2017-09-12: Slippy Slidy Kobold Kave
- Log: Slippy Slidy Kobold Kave
- Cast: Claude C. Kenny, Neriah Parringer, Tethelle Cirdian, Meryl Stryfe, White Knight Leo
- Where: Krosse Kave
- Date: Sep. 12, 2017
- Summary: A ragtag band of Drifters challenges the Krosse Kave. Things get sloppy.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ===============================<* CHALLENGE - *>================================ |Type: |Dungeon Ability: |Challenge Rating: | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- =Dungeon Conditions: =========================================================
DG: A party led by Claude C. Kenny is now entering Krosse Kave. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Kome Into My Parlor *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The first level of the Krosse Cave has long been picked over by Drifters, and poses no barrier to your party as you move through it. Near the end of that level, in a large, open chamber, a section of the wall has been opened, revealing another tunnel beyond. Before you can move towrd it, however, large spiders descend from the ceiling, spitting webs - and venom - in your direction. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Tire===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Shortly after his arrival on Cow Patty Planet, Claude C. Kenny and Rena Lanford met the king of Krosse Kingdom, who commissioned both young adventurers to mount an investigation of the Sorcery Globe. Said investigation is... sort of stalled, on account of Metal Demons destroying the world. Since returning to the kingdom from the east of the continent, Claude has had the following exchange more or less every week:
<Krono I> so hey
<Claude> hey
<Krono I> hows taht investigation comin
<Claude> ....goooooooood....
<Krono I> cant help noticin ur still not on El
<Claude> ....er....
<Krono I> so since ur so not busy
<Claude> ....kay....
It is super awkward.
Today's mission - lead a group of Drifters through YET ANOTHER new wing opened up inside the Krosee Kave, which has twice been thought to be totally cleared out (once by Claude himself). Said Drifters were commissioned by virtue of Claude walking into town and yelling 'WHO WANTS MONEY FOR A GOOD DEED' and so he's sort of got a mish-mash of people, and also Tethelle.
"Okay, so we're supposed to take a right here," Claude says as he walks through the ca... the kave, reading a hastily-drawn map owned by the previous group to investigate. "And then I think it opens up to a wider passage near this red mark." He pauses, frowning. "Is that a bloodsta---"
*thwip*
A bunch of webbing hits Claude in the face, after which giant spiders start charging the party. (You can thank them for shutting Claude up later.)
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kome Into My Parlor.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Embarrassed about how things turned out in the Kave last time, Neriah latched on to the next group of Drifters she could find heading that way. That was none other than Claude C. Kenny. The money wasn't the object to her, though she didn't say so in so many words. She's not going to be able to get vengeance on her own, after all.
"We'll have to be careful," she murmurs as she pops a couple of bullets into the silvery, oddly sleek revolver she calls Marilyn. Flipping the pistol closed again, she eases towards the cave mouth, eyes darting into the darkness beyond. Last time around there were ambushers waiting.
Like clockword, Claude gets webbed in the face. Neriah lowers her eyelids slightly. "Nice observation, Claudesy," she murmurs.
Snapping Marilyn forward, Neriah takes aim in about half a second before squeezing off a couple of shots, aiming to pop one or two of the spiders between the eyes. The urge to use magic is a tempting one but she holds off on it, settling for letting Marilyn handle this. Each time she fires, the pistol reports with a heavy *CRACK* and lets off a twin jet of steam from a pair of vents along its back half, where the gun seems to lack an actual hammer.
Darting to the side, Neriah empties the last couple of bullets into the spiders before calling, "Someone might want to clear his airway!"
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kome Into My Parlor.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
To be fair, Tethelle probably would have done it even if she didn't know Claude and hadn't promised she'd help him with his investigation of the Sorcery Globe. Or whatever. Not that this is the Sorcery Globe, but, you know.
She's kind of hoping that another Saucery Globe shows up so she can at least drag him to that.
But that's an issue for another night. Right now she's in Krosse Cave (she insists on spelling it correctly, or possibly 'correctly', though since she hasn't had to write it down it hasn't come up). "Well, you're the one with the map," Tethelle points out, though something is putting her on edge. Maybe it's the bloodstain.
*thwip*
Claude gets hit in the face. Tethelle doesn't; the spray of webbing went over her head, though some of it is now regrettably stuck in her hair. Her first instinct is to jab two fingers in Claude's face to tear off some of the webbing, which also does jab him in the face. Her second instinct is to pray, mouthing some words to Equites. Fortunately, she can do both of those at the same time.
Her third instinct is to charge the giant spiders with her giant sword. She has a new one; this one is a really heavy blade with a strangely triangular shape to it, tinged oddly with red through the metal; Tethelle bought it in Marze. Despite the weird shape, it's balanced a lot better than her last one, provided she keeps both hands on it at all times.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Icon of Equites toward her party's challenge, Kome Into My Parlor.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Meryl and Milly had only arrived recently in November but already Meryl was finding it difficult to get any clear answers from anyone about the target of their current liability. It seems like just about everyone had heard of Vash but no one had anything useful to say about him. It may be perhaps that they were just looking in the wrong direction.
Today however, she was following up on a lead. It was a long shot but leave it to Meryl to be very thorough with her job. She takes things very seriously even when a lead makes her go beyond November to an area she wasn't familiar with.
Supposedly there was some guy here that probably had some information on Vash. It's late when she arrives and meets up with a group. No, she wasn't supposed to be here and her presence may be a bit of a surprise but Meryl acts like she knows whats going on and joins in.
"So hey, I heard there were some interesting things in here." She walks into the area behind Claude as he is greeted by...spiders (or at least a web)! "Ugh, what?" Rather than surprise the spiders with an entire barrage of bullets, Meryl grabs two guns and shoots the closest ones to her. "Man, I didn't consider that there would be spiders!" It is a cave though after all. Regardless, she doesn't seem overly concerned by them for now.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kome Into My Parlor.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Kome Into My Parlor *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The first level of the Krosse Cave has long been picked over by Drifters, and poses no barrier to your party as you move through it. Near the end of that level, in a large, open chamber, a section of the wall has been opened, revealing another tunnel beyond. Before you can move towrd it, however, large spiders descend from the ceiling, spitting webs - and venom - in your direction. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Tire===============================================
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo was in Krosse already. Given his regular meetings with King Krono, Claude might've seen him in the same circles--Althena's Guard has gotten pretty chummy with the country's leadership, for some reason. Given how Adlehyde got steamrolled by the Metal Demons, who could blame a ruler for worrying about national security? Either way, Leo was quick to inform Krono that he could surely take care of this matter of the Kave Kleaning.
