. Pity.'
Bottles don't blink, but as far as immovable glass necks go, it's a very good attempt. "I gotta be honesht with ya, that washn't the firsht thought I'd expect." Another localized quake runs through, bumping the bottle up into the air and into some damned impressive rolls and landings to not have the impact shatter any of it. "It'sh like ya never had much practice havin' a pleashant shurprishe in yer life, huh."
Beat.
"Ahhhh. We'll find ya shomethin' good ta drink in here," the bottle rolls off and into the base of some other tall structure again.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Crystal Spray.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Soon enough, they find a room full of crystals! They're quite large, and the way the light plays off of them is rather beautiful, in Clarine's eyes... unfortunately, though, they're also quite in the way.
"Hmm... yes, unfortunately. I see no other way around..." As Loren points out that they'll have to break them. She doesn't really like the idea, but especially if she wishes to continue bringing her Gear with her, she doesn't see any other options.
She takes notice as Lanval, meanwhile, begins to roll off, having no such issues.
"Ah, do be careful not to wander off too far." She warns, before getting to work herself.
The drone emerges from her Gear's back once more... but this time, rather than doing maintenance, it begins to try and collect shards of the crystal at Clarine's command, carefully stowing them away.
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Repair Unit toward her party's challenge, The Crystal Spray.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Crystal Spray *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are signs of crystal growth here and there within the cave. You might have even seen some of them already in your exploration (and if you haven't: look, there's some now!). They're quite impressive and, unfortunately, quite inconvenient for you. This particular spray of crystals is actually /blocking/ your advance further along this tunnel, which means that you are going to have to remove them if you want to go any further this way. They're quite large and solidly rooted to the cave floor. This will take some doing. =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Injure==========================================
===========================<* Yder Cave - Round 4 *>============================ ========================< Results - The Crystal Spray >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 15 --(23)--> 38 Fail Worry Stone 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 23 --(23)--> 46 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Clarine 15 --(23)--> 38 Fail Repair Unit 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 55 --(15)--> 70 Fail Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Loren Voss has posed.
Bottles don't blink. But if a bottle could...
"What're you--" Loren starts to say, still shaping the vibrations into the Etherical equivalent of a bomb. 'It'sh like ya never had much practice havin' a pleashant shurprishe in yer life', quoth the bottle.
Lan had said something similar to him once. His mouth presses into a thin, hard line. Just because people are possibly a little bit right about this doesn't mean they have to keep saying it--
"Shut up."
Ether relates to emotional intensity. This is a fact. And Loren's cup, as they say, brimmeth over.
The vibrations that tear through the crystals this time turn them into nothing less than a flechette storm of sharp-edged stone. Hard-edged light forms in the next heartbeat around Loren -- around the Gear, as much as he can, around everything he can touch in the pattering moments that follow, but it still won't stop him from taking a cut across the cheek.
He's clapped a hand to it when he lets the wards go, his palm coming away bloody. Taking but a moment to regard it, green light follows after from that hand, rising up an ungainly construct of lines and skimming one fractal ray across his face. No wound is left in its passing. Loren simply takes out a cloth after and wipes off his face, his hand.
The drone, at least, will have a wealth of samples. Not all goes so poorly.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Menacing Pit *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- No question about it -- that's one deep pit before you here. And lest you get any funny ideas about it being navigable because you're in a Gear -- joke's on you, it's full of very pointy stalagmites (they're the ones that grow on the ground). Going down into the pit is best avoided. Since the gap is large enough that even a Gear will have to jump across it (rather than simply step over) getting over could be a little tricky. Hopefully someone has rope. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Somewhere in all of this, there is an intact bottle that is quietly expelling any number of small, sharp crystal shards like pieces of jagged glass that have fallen inside of it. It is, unto itself, a small victory that Loren earns - there is quiet.
Ahead, there is also a pit. It's the pits, because it doesn't have the decency to have a cushioning body of water or a flatter terrain. No, there are a multitude of enormous pointy stalagmites that would not be fun to fall upon. Come to think of it, there's not much fun to be had with stalagmites at all.
The air is also filled with many large bubbles. Most of them pop over these high-rise grounded spikes, which itself presents a dangerous risk: is it worth going over on a bubble when it could pop and... have some not fun things happen?
5tWhy would anyone try? It's a very large, long gap that most wouldn't be able to clear with a running start. Nope, quietly, the bottle keeps churning out bubbles (and eventually catches one for itself).
