2023-03-12: Distant Thunder

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  • Log: Distant Thunder
  • Cast: Zhang Xiumei, Azoth, Seraph Clarine, Eleanor Klein, Josephine Lovelace
  • Where: Heimdall Gazzo
  • Date: March 12, 2023
  • Summary: The term 'strange bedfellows' has never been more appropriate, as this particular group seeks to pierce the depths of the Heimdall Gazzo and put a stop to the threat it poses. Also, there's a pigeon.

DG: A party led by Zhang Xiumei is now entering Heimdall Gazzo.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Through the Storm *>=======================
| Type: Entry        | Dungeon Ability: Agility         | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  The Valeria Chateau, though airborne, cannot simply fly right up to it. The   
  Heimdall Gazzo is a huge airship, with an enormous amount of weaponry.        
  Beyond its main cannon, it has ample point defense systems that would send    
  the Chateau to the bottom of the ocean.                                       
                                                                                
  And, thus, they employ an old weapon: cannons that can fire                   
  people-containing shells. You have been placed in them -- each fits about     
  three -- and fired, after being strapped into seats. Each shell is armored    
  with a barrier -- reinforced by Clarine's magic -- that sends it hurtling     
  for Heimdall Gazzo's armored side.                                            
                                                                                
  The armored side won't be a problem.                                          
                                                                                
  What is, however, is Odessa's weather control system. A powerful              
  thunderstorm forms only minutes after the Chateau's cannons fire. Through     
  the window, you can see lightning crashing; you hear and feel thunder crack.  
  Rain sheets pelt it, and powerful winds threaten to blow you off course.      
                                                                                
  Fortunately, the shell has rockets -- and it has steering. You need to pilot  
  the shell through the storm, pierce the hall, and enter Heimdall Gazzo        
  before the storm blows you away.                                              
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|   Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! and Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!   |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Heimdall Gazzo is ahead.

The battlestation is vaguely V-shaped -- two huge hulls attached to a central, circular section -- and has an olive drab and gunmetal coloration. It is huge; the largest war machine of the Zeboim Federation, taken again to the skies to bring Vinsfeld's axe upon Filgaia.

And they're flying to it inside of a rocket-propelled shell.

Xiumei has transformed into her armor already. Her boots are on the foot controls -- and they glow, slightly. She speaks, as it moves along. "We're on track--Clarine, please keep the barrier up. And--oh, this is bad!"

A sheet of rain slams across the forward window, and the wind threatens to blow it off-course with each gust.

"Weather control!" Avile cries out, the gem on Xiumei's chest armor pulsing. "We'll try to keep it steady but... I suggest grabbing onto something!"

"How the fuck did Odessa get a weather control system!? Whose fault is this!?" Varius shouts. "I'll kick their ass!"

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Model AV Boots toward her party's challenge, Through the Storm. Quicken! Party
Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

This isn't Azoth's preferred method of flight, but there aren't many options for infilitrating the Gazzo. At least Clarine's magic puts the calculations into far safer territory than they would be otherwise. But there's just something so distant about it...! Sailing through the air, locked in, effectively, a box.

All right, so once the storm hits, maybe Azoth is grateful for the box.

"Now, now, we'll have plenty of ass to kick once we arrive, I'm sure!" Azoth chirps to Varius.

Azoth scans over the controls and the make of the shell, putting up a holographic display of his physics calculations in case they might help anyone. He may be vastly overestimating the average organic's mind ability to keep up with the deluge of numbers.

"Hm. That's problematic for our trajectory. All right -- I'm not used to manual controls, but I'm sure I can figure something out..."

It's true he does better plugging directly into machinery to operate it from software, but Azoth does what he can to manage the shell's rocket thrust through the storm beset upon their vessel.

DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Through the Storm. 
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

The time to take the fight to Odessa, aboard Heimdall Gazzo, has come. There is too much at stake here for them to consider the possibility of failure. They *will* see this through - and then, they shall see to Kamui.

Now, though - they need to make it to the battleship itself. They all fly through the air inside a rocket-propelled shell. It's not the first time. A part of Clarine hopes it may be the last... But as always, she'll do as she must.

"I shall. I will not allow a single one to fall!" Clarine declares. It sounds like her voice is coming from the hull of the shell around them - no, she is the hull, having possessed it. She's done this for a multitude of reasons - by possessing the shell, she can more easily keep an eye on the other shells flying through the air, in case their barriers need to be reinforced, and forgoing a physical form means she has one less thing she needs to focus on, allowing her to put more focus on her spells.

It also, conveniently, makes just a little more room in the shell - not that she takes up that much space, even when present.

They have a problem, though, in addition to the Heimdall Gazzo's natural defenses. Weather manipulation... if she had a face right now, she would surely be frowning. She elects, however, to remain silent on that front.

"...I shall help force us through it." Clarine declares. Solid light forms around their shell, reinforcing their barrier with rainbow light shaped to help divert some of the wind and the rain away from their vessel. It should make the navigation that much easier.

...It is also good that she isn't there to see the display Azoth has produced, because as it turns out, the Seraphic mind is also, perhaps, not the best at processing so many numbers.

DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Prismatic Projector toward her party's challenge, Through the Storm. Quicken! Party
Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor, too, is in the rocket-propelled shell. She is not loving it.