This probably annoyed Claude to no end.
"Bloodstain marks the... spot?" Leo says, squinting at the map over Claude's shoulder. This doesn't feel right. "Are you certain we're going the--" Claude gets webbed in the face, and since Leo's right there, he ends up taking some stray fire as well. Sticky threads spray all over the right side of his face, gluing an eye shut. Leo growls, scrapes the webbing off, and draws his blade. "Cave vermin," Leo says. "We will make quick work of them!" The White Knight charges into the fray, and starts hacking away. He comes perilously close to taking stray gunfire from Meryl once or twice.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Leo's Goods toward his party's challenge, Kome Into My Parlor.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Kome Into My Parlor *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The first level of the Krosse Cave has long been picked over by Drifters, and poses no barrier to your party as you move through it. Near the end of that level, in a large, open chamber, a section of the wall has been opened, revealing another tunnel beyond. Before you can move towrd it, however, large spiders descend from the ceiling, spitting webs - and venom - in your direction. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Tire===============================================
==========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 1 *>=========================== =======================< Results - Kome Into My Parlor >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Icon of Equites 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 0 --(3)--> 3 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Leo's Goods 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Slow(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Tethelle Cirdian has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - Thunder Kats *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Strange feline creatures lunge forward out of the darkness! Their fur is standing on end, and static electricity arcs from one to the other in turn. They don't like you very much. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Fright=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Bloodstain apparently does mark the spot, and face marks the not breathing. (Claude C. Kenny is bad at analogies.) Tethelle's assistance allows him to breathe again, which is important in his whole 'not dying on Cow Patty Planet' plan, though it takes him several seconds before he's ready to return to the fight.
In that time, the arachnid menace is shot to pieces, and then hacked to pieces, leaving not much more for Claude to do but pick up the map. He does so, sighing. "Good work, everybody!" he says cheerily. "Okay, I think it's deeper in now."
He sets off, his whole body oozing a desire to punch some monsters in the face.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Good news: Spiders down!
Tethelle holds up a hand after Claude starts to walk forward. "I don't think that's all," she says, looking around. She focuses for a moment on Meryl and Neriah, who she doesn't know well or at all, and Leo, who she knows of but has never spoken to. Well, it's not them, even though something feels vaguely off about one of them. "I can feel something..."
Bad news: The spiders have backup!
Claude gets his desire to punch monsters in the face, because a pack of electrified cats (?) jump out once the spiders are dealt with. Why are there electric cats?? Tethelle thinks to herself. As far as she's concerned there should be exactly one electric cat and none of these are him.
Fortunately, swords work on these too. "Claude, what are these? I thought you had been here before, but you didn't mention them!"
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Thunder Kats.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"Oh! It's you," Neriah gasps, her eyes brightening as she recognizes White Knight Leo. A broad smile alights across her face. "We did the exhibition tournament together, remember?"
Pushing on into the caves, Neriah walks with a bit more of a spring in her stride. As she moves into position near Tethelle, she flashes her a crooked smile, adjusting the brim of her newsboy hat. Then the priestess indicates she feels something.
"What, something?" she echoes with a blink.
Electrified cats suddenly come loping out of the darkness. One of them lunges past Neriah. She fires off a shot in surprise, but it goes wide, leaving her out of bullets even as the electrified thing wheels on her. "They weren't here last time--" she begins, and then the cat's lunging at her and she has no more time to think. Eyes wide, she snaps her right hand out.
The electrified cat suddenly slams into a field of negative energy. A bubble of unlight, translucent but for a complex pattern rippling through its surface, manifests around Neriah. Within it, the girl lurches, clenching her teeth in pain.
No sound emerges. Outside the bubble, the startled electrocat attempts to break through the bubble again, only to bounce off it with a shock. No sound seems to be emerging from the eldritch sphere - only a pressure of some kind of curious magic that doesn't feel too pleasant to the spiritually sensitive.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Thunder Kats.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude has indeed encountered these monstrosities before, and rushes to the attack, lashing out with a powerful thrusting punch at one of the furious felines. "Thunder Kats! They're on the loose!" he adds, ducking under another leap and uppercutting the monster into the ceiling. "Thunder Kats are loose!"
He punches a third, which electrifies, sending a jolt running up Claude's arm. He backs off, his fine princessy locks sparking, teeth chattering as he tries to speak.
"Thunder... Thunder... Thunder... Kats!
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Thunder Kats.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
The spiders seem to somehow dodge her bullets and Meryl sighs. Although Leo only narrowly avoids her fire and Meryl frowns. "Sorry about that!" She wasn't even a bad shot but these things seemed to move quicker than she expected. Luckily for her, the others manage to clear a way towards the next room. "It's a good thing my partner isn't here. She hates spiders..." Meryl wasn't a fan of them but she could tolerate them at least to some degree.
As they move into the next area, Meryl notices something fuzzy and she starts charging towards it without much thought. "Aw, look at it. It's so cu-" Then she jumps backwards as the cats come more into view. "Wait, what in the world!?" The electrical charge takes her by surprise and she moves back to the side.
Looking to the others, Meryl adds, "Oh by the way. I am Meryl Stryfe!" It's a weird time for introductions but she continues. "From the Bernardelli Insurance Society." Meryl dodges a charging cat and ends up on top of a rock. "I am not sure my insurance covers this so let's take care of them!"
Meryl jumps down from the rock and her coat opens. "Watch out guys! I can handle these Thunder Kats!" She winks at Claude as a barrage of gunfire rings out. The small woman is nothing, if not just a little overzealous.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has used her Tool Coat of Derringers toward her party's challenge, Thunder Kats.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo takes a moment to wipe the spider goo off his blade before sheathing it. Neriah addresses him. Leo squints at her a moment, but seems to recognize her when she mentions the tournament. "Ah, yes," he says. "I remember it well! It is good to see that you're well. Onward!"
