2022-12-29: Can't Spell Cider Without Cid
- Log: Can't Spell Cider Without Cid
- Cast: Leon Albus, Lily Keil, Citan Uzuki, Xantia, Billy Lee Black
- Where: East Calm Lands
- Date: December 29, 2022
- Summary: Mission: Salvage the alliance summit between Shevat and the Al Bhed by sobering up the latter and cleaning up the fantastic mess they have made. Success Probability: Slight. You have a little over two hours.
DG: A party led by Leon Albus is now entering Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
======================<* CHALLENGE - Decision Paralysis *>======================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The Fahrenheit is a disaster zone. This, in and of itself, is a problem.
With walls covered in various messes, spills of mysterious fluids, and -- is
that a chicken down the hallway? Er. Well. You get the point! Where do you
start with this mess? And for that matter, where do you find the cleaning
supplies?
The main deck of the Fahrenheit is in such disarray that this could be hard.
Cleaning supplies should be in the supply closet, but... that's where the
chili is right now. (Why is there chili?)
There's also the matter of the Al Bhed.
They're stumbling around. If you're lucky, they're hungover. If you're
unlucky, they're still drunk. And they'll need to be sobered up and cleaned
up. Aren't there showers somewhere nearby?
Deep breaths! If you have time.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! and Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Well."
Leon looks around. Al Bhed are stumbling around, drunkenly and hungover; there are messes on the walls. A pool of the Strange Fluid, off in the corner. Leon sighs once.
"We appear to have our work cut out for us," the Captain says. "And we have two hours. We need to get them showered."
He turns his head, looking at Lily. "Can you dump water on a corner of the room, if we round them up there?" he says. Then, he looks at Billy. "I'm not a praying man, but anything could help, Billy."
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Decision Paralysis.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Why is there chili there?
Lily does not know. But she knows as she looks around the hung over Al Bhed that something must be done. Something... drastic.
"I can chill the water, but I'll need water to dump." She looks around at that; she considers the cleaning supplies closet, and the chili barring the way...
Lily steps closer, and just takes her knife to the door, dark power surging at the end of it as she cuts a new way into the closet. They can fix it later.
A moment later she has a few buckets to start filling--and a moment after that, she has them coated in ice. She starts freezing the buckets to the wall, preparing to dump them all at once when she's finished arranging, and speaks up:
Meha ib! Lumt crufanc vun ajanouha, un amca!
The corner will be the coldest place these men have ever seen.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Why is there chili there?
Lily does not know. But she knows as she looks around the hung over Al Bhed that something must be done. Something... drastic.
"I can chill the water, but I'll need water to dump." She looks around at that; she considers the cleaning supplies closet, and the chili barring the way...
Lily steps closer, and just takes her knife to the door, dark power surging at the end of it as she cuts a new way into the closet. They can fix it later.
A moment later she has a few buckets to start filling--and a moment after that, she has them coated in ice. She starts freezing the buckets to the wall, preparing to dump them all at once when she's finished arranging, and speaks up:
"Meha ib! Lumt crufanc vun ajanouha, un amca!"
The corner will be the coldest place these men have ever seen.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, Decision Paralysis. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Yes, this is certainly not an unfamiliar sort of scenario for Citan, though it's the sort of situation that he, personally, had left behind over a decade and a half prior.
There is a point in every man (or woman's) life where being drunk and/or hungover is a lot less amusing.
Such as, perhaps, now. As he had remarked moments prior, this could not have happened at a worse time. Elements within Shevat's government are struggling to maintain their influence, and if the Queen is met by an assortment of drunk/hungover Al Bhed and the... general mess about here, well, they will have been handed just the argument they need!
They have perhaps two hours.
Well. First things first. They need to sort out the Al Bhed and even more importantly, get them out of the way for what needs to be done. "I do not suppose...?" Citan starts, watching Lily as she disintegrates a cabinet done. "Ah, well," he remarks, readjusting his glasses as if nonplussed. "I suppose that is one way of doing things. Well, let us see about that coffee?"
A SHORT SEARCH ENSUES
"...Hm. This is... unfortunate," Citan remarks, gazing at the machina coffee maker that is currently emitting sparks. Another casualty of whatever... it is that the Al Bhed had gotten themselves up to just prior.
"Fortunately... I am not unprepared!" He has with him a screwdriver, and unless he is entirely mistaken, he has a good idea of where the problem lies.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Just The Right Tool toward his party's challenge, Decision Paralysis. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Oh, Xantia knows why there's chili. She is still nursing a bump on her head from getting knocked flat by Tidus following... the Chili Incident. Let's... let's never speak of the Chili Incident again. Before getting started on anything, she needs to take a moment to re-center herself, grasping a shard of crystal as if it could somehow relieve her headache. It can't quite do that, but it does help to focus her mind on what's important right now.