She's not on the controls; she isn't that dextrous, for one, and Xiumei already has it. She is in 'ordinary' seeming clothes, a skirt-suit that is in truth woven with magical threads to protect about as well as armor. The various trinkets and baubles she wears are more specific protections; a ring against fire, for instance.

It's a wizard thing.

But in the moment, she throws out her hands, and closes her eyes. Then she--

"Language, Azoth," Eleanor says with a frown, disturbed to hear him speak in this way!!

But as he decides to plug in, Eleanor considers an alternate approach. They're already shielded, so...

"Power of the steel, forged for this moment...!" Eleanor focuses further, to harmonize her spell with Clarine's barrier, to make use of the magical signature rather than work against it.

The bullet gets sharper. More aerodynamic. It is now a +1 magical flying bullet!!

DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Through the Storm. 
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Well, ain't this a pretty mess," Josie mutters, flatly, as they slingshot their way across the sky towards the Heimdall Gazzo. If she betrays a touch towards the cross at her neck, well, perhaps no one would blame her.

    Josephine Lovelace has done some wild and reckless things in her life. But sitting in a glorified missile casing as they rocket their way across the heavens for an aerial war platform from ages long past, well...

    It's somewhere high on the list, that's for certain.

    "...Oh, hell."

    Which has just become a rather bumpier ride with the storm that's kicked up.

    "And here's me thinkin' that it would've been left well alone--" She grimaces. "Well, never mind that, now! Kiddo, bank hard to the left! Storm ain't hitting as strong that side!"

    But, what of the person who gave Odessa such a device...?

    "Lookin' for the one behind this business?" Josie, in spite of current circumstances, bears a lopsided smile. "Well, look no further! ...But if'n it's all the same to you, maybe let's wait 'till this part's sorted before we go kicking any asses!"

DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Through the Storm. 
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Through the Storm *>=======================
| Type: Entry        | Dungeon Ability: Agility         | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  The Valeria Chateau, though airborne, cannot simply fly right up to it. The   
  Heimdall Gazzo is a huge airship, with an enormous amount of weaponry.        
  Beyond its main cannon, it has ample point defense systems that would send    
  the Chateau to the bottom of the ocean.                                       
                                                                                
  And, thus, they employ an old weapon: cannons that can fire                   
  people-containing shells. You have been placed in them -- each fits about     
  three -- and fired, after being strapped into seats. Each shell is armored    
  with a barrier -- reinforced by Clarine's magic -- that sends it hurtling     
  for Heimdall Gazzo's armored side.                                            
                                                                                
  The armored side won't be a problem.                                          
                                                                                
  What is, however, is Odessa's weather control system. A powerful              
  thunderstorm forms only minutes after the Chateau's cannons fire. Through     
  the window, you can see lightning crashing; you hear and feel thunder crack.  
  Rain sheets pelt it, and powerful winds threaten to blow you off course.      
                                                                                
  Fortunately, the shell has rockets -- and it has steering. You need to pilot  
  the shell through the storm, pierce the hall, and enter Heimdall Gazzo        
  before the storm blows you away.                                              
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|  Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and  |
|                             Quicken:_Agility_Up!                             |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=========================<* Heimdall Gazzo - Round 1 *>=========================
========================< Results - Through the Storm >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Model AV Boots                      2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azoth                               0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Clarine                      0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Prismatic Projector                 2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine Lovelace                  0 --(5)--> 5                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       0 --(30)--> 30                 Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2)
Effects: Quicken(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei 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> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Yeah, yeah..." Varius groans to Azoth.

With Azoth managing the rocket thrusters and Clarine's barrier bright around them, it isn't the utter disaster it could be. Xiumei glances in Azoth's direction -- her eyes widen, with a little delight, when she spots the holographic display of all the numbers. (She likes numbers a lot.)

Clarine's glowing barrier shines all the brighter, when Eleanor's spell begins to strengthen it. Josie tells Xiumei to steer right -- and she does. The shell goes flying in, but not before--

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!?"

The shell collides with Heimdall Gazzo. With the barrier, it shoves through the hull -- the drill on the end saws through the steel -- and then it pops open, into a hallway. Xiumei stands up, then, and frowns. "And here we are..."

DG: Azoth has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Troopers *>========================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  The next room you enter was, once, an office block. Cubicles, with desks      
  that have powered down workstations and printers, fill this room. Several     
  have been turned over -- and some conference tables flipped over, too. This   
  is to make a barricade to prevent you from passing.                           
                                                                                
  This was done by a familiar set of foes: men and women in the olive drab and  
  black uniform of Odessa. There are few enough Odessa troops left. These are   
  making their stand here, directing their gunsmoke ARMs at you. Some have      
  swords drawn; one, with a flash of Symbols on her hand, sends fireballs       
  hurtling at you.                                                              
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|         Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and         |
|                             Wound:_Combat_Down!                              |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth is scolded for his vocabulary and puffs his cheeks with a sulk. The force of Eleanor's chastisement is enough to keep him from pointing fingers at Varius in his defense.

"...Sorry, Miss Eleanor."

The shell smashes through, and Azoth tumbles out into the hallway as the door pops open. He stretches his arms up in the air without getting up.

Azoth peers around at the furnishes as the terrible weapon of the skies, destroyer of cities, has its own office block. "Ooh, this really is evil," he muses before blinking up at the barricade of office supplies, set up undoubtedly by the uniformed Odessa troopers huddled behind it. He points, looking to the others.

"These aren't interns, right? I don't want to fight interns."

