2022-12-09: Mount Liverfeast (Side F)
- Log: 2022-12-09: Mount Liverfeast (Side F)
- Cast: Ratatoskr, Gami, Cyre H. Lorentz, Solitaire Collier
- Where: The Crater Sea
- Date: December 09, 2022
- Summary: To the west of Mount Liverfeast, a terrible storm brews - rapidly expanding by the hour. It is a risk to pierce the veil of storms about the dormant volcano, but two individuals already have. Once more, Drifters are called to find answers for what's going on... and, if they're lucky, get some key ones another has withheld. The fifth of six runs of Mount Liverfeast. (NOTE: Every Mount Liverfeast scene ICly takes place on December 9th!)
==============================<* The Crater Sea *>============================== The Crater Sea rests at the center of Southern Aquvy. Rumors abound that ancient cities and other ruins are submerged underneath the sea, and in the shallower portions, Diggers have reported that great expanses of submerged glass have been found. The people of Southern Aquvy know that Crater Sea is not just a name. In the past, some great calamity shattered the ancient continent of Greater Aquvy, and in doing so, left the many smaller islands of the south. These waters are well-traveled, though not as much as they once were, after the fall of Celesti. BGM: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - The Great Sea
DC: Solitaire Collier switches forms to Solitaire! DC: Gami switches forms to SH-1N GAMI - Cenotaph Overdrive!
DG: A party led by Ratatoskr is now entering Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Storming the Weather *>=====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Whether you are going by boat or by air (if you are so fortunate), one thing
becomes clear on the approach: there is no safe way towards the churning
cauldron of uncontrollable weather at Mt. Liverfeast.
The tides are out of control, threatening to batter nearby islands with
crashing waves. The winds are something else, frequently changing direction.
Lightning and hail join the 'fun.' Heat waves sap further at visibility and
just make it hard to breathe. Living bodies simply are not made to withstand
these conditions at length.
The problem is, you don't have any other way... and there's no time to wait
it out, because it's just getting worse. Breach the storm, and pray there is
an eye within so that you may scale the mountain and claim the truth from a
certain someone who doesn't believe you deserve it.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! and Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
December 9th 504 Post Collase
There's a brewing storm west of Illsveil Prison. Going by magnitudes, calling it a 'storm' feels like selling it short. There's a brewing cataclysm west of Illsveil Prison. This... sounds a bit better, and also even worse. Let's settle with that.
Whatever ships or resources have been commandeered, it takes a lot of maneuvering to get past whatever blockades the local powers that be are trying to set up to avoid gawkers. Luckily(?), there are a few Odessa moles inside those powers who nonetheless agree that this is Some Shit(tm). They do not reveal themselves, but they also do not do anything to endanger the likes of Those Who Come And Go who have been able to board a ship. For all intents and purposes on paper, it's Ratatoskr and Solitaire that are slipping through the cracks.
It's a nice ship. It's a nice enough ship to ferry at least one or two military-grade Gears closer and closer towards the storm, and as Ratatoskr bounds out of the cabins against the recommendations of the crew to go look out to the bow, he has one thing to say about that.
"Whoa."
Things are messy! Rough waters! Rougher winds! Lightning and hail! It's hard to breathe, harder to see, and this means only one thing.
He bounds back into the cabins, where the others are, and has this to say.
"I'm going to go fight it...!"
Then he runs back out because of course he does, holds a handheld crystalline teleportation device thing in his hand, which warps him out of view and... does anyone really want to teleport into that? Um. Oh well.
"Whatever move you're all gonna make, make it," says the first mate of the ship, "we can't get any closer..."
Breach the storm, and reach the island within!
DG: You risk with your Tool Teleporter Fragment against your party's Challenge, Storming the Weather! DG: Ratatoskr has risked with his Tool Teleporter Fragment toward his party's challenge, Storming the Weather. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
One of the Gears the ship has brought along is fairly small, for a gear, perhaps only ten sharls tall. Frankly, nobody is entirely sure where this Gear came from; everyone in place assumes someone else arranged it to be here, and that's how the Gear in question likes it. There's a curtain over it...
Until they reach near to the heart of the storm, and Ratatoskr bounds out from the cabins.
The sheet falls, and a gigantic Reploid begins to step out from the cargo hold of the ship, up towards the deck. Step. Step. Step. Step.
SH-1N GAMI is greatly enlarged from her usual stature, even considering how tall she is ordinarily, and is in shades of purple instead of her usual red, for armor. A beam glaive, deactivated, hangs at her back. Her now-violet eyes move forward. Ratatoskr is going to fight it...
"I, too," rumbles the Gear(?), "Will fight."
She begins to chant, then, and power becomes a circle at her feet as Symbological force gathers.
"DARK SPHERE!"
Gami's hands extend, and a great orb of darkness erupts into the storm--and begins drawing in the wind and rain and hail, to afford the ship a chance to get closer.
"Go, now!"
DG: Gami has used her Tool Symbol - Dark Sphere toward her party's challenge, Storming the Weather.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
This has been a long time coming.
The one in the hood can feel it on the wind. The howling tempest resonates at the base of his skull like a pulsating tumor of unease. It's a similar feeling to the sensation that suffused the last place this storm had settled. But now there's an edge of danger to it. Of something going terribly wrong.
It reminds him, dimly, of the last time he stood against an unnatural storm, steeped in malicious intent (but not necessarily Malevolence). That was a fateful encounter too. What will come of this? Who will he lose? Will he lose anyone at all? It's so hard to say for certain.
The others on the ship are largely of questionable alignment, but--
There's also a talking gear, one who carves open a path. The one in the hood inclines his head in gratitude and... leaps from the ship's bow. A sharp breeze sweeps into him, unfurling a great, bulbous sheet that sails into the gap in the storm like a one-winged eagle.
He hopes that he'll be able to adequately control these winds. Otherwise, this might hurt a little.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Storming the Weather. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Solitaire Collier has posed.
Solitaire Collier doesn't seem like the sort of person who would show up to this sort of situation. Her focus tends to lie elsewhere but seeing the storm get worse and worse tells Solitaire if she doesn't do anything it could be real bad for everyone. Indeed, Solitaire knows damn well who is most likely to suffer the most from these storms and who is likely to weather the apocalypse well enough.