Nonsensically, some bubbles may try to join together to form a cushion for the Gear.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bubble Pipe toward his party's challenge, The Menacing Pit.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
He's quiet himself, in the aftermath of 'an entire huge spray of crystal exploding'. With just a glare at the bottle as it rolls along, Loren seems content to follow in silence, at least up to the point that
"Really," he says, kneeling a moment, one palm flat against the rock. How much effort would it take to construct a bridge? How far is...
He heaves out a breath and stands again, shoulders rising and falling in a slow shrug. "Guess this is the end," he remarks, turning as if he were going to walk right on out of here.
But there are bubbles. They're coming out of the bottle. Loren prods one with a fingertip, as if to see if it'll burst. It doesn't, and now he's reminded of these things.
"If these break, I'm going to haunt you for sure," he tells the bottle, pointing at it as if thereby swearing his oath to do exactly this. And then.
And then he jumps onto a bubble and he's pretty sure he's going to die this way.
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Menacing Pit.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Samples are collected! This is probably the best thing that happens, because everything else is pretty awful with the flechette storm of crystal that happens. Clarine doesn't miss that aura of light forming around both Loren and her Gear.
"...Thank you." She replies. The Gear's head inclines, just slightly.
Still, the path is clear at least, so they can move forward. ...Not that there is much 'forward' they can go before they're stopped by another obstacle. This time, it's a wide, deep pit that makes going any further difficult. The air is full of helpful bubbles, at least, thanks to a certain bottle.
Clarine takes a moment to judge the distance. Loren wondered before if this Gear is any more capable of jumping than others, and he'll have his answer. After a moment of preparation... the Gear makes a great LEAP, looking to clear the pit in a single bound in a very cricket-like fashion. This is aided both by a fluttering of wings to control the path, and a set of propulsion jets to give it some extra 'oomph'.
This Gear is, in fact, quite good at jumping... though just in case, Clarine is sure to aim for one of the bubbles should she not quite make it.
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Propulsion Jets toward her party's challenge, The Menacing Pit.
================================<* Yder Cave *>================================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Menacing Pit *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- No question about it -- that's one deep pit before you here. And lest you get any funny ideas about it being navigable because you're in a Gear -- joke's on you, it's full of very pointy stalagmites (they're the ones that grow on the ground). Going down into the pit is best avoided. Since the gap is large enough that even a Gear will have to jump across it (rather than simply step over) getting over could be a little tricky. Hopefully someone has rope. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
===========================<* Yder Cave - Round 5 *>============================ =========================< Results - The Menacing Pit >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 46 --(5)--> 51 Pass Bubble Pipe 3 Agility Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Clarine 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Propulsion Jets 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Injure(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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 Lanval has posed.
The Gear has no problems making the leap. It's got hops, it's got the jumps, and the ease of it just might bug anyone who has to hoof it. (Sorry.)
Now that leaves those who are floating in bubbles, which is exactly as precarious a situation as a scientifically-oriented mind would make it out to be. There are moments where it seems like a bubble might veer towards something sharp, that membrane all but threatening to face a breach and dump the precious, precious cargo within...
"'ve never been haunted by a mortal before," Lanval muses to himself as his bubble deposits him on the other side near Clarine. Even though Loren has been successfully ferried over, this does not rule out the idea he might die this way like thirty seven years down the line or some such.
"'m shure a good drink ish juuuuuusht ahead~"
DG: Seraph Clarine has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Yder Cave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Fierce Current *>===================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Most of the water you might have encountered in the caves until now has been fairly sedate -- still pools, unmoving waterways. This one... ...not so much. These are rapids, nearly, moving at a rate that would be dangerous even for a Gear to attempt to ford, assuming they aren't deep enough to swallow a Gear instead! You'll have to find another way to negotiate the rapids, which are wide enough here in the caves to make jumping a tenuous solution. No, you'll need to make a bridge. Perhaps you've got something on hand that could do it for you itself. But if not, the large stalagmites (they're the ones that form on the ground) could also do it, if you broke the right ones in just the right way. You feel like you're close to the end now. Don't give up! =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
Everyone crosses over the gap just fine! Clarine waits patiently, ready to make a save just in case Lanval or Loren end up slipping into the pit below. ...But, thankfully, neither of them do.
Lanval says there's a good drink just ahead... and he's not incorrect, because up ahead is a river of nice, fresh, clean water! ...Of course, the problem is the speed, which threatens to wash even a Gear away.