A bullet punctures into his skull. Azoth spins around to stare at the Odessa troopers. His eyes flash red.

"Target Acquired."

Swords etched out beside him in light materialize in the air before he directs them down at the barricade. Explosively.

DG: Azoth has used his Tool Randomly Accessed Memory toward his party's challenge, Odessa Troopers. 
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    Josie's grin only broadens. "Sure seems like it!"

    Well, she had said she wasn't going to hide from the consequences, whatever they might be. Still -- perhaps it is just as well that their collision with the Heimdall Gazzo (mitigated by the well-constructed shell) might prevent at least temporarily any further outcry.

    "Well," Josie says, emerging from the shell. "What was the plan for gettin' on back again?"

    They had peeled out somewhere in a hallway, out on the periphery of the aerial platform. It looks rather like an office block. It's also got some Odessa soldiers in it. "Ain't this a little poorly-thought, puttin' them out here on the--"

    A bullet narrowly misses Josie's skull, by contrast.

    "Hm," Josie muses, ducking down behind a section of support structure. "Ain't like we can leave 'em be," she says, procuring a flask from a pocket and taking a swig of its contents. "They'll shoot us lot in the back, right? And the way they've holed up," she continues, as Azoth charges for their fortifications, "we're gonna have to dig 'em out, first-like."

    This is when she draws her rifle and, perhaps as Azoth takes the bulk of the fire from the defenders, slips out from her cover and starts trying to pick off the Odessa defenders.

    She'd said what she was going to do before, and it seems she meant it.

DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Liquid Courage toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troopers. Rally! 
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"I... I suppose... they do need to have an office, but..." Xiumei trails off. "I--"

They open fire. She sees the bullet shoot past Azoth's head and bury itself into a box of office paper nearby. "I don't think they're interns, Azoth."

She produces her Pulse Saber. The weapon appears in a burst of digital data cubes; her fingers wrap around the hilt and a blade of green-white light erupts from it. "We need to make our way to either the bridge or the engines," she tells Josie. "And then we can bring it down."

Azoth rushes in. Xiumei glances just a moment at Eleanor, before she turns -- and she too bolts in. She dashes for another of them, and her Pulse Saber flashes out in front of her as she comes for the first of them.

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Pulse Saber toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troopers. Rally! 
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor sighs at Josie. "Is there anything else we're going to find out you're responsible for?" she wonders. "...On second thought, don't tell me." She does value her presence at least. Her... particular brand of 'cheer' is encouraging, if nothing else, even before considering her skills

But Azoth is SCOLDED and he sulks a little. "It's important to be polite," she follows up, and does not get on Varius or Josie's cases at all. Perhaps they're just lost causes.

But she looks around, at the rom... "This was a classroom," she reflects. "This was a place of learning..."

What was Heimdall Gazzo, back in the days of the Zeboim?

"Ah!" They're fired on. She does not know the plan, of course. And...

"Unfortunately yes," she says to Josie of leaving them be. "But..."

she'll back then up from behind; Eleanor starts throwing healing spells for people who have to run across the distance.

DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troopers. 
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

"Josie is quite responsible, I find." Clarine chirps brightly in response to Eleanor from all around them. ...Is that a joke? From Clarine??

The shell crashes into Heimdall Gazzo, piercing through the hull. As it comes to the start and everyone exits the vehicle, a ball of light exits along with them. From it, Clarine manifests.

"...That was quite the journey. But now, we are here." She says. ...It would seem, however, that they have slammed right into an office block, and the soldiers of Odessa have already fortified the place against intrusion. Bullets begin to fly.

"...What manner of place is this?" Clarine wonders, her head tilting to the side, having not really seen such before. She doesn't let it distract her, though joins Eleanor in providing support - where she provides healing, Clarine bolsters her allies with strength-enhancing red light, and barriers to mitigate harm. And when the battle is over, she'll have some panacea bottles to share around just in case.

DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Panacea Bottle toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troopers. Cleanse! All negative
effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Troopers *>========================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  The next room you enter was, once, an office block. Cubicles, with desks      
  that have powered down workstations and printers, fill this room. Several     
  have been turned over -- and some conference tables flipped over, too. This   
  is to make a barricade to prevent you from passing.                           
                                                                                
  This was done by a familiar set of foes: men and women in the olive drab and  
  black uniform of Odessa. There are few enough Odessa troops left. These are   
  making their stand here, directing their gunsmoke ARMs at you. Some have      
  swords drawn; one, with a flash of Symbols on her hand, sends fireballs       
  hurtling at you.                                                              
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|     Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and    |
|                             Wound:_Combat_Down!                              |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=========================<* Heimdall Gazzo - Round 2 *>=========================
=========================< Results - Odessa Troopers >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Pulse Saber                         3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azoth                               5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Randomly Accessed Memory            3   Combat  Effects: Efficient            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Clarine                      5 --(17)--> 22                 Fail
Panacea Bottle                      2   Combat  Effects: Inefficient and Clean
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine Lovelace                  5 --(5)--> 10                  Pass
Liquid Courage                      3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       30 --(5)--> 35                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Wound(2)
Effects: Cleanse
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei 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> Azoth has posed.

It's because he puts on too much of this endearing, adorable demeanor! Now Azoth has been banned from an entire section of word usage! The social battlefield is cruel.