Unfortunately, in this case, 'onward' is not very far, because two steps later, the RNG springs yet another random encounter. Leo looks more annoyed than perturbed, and draws his blade again. He's about to charge when he sees Claude touch one with his bare hands, and earn electrocution for his troubles. That is an object lesson if there ever was one. Leo whispers something that sounds vaguely prayer-like, and definitely includes the word 'Althena'. A wave of jagged spikes of rock rise up from the cave floor, and sink back into it just as quickly--but not before (hopefully) causing significant damage. "Magical felines?" he says, once the spell's loose. "What manner of devilry will this planet spit out next?"
Something cold and eerie crawls its way up his back. He glances over at Neriah, his glance turning into a stare, and then a frown. Meryl's gunfire drowns out whatever he was going to say.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Leo's Goods toward his party's challenge, Thunder Kats.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - Thunder Kats *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Strange feline creatures lunge forward out of the darkness! Their fur is standing on end, and static electricity arcs from one to the other in turn. They don't like you very much. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Fright=============================================
==========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 2 *>=========================== ===========================< Results - Thunder Kats >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 6 --(5)--> 11 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 6 --(4)--> 10 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 3 --(3)--> 6 Pass Coat of Derringers 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 3 --(5)--> 8 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 6 --(4)--> 10 Pass Leo's Goods 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny 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> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
"What's 'insurance'," Tethelle Cirdian, warrior-priestess from a tiny village in the back end of Aquvy, asks. "Answer later. This is not a good time!"
Fortunately, electric cats aren't much more difficult to deal with than spiders, as it turns out. One bounces off Neriah's anti-light, sparking and hissing, and after a few moments of trying longer gives that up as a bad cause. Tethelle's sword seems to be working well, as are Claude's fists (even though these are clearly not ghosts, goasts, or any spelling thereof) and Leo's rocks. The derringers work fantastically, though they're pretty loud in a relatively confined space.
Eventually what cats are left slink off for easier, less aggressive prey. Tethelle pauses to spin her thumb in her ear, as if that would get the ringing from the derringers out. "Tethelle Cirdian," she says, though now she's giving Neriah a particularly hard look rather than actually watching Meryl. "Is everyone well?"
DG: Neriah Parringer has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Krossroad Konfusion *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- This next section of passageway is composed of almost featureless rock, which opens up into a chamber with no fewer than seven passages leading out... that you can see in the darkness. If you take the wrong path, you may spend hours down here. But the right one will take you close to your goal. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Bad Luck========================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude looks more or less okay as a result of the electrocution, but he will gladly accept whatever healing items Leo may pass out for aggressive sampling.
"It's basically a bet," he explains to Tethelle, a muscle twitching spasmodically along his jawline. "You agree to pay a little bit of money every month to insure, like, your house. And if your house gets stepped on by a Gear or something, then they have to pay to replace it."
Claude looks Meryl up and down. "You're really an insurance agent?" he asks. "You look, like, 15."
Claude C. Kenny: diplomat and ladies' man
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"Ghh," Neriah finally gasps as she lets her eldritch sphere down. She staggers forward, shuddering a little, then lifting her head.
At which point she becomes aware that Tethelle is scowling at her and Leo doesn't look too happy either. Pursing her lips, she tucks her shoulders in beneath her blazer, but doesn't say anything, just deflating a little.
(Because this is always how it goes. Even when I use my powers to help, people think I'm some kind of monster.)
(Maybe I should just accept it.)
"...Neriah," she identifies herself with a nod to the rest of the group. "Neriah Parringer. Let's... let's move on."
Popping another clip into Marilyn, Neriah inches forward, glancing towards Meryl to get a better sense of who she is. "We might need insurance at this rate. Life insurance," she mutters as she turns a corner.
At which point she halts. The chamber ahead opens up into a vast network of corridors, at least seven branching off into the gloom, perhaps even more. Wetting her lips, Neriah squints forward. A close look might reveal that whatever she did earlier caused her pupils to dilate noticeably. It gives her an uncomfortably intent look.
"One of these has got to be right," she murmurs as she kneels, slipping a multi-layered lens from her pouch and raising it to her eye. It takes a minute for her to focus it. She rubs at her eye and then tries again. "Okay... signs of transit...."
DG: Neriah Parringer has used her Tool Excavator's Lens toward her party's challenge, Krossroad Konfusion.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
"No houses have ever been knocked down by a Gear in my village," Tethelle says, "so that seems like a pretty stupid thing for me to agree to do." She does understand gambling, at least.
She seems to be thinking about it a little, though. This may be why she fails to interrupt Claude from saying that, or clean up after him immediately.
Tethelle isn't scowling at Neriah, at least. Looking thoughtfully, yes. Penetratingly, even. But not scowling. Now she's not even doing that, between thinking about insurance and looking at the chambers, tunnels, and other... everything.
"Well, I have no idea," she says, cheerfully. She hasn't been in very many caves. Tethelle's plan is to look at the ground to see which ones are used, but on rock that's difficult. Failing that, well, there's always random chance?
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Krossroad Konfusion.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"Well enough," Leo says to Tethelle, his voice about twice as loud as it needs to be. "Madam, perhaps you could refrain from using your ARMs in an enclosed space? It's very difficult to hear!" Fortunately(?) for Neriah, the noise clears up, and Claude starts to explain what insurance is. "Institutionalized gambling?" Leo says, his expression equal parts confusion and distaste. "With your property? And you work for the people who run this, Miss--"
He didn't even get Meryl's name. A new problem presents itself, which mercifully keeps Leo from pursuing the tangent immediately. "This way," he says, pointing at one of the seven passages. He sure looks convinced it's the right one!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo then looks to the rest of the group, eyes lighting up--like he's realized something. "But before we continue..." He reaches into a belt pouch, grabs a handful of something. "Partake of my goods, and heal yourselves!"
He holds out a handful of heal berries. They look fresh and tasty.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Krossroad Konfusion.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Meryl seems surprised at Tethelle but Claude gives a decent explanation so she leaves it at that and they were fighting electric kitties after all. Claude's remark to her though earns him a look of fire. "WHAT? You really think I am that young?" She cannot help but laugh uneasily at the idea. Sure she was tiny but still it makes her upset to hear that but then she assures him that yes, she is really an insurance agent.
