View source for 2017-09-12: Teen Action Squad Goes Down The -Wel-

*'''Log: Teen Action Squad Goes Down The -Wel-'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Loren Voss]], [[Character :: Elhaym van Houten]], [[Character :: Seraphita]]
*'''Where:''' Great Aveh Desert
*'''Date:''' September 12th 2017
*'''Summary''': ''Gebler investigates a town alleged to be overrun by Reapers (AKA Wels). It doesn't go well.''

----

 DG: A party led by Loren Voss is now entering Abandoned Frontier Town.
 DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ====================<* CHALLENGE - Windswept Abandonment *>=====================
 |Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  The town itself is quiet. Eerily quiet. Drifting swirls of sand or dust, as
  well as the occasional tumbleweed, help to create the impression of a
  abandoned town with only ghosts to keep you company. And then there is a
  sound. A faint moan that has no source, drifting on the wind. A moment later
  the ground shudders, and a claw thrusts up from beneath the ground. A moment
  later, a second bursts up just behind you. Something is coming from the
  ground, better get moving!
 =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	Gebler keeps its ear to the ground, as a rule, particularly where ruins and their various oddities are concerned. There's no telling what ruins a random Drifter might walk into Tuesday only to blow up a city with what they found Wednesday.

	(there's also the fact that certain things are definitely Of Interest to Solaris' long-term plans but we digress)

	But ruins alone aren't the only thing they keep an eye on. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes bad things happen. A surface-dweller's life might not be worth much in the scheme of things to Solaris, but when entire towns start dropping off the map contact-wise, well, you notice that.

	You also notice when people start whispering about 'Reapers' and even 'Wels'.

	Which is precisely why the little team is here in one of those towns that has, well, randomly decided to check out of contact over the last few weeks. The mission's fairly simple: check the town, confirm if there's a Situation. ...And ideally get out after that, there's no sense in wasting resources if they ''are'' Wels.

	So here they all are, outside of what was allegedly once a thriving if very dusty little village.

	A tumbleweed kicks along, as if to make the point.

	"...Looks dead," Loren comments, squinting at the weather-beaten buildings. He pauses, as if noticing something. Or maybe it's just his paranoia running. "It's too quiet to just be abandoned."

	On cue, the wind howls.

	...Wait, that's not the wind...

	Something claws its way up to the surface, just behind them. There's another low moan. Loren slowly glances back over his shoulder and sort of regrets doing that.

	"Ma'am?" Loren says to Seraphita, who is, yes, the ranking officer here today. "We have a situation--"

	The ground is shaking. Either that's a lot of them or ''one really big one''.

	"I-- I advise we move!"

	Going back: probably not actually an option right now.

 DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Windswept Abandonment.

 <Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

"Why do they abandon places like this so suddenly?" speculates Elhaym van Houten, who has put back on those damn lizard-tight blue jeans she bought in a store and which she is regretting because she's still wearing her ballistic pantyhose underneath them. From a distance she doesn't look like Gebler, which was most of the goal.

"Though... I suppose that's what we're here to find..."

Elly feels that rumble. Her eyes turn downwards and look towards the other two, before she

REACHES OUT and GRASPS AT LOREN'S WRIST

In order to pull him along. "Come on!!" And then she runs.

There will, eventually, be a certain irony to this activity.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, Windswept Abandonment.

 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	Seraphita may be the ranking officer, but the way she follows the group on her hands, not her feet, might confuse onlookers. She is truly proud of her handstands, it seems, to casually stroll behind Elly and Loren upside down as she does.

	"Maybe they found better houses elsewhere!" the bunny answers Elly, taking everything at face value until claws and hands seemingly begin making their way out of the ground. Unlike the other two, the rabbit seems to find this amusing.

	"Guys, guys, look! They wanna play, they wanna play!" No, Seraphita, that's not what Wels are for. She flips back onto her legs proper, trying to catch up to the now fleeing duo. "Heeeey, wait up!" She wants to play, but she wants to stay with her ~friends~ moreso!