After all, this is no time to be lying about, there's still so much mess to clean up, and so little time! She's with Lily on this, as in, it's time to stop handling the situation delicately (in so far as what she did earlier, hauling the particularly hopeless cases of unconscious Al Bhed out of the way, could be called delicate). Once she understands what's being done to try and get these people in any sort of presentable shape again, she is quick to add her voice to the mix.
"Alright, alright, off you all go, move move move!"
Making shooing motions with her hands, she tries her best to pursuade the Al Bhed into cooperation. And when that doesn't work, welp, time to start just shoving people into position. So help her, if they mess this meeting up...
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Memory Shard toward her party's challenge, Decision Paralysis. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy arrives with his usual traveling coat and gear. He'd heard this was going to be, like, a bit of a challenge, but.
....damn, man.
"...I have the strangest feeling of deja vu," Billy muses, for some reason thinking of his father. "...good Lord, he's probably in her entourage, isn't he," he says out loud. "Ohhhh he's going to give them ratings, isn't he..."
This small existential crisis is offset by Leon calling for whatever possible help he can get.
The permanently angel-faced young man reaches into his pocket and notes, "Neither was Stone, apparently," as he produces a book the size of a Bible, but with none of the usual iconography. He flips it open.
"Here we are, wrangling the uselessly intoxicated."
...He claps it shut. "Just a picture of a cane," he says, and picks up a chair.
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Decoded Gospel toward his party's challenge, Decision Paralysis. Fanfare!
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
======================<* CHALLENGE - Decision Paralysis *>======================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The Fahrenheit is a disaster zone. This, in and of itself, is a problem.
With walls covered in various messes, spills of mysterious fluids, and -- is
that a chicken down the hallway? Er. Well. You get the point! Where do you
start with this mess? And for that matter, where do you find the cleaning
supplies?
The main deck of the Fahrenheit is in such disarray that this could be hard.
Cleaning supplies should be in the supply closet, but... that's where the
chili is right now. (Why is there chili?)
There's also the matter of the Al Bhed.
They're stumbling around. If you're lucky, they're hungover. If you're
unlucky, they're still drunk. And they'll need to be sobered up and cleaned
up. Aren't there showers somewhere nearby?
Deep breaths! If you have time.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country - Round 1 *>===
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>======== ========================< Results - Decision Paralysis >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 0 --(26)--> 26 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Just The Right Tool 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Decoded Gospel 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Memory Shard 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(26)--> 26 Fail Lily's Knife 2 Wits Effects: Cleanse and Liability -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Leon Albus 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Stupify(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Leon Albus 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> Leon Albus has posed.
The Al Bhed look up -- some are surprised when Lily speaks their language easily, but others know her -- and they begin to move over. Ones who don't know better are guided by those who do.
And Xantia is there -- maybe not speaking their language, except that she can push and nudge until they get lined up.
Citan begins to repair the machine coffee maker. After a few moments -- perhaps with Billy's chair-filled inspiration -- they round them up, pour cold water on them, and get them served with coffee.
They don't look happy, but they do look more sober.
"Splendid!" Leon opines. He sips some coffee.
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
=============<* CHALLENGE - Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't *>=============
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've done some work below decks, and now you're making your way back to
the upper decks. There are a couple of large ramps. You're not the only one
helping to clean up here, of course.
One of the people assisting is Guba, the fifty-something hopeful member of
the Besaid Aurochs. He appears at the top of the ramp, and he is pushing
down a huge barrel in a cart. It is filled with soapy water, which is
sloshing. Some splashes, dangerously, over the edge of the bucket. Guba
pushes and pushes, before he hesitates. "Uh oh! Looks like there's a ramp! I
got it!"
It begins to slide down.
"I don't got it! LOOK OUT!"
The cart with the huge barrel comes rolling down towards you, water and soap
splashing all around.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up! and Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"As a matter of fact, I believe he is," Citan remarks in Billy's directly, unhelpfully. "...Back when we were younger, he had used to be the cause of situations like these."
This is, for anyone who has ever spent even a few moments in the company of Jesiah Black, not a surprise in the least.
But there's a large amount of work to be done and little time to do it in, and the less reminiscing done, with that in mind, the better. The problem with the coffee machine is resolved with alacrity and, courtesy of a certain helpful merchant's coffee beans, soon coffee is brewing!