The thunder kats are pushed back by their gunfire among other things and Meryl relaxes a little. Just in time to reach another passageway. The rock leads to many passageways but it's dark and it's hard to see just where to go. She pulls out a small light from her pocket, looking for a sign or some kind of mark on the ground that would indicate which way other people had taken.
After awhile, Meryl glances towards the furthest path. "It looks like this is- but then Leo chimes in before she can." She scowls a little. "I think it's over there but I guess we can try this way..." Before proceeding though, Leo hands out heal berries although to her they just look like normal berries.
"Oh thank you!" Meryl smiles, despite her earlier reaction and munches on a couple before heading down the path.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has used her Tool Claims Manual toward her party's challenge, Krossroad Konfusion.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny takes a Heal Berry and gives Leo a nod of thanks. Hey, free healing is good healing, and steaks are expensive when you're trying to save up money to fix a Gear. "Hey, take it as a compliment," he offers to Meryl. God knows most women would, he thinks, although his experience is mostly related to his mom threatening to murder the entire block if a surprise party was planned for her 40th birthday.
He is...52% certain she wasn't serious.
The young man wanders around aimlessly for a bit, eventually taking a short trip down one of the hallways so he can talk to his jacket unimpeded. A few moments of consultation with hilariously forbidden technology and...
Claude pops back into the group. "Oh yeah, either od those two work," he says, nodding at Leo's passage. "THey meet up again later."
(how do you know that claude)
"...probably!"
(good one)
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Krossroad Konfusion *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- This next section of passageway is composed of almost featureless rock, which opens up into a chamber with no fewer than seven passages leading out... that you can see in the darkness. If you take the wrong path, you may spend hours down here. But the right one will take you close to your goal. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Bad Luck========================================
DG: Claude C. Kenny has used his Tool Tricorder toward his party's challenge, Krossroad Konfusion.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Krossroad Konfusion *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- This next section of passageway is composed of almost featureless rock, which opens up into a chamber with no fewer than seven passages leading out... that you can see in the darkness. If you take the wrong path, you may spend hours down here. But the right one will take you close to your goal. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Bad Luck========================================
===========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 3 *>=========================== ========================< Results - Krossroad Konfusion >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 11 --(3)--> 14 Pass Tricorder 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 10 --(5)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 6 --(5)--> 11 Pass Claims Manual 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 8 --(4)--> 12 Pass Excavator's Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 10 --(7)--> 17 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 40 --(15)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Fright(1)|Stupify(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"There are usually ways you can tell," Neriah explains to Tethelle as she fiddles with her lens. "Dust patterns and what kind of dust it is, and where some of the dust has actually fallen. And sometimes marks on the rock. Like there. That's a claw mark," she says, lowering her lens and gesturing to a rock that looks just like all the other rocks.
She's about to say something else, but Leo pre-empts it by pulling out something amazing. She gasps. "I'd love to sample your goods, Sir Leo," she says with a cheery smile that's slightly offset by the unnatural way her pupils have shrunken. She takes a berry and pops it into her mouth.
If nothing else, her pupils begin to return to normal once she's swallowed it. It's still weird.
Leaning over to Meryl, Neriah peers over the woman's shoulder, squinting through her lens. "...No. No, you're right," she murmurs. "There are a lot more clawmarks here, and a lot of the dust has settled to the sides... it's been used." Once Claude wanders back, she nods, gesturing to the tunnel Meryl was indicating. "Sounds like this one it is, then," she agrees, starting forward into the dark.
The two passages do, in fact, meet up several metres in. Nice call, Princess.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Slime Kompression *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A greenish gelatinous ooze suddenly emerges from the walls and floors, filling the passageway and threatening to engulf your party. It proves surprisingly resilient to fire and ice - the only thing you can do is force your way through it and hope to emerge out the other side. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
It is clear that Meryl isn't amused by Claude's remarks but for now she lets it go as they have other things to worry about. The paths seem confusing but Meryl initially follows Leo before turning back to Neriah and changing her mind. It seems like she was right all along and Meryl pushes towards the next opening.
As they make their way down the corridor, the walls start to move. Before she can react, Meryl steps into some green goo and frowns. "Ew, gross!" Looking around she appears startled. "It's coming from everywhere!!!" They need to keep moving or face getting overwhelmed by this stuff. It's sticky and seems to congeal quickly.
For her part, all Meryl can do is try and fight her way through. She doesn't have a knife or anything on her so all she is left with are her hands. "Man, I hope this stuff doesn't get on my guns!" She's more worried about them than her clothing or shoes it seems like.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slime Kompression.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
The Kave's changed its game plan since the last time Neriah came through - and not for the better.
Slime oozes down and engulfs the party. Green globs of it drip down from the walls, bubbling up from the floor to try to swallow Neriah's boots. With a gasp, she darts away, widening her eyes, only to find herself sloshing through more gelatinous green slime that wobbles like Flubber around the spots where her high heels are punching through it. "Ugh, this is so vile," she groans before she staggers over to Meryl.
"Here, keep 'em under something," she suggests, before tucking her pistol down the front of her blouse. She's got the safety on, at least. The grip sticks out just above her neckline.
With Marilyn safely out of sliming range, Neriah ducks past Meryl and tugs the shovel off of her backpack. Taking the excavator's tool in both hands, the girl in the newsboy cap digs the blade into the slime and begins scraping it away from the floor, scratching out a clear space around Meryl and herself.
"Meryl, let me know if it's bubbling back up," she says. "If it doesn't we can just scrape it out."
DG: Neriah Parringer has used her Tool Trusty Shovel toward her party's challenge, Slime Kompression.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian is really good in her specialties. Do you need anything hit with a sword, or some kind of theoretical martial arts knowledge? She's right there. Heavy objects moved? She's on the job. Survival in a desert or coastal environment? Check. Knowledge about the Guardians or religion or some era of history? Sure, that's what she's been trained.
Caves? There weren't any caves at home, because the ground wasn't suitable for them. She's only been in them since she came to Ignas. "I see," Tethelle says, when she squints at the ground. (She doesn't.) Fortunately, everyone else seems to have a better idea about the inside of a cave than she does.
Tethelle is momentarily embarassed by her lack of skill. It passes.