 DG: Seraphita has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Windswept Abandonment.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ====================<* CHALLENGE - Windswept Abandonment *>=====================
 |Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  The town itself is quiet. Eerily quiet. Drifting swirls of sand or dust, as
  well as the occasional tumbleweed, help to create the impression of a
  abandoned town with only ghosts to keep you company. And then there is a
  sound. A faint moan that has no source, drifting on the wind. A moment later
  the ground shudders, and a claw thrusts up from beneath the ground. A moment
  later, a second bursts up just behind you. Something is coming from the
  ground, better get moving!
 =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================

 ====================<* Abandoned Frontier Town - Round 1 *>=====================
 ======================< Results - Windswept Abandonment >=======================
 Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Loren Voss                          0 --(6)--> 6                   Fail
 Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Elhaym van Houten                   0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
 Sassy Boots                         2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seraphita                           0 --(2)--> 2                   Pass
 Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
 -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
 Leader: Loren Voss                  0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
 Conditions: Hesitate(2)
 Effects: Stalwart(1)
 ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

 DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Loren Voss has posed.

	Just remember, Loren tells himself. Seraphita is the Fire Element and reports directly to the Commander. "...Ma'am," he says, having to steel himself slightly beforehand.

	He really can't believe this.

	And just to make things extra awkward (for him), van Houten is here.

	They didn't precisely have the most fond of farewells the last time.

	"...It's likely not so much that it was abandoned," Loren comments, glancing over at Elly, just the once, before hissing out a breath. "It's more probable they're all dead."

	Well, that's pleasant.

	Also, possibly plausible, as ''something'' rises up from the ground beneath.

	Loren's reaction timing at the present is poor. He's really going to regret looking back.

	Particularly when Elly reaches out and ''grabs'' his wrist to haul him along, and he has this strange sense of--

	SOMEWHERE

	Two figures flee, silhouetted against a pitch-black background.

	--Loren has the strangest sense that he's ended up in someone else's chronologically-misplaced flashblack. 

	"--Uh--" is about as much as he gets out as he's dragged along. Seraphita won't find it at all hard to catch up to the pair of lieutenants. Something shudders its way out of the earth at their heels -- and oh boy does it have a lot of spinal columns somehow -- but it's going to just have to eat their dust at this pace.

	Of course this ''does'' mean they're running right into the town...

 DG: Seraphita has drawn a new Challenge.

 ==========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>===========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Gotta Go Up! *>==========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
  A narrow alleyway between two buildings turns out to be a less than ideal
  place to travel, as both ends of the alley are becoming blocked off by more
  and more of the creatures that are emerging from their places of hiding
  around the town. Without any windows or doors to break down to escape, there
  is no choice but to climb up the narrow alley walls and reach a balcony,
  awning or rooftop in order to escape.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================

 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	"That's too bad! Dead people aren't any fun, except when they're targets for playing! Like these guys! They just wanna be friends, we should turn around and play with them!" Seraphita insists, even as she continues keeping up with Loren and Elly to avoid being left behind. Maybe it's luck that when the group turns a corner in the ghost town, they enter a narrow hallway with collapsed building chunks forming a nice barricade they could get behind.

	Maybe it's misfortune the barricade is several stories high and Wels have started pouring out the broken windows around them, thin, stretchy limbs clawing at the bricks and wood for a hold solid enough to crawl themselves forward, ever forward, towards their next meal.

	These are starved. Their moans weak, their bones almost cracking under their own steps. How long since Drifters last wandered here? How long since they've had FRESH meat, not just the bodies of other Wels?

	None of this matters to Seraphita, who, giggling and making loud "WHEEEE!" noises, bounces off the head of a Wels and then walljumps back and forth until she's on one of the flat, unstable rooftops up above.

	"Come up here, we can have a better view of the playground!!"

	But the rooftops aren't exactly sturdy. These houses are about ten days overdue to collapse.

 DG: Seraphita has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gotta Go Up!.

 <Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

When Loren stumbles behind her Elly looks over her shoulder at him. It's a fleeting look, hard to read, but it does make her slow down. "The entire place--!"

Seraphita is insisting they play with the dead. Elly looks at her, boggling slightly, and says as they come to a momentary halt, "I don't think they want to play, I think they're eager to -" Bricks and wood crack near them!

I won't abandon him, Elly thinks, before telling Loren, "Careful - ahh!!" Some framework flumps over, shedding splinters and nails, but Elly sees opportunity. "This way!" And now she too scrambles upwards, not nearly as agile as Seraphita but doing their level best. If only they built out of stone; this would be far, far easier, Elly thinks, even as she looks back over her shoulder (and down her nose) at Loren - again!