She rubs at her neck, looking up up up
Up up up
Up up up up up up up up up at SH-1N GAMI.
She tilts backwards enough to get a good look she starts to fall backward only for her axe to prop her up. She leans against it and stares.
Is that a pilot inside or is this just a very very big person? She can't tell.
It's just a gear I'm sure.
"Mouth moving..." Solitaire murmurs.
Probably a ... design choice?
Solitaire leans back forward, straightening her body as she starts sliding on shoes onto her bare feet. They look like near brand new sneakers and she quietly ties her shoes only for--
If you're jumping into a storm like that it's really going to wreck your shoes, you know...
Solitaire hesitates and then slowly unties her shoes and slides them back into her bag. This might imperil her life but those shoes weren't cheap and she'd like to maintain their condition for as long as possible.
I'm going to go fight it...!
Somehow the axe looks exasperated, thin black fumes pouring off of it. Solitaire pays it no mind and runs towards the teleporting Ratatoskr--
--too late to hitch a ride. Solitaire frown and just moves to perch on the edge of the ship, toes curling around the railing. She doesn't seem to have difficulty balancing but...
Wait you're not...
Solitaire looks towards Cyre as he starts unleashing his reverse parachute.
W-wait...!
Solitaire jumps!
WHAT ARE YOU DOIN YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE GROUND THE WINDS COULD SEIZE YOU UP AND SEND YOU FLYING OFF THE MOUNTAIN DON'T JUST JUMP AND HOPE FOR THE BEST
Solitaire lashes out with a hand to try and catch ahold of Cyre's REVERSE PARACHUTE and hitch a ride!
DG: Solitaire Collier has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Storming the Weather.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Storming the Weather *>=====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Whether you are going by boat or by air (if you are so fortunate), one thing
becomes clear on the approach: there is no safe way towards the churning
cauldron of uncontrollable weather at Mt. Liverfeast.
The tides are out of control, threatening to batter nearby islands with
crashing waves. The winds are something else, frequently changing direction.
Lightning and hail join the 'fun.' Heat waves sap further at visibility and
just make it hard to breathe. Living bodies simply are not made to withstand
these conditions at length.
The problem is, you don't have any other way... and there's no time to wait
it out, because it's just getting worse. Breach the storm, and pray there is
an eye within so that you may scale the mountain and claim the truth from a
certain someone who doesn't believe you deserve it.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and |
| Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==========<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart - Round 1 *>=========== =======================< Results - Storming the Weather >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Teleporter Fragment 3 Agility Effects: Stalwart and Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Reverse Parachute 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire Collier 0 --(28)--> 28 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gami 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Symbol - Dark Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Efficient -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ratatoskr 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Suffer(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ratatoskr 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: Ratatoskr has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Hot Rivers *>==========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Your team lucks out and finds a large cavernous route away from the weather,
and maybe a bit more than that. Mt. Liverfeast could have been a great place
to set up some relaxing hot springs, but that time is not now.
Part of it is because the hot springs have overflowed and have become
outright hot rivers, which are now a thing. They're also flowing in the
opposite direction one desires to go, with three distinct bodies of water
all leading ahead (one which is deep enough a Gear would be needed to cross
it).
Should your team fail to all make it to the other side, well, at least it's
somewhat relaxing compared to the rest of the route. A cold comfort, should
the worst happen. (A warm comfort?)
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Quicken:_Agility_Up! and Save_Point:_Conditions_cleansed! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
A sphere of darkness is shot into the storm... and Gami will see stress feedback show up on readings immediately. She has it handled, but this is a lot of force to stuff into a void of nothingness. It threatens to cause a small collapse that could endanger the entire operation and maybe disappear a small part of the Crater Sea with it... but the opening is as long as it needs to be. Someone on the ship shouts 'full speed ahead, now, now,' in recognition of what the small Gear/large Reploid is doing.
As Cyre takes off and Solitaire only barely (barely!) manages to hitch a ride... Cyre will see and feel, first and foremost of everyone, the oppressive pressure here is unmistakable in its source. If he doesn't believe that, he only needs to look up to the peak of the dormant volcano that is Mount Liverfeast. That strange splotch of color that goes in and out of the visual spectrum, nestled up top as the realm within the storm is filled with impossible weather phenomena arranged in bizarre dances of heat and chill. Even sunlight doesn't quite filter correctly, giving an eerie atmosphere to everything here.
o tHeeeEEe modEeeeL neeEEeeds moOOrRree aDjUUustMeeenT :o bUuuuT sooooOooon iiIt wiIiiLll beeE fiiiIne :D
No, it won't - but the way the winds travel here, Cyre can't go higher. The ship is able to catch up to allow Gami to disembark, and the lot of them will see they've got their work cut out for them in making the ascent.
_ Crater Sea _
--------------
MOUNT LIVERFEAST
OST: Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness - Under Pressure
...So, where's Ratatoskr? He doesn't show up for a while, and the route takes the group through a large cavern that Gami can just fit in, leading into a place full of cavernous hot springs... that have completely overflown into rivers. They're now hot rivers. This exists. There's three of them, one a lot deeper than the others (so that one's for Gami), and at the edge of one of them...
"...I never thought it was possible..." Ratatoskr muses in awe, as he sits at the edge of one such hot river. "...you really can't fight a hot spring..."
He'll need a moment to get a grip. Or maybe, he just needed to relax. (p.s. this is not the time to relax)
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
As it happens, Gami can't actually hear Patience!! That may be for th best. Shoes...
Gami inclines her head back to the hooded Cyre, and pays close attention to the feedback the spell gives her; a spell of this scale is dangerous to use, and she is still growing accustomed to this form. Yet, it seems to be necessary.
But the ship hsoots forward, and the others are there, except for Ratatoskr. Gami too notice the Wrongness of this place; her systems throw up pain feedback as an error system, and she grits her teeth when the other machine speaks.
But eventually... Ratatosokr comes up. "...I would've shifted back to humanoid scale," Gami says, "But it would appear that we require this for longer..."
Ratatoskr is in awe. That's fine. Gami leans down and reaaaches out to Ratatoskr, aiming to pick him up outright and carry him as they go.
"Organics, please follow carefully. I will carry you if required."