As they progress, ooze leaks out of the walls. At first she just tries to step around it. Then she momentarily debates freezing it, but is hampered by an inability to actually freeze anything on demand. But then there's just so much of it...
"Hraaagh!"
Tethelle pushes. She's strong, and she's not afraid to use it; her arms and torso are thick from muscle under there, and thus just makes it more obvious. Tethelle mostly wades into it with arms spread, trying to use her entire body to clear a route for people to squeeze, slide, or squeak past her. The gloves on her hands do a good job of protecting her lower arms from the ooze, too; it doesn't help her get a better grip, precisely, but it's congealed enough that she can press the entire mass, sort of, like mostly-set glue.
She's going to look like a right mess in a minute or two.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Power Gloves toward her party's challenge, Slime Kompression.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
'Green goo suddenly comes out from the walls' is one of the many scenarios outlined in the Federation Navy field manual; you'd be surprised how often it comes up. Unfortunately, the doctrinal solution to the problem (i.e., phase-gun it to hell and back) is not applicable here. Fortunately, he came prepared with an alternative.
"Here!" Claude shouts, reaching for his belt and pulling out a small medicinal bottle; he shakes a few into his palm and passes them out to anyone who wants one. "It's a special medicine a pharmacist in Linga made for me," it explains. "Makes you stronger in short bursts, with no side effects! It's pretty sweet, too," he adds as he tucks the bottle (marked C12H22O11) away again.
Claude C. Kenny takes the pill, and immediately begins waiding forward in Tethelle's wake, widening the path she's carving. He's less concerned with looking like a mess, because the goo is stubbornly refusing to stain his clothes.
Because the future is total hax.
DG: Claude C. Kenny has used his Tool Pla-C-Bow toward his party's challenge, Slime Kompression.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Pausing in mid-shovel, Neriah blinks as she watches Tethelle strong-arming the slime. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the girl just forcing it.
"Damn, girl," she says.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
squishsquelchsquish
"That sound," Leo says, his eyes widening in recognition. "Get away from the w--" The warning comes too late. Slime bubbles up around his boots, and congeals into a thick curtain in front of everyone. Leo's face twists into a look of disgust. He doesn't see or hear anything dissolving, so it's probably not one of the more gratuitously acidic ones, but it's more than capable of immobilizing and engulfing the party. Leo yanks his boots loose with a horrible squelching noise--it sounds like he's wading through knee-deep, sticky mud, except it's even worse. Claude offers pills. Leo figures it's a better bet than being eaten by an ooze. "Very well," he says. What does C12H22O11 mean? Is that some sort of... code?
Leo sets his shoulder to the ooze next to Tethelle and Claude and just starts to bull-rush through it, at a glacial pace. It is not the fastest thing in the world, but it (much like Leo himself) is inexorable.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Slime Kompression.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Slime Kompression *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A greenish gelatinous ooze suddenly emerges from the walls and floors, filling the passageway and threatening to engulf your party. It proves surprisingly resilient to fire and ice - the only thing you can do is force your way through it and hope to emerge out the other side. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
==========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 4 *>=========================== ========================< Results - Slime Kompression >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 14 --(0)--> 14 Pass Pla-C-Bow 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Power Gloves 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 11 --(0)--> 11 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 12 --(0)--> 12 Fail Trusty Shovel 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 17 --(0)--> 17 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 55 --(15)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Stupify(1)|Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Stalwart(1)|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Meryl nods at Neriah. "Well, I keep them under my coat so hopefully they'll be okay!" She smiles at the helpful advice before moving more through the ooze. It's getting harder though as more pours out and covers the pathway. Looking closely at the walls, Meryl starts to wonder how exactly so much is able to pour in at one time. It seems impossible. "Right!" She adds to Neriah's remark. "Will do!" For now, it seems like Neriah's shovel is doing the trick at first but then the goo comes out with even greater force.
They are quickly getting overwhelmed but then Claude offers a... pill? Meryl eyes it suspiciously. "What kind of drugs are these?" She does not take one but instead continues to fight a losing battle against the slime and as the others make progress, Meryl finally gives in. "I hope Claude... that this doesn't make me grow chicken wings or something." Although if it did she could fly over the goo maybe.
Somehow, the pill works an unknown magic and she does feel stronger. She manages to just get past the worst of the slime. Even if the pill was merely a placebo, they get past the worst of the ooze and reach the next room.
Their clothes however have probably seen better days. "Ugh. I am going to need a dry cleaning and a shower after this." Meryl discretly checks her guns and they don't seem worse for wear so at least that's good for her. She imagines that they would need them again eventually... maybe.
DG: Claude C. Kenny has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Kareer Kounseling *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you round the corner, you find a pair of nervous, shaken Drifters huddled in a corner, surrounded by the bodies of monsters... and by two of their friends, now deceased. They reach for their weapons when they see you, terror rising in their eyes. If you can convince them you're not hostile, maybe... =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Nah, nothing like that," Claude reassures his party, patting his bicep and flexing. "I've been using them for a week and I'm totally fine! Heck, even now, I'm ready to kick the crap out of the next thing I see!"
Claude turns the corner, and a group of shell-shocked Drifters look up, hands drifting to their ARMs.
"...or...not..."
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kareer Kounseling.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"Oh nooo~," Neriah gasps as her shovel ends up stuck in the goo. It begins to slime its way up around herself and Meryl. Squirming uncomfortably, she manages to take one of Claude's pills, popping it just before her arm is trapped. It helps her to power her way out, at least; her shovel slices through slime all the more rapidly. She has less luck than Claude; her skirt and jacket end up slimestained in places, a few gobbets of it still clinging to her legs in places. Grimacing, she wickes them away with gloved hands.
"Gross," she mutters as she turns the corner.
She nearly trips over a dead guy. Gasping, she holds her arms out, pinwheeling them wildly as she catches herself. Her eyes widen as she realizes a few things:
a) Two of the bodies are normal people.
b) Those are mighty big ARMs the living ones are carrying.
c) Oh wow, I didn't know that the inside of a gun barrel looked all spirally. Who'd have thunk i-
"Eek!" she yelps as the situation gels in her mind. She waves her hands in the air. "Don't ARM, we're unshoot! I mean don't shoot, we're unarmed! I mean we are armed, but--"
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kareer Kounseling.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian does not require drugs! Also her hands are full of ooze and that leaves her none to take a pill.