Not as cruel as the battle battlefield, where there are guns and explosive swords made of ARM energy. Also: Josie's rifle and Xiumei's Pulse Saber. Between bullets and energy blades from the frontline fighters, the Odessa troops are routed, certainly not wanting to stick around after the barricade suffers irrepairable damage in the conflict.

Eleanor and Clarine are able to provide support as the battle rages on, though perhaps mitigation proves more exhausting than healing in this case.

When all's said and done, Azoth's light returns to blue, and he continues on the conversation as if it hadn't been interrupted by violence. "A classroom, huh...? I wonder... what led someone to build something like Heimdall Gazzo..."

But the answer to the past isn't right here in this room, so they must move on.

DG: Eleanor Klein has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Scorpion Automatons *>======================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  You enter another long hallway, with a high ceiling and tall steel walls.     
  The floor is black, with flickering lines of golden light. The floor is also  
  faintly reflective. The observant among you might notice something reflected  
  upon that floor: armored forms, crawling along the ceiling.                   
                                                                                
  There is a trio of scorpion-shaped automatons on the ceiling, crawling        
  along, and their tails end in energy cannons. The tails swing down towards    
  you and fire -- beams of blue light exploding from them, slashing across the  
  floor. Then, the automatons leap down into your midst!                        
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|   Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, and  |
|                             Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!                             |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor turns to Clarine to look at her for a moment. Was that a joke??? She smiles in delight. :D!

And then, they are indeed here. Eleanor provides support, and takes a bottle when offered. She does not realize that Azoth wants earnestly in his heart to say 'fuck', but perhaps if she did, she would relent. Perhaps not.

"I wonder that, too. If it were simply a sort of... way to live high up, like the Sielje school, it would make perfect sense to me. But why include such a terrible weapon and then have such normal things in it...?"

As they walk along, however, there's another long hallway, and-_

"Wait," Eleanor says. "I recognize this place."

She throws up a powerful barrier, and a moment later, automatons sweep out of hidden panels on the ceiling, scorpions with powerful tails that are energy cannons. The initial blasts impact hard against the barrier, but it holds.

Then they leap down, and the barrier is ended. Eleanor needs a second--and might need some assistance!

DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Scorpion Automatons. 
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"It seems like the Heimdall Gazzo must have been meant to... fill a lot of different roles," Xiumei ventures to Clarine and the others. "It's like Eleanor says. As much as a floating castle as an artillery platform, I think?"

She looks at Azoth -- relaxing a little to see his light return to blue. The way his eyes turn red can, sometimes, be unnerving. She supposes that isn't fair, though.

After all, she knows as well as any that robots don't always have a say in such things.

When Eleanor says she recognizes this place -- which she has assuredly never been to -- Xiumei knows what that means. She must have seen it in a vision; that means it will be dangerous. She sees the beam cannons slam into Nora's shield.

Xiumei nods, then she dashes forward. Instead of producing the Pulse Saber, she opts for her cannon -- it appears in her hands, and she lifts it, taking aim at one. She fires a trio of energy blasts, sending them hurtling towards the closest automaton. It puts her directly in its firing line...

But she feels confident she can take some punishment, if it comes to that.

DG: Zhang Xiumei has contributed a risky Combat Action toward her party's challenge, Scorpion Automatons. 
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

At Eleanor's delighted smile, Clarine beams back - and then, focuses on the task at hand.

"A floating castle... Yes, I understand." Clarine replies consideringly as Xiumei puts forth a suggestion. "I suppose in that way, it is not that much different than the Chateau."

They continue onward - and, suddenly, Eleanor notices danger. Clarine is grateful for her sudden warning.

"Thank you!" She calls to her, and then casts her arms out wide. Points of light appear in the air around her like stars - before, eventually, firing out toward the scorpautomatons as a volley of beams. This may help provide her with a little cover with which to retreat.

DG: Seraph Clarine has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Scorpion Automatons. 
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Let you know if'n I remember anything else I've done, right?" Josie remarks to Eleanor, complete with grin.

    As if the list is so long, she has no chance of remembering it all.

    "See? Listen to Li'l Wisp, here. I'm plenty responsible!"

    This may be a joke that Josie herself is joining in on.

    At Xiumei's directions, she nods. "Right. Get to the engines, and we'll see where we get from there. Or the bridge, if we're feeling bold. Well, it ain't like we've seen worse than this before, now..."

    The dug in Odessans are soon dug out; this is not a place for undue mercy. Yet, those who flee are let to flee.

    "Ain't good sense goin' after 'em anyhow. They're probably connecting with the main force, and we're formidable, sure... but I'd as soon not drown under the lot of 'em," she remarks, agreeing with with the unspoken decision in her own way. "Best to take 'em where we can and not walk right into the hornet's nest. ...'Sides, we'll have trouble enough soon."

    What is the purpose of something like the Heimdall Gazzo?

    "Don't rightly know. Figured it was a war machine but it's damn near... normal in here," Josie remarks, rolling her shoulders in a shrug. "But I suppose it don't quite matter, now. We can figure out what was for after it's been trashed."

    And speaking of--

    "And me here without artillery. Right--"

    She's drawn free the rifle again, aiming now for the cannons mounted on the tails themselves. There's got to be a weak point there...

DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Scorpion Automatons. 
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

"A castle... So a place where people lived, too." Josephine mentions it seems rather normal, and Azoth frowns in agreement. "Maybe in its time, its firepower didn't seem so over the top." But that's harrowing to consider, too. "There are few places harder to reach -- and better fortified -- than the sky."