DG: Gami has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Hot Rivers.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
That voice. Cyre can feel it in every atom of his being, ringing out through the landscape, to the very root of his brain. It's a terrible, awful, no-good feeling. Not just the usual kind, either. Something is going very, very wrong with Demetrioi, more than what was already quite wrong with Demetrioi. "Tch. You're working yourself to death, kid," Cyre mutters, landing with a (very weatherbeaten) Solitaire in toe. In that she was very nearly hanging from his toe. In fact, he squawks like some kind of undignified bird-shaped thing the moment she hops on and nearly sends him off balance before he readjusts and makes use of PRODIGIOUS LOWER BODY STRENGTH to ferry her to safety.
"Ghh-- what's wrong with you? Don't you know to--" Cyre, in the barest, splittest second between words, flicks his gaze across the whole of Solitaire's everything, and settles briefly on her weapon, "--axe for permission before jumpin' a guy...?!"
Well, they all made it safely. For various definitions of the word 'safe.'
The 'gear' follows them as well. Though looking at it properly now, it's clear that the gear is not... really a gear. "That's one hell of a spell," Cyre mutters, before turning his attention to the steaming, surging stream in their path.
Even if he were a shaman of Schturdark, there's no controlling something like this. But he came prepared, this time. Cyre unlimbers a particular bottle and uncorks it, unleashing a brilliant vortex of emerald-tinged wind. Fengalon's wind. With a roar, he rams his hand into the twister and then directs it into the land, carving a new course for the raging river. One that might, importantly, drain the main channel enough for the party to hop across.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Bottled Tornado toward his party's challenge, Hot Rivers. Strengthen! Party Brute boosted! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Solitaire Collier has posed.
Solitaire hangs off of Cyre. "...I'd like...to axe permission to board." She says this with the sort of dead-eyed stare you might expect from a gunslinger in the corner of the saloon giving a new sheriff some shit. But she does axe. Belatedly, if nothing else.
Once she finally touches down she says, "Thank you." to Cyre simply enough and seems to pay it no further mind.
Probably because she's distracted by Gami.
"She said 'Org...An...Icks'..." Solitaire asks her axe. She CAN just communicate mentally with the axe but she usually doesn't bother. "What's Organicks?"
People of flesh and blood.
Solitaire nods to herself as Gami provides more clues that she's not a gear but rather a robot in disguise. Or at least, she'd think that if she knew what a robot was. She's probably assuming some kind of giant Hyadean honestly.
Solitaire approaches Ratatoskr once they catch up to the Squirrel and she smiles at him. "Rata...toskr. Hello."
She raises a hand slowly and pats him on the shoulder once. And then a second time.
Ratatoskr claims that you can't fight a hot springs. Solitaire isn't sure why you'd want to but she thinks about it thoughtfully before Gami offers to carry everyone.
She raises both arms into the air expectantly at Gami.
Once hoisted she considers the HOT RIVERS thoughtfully.
...You're thinking about what Ratatoskr said aren't you... If you keep reflecting on the things he says your brain will Rata out your skull.
Solitaire frowns.
It wasn't that bad!
Solitaire looks to Ratatoskr after having given it some thought about halfway through the Gami travel system.
"Not like you... to give up so soon." Solitaire challenges him as she draws out some of her cards.
She throws them out at a nearby large rock formation, causing a detonation! And rocks tumble towards the source of the rivers, unleashing a crude and impromptu dam on at least one of the river sources.
"Do not...give up on dream." She tells Ratatoskr.
nghhhmmm...
DG: Ratatoskr has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Hot Rivers. DG: Solitaire Collier has used her Tool Explosive Cards toward her party's challenge, Hot Rivers. Fanfare!
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Hot Rivers *>==========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Your team lucks out and finds a large cavernous route away from the weather,
and maybe a bit more than that. Mt. Liverfeast could have been a great place
to set up some relaxing hot springs, but that time is not now.
Part of it is because the hot springs have overflowed and have become
outright hot rivers, which are now a thing. They're also flowing in the
opposite direction one desires to go, with three distinct bodies of water
all leading ahead (one which is deep enough a Gear would be needed to cross
it).
Should your team fail to all make it to the other side, well, at least it's
somewhat relaxing compared to the rest of the route. A cold comfort, should
the worst happen. (A warm comfort?)
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Save_Point:_Conditions_cleansed! and Strengthen:_Brute_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==========<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart - Round 2 *>=========== ============================< Results - Hot Rivers >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Bottled Tornado 3 Brute Effects: Sacrifice and Strengt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire Collier 28 --(10)--> 38 Pass Explosive Cards 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gami 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Force 1 Brute Effects: Risky -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ratatoskr 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Save Point(1) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ratatoskr 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: Ratatoskr has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Trailbuilding *>=========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Your path takes you on solid ground. This sentence is quickly made
inaccurate as the ground beneath starts to fracture and shift from blatantly
implausible plate tectonics. You might be able to make your way through with
a show of agility and grace (and you will do this if you must), but the more
quick-minded among you will spot a valuable opportunity.
A loosening, unstable earth means that you can start making your own route
up Mt. Liverfeast, if you have the strength to manipulate or destroy the
shifting earth to your liking. Well, no, nothing about this is to anyone's
liking.
Putting it to your grudging acknowledgement should suffice.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Slow:_Agility_Down!, Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Treasure:_Exploration_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
It really is comfortable. One could give up fighting, and just spend the rest of their days (hours? minutes?) in relative bliss. While Ratatoskr ponders how one exactly is supposed to fight relaxation, the other three already have clear ideas amongst them.
Cyre invokes the power of Fengalon, and it is... strained. It requires immense focus, immense devotion, and a whole lot of bottled air for how much of the natural forces of the world Demetrioi subverted in their short-lived oasis of land, sea, and sky. But, the way is carved through one of the rivers, splashing all of it aside.
"Give up...? Give up!" Ratatoskr says, incredulously. Is he giving up by not fighting relaxation? As Solitaire tells her first friend the words he needs to be incensed and start to try to FIST FIGHT a HOT RIVER, Gami scoops him up. (He wiggles and thrashes and fights in a way that, in this time and context, is endearing and funny.)