At least the boots are doing well.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, Gotta Go Up!.

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	Elly gives him a very strange look, one he can't quite parse.

	In all seriousness, what Loren's ''really'' flashing back to right now is the vague recollection of a class wherein Wels were discussed.

	...It's unfortunately very vague right now.

	She's... what.

	"Ma'am, I don't think--" ugh, and getting half-dragged by van Houten over into the alleyway here -- however mercifully closed-off it is right now -- isn't improving things. "--We need to--"

	Oh, great, they're swarming all over by now. Well, at least if they don't die they'll have a report in the affirmative.

	He glances up. "--Up there? You're..." No, Loren, when is Seraphita kidding about anything?

	Also there's not much choice about it now, not when the walls nearby shudder with the horde of Wels pressing closer--

	And Elly scrambles up to safety, leaving him still gawking at the section that's just fallen. ...Offers him a hand.

	It's testament of his dislike of her that he hestiates before taking it, but it's testament of his desire not to die horribly that he ''does'' take it.

 DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gotta Go Up!.

 ==========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>===========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Gotta Go Up! *>==========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
  A narrow alleyway between two buildings turns out to be a less than ideal
  place to travel, as both ends of the alley are becoming blocked off by more
  and more of the creatures that are emerging from their places of hiding
  around the town. Without any windows or doors to break down to escape, there
  is no choice but to climb up the narrow alley walls and reach a balcony,
  awning or rooftop in order to escape.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================

 =====================<* Abandoned Frontier Town - Round 2 *>======================
 ============================< Results - Gotta Go Up! >============================
 Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Loren Voss                          6 --(15)--> 21                 Fail
 Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Elhaym van Houten                   3 --(13)--> 16                 Pass
 Sassy Boots                         2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seraphita                           2 --(15)--> 17                 Fail
 Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
 ------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------
 Leader: Loren Voss                  20 --(10)--> 30                Fail
 Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Tire(2)
 Effects: Stalwart(1)
 ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================

 DG: The party led by Loren Voss has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 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> Seraphita has posed.

	Getting up onto the roof, no problem.

	Staying there, big problem.

	With the clatter of Wels underneath, the house quakes. The walls creak, the wood cracks. Under Seraphita and Loren's feet, worst of luck, the badly damaged tiles of the roof give way - but the two, at least able to react in time, don't fall into the mass of Wels in the house, but rather off the roof and on the other side of the barricade of debris. On the bright side, there is a brief respite. On the not so bright side, the fall wasn't gracious or coordinated.

	Seraphita whines, going "Owie." as she gets back up and dusts herself. As Elly no doubt hops back down to regroup (with much better footing than the other two), it's easy to see through the half-broken wall of the house they were on moments ago the pile of well over two dozen Wels just... clawing over one another, trying to be the one that gets to go out to eat. If the imagery isn't disturbing, it's probably the moans that really sell it. They're suffering, but that's nothing new.

	"Are you sure? I always play with these when I meet some! They're not much for talk though. Tolone says just can't understand what they're saying and they're actually very smart!" If Tolone said so, it must be true. Poor Seraphita.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Safe Haven *>==========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  A safe place could take many forms - a barred room, a rooftop that is
  difficult to access, or even an entire building that is locked and cannot be
  easily accessed. Needless to say, the party has found such a place - it is
  up to them to gather their wits and ensure they don't attract any extra
  attention while the recover and plan their next move.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================

 <Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Elly ascends to the roof with Seraphita just in time for the house itself to start tottering over. Seraphita fell down; Elly can at least leap down and land in a crouch, tumbling forwards to absorb her momentum and sprawling out for a moment.

She looks then towards the Wels.

And for reasons she can't claim to understand, she feels a sudden sharp pang of - something - sympathy?

But it doesn't last. It helps that the creatures are kind of right there. Elly looks the other way -- and spots salvation. "There!" she says, pointing. "Near the railway--"

A scrabbling up some wooden framing and a leap over a half-collapsed piece of wooden shade, and the group would be safe.

But there is one problem.

&#42;splash&#42;

Everyone is now standing in thigh-deep water.

"... I don't think this is a valid long term solution," Elly says.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Safe Haven.

 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	Splash!

	Seraphita blinks as she looks down. "See, there's even a pool! ... but I don't have my floaters, I'm not supposed to go for a swim without my floaters," she explains, keeping on her tiptoes vigilantly. Not that it stops her bottom half from being wet, and given her... choice of attire, it might be more distracting for Loren than for the bunny herself.