It might help the Al Bhed over the finish line, as it were. It's not likely to make them feel much better about the collective attempts to sober them up, though.
After that, it's off to the races, if the races are 'cleaning below decks'. The first order of business is pick up and/or move anything that needs to be picked up and moved. It's a straightforward task, and soon enough, they are finished and heading back up to the upper decks to see what's needed done there.
Except, as they're coming up, someone else -- something else -- is coming down.
"I got it!"
These are the warning words, the words that presage immediate disaster.
"I don't got it!"
And here is the disaster, in the form of large barrel of soapy water sliding down the ramp right for them! They only have a moment to react.
Surprise writ across his face, Citan has still managed to leap into action in a sense, brandishing the Macalania Sphere and with it attempts to freeze the water that's sloshed around -- and the barrel with it. Even so this may only buy them a few moments; there won't be quite enough ice to hold the weight of the barrel long.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Between all of them, they help. It's nice. Lily also drinks coffee by the time she's done. Then she considers the othrs, thoughfully. Billy... This isn't the sort of thing a priest would approve of, is it...?
Well, it's fine.
"Good work, Xantia." She obviously approves of the coffee. But then, she has to go help out down there; Lily's response to some of the stains is just to pass her hand over them and shear off the outermost layer of paint with a little voidly power. But as things start to go wrong...
"Uh?"
Lily looks up at Guba. SHe looks up at the barrel. She frowns. Citan moves to freeze it; Lily doesn't.
Lily moves to quickly put a hand to her pendant and with a flash of blue light and unnatural magic, becomes intangible.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon looks up, immediately, when he hears Guba's voice.
He sees Citan try to freeze the cart. Leon, for his parts, hurriedly, pulls out a coil of climbing rope. Good, old-fashioned climbing rope -- it has many uses. In this case, he throws it about a hook on the other side of the stairwell, and pulls it tight.
Maybe he can make it break.
"This imbecile hasn't died yet!?" Leon shouts upward.
Not at Cid. Not at people on the deck. At God.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
As long as it involves physical force, Xantia can handle things. But even though she tried her best to turn that Wits challenge into a Brute challenge, the main source of fatigue after all's said and done is still a mental one. Once again, she's forced to wonder why people drink that stuff, it's only ever given her trouble, directly or indirectly. She sighs deeply, though cheers up at Lily's praise, giving a thumbs-up.
Picking up the mess is easy at least. She can handle moving heavy things or lots of light things at a time, visibly enjoying this task a lot more than the last one. Not in small part because the smell of trash is less bad than the smell of those Al Bhed.
But then... Guba happens. The last time Xantia saw Besaid Man, he was throwing Blitzballs at Sin and Lombardia. With that in mind, her dismayed reaction, echoing Leon, should be no surprise.
"You! How are you still alive?!"
What's also not a surprise is that he seems poised to cause more trouble. Xantia has barely started to move in Guba's direction when he drops the barrel, prompting her to freeze in place when it's coming straight at her. When you activate Xantia's fight or flight instinct like this... well, only one thing can happen. As soon as it comes near her, she throws a punch at that barrel. Thankfully its contents can only make things cleaner, should they be scattered.
What, you thought Xantia was done turning every challenge into a Brute challenge? You should know her better than that.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
"The fact he's trying to impress the Queen is absolutely the only reason he's not here making this worse," Billy quips back at Citan, while everyone perks up with coffee and dries off.
As they move along, he catches Lily's look. "I mean I'm not drinking it," he asides, kicking a discarded bottle aside. "Pretty sure this one's chemical solvent. Could make a mint setting up a healing booth outside, if we had time."
He really is thinking like a Drifter now...or possibly like an extortionist...?
He's wrinkling his nose at something that's reached his nose when there is a horrible clatter atop the upcoming ramp. "Oh, that sounds bad."
It is!
"Oh, we know this guy??" Barrel. "I might hate him!"
Billy, unfortunately, does not have cool tricks for dodging things, because he carries too many cool tricks for every other possible scenario, so his attempt to dodge is more of a hapless dive to the side.
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
=============<* CHALLENGE - Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't *>=============
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've done some work below decks, and now you're making your way back to
the upper decks. There are a couple of large ramps. You're not the only one
helping to clean up here, of course.
One of the people assisting is Guba, the fifty-something hopeful member of
the Besaid Aurochs. He appears at the top of the ramp, and he is pushing
down a huge barrel in a cart. It is filled with soapy water, which is
sloshing. Some splashes, dangerously, over the edge of the bucket. Guba
pushes and pushes, before he hesitates. "Uh oh! Looks like there's a ramp! I
got it!"