Solaris has certainly take to that logic themselvs. If only Heimdall Gazzo would set its sights there before anything else. Ah, but he shouldn't be thinking about that, and there's pressure from his Overrides to dismantle any calculations to that effect.

But then Eleanor says something surprising.

"You do? Oh, because you're a --" Uh oh! It's all before Azoth can calculate a reaction, but once Eleanor's barrier is struck, he's on the move.

"Scanning enemy targets. ERROR: No database entry found." He swipes out his arm, creating a fan of blades. "Utilizing closest match."

With a snap of his fingers, the swords launch themselves in a barrage, one after another.

DG: Azoth has used his Tool Randomly Accessed Memory toward his party's challenge, Scorpion Automatons. 
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Scorpion Automatons *>======================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  You enter another long hallway, with a high ceiling and tall steel walls.     
  The floor is black, with flickering lines of golden light. The floor is also  
  faintly reflective. The observant among you might notice something reflected  
  upon that floor: armored forms, crawling along the ceiling.                   
                                                                                
  There is a trio of scorpion-shaped automatons on the ceiling, crawling        
  along, and their tails end in energy cannons. The tails swing down towards    
  you and fire -- beams of blue light exploding from them, slashing across the  
  floor. Then, the automatons leap down into your midst!                        
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|   Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, and  |
|                             Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!                             |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=========================<* Heimdall Gazzo - Round 3 *>=========================
=======================< Results - Scorpion Automatons >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        10 --(8)--> 18                 Pass
Fight                               1   Combat  Effects: Risky                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azoth                               10 --(8)--> 18                 Pass
Randomly Accessed Memory            3   Combat  Effects: Efficient            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Clarine                      22 --(28)--> 50                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine Lovelace                  10 --(8)--> 18                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       35 --(28)--> 63                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Tire(2)
Effects: 
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei 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> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Of course she'd have that grin.

But a place for living. Yes... "So it seems," Eleanor says to Xiumei thoughtfully. And indeed--she has no argument with not going after those who flee. She nods to Josie's statement, though it is not the same reason she has. "We will."

They can figure things out, taht's true. But for now...

"Do you think so?" she wonders of Azoth, and how its firepower might not have been so significant back then.

But soon, there is a fight! Xiumei protects Eleanor easily with her Pulse Saber, hurtling towards an automaton in time with Azoth doing the same with his own blade. They both take further damage from Clarine's volley, and the final falls to Josie indeed finding its weak point--the cannon itself, which explodes when fired into.

Eleanor shakes her head. "...Not the only danger I've seen in here," she cautions. "But I also haven't seen how it all turns out. ...So that means fate isn't against us, yes?"

DG: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Console Input *>=========================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Wits            | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  Some parts of Heimdall Gazzo were damaged, after sitting underneath           
  Zanarkand and New Kasim City for millennia. Here, you enter a room that is    
  rusted and damaged; there is a sea of murky water below, transported from     
  Spira. The floors and walls are rusted and discolored after so long           
  underwater.                                                                   
                                                                                
  The room is a massive, water-filled chasm. It's not something you can cross   
  on your own. But, there is an automated system to help: a series of floating  
  steel blocks, which are hovering a random pattern.                            
                                                                                
  There is also a rusted, but active, console nearby. There is a set of         
  controls for the floating platforms -- and it is quite complex. If you can    
  work out the controls, though, you can form a bridge from the disparate       
  floating platforms.                                                           
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|     Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!,    |
|           Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!           |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Hmm. You think so?" Josie might not be as involved with Solaris' doings of late (for a variety of reasons, including having enough trouble as it stands) but it doesn't mean she isn't aware of some of the particulars of that apparent castle in the sky.

    "I know this and that 'bout ancient Zeboim, but I can't begin to say whether or not this were typical, like," she says, gesturing about herself. "Sure, seems like some of what's left was fortresses and the like, but was that the usual? Or is it just them that survived the end?"

    She shrugs, broadly, as if to drive her opinion home.

    And as if to underscore the general tilt of the matter, here there now have come -- and gone -- a set of scorpiod machines. "Pity," Josie says, stepping over the wreckage. "Should've liked takin' 'em apart." But there's no time for that now as they press on.

    "Well..."

    This is not water which anyone wants to take a swim in. It's colored a mucky brown and has a distinctive smell. "Looks like Spira left it's mark, eh?" Josie quips. "Now, let's see about how we're..."

    She trails off as a familiar black and white shape sails on past for the far control panel. "Is that-- you! I told you to stay put!"

    Penelope, pigeon queen and stowaway, preens herself atop the console.

    "At least make yourself useful!!" Josie shouts at her wayward daughter.

DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, Console Input. 
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"The big difference is--" Xiumei hopes this is a difference, at least. "--the city-destroying cannon. But..." She looks at Azoth. Maybe it didn't seem over the top, but could they truly call it necessary?

They dispatch the automatons, though. Xiumei sighs, wiping at her brow -- and then she glances back over her shoulder, at Eleanor. "It does," she says. "There's still time to make sure that Vinsfeld is stopped."

She frowns, eyes glancing downward. "And then get back to Kamui..."

She follows after Josie -- and then she frowns, as she looks down at the pool of water in the next room. She makes a noise, though, when she spots Penelope. A... a pigeon? Xiumei stares for a moment.

Then, she looks at the console, and then at the floating blocks.

