2024-04-09: Blinding Lights
- Log: 2024-04-09
- Cast: Ruth Pauling, Lan Lilac, Hannah Curie, Meng Wu
- Where: Ignas - The Badlands
- Date: April 10, 2024
- Summary: The Bad Lads threaten a luxury passenger rail line headed north to December City. Some Drifters take exception to that.
DG: A party led by Ruth Pauling is now entering Heist on the December Central Line. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===================<* CHALLENGE - But the Door's Stuck... *>====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The December Central Line! Many roads lead to the city -- one of the largest
of the Seed Cities that thrive in spite of their location within the Ignas
Desert Badlands -- but of the available options, this is certainly one of
the quickest. And finest. Why, the upper crust of the Seed Cities rarely
pursues one of the other options, which in itself feeds into one of the
largest problems that the Central Line faces.
There's been rumors that the likes of the Bad Lads Gang have had a
particular interest in an attack on the train line. The owners have beefed
up security accordingly, but--
--Oh, speak of the devil!
The intercom for the car you're in erupts with the sounds of shouting and a
scuffle, before it quickly cuts out altogether. That suggests that someone's
probably made a hostile takeover of the train, first of all, and second of
all, that you might want to do something about this. You know, before you
also end up surrounded, robbed, or whatever.
There's just one little problem getting started, as you discover. The door
leading from this car to the next is definitely stuck. Mechanical failure?
Sabotage? Just bad luck? Regardless, you're going to have to force the door.
And you might want to hurry. The sudden increase in speed probably isn't a
good sign.
BGM: Juno Reactor - Pistolero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZqNUo6y52Q
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! and Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Aveh and Kislev are at it yet again, and the entire Ignas region has become that much more destabilized for it. Smaller communities threaten to be swallowed up in the fighting, but out in the Seed Cities...? Things are for the most part juuuuust fine, if you got the money and influence. But, news travels quickly and where there's war, there's always soldiers looking to break off and become brigands... and all it takes is at least one rich individual to feel just compelled enough to want to throw around money for insurance.
A number of Drifters are on-board. Some might have been compelled to help secure the train, others just might be here for passage.
Ruth Pauling, known as Death's Door and having recently re-ignited that terror among those who survived the incursion into the Adelyn Ranchlands... is just a passenger, today, sitting gloomily by herself in one of the less expensive passenger cars ('less expensive' still means 'in reach if you have an ARMS salary, as a treat'), hunched over and keeping to herself. Some of this is instinctual in keeping her head down, as she's no stranger to train rides being ambushed over in Zoara.
Something spikes, in her, like a scent. An uptick in distress, and fear, and ten seconds later the intercom comes on to what can be summed up as 'a ruckus.' Something's up.
She stands up and moves to the door to the next car ahead, resting her right hand against it. She doesn't know that it's stuck yet - that might be someone else's discovery - but she seems to hesitate, conflict welling up as she seems to ease herself into the inevitable goading by the Malevolence that gives her strength and direction these days.
"They're being attacked," she says, to anyone who might be around to look into it, head bowed. Her right arm tenses about the Granasian rosary wrapped around it, eyes opening to see their glint. Malevolence faintly courses through her right arm, briefly discoloring it closer to the hue of stone as she tries to throw the stuck door open in a small burst of reality-defying strength inherent to most Hellions.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Granasian Rosary toward her party's challenge, But the Door's Stuck....
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
They're not all that far away.
The December Central Line is a much faster means of travel than Lan is used to; what would have taken her weeks on foot or days on horseback (not that she rides a horse or a thoma, but she could!) is merely several hours by train. And the train has a dining car! And the seats are padded, even back here in the less-expensive section! There are windows to let in a little fresh air (important in the climate of the Badlands) and to gaze out upon the desert vistas.
Lan has done a lot of vista-gazing, especially as the rails take them further and further north. Sure, she keeps up conversation just fine! But during lulls, her hands slow and still on the thread she's weaving into lace, and something past the horizon keeps stealing her thoughts away...
So when Ruth stands and moves for the end of the car, it's another second or two before Lan snaps out of her introspective mood, shoves her work into her bag, and swings her legs out into the aisle. "Is it bandits?" she asks, though there's... really no way to tell just yet. "There're a few different gangs that roam around here. It could be any of them..." Though the number of groups bold and bright enough to attack a presumably well-defended passenger line are just a fraction of the whole. "Dowry Dave, the Rough Writers, the Bad Lads, Diamond Dolly..." Bandits sure do like alliteration.
Ruth shoves the door, and Lan frowns. "Wait, is it locked or something?"
It is locked. Or something.
Lan figuratively rolls up her non-existant sleeves, because she's back in her default Desert Skank costume, and backs up a few paces. "Stand back for a sec!"
And that was when Lan Lilac launched a magical meteorite right down the aisle of the December Central Line's coach class car.
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Surprise Meteor toward her party's challenge, But the Door's Stuck.... Strengthen! Party Brute boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Crisscrossing the land to take care of all of the various little things that need tending to within the sphere of a Drifter's purview, or an ARMS member's purview is tough, when you don't have a vehicle of your own. (Hannah had designs on building a personal vehicle or two as personal projects, but those were plans made an entire continent away, and she's not about to try and get set up with a workshop now, at least not one for work that detailed.)
So she found herself needing to get somewhere and on this train on her way there. She'd heard about the possible bandit activity and was keeping somewhat alert, though at present she's mostly relaxing. She's seated somewhat near enough to Ruth to hold a conversation, if desired, but is also content to read her book in silence. Zephyr is elsewhere in the car, as far away from Ruth as possible.
Then the sound of a scuffle happens and Hannah looks up, frowning. 'They're being attacked.' "More'n likely." She slips her book into her satchel and then stands up, slipping her satchel on and then preparing her rifle and crest graph pouch. "Let's see what we can do to help."
Ruth tries strength, and Lan--Hannah shields her face with a hand as Lan conjures meteorite at it. "What'n tarnation kind of magic is that?" Zephyr squawks and immediately takes off to the other side of the car.
Oh right, she'd meant to ask Lan about the other day... But later.
"Must've been jammed. Shoot. Gimme a sec." She leaves down the car, and comes back a moment later with a piece of a metal handhold pried from the wall, then uses it as a lever to try and force the door open.
DG: Hannah Curie has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, But the Door's Stuck....
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Meng Wu is admittedly on the train, expecting trouble. Not because she's going to cause it either! You've got the detritus that might break off and become something more.. dangerous. And territorial and she'd prefer. She has a few goons riding throughout the train. Mostly as lookouts. She herself is riding incognito. Sort of. She's sitting next to a locked case and reading a book. Sunglasses set on her forehead and.. looking rather relaxed at first glance. She's scanning the room though, clearly used to splitting her focus at this point.
The intercom announcement intermingles with a report from a beastfolk further forward. He's keeping his head down, but there's definitely trouble. And Wu's already on her feet and moving for the door. Glasses in place and ready to roll!