It begins to slide down.
"I don't got it! LOOK OUT!"
The cart with the huge barrel comes rolling down towards you, water and soap
splashing all around.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country - Round 2 *>===
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>======== ===============< Results - Besaid Man Tries to Help But Doesn't >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 26 --(5)--> 31 Pass Climbing Rope 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Macalania Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 26 --(0)--> 26 Pass Impure Pendant 3 Agility Effects: Stalwart and Sacrific -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Leon Albus 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Leon Albus 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> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Yes, and he will have a difficult time of it, I do not doubt," Citan muses. All the more reason for Jesiah to... behave, for a change.
"It is said that-- God cares for fools and children!" Thus Citan utters, even as the ice strains and cracks under the weight of the barrel-and-cart.
Fortunately, with a flurry of hasty actions -- including a dive to the side, clipping right through it, stopping the cart and barrel and then Xantia delivering a hearty punch right for it -- a tragedy is averted and the barrel is sent spinning off to one side of the ramp.
Fortunately, by sheer training and no small amount of luck, Billy has already thrown himself clear to the opposite side.
"Good heavens," Citan remarks, when the dust settles. "I suppose we have your arm to thank, Xantia! Well, I suppose we shall leave you to it?"
This he has said to Guba, regarding the mass of soapy water and wood fragments on the floor. He's already heading above deck.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
===================<* CHALLENGE - Brother Has Flamethrower *>===================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you head into the next area aboard the Fahrenheit to see what fresh hell
awaits you now, you find instead a hungover Brother.
Who is masked and using a flamethrower to set ablaze some of the items in
this room. Now perhaps you've seen messes aboard this vessel that would
deserve to be burned in a fire, but this is definitely taking it too far --
and worse, not only can he not seem to see anything through that mask, he
doesn't seem able to hear you above the roar of the flame!
Do what you must. He's going to set the ship on fire at this rate.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, |
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"That's fair," Lily answers Billy. Chemical solvent... "Hmm. We could. Nice thinking." She seems to approve of his thinking like... Well. Drifter, extortionist. Is there a huge difference?
Either way, she has no answers of God.
Instead she regards Guba when she'd one clipping through the barrel, and nods to Citan. "Yes. Good luck," she says to the Auroch, and walks right along. But the next area has....
"What the," Lily starts, as a flamethrower works opposite them. Luckily it's ot pointed at them, but Lily considers for a moment.
Then Dog starts barking wildly. She does not like flamethrowers maybe?? ...Or maybe she doesn't like Brother.
Lily sighs, and reaches out to sap the oxygen that fuels the flames with her magic, though this is a temporary measure.
Dog, meanwhile, gnaws on Brother's leg.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Dog toward her party's challenge, Brother Has Flamethrower. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Let's," Leon says flatly to Doctor Citan.
He rolls his shoulder -- and then he follows Lily, into the next room. He draws to a stop, though, as he sees that terrible gout of flame. His eyes widen sharply, and he is inclined toi agree with Dog's barking.
He sighs, then draws out his gun.
Argent Divider takes aim -- even as the raid funnels deploy, forming a barrier. They move before the flame.
Leon, for his part, tries to shoot Brother in the leg. "I'd wondered where he'd gotten off to," he says. "My apologies to your father. And, if I must, to you."
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Raid Funnel toward his party's challenge, Brother Has Flamethrower. Fanfare!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is left looking a little surprised at her own action. Not so much that she managed to punch the barrel, but that she managed to hold back enough to not break it. That's not easy in the moment. Historically speaking, she would be soaked now. Also, as she points out in response to Citan, "...But I didn't use my ARM, and good thing too." Easy mistake, she didn't expect to accidentally not make a mess here. No thanks to Guba. She's not even casting another look in his direction, she doesn't need any more bad luck.
It's almost a relief to see a lunatic with a flamethrower around the next corner. Seems like something that calls for a straightforward approach. She does enjoy her straightforward approaches. She's already starting in that direction before she thinks to look over her shoulder, silently asking 'is this okay?' She sees guns happening back there, so that's plenty for her to nod in understanding, and activate her ARM, as well as an aura of fire to push back against the heat with her own.
No worries, she wouldn't actually stab Brother. She'd have to think about it with Guba, maybe. In this case, she's satisfied to turn her attention to disarming him. Either by getting the flamethrower away from him, or disabling it more definitively, whichever she can manage first.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Brother Has Flamethrower. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
This is Guba's problem now (and hopefully it won't become their problem again).