Solitaire causes a cave-in with her know-how, damming up one of the other rivers and cursing the other to being not-so-relaxed. But a viable path, should Gami have to sink deep into the water to a new slumber while telling the others to 'beeee goooooooooooooood.' (This doesn't happen, thankfully.)
"...This reminds me of Alcidamas, but everything was so quiet... no one had to struggle, no one had to fight..." Ratatoskr is a bit behind on things due to being more interested in fist-fighting eels, but it is a good recap. What the hell went wrong?
As they come back above ground and Ratatoskr wrests himself free, he leaps forward a few times on the flat, mountain path as more of that strange sound resounds.
) IiiiIII caAaannn seeEeee aa NeEeWWw SettTlemeent heeeRE :D noo OoooNe nEeeeDs to fIiiGhT oVeeRRR iiT :)
Ratatoskr then suddenly gets ragdolled by the earth shaking underneath them. He does not remain a kickball by the ground itself for long, landing smoothly on all threes and trying to bounce about.
"Is this Grudiev...? FIGHT ME GRUDIEV!" Ratatoskr calls, because Grudiev is cool too and he wants to fight them. (he wants to fight all of them really)
Eventually, it calms, leaving them with a lot of overturned, soft earth they'll have to climb, or... perhaps... take a moment to re-forge the mountain path in a way both they and others can ascend and descend a little easier, as demonstrated when Ratatoskr is now kicking the ever-living mud out of the ground. (literally, that's mud)
DG: Ratatoskr has contributed a risky Brute Action toward his party's challenge, Trailbuilding.
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
It is, indeed, a hell of a spell.
Do not give up on dreams...
Gami carres everyone who wants it, which seems to include Solitaire. It's great! Her hand is gentle. She desn't squish anybody. But as they go on, as Ratatoskr says it reminds him of Alcidamas... "I belve it is the same," she says. And then, soon--the earth shakes. Gami has to adjust her stance to avoid falling, bringing out her beam glaive to use as a balancing pole. "I is--"
"It is not Grudiev," Gami says for Ratatoskr. "I do not think the Guardians are involved here... except insofar as our friend here is involved." She nods to Cyre. But as the earth bounces, and calms, with all that earth... Hmmm.
"Please avoid the area of effect of my spell." She chants, and extends her hand, before casting: "ACID RAIN!"
Powerful magic starts to erode the earth in their way, making a path.
DG: Gami has used her Tool Symbol - Acid Rain toward her party's challenge, Trailbuilding. Strengthen! Party Brute boosted! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"..." The shaman fixes Solitaire with a look, then slowly nods. "...Permission granted, but only 'cause you axed nicely." No matter how much she glares, he's not giving up on the bit. Cyre is nothing if not dedicated.
"That's not Grudiev," Cyre echoes the giant Gami's assertion. His hood has come loose now, revealing the shaman beneath. The land shakes and trembles, seeming altogether like it tear itself apart. What is Demetrioi even doing...? "Same thing's happening here that was happening at Alcidemas, though. This... Is not as it should be."
He sounds spent-- for good reason. Wielding Fengalon's power here does not come naturally. Instead, he's left with...
Following in Gami's wake, while occasionally lobbing explosive tinctures at the rocks in the party's path. He's still helping, at least!
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Trailbuilding.
<Pose Tracker> Solitaire Collier has posed.
Solitaire is pretty tough to read but it's impossible to not enjoy a Gami ride, you know.
Truth be told, all this adventure distracted her from the seemingly omnipresent voice that is reassuring her that everything is going to be okay and great things are to come. It reads to Solitaire as 'too good to be true' but it sounds less to her like deceit and more like a nervous breakdown.
"What you're doing is gonna kill a lot of people. Stop it." Solitaire says and, having not met Demetrioi before, isn't sure if she's talking to one of the smaller Guardians or something. There's a lot of Guardians out there that don't get the press they deserve! "You're supposed to look after the planet, not wreck it."
she takes a moment to pop a gummy in her throat. She rubs at it again and then swallows.
Solitaire isn't bothered by Cyre. She still keeps not emoting at him though. No matter how relaxed Cyre is, she's going to be as absurdly serious as she is.
Gami theorizes that the Guardians aren't involved at all and Solitaire asks, "Who could it be... if not them?"
A terraforming device is definitely outside the realm of Solitaire's imagination but she holds Patience closer to her body just in case. She smiles as RAtatoskr continuse to be incessantly Ratatoskr. She just finds this sorta stuff charming and, yeah, endearing.
She swings Patience over the shoulder and looks at the fracturing ground. She raises a hand up and look sto Gami. "Unsafe."
She crouches down. "...Diggable."
She stands up again and...
What's the matter...?
"Don't wanna...use you for digging." Solitaire grumbles. "Blades wrong direction too..."
We'll have to add a mattock to our supplies. In the meantime, I don't mind.
"Don't wanna..." Solitaire insists.
Look wouldn't you eat dirt if it meant saving Filgaia?
Solitaire exhales slowly, rubbing at her forehead. "...." She has no argument to that.
"Okay."
She raises Malice Striker, the once feared axe of a Hyadean Tactician--
And literally just uses it to dig a path. A faint pinkening in her cheeks suggests how humiliating she finds this.
DG: Solitaire Collier has contributed a risky Brute Action toward her party's challenge, Trailbuilding.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Trailbuilding *>=========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Your path takes you on solid ground. This sentence is quickly made
inaccurate as the ground beneath starts to fracture and shift from blatantly
implausible plate tectonics. You might be able to make your way through with
a show of agility and grace (and you will do this if you must), but the more
quick-minded among you will spot a valuable opportunity.
A loosening, unstable earth means that you can start making your own route
up Mt. Liverfeast, if you have the strength to manipulate or destroy the
shifting earth to your liking. Well, no, nothing about this is to anyone's
liking.
Putting it to your grudging acknowledgement should suffice.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Slow:_Agility_Down!, Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Treasure:_Exploration_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==========<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart - Round 3 *>=========== ==========================< Results - Trailbuilding >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 20 --(10)--> 30 Pass Force 1 Brute Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 20 --(10)--> 30 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire Collier 38 --(10)--> 48 Pass Force 1 Brute Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gami 20 --(10)--> 30 Pass Symbol - Acid Rain 3 Brute Effects: Strengthen and Sacrif -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ratatoskr 40 --(25)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Slow(2)|Treasure(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ratatoskr has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Ratatoskr has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free *>=================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you're trying to scale Mt. Liverfeast, an ominous rumbling heralds the
sort of thing you've come to expect when trying to climb up mountains with
snow: avalanches. This first one, your group finds themselves prepared for
and are able to flee and/or redirect it appropriately. For most Drifters,
it's not their first rodeo with one.