"Clear the way" she says a bit on the blunt side. conjuring up ether to create a precise column of earth, slamming right into the door as soon as there's an opening. Nice, simple, straight forward. Sometimes it's nice having a way to knock on a door right?
She does tilt her head towards Lan though, relaying it under her breath to her contacts. Looking for any identifiers that might stand out. "Trying to get a pin on who it is- I'll relay if it matters. Or you know-" She draws her gun, waiting for the dust to clear, "Just handle it. Either way."
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool Earth Shaper toward her party's challenge, But the Door's Stuck.... Strengthen! Party Brute boosted! Shortsighted! The party will suffer a penalty next round... but not this round!
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===================<* CHALLENGE - But the Door's Stuck... *>====================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The December Central Line! Many roads lead to the city -- one of the largest
of the Seed Cities that thrive in spite of their location within the Ignas
Desert Badlands -- but of the available options, this is certainly one of
the quickest. And finest. Why, the upper crust of the Seed Cities rarely
pursues one of the other options, which in itself feeds into one of the
largest problems that the Central Line faces.
There's been rumors that the likes of the Bad Lads Gang have had a
particular interest in an attack on the train line. The owners have beefed
up security accordingly, but--
--Oh, speak of the devil!
The intercom for the car you're in erupts with the sounds of shouting and a
scuffle, before it quickly cuts out altogether. That suggests that someone's
probably made a hostile takeover of the train, first of all, and second of
all, that you might want to do something about this. You know, before you
also end up surrounded, robbed, or whatever.
There's just one little problem getting started, as you discover. The door
leading from this car to the next is definitely stuck. Mechanical failure?
Sabotage? Just bad luck? Regardless, you're going to have to force the door.
And you might want to hurry. The sudden increase in speed probably isn't a
good sign.
BGM: Juno Reactor - Pistolero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZqNUo6y52Q
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, and Strengthen:_Brute_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 1 >===========
====================< CHALLENGE - But the Door's Stuck... >=====================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 0 --(5)--> 5 Best
Granasian Rosary Maj Brute Effects: Efficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 0 --(5)--> 5 Best
Earth Shaper Maj Brute Effects: Strengthen and
Shortsighted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 0 --(21)--> 21 Bad
Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 0 --(5)--> 5 Best
Surprise Meteor Min Brute Effects: Strengthen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1) and Reckless(2)
Effects: Shortsighted(1) and Strengthen(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling 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> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth struggles with being a good conversation partner sometimes, but in the vaguely defined conversation with Hannah, she does weigh in every so often. Nonetheless...
Meng Wu is the first one truly informed about what the situation is (compared to Ruth who only has the feel of one, and her gradient is rarely ever more precise than 'pain, fear, anguish'), and she's the one who takes the first proper swing to the demand that the way be cleared, and a column of earth slams into it.
It gets dented enough that a pry bar should be enough to get it open, as Hannah attempts with an improvised item, but she doesn't seem to get much of anywhere with it, though there's some violent rattling that seems to imply that maybe things are more dire than first appears...
Lan takes her turn, and a huge meteorite hurtles forward and just blows the door off save for one final hinge holding it in place, which is dangerous because it could fly off and become a bludgeon while they're trying to cross into the next car--
Ruth takes care of that, swatting outward with her right arm and pushing ahead, throwing the door open into the next car like a hungry beast, with only long-drilled combat discipline preventing herself from just hurtling forward from the jump - just in time for someone else to take the lead.
DG: Hannah Curie has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Baddest Lads *>=========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've encountered a few members of the Bad Lads Gang as you make your way
forward towards the engine! Guess those rumors about them planning to rob
the train were true!
But unfortunately, learning this piece of information (...assuming you
didn't already figure it out earlier) comes at a price: these are no mere
rank-and-file Bad Lads that have taken notice of you! Oh no, these are their
/finest/, and the manner in which they bring those ARMs quickly to hand
proves that they know what they're doing and they've got the weaponry to
back them up.
Which is, momentarily, going to be violence. For you!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up!, |
| Shortsighted:_All_Stats_Down!, and Strengthen:_Brute_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah really doesn't press Ruth too hard for conversation. Mostly she's checking in on Ruth here and there, but not much more than that.
But then they all get up to try and get to the problem, with a door standing in their way. Hannah curses under her breath when the bar she pulled just bends when she tries to apply force to it. "Glad I ain't tryin' to use this as a handrail then." She shrugs and chucks it aside.
Wu, however, has a lead on what's going on. "You're mighty informed, ain'tcha?"
But the combined efforts of the others, at least, is enough to get the door open. Ruth pushes forward and then halts, but Hannah takes the lead as she carefully steps past her. "Zephyr, c'n you show me what's happenin' outside?"
The red-tailed hawk squawks and just takes out the window, climbing into the air. That's a remarkably well-trained bird, apparently.
But in the lead, Hannah stops--as several bandits appear brandishing ARMs. Without hesitating they raise them up to take aim and fire, and Hannah has just enough time to throw herself behind a seat as a bullet pings off of an arm rest, narrowly missing her.
"Shoot. Too constrained to trust usin' magic... Artemis, you're up." She unhooks a nice, polished ARM from the top of her bag (Collapse-era, if one were to examine it), and then she waits a moment, counting shots and then popping out during a reload to let loose with a bevy of shots.
DG: Hannah Curie has used her Tool Artemis toward her party's challenge, Baddest Lads. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"You've never seen a shaman at work?" Lan half-laughs at Hannah's incredulous question. (Lan Lilac is not a Normal Shaman by any Guardian's definition and it could be very rude to the other shamans to infer that she is. Except maybe the ones chosen by Rigdobrite. So far, they've all been pretty... uh, yeah.)
But they don't get very far before the identity of these particular train robbers becomes all too clear! The sweltering-looking environmental suits with their steel-plate masks, the bands of neon tubing arcing up over their shoulders... "It's the Bad Lads!" Lan yelps, because one of them just took a pot shot that blew a hole in the wall next to her head.
On one hand this is good, because they're pretty famous and that means normally Lan kind of knows what to expect! On the other hand, this is terrible, because their boss is a total asshole.
The bench seats make it hard to maneuver around, so Lan leaps and sprints up the length of the car along the seatbacks, stomping on the mask of the first Bad Lad she encounters - hopefully with enough force to dent the mask and shatter the darkened glass goggles. After that she's just going to have to take advantage of the Bad Lads' total lack of peripheral vision to keep from getting shot...!
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Baddest Lads.
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Wu's look to Hannah is almost bemused. Almost. The ghost of it on her features. She's still working on it. Maybe another generation or two? She gestures to the now open door though, "I have some business here I'd like to take care of and.. people are predictable." She checks the chamber on both sets of pistols, then steps through the door as it's pried open.