Of course, going above comes with its own issues, namely Cid's son, Brother. Who is using a flamethrower.
"Oh, this is not good! If he continues like this, the entire airship will be...!" Already, parts of the area proper have gone up in so much smoke, and it won't be long before the structure itself is aflame!
"Xantia!"
Citan has pointed at the flamethrower itself. "As I recall, these have a weakness near the intake valve! If you strike it there, it should render it inoperable!"
When did he learn that though?
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Brother Has Flamethrower.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy's skillful training and a frankly startling number of rock traps he's survived in his day has prepared him for this moment, and the barrel bounces past harmlessly. To Billy.
An Etone is trained to trust his brothers in Granas to fight their own battles, and so Billy simply prays silently for several seconds and, not hearing an earth-shattering kaboom, concludes the man is alive. Amazing. Truly, God is great.
And then he finds a man just really going off with a flamethrower. "Good heavens, man!" Billy yelps. "Becalm yourself!"
Absolutely nothing new happens in the next five seconds, so Billy sighs and pulls his longbarrel out of his coat, sighting up. "I tried," he asserts. "You saw me try."
He fires an ether blast toward the valves, hoping he can blow them clean off.
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Ether Rifle toward his party's challenge, Brother Has Flamethrower. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
===================<* CHALLENGE - Brother Has Flamethrower *>===================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you head into the next area aboard the Fahrenheit to see what fresh hell
awaits you now, you find instead a hungover Brother.
Who is masked and using a flamethrower to set ablaze some of the items in
this room. Now perhaps you've seen messes aboard this vessel that would
deserve to be burned in a fire, but this is definitely taking it too far --
and worse, not only can he not seem to see anything through that mask, he
doesn't seem able to hear you above the roar of the flame!
Do what you must. He's going to set the ship on fire at this rate.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, and |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country - Round 3 *>===
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>======== =====================< Results - Brother Has Flamethrower >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 31 --(5)--> 36 Pass Raid Funnel 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Ether Rifle 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 26 --(5)--> 31 Pass Dog 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Leon Albus 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Hesitate(1)|Stupify(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Leon Albus 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> Lily Keil has posed.
Definitely a good thing that Xantia didn't ahve to use her ARM before. But now it's necessary. The efforts to handle Brother, well...
Lily dampens his flames. This makes it easier to aim at him, and takes some of the pressure off of Leon's shields. And then there's all the efforts to disarm him and destroy his weapon. Leon gets him in the leg, though he hits a metal stud, and brother exclaims, "UF!" Then he turns, and his flamethrower almost turns on the others... before Billy shoots it through the pins as Citan suggested, and then Xantia knocks it out of his hands.
"Rao!" he scowls, "E fyc lmayhehk!! Huf oui pnuga ed! Yht fryd'c fedr drec tuk!? Yyyyy!"
Lily narrows her eyes. "Duilr so tuk yht E'mm tu funca dryh rind oui. ...E'mm damm Rikku."
"Dryd'c tendo buum!"
...Dog eventually leaves him alone, when he starts scrambling around for the pieces of his flamethrower. "So pypo! So buun pypo!"
"...Let's go," Lily suggests.
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
======<* CHALLENGE - You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience *>======
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've made your way below deck, to one of the open-air segments that are on
the bottom of the airship. This area was one of the prime party-hosting
spots. You've done a lot of cleaning here: straightening tables and chairs,
cleaning up an impromptu gardening project, bagging up rubbish and getting
it squared away. It now looks clean; it looks like the sort of place one
might be able to host a queen.
But then you hear some singing from above. You might know the voice. It's
Brother, Rikku's brother (it's confusing), and something of a hothead.
And then you see it.
The chili that you saw at the beginning is returning. It's because Brother
has dumped it out -- and now a wave of chili is rushing towards you, borne
on the winds and hurtling in your direction. It is red, rich with beans and
meat, and it's making your eyes water already. You don't want to be caught
in that.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down!, and Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Citan's Undoubtedly-They-Teach-This-At-Doctor-School knowledge comes in handy once again. Flamethrowers aren't Xantia's area of expertise, but she's pretty sure hitting them in the wrong place would have been Very Bad. Once that mess is sorted out... well, she would say something to Brother, but it wouldn't be in Al Bhed, so would there even be a point? She just shakes her head in disapproval instead. That'll have to do.
There's still more work to be done, but it's mostly menial tasks, costing time but little effort. Maybe there's hope after all. Things are starting to look halfway presentable. However, there was one critical flaw in the cleaning plan: assuming that the disarmed Brother wouldn't do any more damage. Leaving him behind to his own devices without sobering him up was a mistake.