	"Brr! It's cold too. I want a towel! Did someone bring a towel?" Probably, no one brought a towel, so Seraphita will just go 'awwwww' and make sad bunny eyes.

	"So um... which way do we go now? Oh, we should go see if there's fancy machines here too!" 'Too'? She doesn't clarify as she gets ready to head off already, unable to stand still in the water.

	"What about this way? Oh, what about THAT way?"

 DG: Seraphita has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Safe Haven.

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	Loren, being Loren, has his hand slip from Elly's. The way he lands can't have been comfortable, given the way his eyes sort of cross for a moment and he emits a low groan. He might lie there for a moment as dust showers down. "I don't think... they want to play..."

	It's not his finest moment.

	Also, possibly his last if he doesn't get moving.

	The noises coming from under what used to be a house are a good motivator.

	So's the fact that they weren't the only ones.

	Loren rises to his feet quickly after that. What they need is a place to regroup, figure out how they're going to get out of this. Elly's spotted a safe spot? He'll take it. "Right--" he says, scrambling up to the place she's indicated, taking that leap and--

	Sploosh.

	Loren gestures outwards, palms facing up towards the heavens.

	In other words 'why me'.

	"No, it isn't," he replies to Elly, probably a little too flatly (considering there's a commanding officer just inches away) before sighing and raising a hand to his head.

	It's fine. ''It's fine''.

	He takes a breath. "...There should be somewhere else we can get to from here." Ideally not back down. He touches his hand to his glasses, expending a little bit of ether. "--Ma'am, actually I think this way might be--"

	He looks at Seraphita. He looks away from Seraphita, a little hurriedly. "...Try over here," he says, gaze averted as he jabs towards one of the walls that looks slightly more decrepit than the rest.

	TODAY'S RATING: BAD

 DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Etheric Lenses toward his party's challenge, Safe Haven.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Safe Haven *>==========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  A safe place could take many forms - a barred room, a rooftop that is
  difficult to access, or even an entire building that is locked and cannot be
  easily accessed. Needless to say, the party has found such a place - it is
  up to them to gather their wits and ensure they don't attract any extra
  attention while the recover and plan their next move.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================

 ====================<* Abandoned Frontier Town - Round 3 *>=====================
 ============================< Results - Safe Haven >============================
 Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Loren Voss                          21 --(0)--> 21                 Pass
 Etheric Lenses                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Elhaym van Houten                   16 --(0)--> 16                 Pass
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seraphita                           17 --(0)--> 17                 Fail
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
 Leader: Loren Voss                  30 --(20)--> 50                Pass
 Conditions: Save Point(1)|Tire(1)
 Effects: Enlighten(1)
 ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

 DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

The heavens have no reply to Loren.

Elly is uncomfortably silent as the water sloshes. She starts standing on the balls of her feet too since it's cold and it's almost up to - oh, Seraphita asked her something - "I didn't, but... We should be able to dry out."

Elly falls uncomfortably silent as cold water starts slopping around due to Seraphita splashing around - but Loren spots a vulnerability.

EXTERIOR SHOT: Part of the water tower is blasted asunder and most of the water falls out, sufficiently forceful to smash down onto the clustered Wels who were semi-patiently waiting for the emergence of their pray.

INTERIOR SHOT: Elly relaxes.

And from up here, they'll have a great view of the overall situation! (View contingent on leadership.)

 DG: Seraphita has drawn a new Challenge.

 ==========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>===========================
 ========================<* CHALLENGE - Are They Asleep? *>========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
  There are a number of Reapers here, but they do not appear to be moving, or
  even responding to the presence of the party. They could be in some sort of
  hibernation, but the path forward lies on the other side of the group.
  Sneakiness will be required - but waking any of these slumbering creatures
  will be very, very bad...
 =Dungeon Conditions: Vault, Exhaust===========================================

 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	Splash, splash, splash. The party advances through the water, finally settling on Loren's chosen direction. Splash. That one wasn't any of you.

	A half-rotten, swollen body rises up from the depths and settles on the surface between Seraphita and Loren. Another, between Loren and Elly. Then between Seraphita and Elly. Then, all around them.