There's a problem though. This was not one of the cars she had a bead on and the sight of guns pointed her way gets a pause. She puts her hands up and says, "Hey, let's not do anything hasty?" There's still almost a hint of amusement to be had. But that ether feel begins to build again. And.. what had been a particularly bad situation looks slightly less bad when she kicks her heel against the ground, creating a splash of torn up rock, glass, steel and remnants of seats into convenient cover for the rest of the drifts and, obviously herself.
She of course starts to return fire.
She does eye Ruth and Hannah's rifles, "Watch your ears if you're firing those in here. Keep your mouth open." She demonstrates, pointing. Ignoring a shot whizzing past like it's not even there.
"The Bad Lads?" She replies. Muttering to herself about the dearth of good gang names anymore. Sounding.. almost nostalgic. Don't worry about it.
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool Barricade toward her party's challenge, Baddest Lads. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth follows Hannah's lead. Her own eyes are as sharp as ever, but she understands Zephyr is effectively an ideal spotter. She knows well the value of one, given her trade.
The moment Hannah stops, is the moment Ruth herself takes cover as bullets start to fly.
"You know them," Ruth says to Lan in what should be a question, but some of it starts feeding into some primordial level of conceit swimming in that Malevolence soup, which... given how long she was in the company of the likes of the Rose Queen, should be of no surprise as an agitator.
'Watch your ears if you're firing those in here.' Meng Wu gives sound advice, but there's a sad little smile. If Meng Wu has ever seen Ruth in action, she might intuit that damage to her hearing has already been done, many times over.
There's not much space for something cumbersome like Ruth's rifle. She doesn't give a hoot, the bayonet blade slicing apart some seats as detritus being launched the Bad Lads' way before four deafening cracks ring out, her left shoulder screaming in pain but Malevolence doing its damndest to defy it - the contradiction of being both having, and not having, the strength to wield her rifle like she could during Celesti's final years.
And some awful part of her fulfilling the self-fulfilling prophecy that she's worse than them, as one of Zoara's worst makes her case.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Gae Buidhe/Dearg DC4 toward her party's challenge, Baddest Lads. Rally! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Baddest Lads *>=========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've encountered a few members of the Bad Lads Gang as you make your way
forward towards the engine! Guess those rumors about them planning to rob
the train were true!
But unfortunately, learning this piece of information (...assuming you
didn't already figure it out earlier) comes at a price: these are no mere
rank-and-file Bad Lads that have taken notice of you! Oh no, these are their
/finest/, and the manner in which they bring those ARMs quickly to hand
proves that they know what they're doing and they've got the weaponry to
back them up.
Which is, momentarily, going to be violence. For you!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Embolden:_Combat_Up!, and |
| Reckless:_Wits_Down!_Brute_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 2 >===========
==========================< CHALLENGE - Baddest Lads >==========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 5 --(5)--> 10 Best
Gae Buidhe/Dearg DC4 Maj Combat Effects: Efficient,
Rally, and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 5 --(5)--> 10 Good
Barricade Min Combat Effects: Embolden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 21 --(5)--> 26 Good
Artemis Min Combat Effects: Embolden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 5 --(5)--> 10 Best
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2) and Reckless(1)
Effects: Embolden(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling 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> Hannah Curie has posed.
Lan points out her magic is Shaman magic, and Hannah at least has the decenty to look embarassed. "Sorry, just took me by surprise a bit. Ain't used to seein' it expressed that way, I s'pose. Ain't gotten to study Guardian magic as much as I'd like to, bein' honest."
Wu claims to have business, and Hannah nods. "Seems like we all got business now, with bandits potentially causin' trouble." Drifter business, as it goes.
Zephyr is an excellent spotter, as Ruth well knows. But he thrives with open skies and long lines of sight, so a series of train cars aren't the best environment for him. Hannah looks to Ruth, briefly, though she takes care not to try and make eye sight or put a reassuring hand on her long-suffering arm. But she does say, "We'll back each other up, okay?"
Lan is the first to identify the Bad Lads--but this also gets their attention just as quickly. Wu asks for people not to do anything too hasty, but unfortunately, they decide not to be hasty by leaving themselves open to attack, and accordingly attack first in a perfectly not hasty way.
Wu kicks up a spray of rock, glass, and steel, buying a moment for both sides to regroup. But Lan takes advantage of that lull, bounding over the tops of seats instead to start knocking heads together. One of the Bad Lads turns, to try and draw a bead on Lan with his gun--
And with a *ping* of a bullet ricocheting off of gunmetal that bandit quickly drops his rifle with a yelp, and from her cover Hannah smirks to herself. Her next shots hit center mass instead and send several bandits stumbling back, dropping them.
Ruth, however, is much more direct, as is her way. Four shorts, the terrific roar of Death's Door echoing in a continuous, thunderous way within the confined space. And just as quickly as one might try to count all four shots, four bandits lay dead, and an eerie calm settles over the train car.
Hannah steps out from cover, quickly and smoothing checking her rifle and reloading it. She addresses Wu without looking at her as she works. "Yeah, I've dismantlin' and rebuildin' gunsmoke ARMs since I was a little girl. An' Ruth..." Hannah looks to her, briefly. Too much to explain, and much of it not hers to tell, regardless.
She looks to Wu. "We're both in ARMS. We know how to handle our firearms. Don't worry 'bout us."
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Get Back Here You! *>======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You immediately catch sight of someone running away from you! Judging from
their attire, you'd say they're definitely a member of the Bad Lads Gang.
And they're also definitely in a hurry -- perhaps to get out of here before
you noticed them.
Which, obviously, you have.
If you caught them, perhaps you could ask them some well-placed questions.
Or perhaps they could be a useful way to get towards the heart of the chaos
that's overtaken this train. Or perhaps you have other motives to want to
catch up to them.
Regardless, they've crossed to the next car so you're going to want to hurry
up if you want to catch them!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Embolden:_Combat_Up!, and |
| Secret:_Exploration_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
It's a shame that they all died, but they tried to kill Lan and the others first.
Ruth almost accuses her of knowing them. Lan shakes out her arm, the leftover impact of an elbow strike echoing up and down the limb. She never really knows where's safe to hit on these guys, other than their limbs and their goggles, because the suits have some weird inner structure that gives them their weird humpback shape and she might have totally sprained her ankle once fighting a guy named Bearemy, of all things, because she managed to kick him right in the scaffolding and she limped for like a week!
Of course, gunsmoke weapons and ARMs make such concerns... kind of moot. "They're the loudest gang in the entire Badlands," she shrugs, once she's satisfied that she didn't do her body any damage. "You can't grow up here without at least hearing about them, and they're always making trouble!"
Come to think of it, did Lan ever say where she was from...?
It's at this moment that a lone survivor decides to make a break for it. A way less badass, way more entry-level Bad Lad (he doesn't have an ARM like the ones that our heroines just thrashed soundly) waits for Lan to turn back towards Wu, Hannah, and Ruth before throwing himself out from his hiding spot behind a wrecked bench and scrambling for the next car ahead. He's gotta go warn B.D.N. that there are Drifters on the train...!!