Turns out that engaging in wanton arson makes Brother hungry, so he went back to the upper decks for the chili. A truly awful singing voice is the only early warning of Brother fetching himself some of the scorching-hot substance that was claimed to edible, but as some have already found out, may also quality as a chemical weapon. A substance which is soon sent down to the lower decks, when Brother decides to toss out what he doesn't need.
Xantia has already had a close personal encounter with that chili. So her reaction to seeing the incoming chili shower is the only one that makes sense. She screams in terror, and runs away as fast as her legs can carry her. She can deal with a lot, but she absolutely cannot handle that again.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon is grateful to have left Brother behind. He has worked with him before -- but it is something of an ordeal.
He looks up, nose wrinkling. Xantia screams in terror. He smells... spice. His eyes widen sharply, as he sees the chili coming at him in a wave -- and he well remembers Xantia's reaction when struck by it. He grips his rope, then throws it -- catching a mounting hook on the nearby wall.
He yanks it, thenswings across the room -- trying to get away from the chili wave.
"We just cleaned this bloody area!" he shouts. "This is--this is utterly ridiculous!"
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Who knows what they teach them in Jugend, anyway? Perhaps the weaknesses on the average flamethrower are just part of the curriculum.
In any case, this is another potential summit-ending incident solved in short order. "Goodness," Citan remarks, shaking his head as they depart, having collected what they need for the cleaning necessary below decks (that is, the parts that Guba isn't presently cleaning). "If he had set the ship ablaze, I am not certain what we could have done to salvage the situation!"
And soon! There is a bustle of cleaning belowdecks. Before long the place positively sparkles. "There," Citan says, straightening from where he's finished getting a particularly stubborn spot off the floor. "That should do..."
There is singing. It's followed by a metallic clank.
Then another.
"...Ah," Citan remarks, watching the bright red chili as it begins to arc through the air, because the only other thing that could be said right now is not fit for polite company.
"Everyone, scatter!"
There will be other concerns in short order, but first of all, they must get clear. This chili probably would be banned under the Treaty of Iscariot...!
The Macalania Sphere shines, slicking the recently-cleaned floor with ice. It should help people get clear and, perhaps, maybe, might help absorb some of the damage.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Helping clean up a messy party comes naturally enough to Billy Lee Black. He has, after all, run an orphanage, and the only thing more awesomely powerful than the mayhem a drunkard can produce is that of approximately 14 rowdy children.
...is what he thought.
"Looking good," he says, proudly, nudging a chair precisely into position with a pleased nod. "We should be able to move along soon! At least a few rooms are looking righted by now..."
What is that noise.
He looks up.
His eyes shrink to pinpoints.
"WHAT VILLAINY IS THIS" he shrieks, and then turns, and then runs. He probably drops to a slide on Citan's ice slide because honestly it's faster than his feet by a good bit.
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily definitely disapproves. But... The singing voice. The chemical weapon. The horror of...
"Nope," Lily says, just like before, and as Leon swings away, as they have just cleaned--
Lily uses her awful pendant and becomes hard to watch, reality breaking around her as she reaches out to the chili, reaches out--
And works with the ice if it slows the chili. Where it can try to absorb some damage, Lily with her unreality stone tries to obliterate as much of it as possible, unmaking it with the sheer power of Ether.
...It might work!
DG: Lily Keil has risked with her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round! Sacrifice! The party will take slightly more Exhaustion this round!
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
======<* CHALLENGE - You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience *>======
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've made your way below deck, to one of the open-air segments that are on
the bottom of the airship. This area was one of the prime party-hosting
spots. You've done a lot of cleaning here: straightening tables and chairs,
cleaning up an impromptu gardening project, bagging up rubbish and getting
it squared away. It now looks clean; it looks like the sort of place one
might be able to host a queen.
But then you hear some singing from above. You might know the voice. It's
Brother, Rikku's brother (it's confusing), and something of a hothead.
And then you see it.
The chili that you saw at the beginning is returning. It's because Brother
has dumped it out -- and now a wave of chili is rushing towards you, borne
on the winds and hurtling in your direction. It is red, rich with beans and
meat, and it's making your eyes water already. You don't want to be caught
in that.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Stupify:_Wits_Down!, and Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
==<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country - Round 4 *>==
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>======== =======< Results - You're Going to Kill Brother After This Experience >======= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leon Albus 36 --(13)--> 49 Pass Climbing Rope 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 10 --(13)--> 23 Pass Macalania Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 10 --(13)--> 23 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 10 --(13)--> 23 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 31 --(10)--> 41 Pass Impure Pendant 4 Agility Effects: Stalwart, Sacrifice, ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Leon Albus 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Stupify(2)|Suffer(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is gone so fast, she outruns the formation of ice by Citan that Billy makes effective use of to get clear as well. Leon has his own means to swing to safety, while Lily has officially Had It and flat out erases most of the chili from existence before it can do any damage. What remains on the floor afterwards is... probably not enough to disintegrate a mop. Probably. Should be able to clean it up with two mops, at most.