Then, there's more ominous rumbling, drawing from the strange localized
blizzards from above, as a second and even larger one starts to bear down
upon all of you while you're already worn out from the first one.
Any complaints fielded may earn you a third, if one would like to cash in
their deepest frustrations while they can.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Slow:_Agility_Down!, Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
** Special GM override! This is the card instead, same ability and challenge rating.
Race The Wind (Chapter 2 Remix) - Exploration - 2 - Agility - Slow
Every route in open air going up Mt. Liverfeast is lousy with wind, as a rule. This one cranks it up even more, as gale force winds howl to push you back at random intervals. Stone walls provide occasional breaks to these gales, but several are already crumbling under the pressure.
The Guardian Statue of Fengalon flies by, providing an additional obstacle as well as a nostalgic reminder of times gone by when Mother's conquest was on the cusp of success. It is not considerate of the fact you are trying to scale this weather-torn mountain to ostensibly save the world (again). It is merely following the nature of wind itself (and is also unhappy with present events).
It, too, can be a form of moving cover from the wind if you are quick and resourceful enough.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Ratatoskr is fighitng the Filgaia underneath him, channeling generations of Metal Demon warriors before him. He is doing a fine job beating up the ground, yes, but even in the throes of his attempts to reduce everything to an anthropomorphized thing he can fight...
Gami speaks with certainty that the Guardians aren't involved here, and she summons acid rains that she has a heck of a time forcing into being with her potent large-scale Symbology. Demetrioi's attempts to rewrite climate and skirt the hard laws of physics involved make it a fight, but the corrosive water starts carving a new burning hot river (well, stream) into a newer, smoother slope one could climb.
"...But no one wanted to fight at Alcidamas," Ratatoskr says to Cyre's observations as explosive tinctures are hurled and go off to further explode and loosen stone obstructions along the way, best he's able. They've got a good shot to the peak from here, if they can just keep moving up, up, up...
Solitaire's most forcefully speakable words in her current state about killing people seems to go unheard, and... with the permission of the will within the axe itself, she digs. She digs, with the grace and acceptance of a will that was once willing to conquer the world, putting what's left of themselves to work in order to force a way forward, and Solitaire is able to carve enough of a path for the acidic water to continue further down and create a theoretical shortcut for others to make it up here.
D iiiiFf FrieEEendS aaaREee comiiiNg i aaaM dooIIiiNg iiT riiIiight :) buuuUUtt noooTt thEeRrRe yeeeEt :o
As they go further up, the wind starts becoming completely insufferable, and while it may be tempting to further smash a few rocks out of the way, there's a few that are large and embedded enough to force breaks in the wind even as the shear smooths the edges of the rock over time. The howling winds are defeaning when they pick up, chilling to the bone, and...
"FIGHT ME FENGALON!" Ratatoskr leaps over one such rock, and--
Cyre feels a presence, albeit a proxy, connected to the Guardian of which his relationship is most initimate.
The Guardian Statue of Fengalon, last seen just whirling about with the winds of the Badlands, cold cocks Ratatoskr mid-leap and sends him tumbling back down the mountain. Moments later, it seems less more like a willful act on its part and a product of having been somehow swept up in these incredible storms.
Cyre gets a distinct feeling that Fengalon is not pleased, and an even greater sense of urgency besides - like the Ley itself is now in actual, factual mortal peril. (Cyre may also get a faceful of statue if he's not careful.)
(Anyone can...!)
DG: Ratatoskr has contributed a risky Agility Action toward his party's challenge, Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free.
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
"I sense it," Gami says. "Even making my Symbology work is... difficult," she says. "The machine's presence anchors the laws of physics to its desires, above magic and even the Guardians it would seem."
She watches Solitaire as she digs with pink in her cheeks. "...Is there some shame to digging of whihch I am not aware?" she asks.
The Guardian statue, next...
"...Fight well, Ratatoskr." She shakes her head. She notices the presence. "Hmm..."
The howling winds pick up, and Gami begins to chant again. "I will attempt to draw off the wind," she says. "Please see that the Guardian Statue is unharmed." It might hit her! That would be unfortunate! ...For both her and the statue.
But she lifts her hands, and the black orb reappears. It begins to draw in wind, stone--everything it can!! "Dark Sphere!!"
DG: Gami has used her Tool Symbol - Dark Sphere toward her party's challenge, Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free.
<Pose Tracker> Solitaire Collier has posed.
"A machine is doing this...?" Solitaire can't believe it but if the non-Organicks say it's a machine it must be a machine. You can't reason with an elevator, she reasons, though if this 'not a gear' seems so real... then perhaps there is some reasoning with it?
Demetrioi's words shed some doubt on the idea, however.
Gami asks if there is some shame in digging. "..."
She rubs at her throat around the scar. She isn't sure how to answer that question without sharing things about herself that she'd rather, ironically enough, buried.
Eventually she tries to give an answer all the same. "Patience," She nods to the axe. "Deserves respect."
It isn't really the real real answer but it's part of the real answer and hopefully Gami will think that's enough since she seems nice enough. She carried her across a hot river after all.
Before her, a flying Guardian STatue of Fengalon riding the winds. "...."
She looks at her dirty toes. She sighs faintly, crouching down to brush off the dirt and grime she can from her feet before finally reaching back into her pack, drawing out her near-new shoes and slides them on.
If her route is going to take her across Fengalon then she has the option to jump on top of it with her dirty feet or allow her pretty cleaned up shoes. One of these is more respectful in her mind.
And then she takes a running leap, bouncing across flying debris, ultimately dropping down for the Fengalon and then rolling off it.
Once she's on the other side those shoes et off quick and are returned to her pack once more.
"Shoes... shoes always in danger..." She murmurs softly.