"HEY!" Lan yelps, full of righteous indignation. "Get BACK here!"
What kind of idiot would listen to her?! The Bad Lad runs faster. There's sweat pooling in his boots and there are Drifters and they're all crazy and he's gotta get out of here!
Lan doesn't waste any more time, leading the charge after him. She pulls the ribbon out of her hair with a silken 'vwip' sound, threading magic through it to lighten her steps even more... and preparing to use its length like a whip to catch his arm and stop him, if she can just get within reach!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Butterfly Ribbon toward her party's challenge, Get Back Here You!. Quicken! Party Agility boosted! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
'An' Ruth...'
The enigmatic sharpshooter walks over to the fallen with gentle, deliberate steps, and kneels down to mourn their passing without giving any further explanation or justification. She's like a completely different person in the moment, from the one who opened fire in dangerous close quarters. She doesn't meet Lan's eyes as she explains the significance of the Bad Lads to those from this particular part of Ignas. The grace she's giving in the moment might be the only grace anyone has ever given them in life, with how harsh things are here.
Ruth gets pulled out of it with an uptick of fear, and the surface placid tranquility of a mourning figure turns into a sour, snarling expression as Malevolence thrums with every elevated heartbeat. The personal rituals she does to bring herself down from these highs have been disrupted, and it's a wonder she's keeping her Malevolence contained in the shell of who she once was.
A Crest Graph is drawn and invoked, markings of Muse and Wing, as a stream of water is conjured ahead of the escaping bandit to try and yank them back.
DG: Ruth Pauling has risked with her Tool Rivercrest toward her party's challenge, Get Back Here You!. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Wu actually looks annoyed as she checks the pulse, clearly having wanted one alive on the off chance it happened. She doesn't seem upset at the death and destruction itself though. Tilting her head, hand to her ear she murmurs, "No luck. If you catch any solo take the shot if you have it." Making it pretty clear what she's actually after. Probably. Also something of a check in.
She does look to Lan though, "Shaman? Haven't.. run into any of them in a long while. Glad they're still around." It's a neutral tone, but when is it not?
Lan's insistance that they're loud and common gets a, simple follow up order to whoever, "Scrub it. Keep your heads down." For once sounding frustrated.
She does reply to Hannah, "Building and shooting doesn't mean people forget about long arms in confined spaces." She gestures around. Just as an aside. Said matter of fact. She taps her ear and adds, "Had a ringing in my ears for.. a long while now."
She does once again, check on Ruth. That odd vibe she can't quite shake. A nagging feeling, but she can't put her finger on it.
She does.. get a devilish grin on her face though when the guy breaks cover and starts to leg it. "Ohho, maybe today won't be a complete wash."
She takes a sprint after him, though as before, she's abusing her earth ether (She'll feel this later...) and attempts to weave a path, clearing things, people and anything else out of her way, while the creeping rocks try to catch up and intercept the runner. Subtlety's.. not her strong suite.
As for Lan's shout, Wu adds to it, "It'll be a lot worse if I have to slow you down the fun way." Complete with a wave with her gun. Before looking sidelong to said shaman, "Hope it works."
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool A Path Less Traveled toward her party's challenge, Get Back Here You!. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah isn't happy to kill others, but... well, in matters of self-defense, she's not inclined to come out on the losing end of things, so... here we are.
Lan is familiar with the Bad Lads though. "They just usin' ARMs or should we be expectin' more gunsmoke?" she asks the (apparent) shaman.
The sorceress looks to Wu next. "'Preciate the concern, Miss, but this ain't our first rodeos."
Ruth kneels, and Hannah watches her briefly while sheathing her rifle back on top of her satchel where it normally lives. "We should keep movin'. Ruth'll--"
But she doesn't get a chance to finish that statement as a Bad Lad who escaped the fire and fist fight makes a break for it. Hannah takes off running, but she shouts, "Zephyr!" as she does so.
What's that bird going to do while flying around outside somewhere, no matter how well trained it is? And how is it even going to hear her from inside the train to begin with?
Come swooping in through a window ahead of the fleeing bandit with a loud screech, talons bared, and throwing himself directly at the Bad Lad's visor to distract him long enough for the others to catch up, that's what.
DG: Hannah Curie has used her Tool Zephyr toward her party's challenge, Get Back Here You!. Rally!
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Get Back Here You! *>======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You immediately catch sight of someone running away from you! Judging from
their attire, you'd say they're definitely a member of the Bad Lads Gang.
And they're also definitely in a hurry -- perhaps to get out of here before
you noticed them.
Which, obviously, you have.
If you caught them, perhaps you could ask them some well-placed questions.
Or perhaps they could be a useful way to get towards the heart of the chaos
that's overtaken this train. Or perhaps you have other motives to want to
catch up to them.
Regardless, they've crossed to the next car so you're going to want to hurry
up if you want to catch them!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Bad_Luck:_All_Stats_Down!, Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and Secret:_Exploration_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 3 >===========
=======================< CHALLENGE - Get Back Here You! >=======================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 10 --(5)--> 15 Best
Rivercrest Maj Agility Effects: Cleanse,
Inefficient, and Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 10 --(5)--> 15 Best
A Path Less Traveled Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Inefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 26 --(5)--> 31 Good
Zephyr Min Agility Effects: Efficient and
Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 10 --(5)--> 15 Best
Butterfly Ribbon Min Agility Effects: Quicken,
Efficient, and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(1) and Secret(2)
Effects: Cleanse and Quicken(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling 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> Lan Lilac has posed.
Hell NO he's not going to get back there! The Bad Lad keeps booking it, boots full of sweat and all of his other problems just multiplying by the second. The others are just ahead and there's always safety in numbers! (Just look at how he survived the last card!) He's got enough of a head start, he might actually make it--!
CRASH
The loud scream that bursts out of his throat is distorted weirdly by the metal mask and the air filter, a long string of un-transcribable sounds that echo in his own ears until his breath runs out. He jerks to a stop, Zephyr's wings and talons all he can see through the dark glass of his goggles, and then Lan's ribbon wraps around one arm and Ruth's watery magic has the other. No no no nONONONONO!!!
By the time the floor of the car rises up around his ankles, his boots are full of more than just sweat...
"Survived...? But there's a ton of us," says Lan, who is a shaman raised by a shaman who keeps running into Drifters who are also shamans. Her sample was skewed to begin with...!
They manage to get some info out of the poor, harassed goon (but they do NOT let him pour his boots out, ew). "Th-there are plenty of gunsmoke weapons but you better watch out, b-because the boss is really strong and he's gonna make hamburger out of you!" he snivels.
Lan makes the kind of face one makes when they smell a rotten onion before they kick the poor idiot Bad Lad back the way they came (without his mask, which Lan throws out the train window) to lick his wounds and dry his feet off in peace.