She holds a hand out. Her ledger appears, in a flash of data cubes; then her pencil does. "I'll start noting their positions and movements. We can crack this, if we work together!"

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Clerk's Ledger toward her party's challenge, Console Input. Enlighten! Party Wits
boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

There is nothing necessary about a city-sized cannon. Eleanor is fairly certain of that.

"...Hm. So we only received that which they built to be hard to destroy... I wonder what their literature was like? Their culture? That we have so much less of."

Penelope! Eleanor looks thoughtfully at her. "Hmmmm," she says.

...She doesn't answer about Vinsfeld or Kamui, for now. She is quietly concertned for those matters. And they are indeed important.

Xiumei will start noting...

Eleanor says, "I can remove some of the rust on the console, make it easier to use, I think. I just have to find the spell. I remember seeing it..."

She pulls an ancient green book, and starts to flip through it. There's...

"Hm hm... Rust, rust, rust... Ah!"

DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Book of Mudora toward her party's challenge, Console Input. Enlighten! Party Wits
boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

At the mention of Kamui, Azoth's eyes drop the ground. "... Yes. We need to work quickly."

Penelope appears! Azoth lights up with a startled beep, jumping back before he recognizes: bird! Pigeon! Here?! Now?! But this pigeon goes right to the pigeon. A puzzle pigeon after Azoth's own heart. Core. Whatever!

Azoth follows Penelope to the console, investigating it with too-bright eyes. How's all that wiring holding up? What connects where? Maybe he can remove some of the process of elimination necessary in determining how these control work together.

Eleanor works to handle the rust, so Azoth waits before trying to employ a little of his own trial and error. Systematically, of course, so Xiumei's note organization doesn't have to fight against him for maximum efficiency.

"It doesn't look like anything's disconnected... So we should be able to get the pattern we need..."

DG: Azoth has used his Tool Oculus ex Machina toward his party's challenge, Console Input. 
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

Clarine seems pleased, too, when Josie joins in on the joke. But, her expression quickly returns to serious at the topic of discussion before them.

"Yes, that is true..." Clarine considers as Xiumei points out the big difference between the Chateau and Heimdall Gazzo. ...She, too, hopes that is a difference.

"...I hope there may come a day when weapons like these are put away for good." She murmurs.

With the scorpions dealt with they proceed onward, finding a room that has seen much, much better days. A large chasm, filled with water... Much too far to cross even for someone like her for whom gravity's grasp is tenuous, even with her conjured platforms.

She turns her attention toward the console, then, where-

"Ah!" Clarine gasps, her eyes lighting up as she finds herself momentarily charmed by Penelope's presence.

"Technology like this is not my strong suit, I am afraid - but still, allow me to provide you with some light." She offers. She reaches into her sleeve, drawing out a sphere of pure, clear crystal. She shines her light through it and it emits outward - light that may yet uncover hidden truths.

DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Brilliant Sphere toward her party's challenge, Console Input. Enlighten! Party Wits
boosted!
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Console Input *>=========================
| Type: Exploration  | Dungeon Ability: Wits            | Challenge Rating: 2  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  Some parts of Heimdall Gazzo were damaged, after sitting underneath           
  Zanarkand and New Kasim City for millennia. Here, you enter a room that is    
  rusted and damaged; there is a sea of murky water below, transported from     
  Spira. The floors and walls are rusted and discolored after so long           
  underwater.                                                                   
                                                                                
  The room is a massive, water-filled chasm. It's not something you can cross   
  on your own. But, there is an automated system to help: a series of floating  
  steel blocks, which are hovering a random pattern.                            
                                                                                
  There is also a rusted, but active, console nearby. There is a set of         
  controls for the floating platforms -- and it is quite complex. If you can    
  work out the controls, though, you can form a bridge from the disparate       
  floating platforms.                                                           
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|           Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!,           |
|    Fright:_Combat_Down!_Agility_Up!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and     |
|                             Tire:_Exhaustion_Up!                             |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
=========================<* Heimdall Gazzo - Round 4 *>=========================
==========================< Results - Console Input >===========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        18 --(8)--> 26                 Pass
Clerk's Ledger                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azoth                               18 --(8)--> 26                 Pass
Oculus ex Machina                   3   Wits    Effects: Efficient            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Clarine                      50 --(8)--> 58                 Pass
Brilliant Sphere                    2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine Lovelace                  18 --(8)--> 26                 Pass
Penelope                            3   Wits    Effects: Efficient            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       63 --(8)--> 71                 Pass
Book of Mudora                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                60 --(20)--> 80                Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(1)|Reckless(2)|Tire(1)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei 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> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    Penelope does not seem to heed Josephine's requests in the slightest. Or demands. Or threats.

    Magically, some of the rust on the console, still just out of reach (unless you are a small columbiform bird -- or similarly able to cross that gap between the place they stand and where the console rests without falling into the drink) begins to vanish.

    "I'll... I'll get you those seeds you like," Josie capitulates. At this, Penelope abruptly ceases her grooming and slowly steps onto the console.

    *beep* p a s s c o d e a c c e p t e d

    After this point, it's just a matter of Azoth figuring out what the appropriate controls are, which -- especially with adequate lighting -- is not too hard for him to accomplish.

    Then, with the machine's controls working and the current positions of the blocks noted by Xiumei...!

    Well, they're able to cross without incident.