DG: Solitaire Collier has used her Tool Sprint Shoes toward her party's challenge, Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"Even Symbology...?" Cyre asks with muted surprise. "I had no idea. I thought it was just the power of the Guardians that was being subverted. I thought Symbology was... something that just worked as long as you could channel the power?" Though it too relies on the ley in some regard. So maybe it make sense that Demetrioi is having an impact on it too...?
"It's something from beyond this star," the shaman says to Solitaire. "Something that doesn't belong here. We need to send it back home. Or at least, back to somewhere it can actually properly help people. This... is just hurting everything." The planet included. He can feel it, crying out for help. But this time, something resounds a little more... keenly than it did a moment ago.
"This feeling..." The wind picks up, howling unnaturally. A familiar statue comes flying past, kicking Ratatoskr right in the jaw as it sails by. "Ah...!" The Guardian Statue of Fengalon, the wandering statue that rides the winds...! What's it doing here? Is it a message, or was it caught up in this unnatural storm in some ill-portuned attempt to put a stop to it? The last time he saw it, he and Catenna were racing that unfortunate yellow slug of a Hyadean to save-- or destroy-- it.
They were successful then. This time... This time, Guardian power is a little harder to draw upon. But with the statue here...
"Don't worry, I've got this," Cyre answers Gami as he leaps up into the air, his parachute unfurling. These chaotic gales are going to be a monster and a half to navigate, but he needs to reach that statue. It may be sealed still, but it's still a conduit to Fengalon. If it's here, exposed to Demetrioi...
He needs to get it clear. One way or another. Cyre chases the statue through the storm, trying to get hands on it. Then, if he's successful, he tries to guide it towards Big Gami. "I'm going to need you to chuck this thing as hard as you can away from here," he asks, assuming he can get control of the damn thing. "I'll try to give it a push too. As best I can."
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free *>=================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you're trying to scale Mt. Liverfeast, an ominous rumbling heralds the
sort of thing you've come to expect when trying to climb up mountains with
snow: avalanches. This first one, your group finds themselves prepared for
and are able to flee and/or redirect it appropriately. For most Drifters,
it's not their first rodeo with one.
Then, there's more ominous rumbling, drawing from the strange localized
blizzards from above, as a second and even larger one starts to bear down
upon all of you while you're already worn out from the first one.
Any complaints fielded may earn you a third, if one would like to cash in
their deepest frustrations while they can.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hw:_???, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Slow:_Agility_Down!, Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free *>=================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you're trying to scale Mt. Liverfeast, an ominous rumbling heralds the
sort of thing you've come to expect when trying to climb up mountains with
snow: avalanches. This first one, your group finds themselves prepared for
and are able to flee and/or redirect it appropriately. For most Drifters,
it's not their first rodeo with one.
Then, there's more ominous rumbling, drawing from the strange localized
blizzards from above, as a second and even larger one starts to bear down
upon all of you while you're already worn out from the first one.
Any complaints fielded may earn you a third, if one would like to cash in
their deepest frustrations while they can.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, Slow:_Agility_Down!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==========<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart - Round 4 *>=========== ===================< Results - Avalanche? 'Ave Another Free >=================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 30 --(8)--> 38 Pass Rush 1 Agility Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 30 --(8)--> 38 Pass Reverse Parachute 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire Collier 48 --(8)--> 56 Pass Sprint Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gami 30 --(8)--> 38 Pass Symbol - Dark Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Efficient -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ratatoskr 65 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2)|Slow(1)|Tire(2)|Weaken(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ratatoskr 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: Ratatoskr has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Last Line of Willful Ignorance *>==============
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You are fast approaching the summit of Mt. Liverfeast. Your team finds safe
passage through a cavern that has weathered the weather intact... and it
becomes evident that you're not the only one who found it.
In your way is a sheet of metal shorn from a vehicle of Gebler make that had
the misfortune of trying to brave the storms directly. It has been welded
directly in front of the way out, and is smoldering as if its application
were recent. You know whose handiwork this is. They've taken an effort,
however token, to keep you at bay.
This isn't going to stop you. No door - or door-equivalent obstruction -
will keep you. Not from the summit. Not from answers... if you're ready for
them. (A certain someone doesn't think so.)
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Overzealous:_Brute_Down!_Combat_Up!, |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Ratatoskr's success can be attributed only to his ability to scale back up difficult terrain at lightning speed. He's still bleeding some quicksilver from his face. That wound will need a bit of extra time to knit.
Gami, once again, makes use of the element of darkness to try and draw as much of the forces into the void as possible, to itself provide some cover for movement. How much does it work? How much can she contain? With every passing moment it draws more and more energy and stress in an environment already horrible for anyone and everyone.
Once again, she's the bulwark that faces against hostile elements like she did so long ago, and she... technically lost it, but she has it again.
Solitaire is able to deftly leap off the statue as it passes over again. When she touches it, there's a sense of the winds as they should be. Free, without masters, without cages. Just movement, going ceaselessly, where it doesn't matter - only that it can go where it wills. If this doesn't distract her, she's golden, as she finds there's a cavern ahead they can all duck into for shelter from the elements (and/or more hot rivers).
It has been well over... what was it, four-hundred and forty-four days? Since it was hit with a Sealing Rod. It's vulnerable, but also serves no greater purpose now that Mother is gone. With the force of the winds of Filgaia themselves and Cyre's determination to fight against the winds of another power, he'll be able to direct it to Gami. If they are able to YEET it...
...well, they can get them clear of this place. And hope that it doesn't crash head-on into... a flying Gebler transport or something, that would be terrible, wouldn't it.
The cavern that Solitaire reaches first is one that leads to the summit, and it's safe enough. Gami will find that eventually she may have to return to her 'usual people scale, kind of' size if the cavern gets much smaller than this, and it looks like it might, but first...
There's a sheet of metal shorn from a vehicle of Gebler make that had the misfortune of trying to brave the storms directly. It has been welded directly in front of the way out, and is smoldering as if the application were recent.
Cyre would recognize the handiwork immediately from his years of travel - that is the Symbological work of one Ethius Hesiod. He's here, too, as was suspected he might be. So is Kaguya. Did they both make it up top? (A certain vision from someone over in ARMS says yes, she's certain of this.)