Xantia only pokes out her head again after every last drop of it is gone. She is still very agitated as she rejoins the party. "...He tried to kill us just now, you all saw it. It would be self-defense, wouldn't it?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"I'm not saying we shouldn't," Leon says. "Merely that we can't."
DG: Leon Albus has drawn a new Challenge.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
====================<* CHALLENGE - It Has to Go Overboard *>====================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
There is one thing left to do.
At the lowest level of the ship, there is a cargo bay that has been
converted into a hangar for Gears and shuttlecraft. The hangar isn't very
large, which is a problem, because it needs to fit the shuttle and the
accompanying Gear escorts for the Queen of Shevat. And, right now, the
hangar is occupied by a purchase Cid made in one of his "inspired" moments.
It's a Gear, but it's rather wide and has short legs and arms.
There is a hot tub built into where the head was. The whole thing is plated
in fake gold, glass in the style of gemstones, and has the words "Cid'c
Yfacusa Rud Dip Byndo Puyd" written in huge letters across it.
It doesn't turn on. It doesn't move. It's never moved. It is a gilded
paperweight.
And it has to go. You know what you have to do. The sky is a yawning void,
beckoning to take it away.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, Stupify:_Wits_Down!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
They flee the chili.
As they do, some Al Bhed are directed -- sternly by Leon, in their language by Lily -- to clean up that mess. Then, they go below decks, and they see it.
They see Cid's sweet ride.
The moment they step down, Leon groans -- covering his eyes with his hand. This is because of the immense Gear there, plated in gold and covered in faux gemstones; the light reflecting off it is blinding. "Good God!" Leon declares.
He squints, looking at it.
"This... this has to be dispensed with. For the Queen to land, and for her own sanity," he says. He dusts his hands off. "Shall we?"
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It Has to Go Overboard.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Some mess remains -- that little which has not been obliterated by Lily's magic. It is also, miracle of miracles, not their problem to handle now, what with Lily and Leon both putting the responsibility upon the Al Bhed to clean up the mess that Brother's carelessness has wrought anew.
There is just one place more that they need to check and clean, if needed. Just once place that they haven't been.
This would be the cargo bay, the same place where the Queen's shuttle and escorts will soon be arriving. "Surely they have not, ah, managed to affect the cargo bay as seriously as the rest of the ship," Citan says, as they push through the doors.
He has the sense even as he says the words that he's about to be proven terribly wrong.
"...Ah," he remarks again, lifting a hand to readjust his glasses in the glare that glints off of the... thing within. It can only be considered a Gear in the loosest of senses.
"I do not think that is real gold," he adds, squinting in the bedazzled radiance of the... thing.
Citan briefly considers their options.
"...Yes, I agree," Citan says, using his book on acupressure to shield his eyes enough to approach the... thing without going blind. A quick burial is best for all concerned.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, It Has to Go Overboard. Strengthen! Party Brute boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy, muses, "Truly, a firm shepherd is a flock's greatest asset," as the Al Bhed snap to work now that Leon and Lily are angry enough to yell at them to behave.
Unfortunately, that can cut both ways, as Billy promptly learns when he has to flinch and curse and cover his eyes to block out the gleaming, glorious perfection of Whatever That Is. "Doctor," he notes to Citan, "It appears they did it before we got here."
He Squints and blocks the light with his hand as best he can as he looks at the feet. "Oh, those're locked. That'll be problem.. ...let's say they're all problem one?"
He reaches into his coat and pulls out a wall-breaching blasting charge, because sometimes what one requires is a statement of intent.
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Blasting Charge toward his party's challenge, It Has to Go Overboard. Resilient! Party shielded from some exhaustion next round!
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Finally, after some persuasion, the Al Bhed have actually started helping to clean up their own mess. It might have been heartwarming, if by now Xantia had any patience left for these absolute clowns. It's enough to make her second-guess whether this alliance was ever a good idea. But she can't fight her own optimism. Surely this is something that will never happen again. Just... gotta stay calm, get over this hurdle, make sure this meeting goes well. For the greater good and all that. Besides, there can't be too much left to clean up by now, can there?