DG: Meng Wu has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
======================<* CHALLENGE - On Top of the Car *>=======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
For whatever reason, you've ended up on top of one of the train cars.
Perhaps you came up here because the door to the car below wouldn't open and
any way forward is best. Or perhaps other circumstances conspired to send
you up here.
Regardless, you've become very aware of the current speed at which the train
is traveling (fast!) and how precarious it is to walk across a train car in
motion.
You're going to have to make your way across the top of the train car
somehow, though...
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and |
| Secret:_Exploration_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Wu crouches down near the fallen, but still quite alive goon, "Oh we're going to have some fun with you." There's no merriment in that voice though. There is the fact that he seems new though.. for a myriad of reasons and that means he probably doesn't have anything useful. Pity. There is a brief report though to whoever she keeps talking to. (Someone paying close attention might fight a bat beastfolk behind them starting to make his way forward!)
There's an almost wry look though as she realizes her spell might have been overkill and she's jammed another door shut. Still more emotion than she usually shows at least.
For now, she cracks her knuckles and holds a finger up, "My bad." Before actually putting her focus into it. Hands before her, going through the motions to actually manipulate the created earth. There's an access hatch and now there's a way up! Also the creeping path continues along the rooftop. Providing extra grip. And the way she's got her fist held as she climbs up (And adjusting her glasses again. free arm in front of her.) She's going to maintain this spell for a bit. She's definitely.. on the tired side of things. There is.. one thing before she hops over the rim though.
"So. They're armed and it's a fatal funnel. Let's just avoid that problem. He-" She nudges the guy with her shoe's heel, then wipes the heel off like she stepped in something with a grimace, "I'll collapse the roof when we're on target."
That they don't know her well enough to trust this plan never crosses her mind incidentally. "I'm Wu by the way. If you need my attention or help." And then up she goes!
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool A Path Less Traveled toward her party's challenge, On Top of the Car. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"Don't worry, we're good at opening stuck doors-" Lan begins, because they got through the last one super easily! Surely the next one will be just as simple!
She's still tying her ribbon back into its customary winged bow when Meng Wu comes up with some sound strategy. "...Oh okay, or we can do that too." Lan shrugs, because it's important to be adaptable. And when she really thinks about it, she doesn't much like the sound of a 'fatal tunnel' at all. "I'm Lan Lilac. Nice to meet you!"
Her footing is more secure on the roof of the next car than it has any right to be, partially because of Wu's Ether manipulation and partially because tricky terrain is Lan's bread and butter as an explorer of various digsites and ruins. She is definitely cheating, with that magic ribbon...!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Butterfly Ribbon toward her party's challenge, On Top of the Car. Quicken! Party Agility boosted! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
"Hamburger, huh?" Zephyr, who'd taken a perch on the back of a seat chirps, and Hannah shakes her head. "Not now, Zephyr. Maybe once we're done."
She looks to the others. "Engine's definitely where we're needin' to get to, though."
Wu has a plan, and getting to the roof, in the wake of a blocked door, isn't the worst idea, or the craziest thing she's done. "I vote we avoid collapsin' the roof, Wu. Still kinda want the train intact when we're done, an' you might lose too much of the structural integrity doin' that."
"Name's Hannah." She already introduced Ruth, of course. She nods over to the red-tailed hawk. "He's Zephyr. If he tries to get your attention, usually a good idea to listen."
She heads for the way up to the roof, but pauses to look to Ruth. She stands on her good side, but drops her voice to keep the others from hearing, but still at a level that Ruth can hopefully hear. "You gonna be okay? I know things are movin' kind of fast." Her usual ritual got interrupted, after all...
Zephyr takes out the window though, and Hannah climbs up. She's got Zephyr keeping an eye on her, giving her a better view of the terrain, and warning her of any upcoming turns in the tracks so she can steady herself.
DG: Hannah Curie has used her Tool Zephyr toward her party's challenge, On Top of the Car. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth doesn't meet Wu's eyes. Her gloved hands tense as they let that goon go, but there isn't time to go back and mourn the ones she has seen off the mortal coil. She catches that bat-form individual and she's a split-second away from drawing something on them until some context clues her in that they're not one of the Bad Lads.
She follows along Wu's created path. She's seen this level of sorcerous control of specific elements only a handful of times in the field - what she culturally regarded in her youngest years as the stuff of miracles and a pre-requisite for becoming a Songstress. (That, or serious amounts of sorcerous studies, which...)
"Far for me to say," Ruth says as she comes up to the top. "They could have hostages."
That never stopped the Ruth Pauling of the Celesti Civil War, and yet...
'You gonna be okay?'
"I'm going to be," is what she can muster to Hannah as she takes the time to reload her rifle before climbing. She doesn't introduce herself proper, as she comes up to the roof and feels the immense rush of air against herself. Her hood flies back, her hair whipping about. She can't hear what anyone's saying any more as she just follows in relative stride unperturbed by the wind shear and the mortal danger of taking a stroll.
The bayonet blade drags against the top of the train car, sparks flying as she approaches like the sense of impending inevitability, her grip tensing further.
Hannah is right to be concerned, but if the boss of the Bad Lads is here and as bad as Lan says, maybe it's for the best they have something - someone - like Ruth on their side.
DG: Ruth Pauling has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, On Top of the Car.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
======================<* CHALLENGE - On Top of the Car *>=======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
For whatever reason, you've ended up on top of one of the train cars.
Perhaps you came up here because the door to the car below wouldn't open and
any way forward is best. Or perhaps other circumstances conspired to send
you up here.
Regardless, you've become very aware of the current speed at which the train
is traveling (fast!) and how precarious it is to walk across a train car in
motion.
You're going to have to make your way across the top of the train car
somehow, though...
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and Secret:_Exploration_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 4 >===========
=======================< CHALLENGE - On Top of the Car >========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 15 --(23)--> 38 Bad
Rush Bsc Agility Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 15 --(5)--> 20 Good
A Path Less Traveled Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Inefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 31 --(5)--> 36 Good
Zephyr Min Agility Effects: Efficient and
Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 15 --(5)--> 20 Best
Butterfly Ribbon Min Agility Effects: Quicken,
Efficient, and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 60 --(30)--> 80 Pass
Conditions: Hesitate(2) and Secret(1)
Effects: Cleanse and Quicken(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Ruth Pauling has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Slow It Down! *>=========================
| Type: Climax | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've done it, you've reached the engine! If you were expecting a throwdown
with the Bad Lads Gang, that is apparently not happening. No one is in here
except you and the engine for this runaway train.
Well, you, the engine, and inexplicably, a black cat with large yellow eyes.
It stares at you before, blinking a few things, it settles back to sleep.
But yes, to the point again: the engine! The firebox is glowing crimson, and
there are a variety of perhaps mysterious valves and switches and meters and
all sorts of contraptions that must play some role in controlling this
thing. Some of them look like they've been damaged or messed with, but have
they been rendered inoperable?