    Penelope, eyeing Azoth with her glittering black eyes, alights on his shoulder before he departs. A free lift...?

    "You're a nuisance," Josie remarks, eyeing her bird wearily.

DG: Seraph Clarine has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Elites *>=========================
| Type: Final        | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 3  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  You have made your way through Heimdall Gazzo, towards a central corridor.    
  Ahead is a large circular room, with an elevator; one way will lead to the    
  engine room, another will lead to the bridge. This corridor ends in a large   
  door, protecting that room. It is a place meant to serve as a choke point.    
                                                                                
  And several of Odessa's elites have gathered to do just that.                 
                                                                                
  A number of them, wearing black-and-olive uniforms, have gathered. One aims   
  a gatling cannon at you; another has twin swords drawn, ready to use Fast     
  Draw sword arts. One has his crest graphs out. A woman holds up a Medium --   
  and the spectral image of Schturdark forms.                                   
                                                                                
  They begin with a huge, crashing wave of water summoned through the Guardian  
  of Water. Then comes bullets, blades, and lightning bolts as they make their  
  final charge.                                                                 
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|           Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and           |
|                            Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up!                            |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

They cross over the chasm. The fact that that particular room was left untouched may have been a strategic motion, for on the other side is one of the central corridors leading to the heart of Heimdall Gazzo, where fate shall come to a head.

For now, however - the delay has given enough time to allow the elites of Odessa to gather at the chokepoint. The best of the best - their skills and equipment finely honed for battle.

...It is the first time Clarine has found the power of the Guardians turned against her. She holds her hands out in front of her, forming a wall of light. She winces at the strain of holding the wave back - and soon following it, their charge.

"We must be almost there, I gather... Endure and press onward." Clarine asserts. She'll do everything in their power to defend her allies - it will be up to them to fight back.

DG: Seraph Clarine has used her Tool Panacea Bottle toward her party's challenge, Odessa Elites. Cleanse! All negative
effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"Sometimes... the things that people remember from the past are what can hurt and kill." Avile's voice is almost a monotone, when she speaks. She sounds distant. And Varius speaks after her -- but it's a quiet, wordless sound.

"Avile..." Xiumei says, her voice soft. She frowns, as she keeps sketching -- taking note as Azoth works, and then she looks up at the console -- and at Eleanor. But, she glances at Clarine, and nods. "I hope so. Maybe... maybe some day."

She looks relieved, though, as the blocks slide into place to form a way across. She glances at Azoth, then nods. "We won't keep her waiting long," she promises, before she starts across. She looks up -- and her eyes widen as she sees the Medium put to use. She looks at Clarine, then nods her gratitude.

"Just a little more to go!" she says, before she produces her Pulse Saber. The energy blade flares to life -- and Xiumei leaps, swinging the energy blade down as she comes down into their front lines. It's not lost on her that this might be the last time she fights a squadron of Odessa troops.

She can't say she will miss it, though.

"Be careful, everyone...!"

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Pulse Saber toward her party's challenge, Odessa Elites. Rally! 
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor looks towards where Avile's voice comes from--and Varius's. "...Mm."

Maybe some day. Eleanor wonders about that. But soon, there is a little more to go, and--

And there is the power of the Guardians, there. Eleanor narrows her eyes, in the passing of the wave of water. "Right! Be careful!" she agrees with Xiumei.

Then she lets the light gather at her hands, and surges forward, brilliant magic at the ready. She doesn't try to meet Crest with Crest.

She meets their power with Light.

DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa Elites. 
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

"Becomes sometimes those are the only reason the past was survived," Azoth says, his tone suddenly absent of emotion. Whether that's to prevent a sense of judgment from them, or prevent them from wavering goes unhinted.

The pigeon queen brings emotion back. Azoth looks to Penelope with sparkling, wide eyes of his own, then grins at her. "Hey, welcome to the party." He moves along, calculations primed to make sure the bird's free ride is a smooth and easy one. The advantages of being a robot! Especially one originally designed for passengers.

But they press on, and Odessa awaits them... armed and ready to face them.

Azoth closes his eyes. "...If we're close, then I'm not going to waste time conserving energy." He opens them, red again, letting lines of light flow through his chassis, the burning light bleeding through his synthetic skin and clothing.

"Database accessed. Compiling past battle experiences. Optimizing strategem." Blades form at his sides, and Azoth leaps into the fray himself, spinning with slashing and hurling detonating blades. He is especially interested in shoving an explosive blade straight into that gatling cannon most of all.

"Out of the way!"

DG: Azoth has used his Tool Randomly Accessed Memory toward his party's challenge, Odessa Elites. 
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Mm. True enough," Josie remarks -- Azoth has it dead to rights. Even the things that weren't built to be a weapon could become one, in the right -- or wrong -- hands.

    "C'mon. Let's get moving, right?" Josie says, jerking her head towards the path ahead. "Ain't gonna save the day lingering around here. ...Tell you what, if'n I live, maybe I'll give you a hand sifting through, after. I ain't a proper archaeologist, but I reckon I've been faking it long enough!"

    Perhaps Josie, alone, might be unsurprised by the range of talents demonstrated by the elites they encounter soon after they exit this room. "Well," she remarks, taking that moment to holster her rifle. Is this the prelude to yet another betrayal--?!

    She's palmed her flask and, with a twist of the wrist, popped the cork. Following Azoth as he advances (and as Penelope retreats to safer territories than a firefight) she enters the battle with a spray of alcohol for the crest-user.