Well. Other than that huge monstrocity of a tub-head Gear. Xantia... can only stare at that, blinking in confusion. "That seems... impractical," in her estimation. She briefly wonders how one would even control this, but even she quickly realizes that trying to figure out any logic to this thing is a futile effort. Best for everyone to just get rid of it, as Leon quickly determines. Xantia cracks her knuckles.
"Oh yeah. This I can handle."
As it's too big to lift all at once, she calmly equips her hammer-headed fist weapon, so that she may begin with the important business of smashing this thing the hell to pieces. She does not care to hold back on her strength with this one, this is venting all her frustration on this... monument to these people's stupidity. And she'll gladly move right along to chucking it overboard, once it's been reduced to a more manageable state.
DG: Xantia has risked with her Tool Mini-Megaton toward her party's challenge, It Has to Go Overboard. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The power of delegation is mighty indeed.
"...We shouldn't," Lily reiterates before they finish leaving that parto f the area, and soon... soon. They see the ride. Lily covers her eyes, squinting in disgruntlement. "I'm not so sure for this...," Lily answers Leon. He mentions dispensing with it...
Truth be told, Lily has overexerted a little since.. the chili. But Dog comes up behind her and whines at the 'machine' before them. 'It's not,' she seems to agree with Citan.
Lily, for her part, considers her approach, and watches Billy take the blasting charge. She considers.
...It's her turn to make ice. Lily steps around and freezes over the space between 'Gear' and hangar doors.
"...Go with God," she says to the monstrosity, "Because you certainly didn't come from Him."
Then she watches Xantia just go. It's great!
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, It Has to Go Overboard.
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
====================<* CHALLENGE - It Has to Go Overboard *>====================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
There is one thing left to do.
At the lowest level of the ship, there is a cargo bay that has been
converted into a hangar for Gears and shuttlecraft. The hangar isn't very
large, which is a problem, because it needs to fit the shuttle and the
accompanying Gear escorts for the Queen of Shevat. And, right now, the
hangar is occupied by a purchase Cid made in one of his "inspired" moments.
It's a Gear, but it's rather wide and has short legs and arms.
There is a hot tub built into where the head was. The whole thing is plated
in fake gold, glass in the style of gemstones, and has the words "Cid'c
Yfacusa Rud Dip Byndo Puyd" written in huge letters across it.
It doesn't turn on. It doesn't move. It's never moved. It is a gilded
paperweight.
And it has to go. You know what you have to do. The sky is a yawning void,
beckoning to take it away.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down!, Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Stupify:_Wits_Down!, |
| and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country - Round 5 *>===
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>======== ======================< Results - It Has to Go Overboard >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 49 --(5)--> 54 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 23 --(5)--> 28 Pass Acupressure Guide 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 23 --(5)--> 28 Pass Blasting Charge 2 Brute Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 23 --(5)--> 28 Pass Mini-Megaton 4 Brute Effects: Rally and Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 41 --(5)--> 46 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Leon Albus 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Leon Albus has successfully explored Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country!
========<* Ciderblade Chronicles X: Fahrenheit - The Hungover Country *>========
===================<* CHALLENGE - Just in the Nick of Time *>===================
| Type: Discovery | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Cid's pride and joy tumbles into the void.
You have a chance to take in all that has occurred. The hangar is cleaned
up. The strange stains are scrubbed away; the floor gleams. There is a
closet door, which contains unspeakable horrors and the chili pot, but it is
somehow firmly closed. Cid has been shoved into a shower... and as he comes
down the stairs, he looks awake and alert.
Brother is not here. That, too, is a victory.
Perhaps all will be well -- maybe you didn't miss anything!
You're soon to find out, though, for in the distance, you see something: a
gleam in the sky, as a white shuttlecraft sails through Lunarian skies. A
pair of flying Gears flank it, as they begin to bank around towards the
Fahrenheit.
The Queen of Shevat has arrived.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down!, |
| Strengthen:_Brute_Up!, Stupify:_Wits_Down!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Absolutely not," Leon answers Citan.
They approach it carefully, given its glare. But, with Billy's explosives, Xantia's hammerheaded fist weapon, and Lily's ice, they can do it. Xantia bludgeons it to size; Billy blasts it off its moorings. Lily's ice helps slide it, and then they all push it.
The golden, glittering thing rolls out -- sliding off the end of the hangar -- and tumbles down into the clouds. It trails glitter after it, like sparkles.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvKqdzrtsWE
And it falls down, out of view. Leon watches -- then dusts his hands. "Well. Cid owes us for that, I'd say."