Your goal is to slow down this train some before it blows right through
December (which is of course still on the horizon). Bringing it to a stop
before you reach the city, though, could be a bad idea unless you want to
fight all the remaining bandits off yourself.
Can you slow down this train just enough and within the right window? And if
so -- how might you try that?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, and |
| Quicken:_Agility_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Looking over to Hannah at the last minute, "Hamburger?" Utterly confused. Still, she's picking her way across the roof. There's suggestions she shouldn't collapse the roof from Hannah which are met with a dubious look. "Would you prefer dropping down one at a time or hanging from the side of the train?" Which are technically options. She does point ahead, "There's trying to get ahead of them too though." She's yelling at this point!
She nods and raises a hand in greeting at the name though! That's a later thing.
Regardless, Hannah's balance is good!
Wu's clearly someone used to manipulating the battlefield in some matter, Ruth's not far off on that guess. Though between the obvious issue going on and the death grip, a particularly unlucky jostle manages to throw Ruth off balance even if just briefly. Her foot landing just wrong. A sharp gesture ahead from Wu creating a last minute spike (Pointed away!) to catch her. "Careful!" She calls out.
Lan doesn't have any problems either. Keeping a steady pace and rolling with any rumbles.
They have a decision to make at this point though since it's been suggested Wu shouldn't keep breaking things! "I like the ribbon tricks. Is that-" Wu asks, waving her hand, "Shaman or something else?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth's balance is compromised, but that bayonet blade's going to help carve a hole into there for grip - though that earthen spike prevents such a drastic property-damaging thing from happening (in exchange for another?), as Ruth finds herself in a kneel up against it. She should thank Wu, but she can't hear herself think over the wind shear or the Malevolence just brewing in her head.
They continue apace on top, to the front. No one even so much as takes a shot at them.
They meet surprisingly little resistance when they reach the engine. Maybe they weren't expecting anyone to go above, or perhaps the bandits got what they came for and are moving to leave. Hard to say, in the moment, except that they're at the engine... *and there are no engineers*. (This is bad.)
Unless the black cat with large yellow eyes there is an engineer. As they lack opposable thumbs, inclination to higher thought, or any sign of being anything other than just a cat that's enjoying a nap in the warm engine car... see above: *there are no engineers*. (People should switch from Scout or Sniper and shore up the defense, that intelligence keeps leavin-- wait. Wrong game.)
Ruth looks ahead, just in case... "We're not far from December," she says. It brings her back to a time where a runaway train was a literal weapon used to wreck at least one place in Celesti. "At this pace we're going to go right through it."
The firebox is glowing brightly in the correct color that heated coal ought to, but all the other controls appear to have been messed with. Some are damaged, defaced, smashed... it seems like the Bad Lads really are intent on having this train keep speeding through, for whatever part of their heist plan this involves.
Ruth considers a Crest Graph to put out the firebox entirely. Doing so might bring the train to a harder stop outside of December, which has its own risks. Does anyone have any idea what to do?
(The cat is asleep, and offers no help.)
DG: Ruth Pauling has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slow It Down!.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Wu questions her on 'hamburger.' "Just repeatin' what that guy was sayin'. Can't really mention food 'round Zephyr or he starts complainin' about bein' hungry."
As for dropping the roof... "You were makin' it sound like you were plannin' on droppin' the whole roof at once."
Ruth has a stumble--Hannah's head whips around, "Ruth--!" But she's saved by an earthen spike, and Hannah heaves a sigh of relief.
But they all make it to the engine, and Hannah freezes the moment she steps inside. "What in tarnation--" Followed by a swear as she quickly grasps the gravity of the situation.
Ruth observes that December is close, but that they're liable to plow right through it. "An' if we stop the train too quickly we're liable to derail."
She busies herself with the controls, though, slipping a book and a small toolkit out of her satchel. She opens the book up to, of all things, a reference for a set of train controls, and busies herself with making makeshift controls. A pair of pliers applied here to give a tweak, a clamp over there to hold a lever in place...
She looks pretty comfortable working with the machinery. Seems she learned more than just about gunsmoke arms growing up.
DG: Hannah Curie has used her Tool Monteblanc's Manual of Mysteries, Mazes, and Monsters, 5th Revised Edition toward her party's challenge, Slow It Down!. Enlighten! Party Wits boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"Nope! Well, not really? I mean I kind of just made it up when I was young and then it worked, so I kept it!" Is that a real explanation...?!
There are no engineers.
"There... there's supposed to be someone up here, right?" Lan asks, although she's pretty sure she already knows the answer. (It's 'yes'.) The cat is of no help, despite its luxurious black fur and enormous yellow eyes...!
When in doubt, appeal to a higher power! Lan pulls a slip of paper from a pocket on her shorts and begins to work it between her fingertips, mumbling something as she does so. Some kind of rhyme? Chanting a spell? Whatever it is, it has the cadence of something ancient and familiar, something ingrained from childhood. And whatever it is, it must be working-- because Lan's fingers stop moving, the paper folded open like a flower to reveal the symbols hidden inside. Most prominent are 'god' and 'flame'...
Lan jams the paper in her pocket and slips a hand into her top, pulling out a lesser-used Medium.
Moor Gault.
"O you of the hearth, of you of rising cinders," Lan prays, thumbs rubbing calming circles on the stone of her link to her gods. If she can use this to summon the Flame Guardian and use basic fire magic, can't she also use it to control other fire?
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Slow It Down!. Enlighten! Party Wits boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Well, the kit Wu's got for this kind of thing involves a decent number of tools designed to... well don't worry about it. Right now, the question as she steps down into the engineer's cab is 'How can we make this not worse.'. Much like Ruth, her initial thought is just a simple, 'Snuff the flames.' but that would mean a long walk and some annoyed bandits, which on the one hand doesn't worry her, on the other hand. Well. She tilts her head.
Realization the others might have a problem with it (And the other passengers too) means she drops it though.
Instead, she leans out the window, checking for anything ahead. Barricades. Turns. Whatever. Then back in, with her hair a mess she looks over the controls.
"Yeah. Usually." She says to Lan. Then pauses, looking at the door behind them. "Maybe he booked it?" Maybe she should kick a door down and find him.
That's a later problem. Right now she instead pulls out some wrenches and pliers. Working on getting into the damaged controls, or at least offering the leverage to use some of them. "Careful with them, they're old." And Solarian, but don't worry about that.
She nods to Ruth though, they are close indeed. "Need to make a decision fast."
Then to Lan, giving a more scrutinizing look. "Mhmm. It's useful regardless of the origins."
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool B&E Kit toward her party's challenge, Slow It Down!. Enlighten! Party Wits boosted! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Slow It Down! *>=========================
| Type: Climax | Dungeon Ability: Wits | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've done it, you've reached the engine! If you were expecting a throwdown
with the Bad Lads Gang, that is apparently not happening. No one is in here
except you and the engine for this runaway train.
Well, you, the engine, and inexplicably, a black cat with large yellow eyes.