Not that she would anyway. She works hard for these muscles, dammit.
When they're out of ooze central, Tethelle takes a deep breath, because she had her face mashed against the ooze too and was not getting a lot of air. She takes a moment or two to recover, rolling her shoulders and then trying to wipe as much of the ooze off her front as she can. She thinks some of it went down her shirt.
Surreptiously, Tethelle tugs at her shirt around waist level to get any ooze in there to fall out the bottom. She's doing this when she rounds the corner toward Drifters. She reaches for her sword too, but then releases it when she gets a better look.
"Hey," she says, holding up her open hands. "We don't mean any harm. We are sent by the King of Krosse." Tethelle remembers Claude talking about that. Two hurt or dead - she can't tell from here - lots of dead monsters. "Do you need help getting out?"
She's soft-hearted when it comes to things like this. Tethelle is supposed to get into trouble so other people don't have to, dammit. She decided that a long time ago.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kareer Kounseling.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
In the next area, Meryl notices the Drifters huddled together. There don't seem to be any monsters still alive which means they are likely armed. However, the bodies of their fallen comrades gets a look a empathy from her as she approaches them.
It's clear though that they are still scared and the terror in their eyes causes Meryl to stop in her tracks. She raises her arms as Neriah approaches too. "Hey, calm down. We're not going to hurt you!" Luckily, her guns are well hidden and she makes no sudden moves.
"I am Meryl and these are my friends. We can help you get out of here..." There is uncertainty if her words are making a difference but Meryl still tries, hoping they will believe they don't mean harm. Her eyes try to avoid looking at the fallen, instead focusing on the living.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has used her Tool Claims Manual toward her party's challenge, Kareer Kounseling.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
It takes far more effort than it should, but Leo emerges from the other side of the goo blockage, sore but alive. His uniform is more green than white, and he takes a moment to wipe a stray blob of slime out of his hair. He looks forward, sees Claude stop dead in his tracks, and advances to join him. "What--"
The Beastman takes stock of this remarkably quickly. He recognizes that stunned, haunted look in the eyes of the Drifters, because he's seen it in the eyes of other soldiers. "She is correct," Leo says, his voice firm but gentle. "We can aid you, should you desire it." He takes a step forward, and raises his hands ever-so-slightly. He is covered in slime, and looks the opposite of majestic, but he's still managing to pull off 'open' and 'empathetic'. It helps that he's been in situations like this before, as a young knight.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kareer Kounseling.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - Kareer Kounseling *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you round the corner, you find a pair of nervous, shaken Drifters huddled in a corner, surrounded by the bodies of monsters... and by two of their friends, now deceased. They reach for their weapons when they see you, terror rising in their eyes. If you can convince them you're not hostile, maybe... =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
==========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 5 *>=========================== ========================< Results - Kareer Kounseling >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 14 --(0)--> 14 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 11 --(0)--> 11 Pass Claims Manual 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 17 --(0)--> 17 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Tire(1)|Weaken(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny 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> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
The presence of several people more immediately empathetic than Claude (read: everyone) reassures the Drifters that the dumb things the young man said were in fact dumb and not threats.
Achievement unlocked: Paragon Til Death
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Kantankerous Kobolds *>===================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A swarm of angry kobolds suddenly emerge from the shadows, rushing toward the party with cruse gunsmoke ARMs and knives. Others in the rear begin hurling buckets of grease at you. How odd. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle does not advance for a few moments, staying with the Drifters but waving the rest of the party on. She's giving a brief prayer, because she's allowed to do that for people who fell in battle.
This means she is not there when some kobolds leap out in front of the group, firing gunsmoke ARMs that have definitely seen better days. Maybe. Maybe they were built that badly in the first place?? They barely shoot straight, but there's a lot of them so they're still a danger by sheer quantity of bullets, something Meryl at least is very familiar with.
It also means that Tethelle is there when some come up behind the group with buckets of grease, and moves to intercept them. Surprise!
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Icon of Equites toward her party's challenge, Kantankerous Kobolds.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"The grease trap again," Neriah utters as the kobolds dash forward. One of them hurls a bucket of it her way.
With a swat, she slaps the bucket to the side. A scowl etches across her face. Once again, her pupils dilate alarmingly, until they're little more than dark points against the pale blue of her eyes. Even that blue colour seems much lighter now.
As bullets ricochet past her, Neriah twists out of the way of a few shots. The train of her coat crackles behind her. As she comes around, she holds her right hand above her head. "Not this time," she hisses through her teeth, her voice taking on a pained note. Grimacing, she trembles visibly, lurching back a step, as if something she's doing hurts - but she hasn't been hit.
There's a second's forewarning to what happens next. A magical pressure - as though the souls of the magically sensitive had just been exposed to something tainted and off.
With a dull but all-encompassing surge that feels like it ought to be as loud as a thunderstorm if it didn't fall just below the range of normal human hearing, unlight explodes down Neriah's arm. The amorphous tendril of black magic splits itself into tendrils, each like a vast individual claw, stretching across the cavern and into the thick of the kobold force. Those magic blasts will engulf and seemingly disintegrate if they hit solidly; even a near miss will leave tearing wounds behind.
Neriah lifts her chin and inhales through her teeth, as she lets the spell off. Then she tilts her head a few degrees to the left. If she's in pain anymore, it doesn't show.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kantankerous Kobolds.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Claude C. Kenny has made another discovery about Cow Patty Planet: kobolds are jerks! This makes him feel much less bad about punching the ones he fought during the group match at the Lacour Tournament of Arms.
The young man removes a grease bucket from his head, spitting a mass of it from his mouth and wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket. Claude's other hand drops down to draw an ARM from a holster on his leg - a heavy four-barreled pistol that on Earth would be known as a Lancaster pistol. Claude, in his ignorance, just thinks of it as The Really Big Gun.
The hand cannon roars once, then a second time, smashing one of the kobolds into the cavern wall. Claude ducks under another whirling bucket and drops a second kobold with a well-aimed shot.
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kantankerous Kobolds.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
As Tethelle stays with the drifters, Meryl moves on, relieved that they were able to make it past without being perceived as too much of a threat. She does feel bad for the fallen though and silently hopes the drifters that make it out alive can give their comrades a proper resting place instead of a dank, dangerous cave.