Ratatoskr creeps up from behind the group, rubbing his throat in a moment of likeness and solidarity with Solitaire. (Thank Fengalon for this later!) He draws out a Zeboim-era laser cutter - in fact the best of the best of the best of its era, Gami may notice - and gives a nice big grin to Solitaire remembering her help in finding a new battery for it as he just starts to work on trying to laser-cut the barricade down.
If they can't do it, others will come join to help them.
DG: You risk with your Tool Antique Laser Cutter against your party's Challenge, The Last Line of Willful Ignorance! DG: Ratatoskr has risked with his Tool Antique Laser Cutter toward his party's challenge, The Last Line of Willful Ignorance. Fanfare!
<Pose Tracker> Gami has posed.
"I did not see the Demetrioi in Alcidamas," Gami says, "But I am feeling its effects now. Indeed, Symbology functions ordinarily without such restriction... but even such power as that is difficult to 'assert' here. There is another force actively working upon the environment, this machine."
Beyond the star...
Cyre's got this, he says. He can reach it. And she considers his request. "...Very well," Gami rumbles. "I will do this."
Gami catches the precious conduit to the Guardians, and holds it in her gigantic hand. She once was the companion of Luceid themself, and now, holds this statue, only to...
YEET.
Gami, while she does imbue it with Symbological protection first, throws the precious Guardian statue away, far, far away.
But they can get clear. They get clear, and...
"Symbological work..."
Gami nods. "I will have to return to my normal size, after this," Gami says. And then she notices Rtatoskr getting a real nice laser cutter out.
Then, she looks to Soliatire. "...Patience deserves respect. I understand." And she does!
But then..
"ACID RAIN!"
DG: Gami has used her Tool Symbol - Acid Rain toward her party's challenge, The Last Line of Willful Ignorance. Strengthen! Party Brute boosted! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round! Solitaire Collier Solitaire is a young mouse woman in her mid teens with a slight build. She's on the shorter side for her age at 5 feet tall. She has long shoulder length shaggy black and white hair. Her skin is light with faint freckles around her button nose nearing her cheeks. Atop her head are two mouse ears with peach interiors. One has black fur on the back, the other white. She has bright hazel eyes. She wears a black Odessa uniform with gold trimming. One arm has additional red decoration around the shoulder pad wrist, and glove. She wears baggy white pants with a long mouse tail poking out of it. She doesn't wear shoes and her feet have look toughened up from long barefoot travel. She has a massive black and silver axe strapped to her back that looks like a relic ARM of some kind. It's easily twice her size, possibly leading one to wonder how she can even carry it, but she carries it readily. The weapon is polished with care and is easily in the best condition of all of her gear. The head of the axe has a keen sharp edge though is more jagged on the other side, looking fangy and fierce like a dragon's jaws. A facemask is around her neck and mouth, though her nose is uncovered--though the mask could easily be pulled up further to cover it, it rarely is.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
It has been a long time more than 444 days. The Sealing Rod's power has waned by now. FORTUNATELY, Cyre... has things covered. Once the statue is secure, he produces a familiar looking scepter from under his cloak and lightly gives the icon of Fengalon a boop (respectfully, and certainly not upon the snoot. That would be rude.) "Good, give it a toss, hard as you can."
He can provide a bit of a push himself, but with Demetrioi controlling the wind, it's... not going to be much.
Speaking of which. That sickening sensation has only grown stronger. Demetrioi is near. And all that's in their way is...
Something that has Ethius' fingerprints all over it.
The shaman's lips draw into a concerned line. Again he produces that jar of wind. Again, he cracks it open, dragging forth a swirling vortex of wind. This time, he guides it upwards, drawing in the acid rain Gami calls forth into a roiling disc of cutting fluid. With a note of effort, he sends it whirling, like a buzz-saw, directly into Ethius' weld.
As if a rebuttal to the intentions of one who he might call 'friend.'
This is his world. It's only right that he act to try and save it.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Bottled Tornado toward his party's challenge, The Last Line of Willful Ignorance. Strengthen! Party Brute boosted! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Solitaire Collier has posed.
Beyond the star?
No, I don't know them. They're not Hyadean.
Solitaire turns to look to Gami as she enters the cavern and says, "Too big--"
She's about to say more when Gami suggests she can return to her normal size. Solitaire boggles at the very idea but she supposes she has seen her partner change his form now and then. The world is full of surprises and wonder, she supposes. Best to not learn too much or you'll find them all and die sad instead of yearning.
She doesn't seem to recognize anything strange about that sheet of metal in the way beyond the fact that it's even there. It's just a barricade really.
Solitaire approaches it and sets cards around it carefully. The King of Hearts, The Ace of Clubs. A Black Joker. A Jack of Diamonds and finally a Queen of Spades.
She steps back a bit and then extends her arm out and snaps her fingers once--and they all detonate simultaneously.
She brushes off her shirt with a hand and moves to stand near Ratatoskr.
DG: Solitaire Collier has used her Tool Explosive Cards toward her party's challenge, The Last Line of Willful Ignorance. Fanfare!
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Last Line of Willful Ignorance *>==============
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You are fast approaching the summit of Mt. Liverfeast. Your team finds safe
passage through a cavern that has weathered the weather intact... and it
becomes evident that you're not the only one who found it.
In your way is a sheet of metal shorn from a vehicle of Gebler make that had
the misfortune of trying to brave the storms directly. It has been welded
directly in front of the way out, and is smoldering as if its application
were recent. You know whose handiwork this is. They've taken an effort,
however token, to keep you at bay.
This isn't going to stop you. No door - or door-equivalent obstruction -
will keep you. Not from the summit. Not from answers... if you're ready for
them. (A certain someone doesn't think so.)
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Overzealous:_Brute_Down!_Combat_Up!, |
| Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==========<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart - Round 5 *>=========== ================< Results - The Last Line of Willful Ignorance >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 38 --(13)--> 51 Pass Antique Laser Cutter 4 Brute Effects: Fanfare and Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 38 --(13)--> 51 Pass Bottled Tornado 3 Brute Effects: Sacrifice and Strengt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solitaire Collier 56 --(13)--> 69 Pass Explosive Cards 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gami 38 --(30)--> 68 Fail Symbol - Acid Rain 3 Brute Effects: Strengthen and Sacrif -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ratatoskr 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Overzealous(2)|Tire(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 Ratatoskr has successfully explored Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart!