"Ah... I believe it may be unwise to drink from this in its current state. And the terrain is such that jumping and flight both may be inadvisable..." Clarine considers. They'll have to find another way across. Fortunately, nearby is a set of large stalagmites that could, if felled properly, make a convenient bridge.
Better get to work!
DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Repair Unit toward her party's challenge, The Fierce Current.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
'Thank you', says the oddly-familiar sound of the Gear's pilot. Loren doesn't say anything in return, his expression screwing up instead as if he were considering something weighty with due gravity. He continues on.
The gap may prove to be a minor miracle. Not only is he carried along without incident by a remarkably strong (magical) soap bubble, but...
"...Huh," he breathes, watching the Gear as it leaps. "Guess I was right. It's almost organic..." That's one he's left mulling over -- insects are not at all his thing, especially when they get into his belongings. But he's had time to admire how they can jump. This Gear's exactly that, just on a whole larger scale.
And Lanval, on the other side, promises that a good drink is right ahead.
There's a river.
Loren stares at the raging water for a good long moment. Then he turns and pointedly, looks at the bottle.
'There's a good drink right ahead', huh?" He's not smiling.
"Of course not!" he answers Clarine, a little sharply when she suggests they don't drink from it. "It's probably full of bugs and dirt." Still, it looks like there's further to explore in the distance, and therefore--
He lends what aid he can, trying to introduce microfractures into the structure of that stalagmite, one hand pressed against its base as if he could reach its 'roots' from there.
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fierce Current.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Ha ha ha!" Lanval might be sweating in some indistinct locational relationship to the bottle he is currently occupying and animating. Still, he has one last card to play as he rolls off and lets the mortal adult and the theoretical 'bigger' adult that Clarine is (it may surprise some to know that outside of Boudicca, he's the youngest Seraph of that general social circle).
That current is roaring and being all sorts of unruly. If anyone fell in, they'd be swept away, but if nothing else... he is a Water Seraph, and he's the one who speaks for the water of an entirely different world - such an important and involving role that it's still a standing question as to why or how he is even here in this state, so far from 'home.'
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fierce Current.
===============================<* Yder Cave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Fierce Current *>===================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Most of the water you might have encountered in the caves until now has been fairly sedate -- still pools, unmoving waterways. This one... ...not so much. These are rapids, nearly, moving at a rate that would be dangerous even for a Gear to attempt to ford, assuming they aren't deep enough to swallow a Gear instead! You'll have to find another way to negotiate the rapids, which are wide enough here in the caves to make jumping a tenuous solution. No, you'll need to make a bridge. Perhaps you've got something on hand that could do it for you itself. But if not, the large stalagmites (they're the ones that form on the ground) could also do it, if you broke the right ones in just the right way. You feel like you're close to the end now. Don't give up! =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
==========================<* Yder Cave - Round 6 *>=========================== =======================< Results - The Fierce Current >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 43 --(101)--> 144 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 51 --(101)--> 152 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Clarine 43 --(101)--> 144 Fail Repair Unit 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 90 --(15)--> 105 Fail Conditions: Injure(1)|Overzealous(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Lanval is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Clarine is too exhausted to continue! DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Yder Cave!
===============================<* Yder Cave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Magical Moss *>====================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- At long last you find some innermost chamber within the cave. Light streams down on a large bed of moss here, which rests near to a stream trailing water with a particular sparkle to it. If you were to sample this water, you would find it to be almost impossibly pure. And as a result, this moss... This moss shimmers faintly, a sign of the potent power that rests within it -- if one is an herbalist or apothecary, that is. This moss could be used to make particularly strong healing potions and ointments, or sold by those who make the same their livelihood. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.
At Loren's willing, the base of the stalagmite begins to weaken to the point that it'll take just a push to make it fall over. It's sturdy enough that even Clarine in her Gear will be able to cross over.
There's just one, small problem. As they're crossing over, the rapids begin to roar more intently, and debris from further on down begins to rush at them at high speeds! They'll have to quickly scramble over to the other side before their bridge is smashed apart. They'll have to figure out another way across on the way back... but on the bright side, they've found something interesting!
A nearby pathway leads into a chamber deep within the mountain. Cracks within the ceiling let beams of light shine through, down onto a large bed of moss near a sparkling stream. This stream is calm, and almost impossibly pure. As a result, the moss nearby shimmers with a faint power.
"Ah... this is an incredible sight. I did not think to encounter something like this down here..." Clarine remarks, awed.