    It's followed by a particular call. "O, thou lightning...!"

    The bolt of electricity follows. It's hardly flame, but a spark may also birth an inferno with such high-proof fuel...

DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Liquid Courage toward her party's challenge, Odessa Elites. Rally! 
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Elites *>=========================
| Type: Final        | Dungeon Ability: Combat          | Challenge Rating: 3  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  You have made your way through Heimdall Gazzo, towards a central corridor.    
  Ahead is a large circular room, with an elevator; one way will lead to the    
  engine room, another will lead to the bridge. This corridor ends in a large   
  door, protecting that room. It is a place meant to serve as a choke point.    
                                                                                
  And several of Odessa's elites have gathered to do just that.                 
                                                                                
  A number of them, wearing black-and-olive uniforms, have gathered. One aims   
  a gatling cannon at you; another has twin swords drawn, ready to use Fast     
  Draw sword arts. One has his crest graphs out. A woman holds up a Medium --   
  and the spectral image of Schturdark forms.                                   
                                                                                
  They begin with a huge, crashing wave of water summoned through the Guardian  
  of Water. Then comes bullets, blades, and lightning bolts as they make their  
  final charge.                                                                 
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|      Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and      |
|                            Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up!                            |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
========================<* Heimdall Gazzo - Round 5 *>========================
=========================< Results - Odessa Elites >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        26 --(5)--> 31                 Pass
Pulse Saber                         3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azoth                               26 --(5)--> 31                 Pass
Randomly Accessed Memory            3   Combat  Effects: Efficient            
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Clarine                      58 --(5)--> 63                 Pass
Panacea Bottle                      2   Combat  Effects: Inefficient and Clean
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josephine Lovelace                  26 --(5)--> 31                 Pass
Liquid Courage                      3   Combat  Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       71 --(17)--> 88                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                80 --(35)--> 115               Pass
Conditions: Reckless(1)|Suffer(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has successfully explored Heimdall Gazzo!
==============================<* Heimdall Gazzo *>==============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Way Ahead *>=========================
| Type: Discovery    | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion      | Challenge Rating: 1  |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
  You've come to the final room -- and cleared the dangers within. There are    
  two large doors ahead, which lead into the central elevator room. You can be  
  sure there are guards within.                                                 
                                                                                
  You have a moment to collect yourself.                                        
                                                                                
  It is interrupted when there is a thunderous impact -- the whole of the room  
  /rocks/, mightily, and then red lights flash. A voice is broadcast -- an      
  Odessa one, judging by the Sylvaland accent: "We've detected a high speed     
  impact, near the engine room! Repeat--IT'S AN INTRUDER!"                      
                                                                                
  You may want to hurry.                                                        
============================= Dungeon Conditions:  =============================
|           Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!,          |
|          Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, and Suffer:_Exhaustion_Up!          |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Clarine has posed.

Odessa's elites are talented fighters - but they, too, are talented. They've met countless challenges and come out on top. It isn't an easy fight by any means - no doubt will they need to stop and tend to their wounds after - but at the end, they emerge victorious.

Clarine allows her barrier to lower.

"Is everyone alright...?" Clarine asks. "Allow me to-"

She starts... when, suddenly, the room rocks violently.

"Ah!" Clarine gasps. She retains her footing only by virtue of not standing on the floor - and a frown crosses her face as a voice is broadcasted throughout the ship announcing an intruder.

"Who could..." She starts, and frowns. "...Whoever it may be, it would seem we must hurry."

<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"That's... that's probably true," Xiumei admits to Azoth, her voice quiet. "But it's sad if that's all we remember."

She says it after the last of the Odessa elites are handled. She lets her Pulse Saber wink out -- then she looks up. She blinks, with concern, when the warning about an intruder comes.

"There's only one way to be sure," she tells Clarine. She looks at Josie, then at Eleanor. "It shouldn't be much further."

She nods, then starts walking. "Let's go!"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"....Yes," Eleanor says. "That does make sense." Azoth's words give her pause, but she has no refutation; sometimes, weapons of war are needed, o protect people. To sustain civilization. Has that always been so...?

"...I'll remember more than that," Eleanor promises quietly. "It's one of my duties."

To remember. To be a living archive... Like Rauru was. Yes, she is sure of that.

But the intruder comes, and there's rooms ahead. The broadcast...

"Yes!" Eleanor says, "We're going!"

<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.

    "Seem to be in one piece," Josie replies, looking herself over, then dusting off. "'Course--"

    The room pitches as if they had been struck by something powerful. "...Not the only ones crashing this party, eh?" she says, in the aftermath. "C'mon. Let's not lollygag around here."

    There is a pause, though. She points up at the ceiling, at the rafter. At the pigeon perched on the rafter. "And you! You're grounded when we get back! ...Well, not literally, I s'pose..."

    Penelope's response is to coo.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

"It is sad," Azoth agrees. He does not elaborate.

After the fight, Azoth's lights sputter and flicker, dimming deeply before stabilizing to their usual blue pulse. He may have pushed it a little, but they are on a small time table here, and close to the end goal. Clarine's shielding makes it efficient to be more aggressive, besides.

"I've still got plenty of fight in me -- wha?!"

The sudden tremor threatens to knock him off his feet with a startled, glitched beep-sequence.

Rebalanced, he nods urgently to the others. "Right behind you...!"