===============<* Mount Liverfeast - The Sky Is Falling Apart *>================
=========<* CHALLENGE - Influence of Truth Appearance (v. Discovery) *>=========
| Type: Discovery | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The obstruction doesn't stop you. Among the gathered parties, you're among
the ones who manage to get the hastily made barricade down... but the way
ahead is much too small for any Gears, so you'll have to disembark.
Emboldened and determined, you press on...
It's the furthest thing ahead that first draws the eyes, in ways deeply
uncomfortable. Those who visited Alcidamas Village will know that the
shrubby, tree-like... entity... that has become an even larger,
gnarled-looking tree is Demetrioi. Non-euclidian geometry dances on its
leaves and fruit, all wreathed in a color bleeding just outside of the
visual spectrum. Their friendly smile has given way to frustration behind a
completely different (forced) smile. They stand at the epicenter of all of
this...
...But before one can say anything, ahead there's two figures much closer to
you. Though the weather continues to rage, they can be seen... and heard.
One can be identified as Kaguya, who struggles to draw breath and is in a
losing battle to stay upright. The other is in a heavy white coat with a
quarterstaff in hand, planted upright. They look over their shoulder just as
you arrive, reaveling they're wearing a partially dented mask that sort of
resembles a bird's face.
"Turn back." That voice can only belong to one man - Ethius - as he speaks
against the maelstrom about him. It's as though the hail and the striking
lightning avoids him. "I'll not tolerate further interference."
Homer Mecone, the pig-like former mayor of Alcidamas Village, has arrived
here at about the same time (likely by another party). "H-Hey, hold up...
that mask," and with that statement, mortal terror spreads across Homer's
features as he clutches his pitchfork. "That day! The day we were handin'
off Demetrioi... somebody in that damn mask killed everyone there... managed
to take it off that guy's face as I ran, th-that was..."
"You've caused years of grief." Ethius all but soft confirms as he lingers
upon Homer for several moments as advances towards Demetrioi. "But I will
not put off what needs to be done."
"Get the hell away from Demetrioi!!" Homer snarls and takes off running.
"We're here, Demetrioi, we ain't gonna let--"
It ends in a flash, with Ethius flipping Homer right into the ground. Above,
another Gebler ship tries to brave the endless storms, smoking and on fire
as it approaches everyone's position.
TO BE CONTINUED...
(As a Discovery bonus, should the character you send have cleared the Dig,
you start the following Gunslinger scene with both Hyper and an extra 25
FP!)
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Overzealous:_Brute_Down!_Combat_Up!, |
| Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!, Vault:_Exploration_Up!, and |
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Fengalon's statue, re-protected, is hurled back out of the storm, out of sight, out of the cataclysm...
OUTSIDE THE STORM
"We've lost contact with the first transport, sir," says a Gebler operator on standby upon a small transport that is approaching from a direction and height the various ships will not see. "They may not have survived going inside the storm."
"Unacceptable!" Snarls the captain. "Useless! We'll--"
There's an explosion, a dramatic one, as Fengalon's statue bounces off the craft. They lose control, descending right towards the storm.
AT THE BARRICADE
Acid Rain descends upon the barricade. Things of Gebler make tend to be treated against this level of chemical make, but to say Gami's contribution is mitigated is far from correct, when it can affect the cavern walls surrounding it. With care and caution, Ratatoskr just continues to cut.
Cyre cracks open the jar, and the vortext of wind takes the ambient chemical rain and directs it to a point of focus, like a buzzsaw to try and cut it open as Solitaire lets loose more cards from a cherished gift to blow it all the eff up, and together... it seems routine, because was a silly door going to stop them? (If it did, the five other parties eventually converge in a fuzzy way.)
When it breaks open and falls, there's two figures there - one in a white coat standing with their back turned. To the side, Kaguya is struggling to stay upright - it seems there was a fight with a clear victor. More pressing, Demetrioi stands before them in all of their frighteningly strange appearance. They've gotten bigger, a huge shrubby tree with leaves filled with fractal patterns that cannot be held in three-dimensions, burning colors that simply do not stay within the visible spectrum. THey smile, but it is deeply strained.
) ToooDaaaaYYY iiiSs Aaa HaaPPy DaaAY to RemeMBeeRR aaNd LiiiIve :o as AaaAAALl daAAyS shOOOuLD :)
Is that to Ratatoskr?
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
o iT iSS okAaaY too Beee VeeeRrry SmaaLL :) thEE WhoooLLLeeE woORRld i WiLL maAkEE haAAppYY is vErrY biiiIiGgg :D
That's to Gami.
) NoooOO mooREe NeeeEEd toooO fiIighT :D theEERee wiIllL nOOOttt BeeEee AnnnY :)
They just met and Demetrioi has no way of knowing about Solitaire's deal, but they did appear to have witnessed a violent battle just now.
o IiiiT soooUUUnnnDds niIIIicEeee OuuT theEERrE :D thEEE whoooSSHiiiNG muuuUUssT mAAAakE yoOOu hAAAppY iT haAASS liiiFFE innn IiiT :)
To Cyre.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
"Turn back." That's Ethius' voice, as the one in the white coat looks over his shoulder. He's wearing a somewhat dented bird mask. Lightning and hail strike around where he is, but none reach him, as...
Homer, who arrived with Jay, Lydia, and Azoth, looks afraid. "H-Hey, hold up... that mask," he clutches his weapon in mortal terror, "That day! The day we were handin' off Demetrioi... somebody in that damn mask killed everyone there... managed to take it off that guys' face as I ran, th-that was..."
"You've caused years of grief." Ethius all but confirms. This changes what was thought to be the official story: Ethius didn't pursue Homer after the deal went bad on behalf of the people Demetrioi was being sold to. He was the one who crashed that deal to start, and must have given pursuit immediately, leading to... everything Cyre remembers of the strange man. "But I will not put off what needs to be done."
"Get the hell away from Demetrioi!! We're here, Demetrioi, we ain't gonna let--"
Ethius floors Homer, flipping him right into the ground. Ahead and above, another Gebler ship tries to brave the endless storms (and totally not because it just got beaned by a flying Guardian Statue of Fengalon), smoking and flaming the entire way down towards the peak...
TO BE CONTINUED...