It stares at you before, blinking a few things, it settles back to sleep.
But yes, to the point again: the engine! The firebox is glowing crimson, and
there are a variety of perhaps mysterious valves and switches and meters and
all sorts of contraptions that must play some role in controlling this
thing. Some of them look like they've been damaged or messed with, but have
they been rendered inoperable?
Your goal is to slow down this train some before it blows right through
December (which is of course still on the horizon). Bringing it to a stop
before you reach the city, though, could be a bad idea unless you want to
fight all the remaining bandits off yourself.
Can you slow down this train just enough and within the right window? And if
so -- how might you try that?
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 5 >===========
=========================< CHALLENGE - Slow It Down! >==========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 38 --(5)--> 43 Good
Investigate Bsc Wits Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 20 --(5)--> 25 Best
B&E Kit Maj Wits Effects: Liability and
Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 36 --(5)--> 41 Best
Monteblanc's Manual of Mysteries, Min Wits Effects: Enlighten
Mazes, and Monsters, 5th Revised
Edition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 20 --(5)--> 25 Best
Paku-Paku Min Wits Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1) and Hesitate(1)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 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> Ruth Pauling has posed.
The problem is understood, even without the assistance of full-time train engineers looking over their shoulder.
Wu takes the point in physically gauging levers and controls for what works and what doesn't, and from there, she's got great back-up from Hannah in terms of having a reference for a set of train controls - and wouldn't you know it, this specific model of engine is *exactly as printed inthe book*. This allows Wu to handle the rest from there while Hannah gets her hands dirty.
Lan, for her part, calls upon the Medium of Moor Gault in order to draw upon the very embodiment of the flames of Filgaia, and from there, she can control the fire to help slow the train down in accordance to the work Wu and Hannah have on the mechanical controls, and Ruth...
Ruth keeps watch, where there ends up being no need to suddenly just douse the firebox outright. (Cat's still sleeping peacefully.)
They're starting to roll into December without going over, at which point... perhaps the entire robbery scheme is about to come to a head.
DG: Hannah Curie has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - And... Showtime! *>=======================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Whether or not you succeed in your attempt to bring the engine under
control, an explosion from the car just behind the engine quickly forces
your attention elsewhere.
Shimmering particulates are still drifting in the air, perhaps the result of
whatever was at the root of the explosion just now. Through the fading fog
of smoke and glitter, you can see a number of silhouettes
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
One of the figures strides ahead as the fog parts and you can see him at
last. It would be hard /not/ to see him, as a matter of fact!
You've heard tales about the charismatic leader of the Bad Lads Gang.
Brilliant Dynamites Neon, or so he is known, is said to be a flamboyant,
idiosyncratic man, attracted to all that glints and glitters over all else.
The man who stands before you certainly looks the part. Elements of his
clothing are fitted with lights, and the ARM he has trained on the lot of
you is not only polished to a brilliant shine, but the lights and bulbs
fitted into it glow in intense hues that might not have been thought
possible.
He is also 'smoking' what appears to be, at a glance, a sparkler.
"Stoppin' our little party before we've even had a chance to get things
started... well, boys, what do we say to that?" he says, tossing his 'smoke'
aside.
The roar of assent from his men says everything.
"Show me something with a /flash/," he declares, pointing his ARM at you
which spins up with a growing electronic whine.
IF THE GROUP PASSED THE CLIMAX: You need to buy time for the train to roll
into December and keep them away from the engine.
IF THE GROUP FAILED THE CLIMAX: All is not lost -- you need to buy time to
make another attempt to slow down the train, but first you need to push them
back.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Enlighten:_Wits_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah is engrossed in her work, cross-referencing the book, getting her hands well and truly dirty as she fearlessly sticks her hand into various grease and oil-covered components. But she does stop to admire Wu's tools, giving a low whistle. "Ain't seen many tools like these... I'll treat 'em extra careful like."
And if it wasn't enough for her to to be trying to get the engine under control the conventional way, she also seems to be muttering calculations to herself all the while, and once she gets a spedometer somewhat functional again she can start calling out directions. Little bit more, little bit less, turn this, hold that in place...
Finally she sits back on her heels and heaves a sigh. "Think we got 'er settled. Should be coastin' right on into the station. Zephyr, go on ahead and see if you c'n rouse a sheriff or somethin'."
How that bird heard her from outside the train is anybody's guess, but she seems satisfied that it's happening.
But an explosion draws her attention, and she swears under her breath. "If that's them we gotta keep em out of the engine compartment."
She rushes out the door, skidding to a stop as Brilliant Dynamites Neon makes his entrance, and points a strange-looking arm at them all.
"Somethin' shiny, huh...?"
Under her breath she says, "Y'all might wanna look away."
That ARM is still charging, but Hannah's a pretty fast draw herself--in an instant she's got a crest graph drawn from the pouch at her hip. It's blazing with red magic, and she swipes it across herself as a sea of sparkling, glittering lights shoot out to join the other embers still dying in the air.
And then they all explode in a riot of cascading colors and defeaning sound, all around the gathered Bad Lads, and Hannah dives to the side to pull out another crest group to start pumping out some powerful--and very off--magic.
DG: Hannah Curie has used her Tool Crest Graph Pouch toward her party's challenge, And... Showtime!.
<Pose Tracker> Meng Wu has posed.
Wu looks to Hannah, offering a quick nod. "Yeah. I have been. I don't think I can replace them." Without robbing someone blind. More effort than it was worth for the longest time. These days though? Might be a fun party.
Still, she's comfortable enough running this tech. She's probably got some experience.. somewhere. She won't say where though.
There might be mutters about amateur hour in robbing trains though.
Wu's reaction to the man showing up though. She gives the flashy guy something of a flat look when she sees he's smoking a sparkler. More flat than her usual look. There's a tangible disdain there despite her lack of emotion showing fully. Must be in the eyes. Behind sunglasses.
Surely there's a joke about two mobsters staring each other down, one looking like an office lady and the other...
She does the same thing as the earlier gunfight. Immediately tearing up the immediate area behind them to create cover. Earth creeping up, offering cover and firing vantage points. She's leaving it to the others though as she pulls a cigarette herself. Sparking it up while saying, "I think you are who I'm dragging in." Then quick as she is, the pistols are drawn and she pops off a series of shots. For wanting him alive, she's definitely expending a lot of ammo down range his direction..
DG: Meng Wu has used her Tool Barricade toward her party's challenge, And... Showtime!. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
An explosion, and an entrance, and a challenge from someone eye-catching.
'Show me something with a flash,' the enormous eye-catching man says, and there's a deeply unsettling smile creeping on her face. Something wreathes around her - though a blackish-purple fog, it's more apt to describe it more in emotional terms - twisted, knotted emotions in the spectrum of despair. Hannah and Lan would both be aware for certain of what it means.