Before she can give it much thought, the kobolds come into view with some oddly made ARMs. She looks with surprise and in her distraction Meryl misses the grease buckets they hold in their hands until they are coming right for her face!
Trying to dodge, Meryl watches in amazement at Neriah's attack before she realizes that if she doesn't do something quickly, she will end up covered in grease, as well as the gross green stuff from earlier.
Meryl lets Claude take the lead though and follows behind him with a couple derringers. She quickly dodges another bucket of grease before pulling out two guns and leaning to the side, shooting for two of the nearest kobolds.
(Note: She really doesn't want to be covered in grease!) That would be hard to explain to Milly when and if she finally made it back to the hotel.
DG: Meryl Stryfe has used her Tool Coat of Derringers toward her party's challenge, Kantankerous Kobolds.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo, likewise, remains behind a moment to say a benediction over the fallen. He glances at Tethelle once it's over--he doesn't recognize the prayer, and it's obvious she's praying to some heathen divinity, but he can respect the intent. "Death comes too easily in places such as these," he says, to Tethelle. "But the least we can do is honor the fallen." The sounds of gunshots echo down the corridor. Leo goes from meditative to combat-ready in a heartbeat. His blade practically leaps into his hand, and he races down the tunnel after Tethelle.
"Cowardly creatures!" Leo cries, falling on the grease-dispensing rear guard like some sort of avalanche. "We will not suffer your tricks! Stand and fight!" He smashes one Kobald upside the head with the pommel of his blade, and slashes a grease bucket out of the hands of another--it goes flying into the face of a third, sending the hapless monster to the ground in a puddle.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Leo's Goods toward his party's challenge, Kantankerous Kobolds.
===============================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Kantankerous Kobolds *>===================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A swarm of angry kobolds suddenly emerge from the shadows, rushing toward the party with cruse gunsmoke ARMs and knives. Others in the rear begin hurling buckets of grease at you. How odd. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
==========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 6 *>=========================== =======================< Results - Kantankerous Kobolds >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 14 --(4)--> 18 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Icon of Equites 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 11 --(6)--> 17 Pass Coat of Derringers 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 12 --(4)--> 16 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 17 --(3)--> 20 Pass Leo's Goods 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 90 --(5)--> 95 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Slow(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has passed this challenge! The party gained 5 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> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle is a priestess. If she can't offer prayers, who can?
Well, Leo can, but that's beside the point.
Tethelle showed up too late to see exactly what Neriah did, but she can feel the aftereffects, a bit of an unpleasant spiritual echo in the air to go along with the booming of many, many guns. Of course, she's a little distracted because, being at the back of the ground, she did get sprayed with grease. She sputters, not that this stops her from hammering with the flat of her gigantic sword.
Well, the kobolds are scattering. That's a good sign... she hopes.
DG: Neriah Parringer has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Kan-Trip Kantrip *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The path ahead opens into a large chamber overlooking stony stalagmites. A single stone bridge spans the treacherous ground toward a passage leading further into the cave. As you enter, however, ancient Symbols light up on the bridge, causing it to suddenly shimmer and become slick as glass - watch your step! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Suffer=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
The dark magic roils back into Neriah once its work is done. Shuddering, she staggers forward, barely missing stepping in a grease trap. Fortuitously, most of the kobolds seem to have been dealt with before they could toss their buckets.
Neriah lifts her head and forces out a rushing breath through her teeth. "...Now that damn bridge," she growls. Her voice is a little lower, pinched with a quiet anger.
The Excavator - is that what she is - straightens up, moving to the head of the bridge and beginning to move across. The same thing happens that happened last time she was here - within a step or two, those symbols along the bridge illuminate, and the stone smooths and slickens.
"Stop," Neriah shouts as the symbols light up. She plants her heels on the bridge, digs in, and waits for the spell to take effect.
"We're gonna have to be... very... very... careful," she hisses as she begins to gingerly step forward. Bringing one boot down, she plants her foot solidly, putting weight on it to make sure she doesn't slip. Then she takes another step.
She thinks it looks pro as hell but it actually looks like she's very slowly sumo-walking across the bridge. Nice job, Neriah.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kan-Trip Kantrip.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"ONLY IF WE'RE LAME!"
Claude C. Kenny, having backed up to take a running start, hops and lands on the bridge, turned sideways like he's on a skateboard, Symbols and grease allowing him to blaze forward in a nearly friction free environment.
"wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
Neriah may want to watch ou--
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
DG: Claude C. Kenny has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Kan-Trip Kantrip.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"Holy Granas's cornhole!" Neriah yelps as Claude comes skidding towards her. There is a loud, meaty *thunk.*
Nothing is going to stop Claude C. Kenny from grease-skating across the bridge. But he'll have to do so with Neriah tangled up with him. She ends up holding on for dear life, having to cinch her legs around his waist to keep from falling off.
"Oh noooo, you're going so faaaaast!!" she wails.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The Kobalds are dealt with. Leo sheathes his blade, and presses on.
He's not so foolish as to try and bull ahead when Neriah told him to stop--and he can faintly sense the distinct, foreign pulse of the magic he's come to know as 'Symbology'. There is undoubtedly a cunning trap in play here, one the strange young lady seems to recognize. The slow, deliberate gait doesn't give him much of a clue, but Claude just deciding to slip-n-slide his way across is more helpful. In a sense. Leo grabs for Neriah's hand as Claude shoots off, but is too slow. His other hand goes for a length of knotted rope hooked on his belt. "Or," the White Knight says, "We can bypass it with a cunning scheme of our own."
Leo throws the hook. It flies across the chamber, reeling out line as it goes, before hooking around a stalagmite next to the door. Leo gives it a few strong tugs, and ties it around a stalagmite near the mouth of the tunnel they just came out of.
He wipes slime off his hands and knees, grips the rope firmly, and hooks his legs around it. He scoots across, slowly but hopefully safely!
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, Kan-Trip Kantrip.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
The kobolds seem to finally retreat thanks the the hail of gunfire. They leave a lot of grease spots behind and Meryl does her best to avoid them as they pass through and end up on another path which opens up an area with a bridge.