As Hannah throws out the Flashbang, by their side is a now larger gargoyle-shaped Hellion in place of Ruth underneath the cover of the fog, the sparkling, and the looming animation time and budget cuts for the episode's deadline, their single wing folding inward as cover to join as equal shielding alongside Wu's earthen cover. A dreary, rainy feeling fills the space followed by an unsettling screeching as the rifle is held aloft again with help of a far too long tail coiling around it to help keep hold, and then... the four shots, again.
The four shots, for Brilliant Dynamites Neon's back-up. The Bad Lads live up to their name, full stop, but one of their would-be victims is unquestionably a monster. (The monster is a friend, and has been consistently an ally in times of duress and danger - but it does not make her any less dangerous.)
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Gae Buidhe/Dearg DC4 toward her party's challenge, And... Showtime!. Rally! Liability! Failure will result in extra Exhaustion!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Fire magic doesn't come as easily as breathing. It doesn't fill her veins and lift her into its arms like a dear, beloved friend. But Lan knows it by now, after these years of carrying the Flame Medium, can coax and cajole it into helping her when she needs it. And she needs it now, maybe more than ever.
Between the four of them, they get the train under control again, and it seems like they really have managed to save the train and part of December City!
Until the explosion, anyway.
Something flashy. He's threatening so many people, and some of his men have been killed for this, and they have died for nothing because Lan is not going to let him succeed. Hannah's Flashbang goes off like flares and space is singing in Lan's veins, a thousand points of light in the sky and they are all her allies!
She clenches her fists at her sides and calls, pulls, coaxes them down from the sky, a dozen-dozen glittering silver stars that glide through the ceiling of the engine car, but slam mercilessly into the Bad Lads from above. The miasma that swirls around Ruth, the rocky footing and moving earth, they happen around Lan, but she is a star shining at the center of it, she is wreathed in righteous anger.
"Go home to your moms! Go home and tell your moms that you're sorry you became bandits with ugly costumes!"
She is still, unquestionably, a dork.
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And... Showtime!.
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - And... Showtime! *>=======================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Whether or not you succeed in your attempt to bring the engine under
control, an explosion from the car just behind the engine quickly forces
your attention elsewhere.
Shimmering particulates are still drifting in the air, perhaps the result of
whatever was at the root of the explosion just now. Through the fading fog
of smoke and glitter, you can see a number of silhouettes
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
One of the figures strides ahead as the fog parts and you can see him at
last. It would be hard /not/ to see him, as a matter of fact!
You've heard tales about the charismatic leader of the Bad Lads Gang.
Brilliant Dynamites Neon, or so he is known, is said to be a flamboyant,
idiosyncratic man, attracted to all that glints and glitters over all else.
The man who stands before you certainly looks the part. Elements of his
clothing are fitted with lights, and the ARM he has trained on the lot of
you is not only polished to a brilliant shine, but the lights and bulbs
fitted into it glow in intense hues that might not have been thought
possible.
He is also 'smoking' what appears to be, at a glance, a sparkler.
"Stoppin' our little party before we've even had a chance to get things
started... well, boys, what do we say to that?" he says, tossing his 'smoke'
aside.
The roar of assent from his men says everything.
"Show me something with a /flash/," he declares, pointing his ARM at you
which spins up with a growing electronic whine.
IF THE GROUP PASSED THE CLIMAX: You need to buy time for the train to roll
into December and keep them away from the engine.
IF THE GROUP FAILED THE CLIMAX: All is not lost -- you need to buy time to
make another attempt to slow down the train, but first you need to push them
back.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and |
| Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
===========< Results - Heist on the December Central Line - Round 6 >===========
========================< CHALLENGE - And... Showtime! >========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruth Pauling 43 --(5)--> 48 Best
Gae Buidhe/Dearg DC4 Maj Combat Effects: Efficient,
Rally, and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meng Wu 25 --(5)--> 30 Best
Barricade Min Combat Effects: Embolden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannah Curie 41 --(5)--> 46 Best
Crest Graph Pouch Maj Combat Effects: Efficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac 25 --(28)--> 53 Worst
Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Ruth Pauling 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2) and Wound(2)
Effects: Embolden(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Ruth Pauling has successfully explored Heist on the December Central Line!
====================<* Heist on the December Central Line *>====================
======================<* CHALLENGE - ARMs for Everyone! *>======================
| Type: Discovery | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
The fight is a long and difficult one, but you all succeed in pushing back
Brilliant Dynamites Neon and his gang and secure the train's engine once
more. Thanks to your attempts to readjust the train's speed, it begins to
slow as December draws ever closer, skidding to an almost perfect stop at
the city's station.
But this is not before you find, in the train car in which you battled B.D.
and the Bad Lads, an ARM that one of the Lads had been using in the battle.
Perhaps they'd dropped it in their escape. It's nothing like the weapon B.D.
himself used. It seems to be a fairly well-balanced gunsmoke ARM -- nothing
too flashy, but more than serviceable.
And now it's yours.
...As the security will find, B.D. himself (almost with most but not all of
his gang) have vanished, perhaps having evacuated after you secured the
engine and made their heist of the train and passengers an impossibility.
But the few who didn't manage it are taken into custody, and generally, no
one is much worse for the experience.
All in all, it's a good outcome!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Embolden:_Combat_Up!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, |
| Treasure:_Exploration_Up!, and Wound:_Combat_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
It is, in very quick order, pandemonium. Hannah and Wu both throw up distractions of light and stone, and Ruth unleashes the might of her sorrowful mist, and the likes of the Bad Lads are woefully unprepared to have all of that dumped on them at once, plus the furious magic and gunsmoke arms of those who created all that distraction. Lan's calling of starlight to bring down fury on the bandits is wonderful and masterful, but sadly there's a bit too much in the air for many of her attacks to strike true.
The battle, regardless, is swift, and the Bad Lads soon very quickly vacate the train car in the wake of all that Drifter might.
They roll into the station with almost perfect placement of the train, and Hannah heaves a huge sigh. "Well, Zephyr's already got some law enforcement headin' this way, hopefully they'll be able to round up those that escaped." How could she--
She's looking through all the clutter--the train will need to be cleaned and fixed, no doubt, but she picks up a gunsmoke ARM and starts inspecting it. "Mmm. Seems in mighty good condition." She checks for spent bullets and then looks to the others. "Anyone need a new gunsmoke ARM?"
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth helps herself out of the train once all's said and done, her Malevolence following her along the way and giving Wu a(nother?) good look at who one of the passengers really is. A serpentine tongue flicks in the air every so often with all the panic and uncertainty following the averted robbery.
"No," she says to Hannah in a softer voice as she helps herself up to some raised position somewhere by herself, in a series of clumsy-seeming leaps given her posture, presumed bulk, and whether the nearby architecture can really handle her just hurtling herself like that. She gets herself out of the way, to come down from the high by herself and keep watch.
This means Lan, Hannah, and Wu are more likely to receive all the attention and credit for saving the day (and any earthen damages just added to the Bad Lads' bounty).