Meryl doesn't sense the danger and quickly walks up to it. She doesn't seem to hear Neriah's warning as she approaches and the bridge lights up. Her feet are slick from the bit of goo and grease they picked up and before she realizes what is happening, Meryl is following behind Claude, slipping and sliding the whole way.
"Ahhhhhh! I can't find anything to hol-" Meryl is looking to grab a rope or something but finds she can't do much else as she is too close behind the others, first sliding in her shoes but then she falls and picks up momentum, crashing into Claude and Neriah!
DG: Meryl Stryfe has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kan-Trip Kantrip.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian is still trying to get oil off her.
She walks to the rest of the group, and nearly walks onto the slippery, slidey bridge without taking proper precautions. Fortunately Neriah stops her, and Claude decides to, uh... take the lead.
Tethelle goes last. This is because she is not walking across the bridge - she is crawling, which looks ridiculous but keeps her center of balance very low and also gives her four limbs to balance with instead of two. This way, if she slips, she'll faceplant and catch herself by wrapping her arms around it... hopefully.
"Really?" she calls at the rest of the group. "Slow down!"
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kan-Trip Kantrip.
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Kan-Trip Kantrip *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The path ahead opens into a large chamber overlooking stony stalagmites. A single stone bridge spans the treacherous ground toward a passage leading further into the cave. As you enter, however, ancient Symbols light up on the bridge, causing it to suddenly shimmer and become slick as glass - watch your step! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Suffer=========================================
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Kan-Trip Kantrip *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The path ahead opens into a large chamber overlooking stony stalagmites. A single stone bridge spans the treacherous ground toward a passage leading further into the cave. As you enter, however, ancient Symbols light up on the bridge, causing it to suddenly shimmer and become slick as glass - watch your step! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Suffer=========================================
===========================<* Krosse Kave - Round 7 *>=========================== =========================< Results - Kan-Trip Kantrip >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Claude C. Kenny 18 --(12)--> 30 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 20 --(15)--> 35 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meryl Stryfe 17 --(12)--> 29 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 16 --(13)--> 29 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 20 --(11)--> 31 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Claude C. Kenny 95 --(25)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Suffer(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Claude C. Kenny has successfully explored Krosse Kave!
================================<* Krosse Kave *>================================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Khameleon Kloak *>========================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
An ancient wardrobe yields up several sets of clothing of some sort of
bizarre style and material you've probably never seen before. Tucked in the
back, however, is a length of cloth that almost perfectly matches the wood
of the armoire. When you pull it out, the material shifts in colour to match
the floor, and even your skin.
You should send a +request regarding this discovery!
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Tethelle calls out for them to slow down and Meryl hears it, managing to yell out, "We caaaaan't!" This bridge seems to go on forever. Will it ever stop?!
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
A skidding, greasy, sliding heap of human bodies comes careening across the bridge as Meryl is tangled up in the Claude-Neriah skidpile. Soon enough, the three crash through a wooden door at the far end of the bridge.
There's still plenty of grease. The three of them glide onwards. Momentum carries them onward, until they skid into a slightly raised floor plate and sail forward with just enough separation that they fly apart.
Meryl crashes through the wardrobe at the far end of the room headfirst. Then Neriah smashes through the middle part of the door and flops down on top of Meryl. Finally, Claude puts a big hole through the top part of the door. He does not fall, because he's embedded in the back wall of the wardrobe.
By the time Tethelle and Leo creep into the room, they're treated to Neriah and Meryl stacked on top of each other, with Claude's lower half sticking out of the wardrobe. There is a length of cloth partly draped over him that has perfectly matched the colour of half of Claude's bottom.
"Ow," Neriah manages thinly.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Seconded," Claude mutters, his butt shaking slightly as he tries to squirm his way out.
"THat was pretty fun, though."
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle's attempt at crawling did not work so easily as she'd like. She kept faceplanting on the bridge, and one or the other of her limbs constantly skidded out from under her. But at least she didn't fall off it!
Eventually, though, she does get to the other side and picks herself up, carefully. Tethelle picks the length of cloth off Claude, as part of freeing him, but is distracted again when it changes colour. So much for helping them out. "Are you all right in there?"
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo hears the sound of splintering wood from outside. He offered them a rope! A rope that's somewhat slippery from slime residue, but a rope!
Once he's got solid ground beneath him again, he unhooks his knees, and picks himself up. He observes the tangle of Neriah, Claude, Meryl, and the wardrobe a moment, before grabbing for Claude's leg. "Hold still," Leo says. "And I will extract you from this... chest-of-drawers?" What is that doing in a dungeon? Perhaps worth a look-through, in case there's anything interesting and/or stylish.
Claude's leg, meanwhile, gets pulled on.
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Even as she calls out to Tethelle, Meryl gets a glimpse of the door and she realizes, with horror, that they are going to crash through it. Unfortunately, it's not a soft landing as she is thrown into the wardrobe and hits it with her head. "Ugh!" She holds a hand up to her face while trying to get a sense of things before Neriah comes up behind her and she is thrown backwards again.
By the time she regains her composure, Meryl stands up and gets out of the wardrobe. "I don't know if that was exactly fun Claude." Frowning, she looks back at the cloth. "Hey look at this!" She watches in amazement as it changes colors. "What kind of cloth is this?" She seems intrigued by it and takes a small piece of it, raising it in the air in front of her.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
"I haven't a clue," Tethelle says, thoughtfully, when Meryl asks. She still has some of it wrapped around her shoulders; she seems inclined to leave it there. "Certainly it isn't something I'd use for bandages."
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Neriah slides off of Meryl and hits the ground on her back, sprawling out and rubbing her head with both hands. "Ugh, ow," she grumbles again, wincing.
The talk of the cloth piques her interest, though. Sitting up, she blinks and peers at it. Her eyes widen, then, and she parts her lips, then closes her mouth again as she begins to work mentally through all the possibilities of such a versatile fabric.
"Is," she begins, before quieting and looking to Tethelle. "...Is there enough there for more than one person? I could use that...."
<Pose Tracker> Meryl Stryfe has posed.
Looking back into the armoire, Meryl pulls out more cloth. "It looks like there is enough for everyone if you want it!" She takes a litte bit before moving away to allow others to take what they want from the pile.
"That was crazy though. I think I need a shower." It was a long journey back to November after all and she was pretty tired.