	Bloated Wels, filled with water and gases - their hearts beating faintly. They were the ground you were walking on, moments ago, thinking this place was only a couple of feet of water. It was closer to three and a half. Maybe four.

	The countless Reapers become so numerous, as the seconds pass, that one can barely even make out the surface of the water. Not only does it smell bad, but the slightest touch risks breaking their swollen bodies apart and releasing... well, do you really want to know?

	Perhaps the luck break here is that they seem asleep, or perhaps too bloated to move or make any attempts on your life. So, good news! Now you JUST need to navigate between floating gas bombs which are also zombies and full of sharp bones and teeth.

	Seraphita pinches the bridge of her nose. "Aww, the ones back home didn't smell this bad though! This sucks!" Swimming under the floating Wels would probably be the safest bet, but Seraphita doesn't think about it.

 DG: Seraphita has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Are They Asleep?.

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	"If we can get over... there," Loren continues, once a well-placed blow drains...

	Huh, that was more water than he thought would be in here, and still put them at considerable wading depth. The medic pauses for a moment.

	'Bloop,' says a reanimated corpse, rising from the deep in front of him.

	Loren's expression goes entirely, utterly blank. You know, that one look perfected by glasses-wearing characters, the one where even the lenses go opaque.

	He's only screaming internally as he slowly, slowly, turns -- bodies drifting and bobbing in his wake -- to look around himself.

	Also it smells really, really, atrociously bad. How bad? Loren's assisted in trauma surgery before, so pretty damn bad.

	He stands there in silence for a scant few moments.

	Oh, and they're breathing. "...They... aren't dead," he says to start. A warning, just the thing to brighten everyone's day.

	...This is fine, he repeats to himself in silence.

	"We should..." He pauses, pushing his glasses up his nose, taking stock of the situation... and really importantly, getting a look at just how much space is between the floating Wels. Not much.

	He slips off his glasses, tucking them in his bag.

	"...I recommend swimming under them. Ma'am?"

	...What does she mean, the ones back home?

 DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Etheric Lenses toward his party's challenge, Are They Asleep?.

 <Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

The water drains and - squish - Elly realizes with horror in that moment that she's standing on top of TORPID WELS BLOATED WITH GAS AND DECAY!

Something about the stink is so horribly and subtly disquieting that she has to bite her thumb to avoid screeching. The fact that the absorbent cotton of her jeans are holding NASTY CORPSE WATER against her legs doesn't help anything or anyone at all. Nor does Seraphita's reminder of her own sordid past.

She blanches visibly when Loren suggests they swim under the dead bodies, rotten and gassy. She doesn't respond. She is, perhaps, restraining herself from fireblasting everything to char.

Fortunately she can be led - because she sure isn't helping.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Are They Asleep?.

 ==========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>===========================
 ========================<* CHALLENGE - Are They Asleep? *>========================
 |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
  There are a number of Reapers here, but they do not appear to be moving, or
  even responding to the presence of the party. They could be in some sort of
  hibernation, but the path forward lies on the other side of the group.
  Sneakiness will be required - but waking any of these slumbering creatures
  will be very, very bad...
 =Dungeon Conditions: Vault, Exhaust===========================================

 =====================<* Abandoned Frontier Town - Round 4 *>======================
 ==========================< Results - Are They Asleep? >==========================
 Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Loren Voss                          21 --(3)--> 24                 Pass
 Etheric Lenses                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Elhaym van Houten                   16 --(3)--> 19                 Pass
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seraphita                           17 --(16)--> 33                Fail
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 ------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------
 Leader: Loren Voss                  50 --(30)--> 80                Pass
 Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Vault(1)
 Effects: Enlighten(1)
 ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================

 DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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.
 
 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	Maybe it IS the party's lucky day after all. Whether through sheer luck or the brilliance of swimming under the Wels, Loren discovers a large pipe under the water. At a glance it's obvious it's part of the small village's make-do sewer system... but there's something more to it. Noise, coming from deep within. And Loren might notice, from the pattern the Wels take in the water, the way the water flows... could it be the party is going to have to swim in there to get to the source of the infestation? Luckily, it's probably not flooded once you get inside since the pipe seems to arc back up into a building after about fifteen, maybe twenty meters.

	As the camera focuses back on the party from this discovery, Seraphita is covered in chunks of exploded zombie. "I did a whoopsie and now I smell bad." She seems very sad. Probably because that gunk is all up in her hair. Seraphita is not good at navigating minefields of zombie bombs.

DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - The Hatch *>===========================
 |Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  The source of the infestation of Reapers appears as the party struggles
  through the town. There is a strange hatch leading down to some unknown
  location that has been opened, and the Reapers are emerging a few at a time
  from whatever is buried beneath the ground. Is it an old installation, or
  perhaps some strange machine buried in the ground? But regardless, there is
  a keypad or some other mechanism that can be triggered to seal the entrance
  and keep the rest of the Reapers inside. But activating that mechanism will
  take a bit of work.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	The medical things in his bag should be fine. It's watertight for practical reasons. Everything else, including Loren himself...?

	This is going to be awful, he thinks, moments before he pinches his nose, preparing to dive deep. And pauses, glancing over at Elly.

	...

	He can't abandon her, no matter what he feels about her. It's not even a purely pragmatic decision (like, say, considering how well her father would react for one). They're both Solarians.

	So he reaches out, takes her hand, and dives.

	It's pretty awful.

	It's also a little bit lucky. Something's rumbling, vibrations felt more than heard once they sink below the surface. There's a large pipe, leading...

	Luckily, there's places to come up for air or they'd really be up the creek.

	This was... probably a water treatment facility, at one point. This town was likely a large stopover at some point, before 'something happened'.

	Loren slicks his sodden hair back, out of his eyes and takes his first really good look around. Including at Seraphita, who... yes, smells pretty bad. "...Ma'am, are you alright?" Apparently it went less well for some of them.

	"This looks like a water treatment facility. It's quite old."

	And then Loren stops dead because right there, about fifty feet away, is a doorway -- a hatchway to some deeper part of the facility. And more importantly, a Wels is currently stumbling its way out of the doorway. ...Make that three Wels, as they attempt to exit all at once.

	...Five Wels.

	"...This might be where they're coming out from," he observes at a bit of a remove. Now the thing is, what do they do about it?

	The keypad over there might be a hint. Retrieving his glasses from his bag -- and shaking them off because he won't get anything from smearing them on his uniform -- Loren slides them back on and squints at the keypad.

	"...These keys were used recently," he says, indicating a few of the numbers.

	But... in what order?

 DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Etheric Lenses toward his party's challenge, The Hatch.

 <Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

In the water - Elly kicks and thrashes, at least avoiding being dead weight, as she follows along with Loren - but she doesn't open her eyes.

Elly coughs disgustingly and feels profoundly unclean.

She sympathizes with Seraphita silently. She keeps her eyes shut, steadying herself. Elly tells herself: Kelvena can handle this. Just center yourself. In your belly. That's the core of everyone; the place where we're connected to mother. Just let it go. Calm yourself...

There's wriggling noises.

Elly opens her eyes and stares dully at like five Wels wiggling like horrid, hideous puppies trying to pour through a hole that's too small for all of them to get through at once.

There is a shrieking bolt of lightning out of thin air into them, stoppering the hole at least briefly with 'dead Wels.' Elly then hugs herself and tries not to cry! IT'S HARDER THAN IT SEEMS.

 DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Hatch.

 <Pose Tracker> Seraphita has posed.

	Seraphita shakes her head at Loren's question. "I'm gonna need like, five showers! Maybe three baths. Oh! ... do we have bubbly soap in Bledavik?" Whoa, she can remember what it's called! And say it right! Sadly, that's the extent of how useful she's about to be, which is to say, not very.

	She looks at Elly, confused by her reactions. While Loren handles the SCIENCE, the bunny gets closer to Elly and hugs her. She still smells awful.

	"Grandma always said if you see someone hugging themselves you should hug them because they probably need it!"

	Seraphita's contributions this round: getting Elly stanky. But also maybe cheering her up?! That might help with things. Maybe.

 DG: Seraphita has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Hatch.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ==========================<* CHALLENGE - The Hatch *>===========================
 |Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  The source of the infestation of Reapers appears as the party struggles
  through the town. There is a strange hatch leading down to some unknown
  location that has been opened, and the Reapers are emerging a few at a time
  from whatever is buried beneath the ground. Is it an old installation, or
  perhaps some strange machine buried in the ground? But regardless, there is
  a keypad or some other mechanism that can be triggered to seal the entrance
  and keep the rest of the Reapers inside. But activating that mechanism will
  take a bit of work.
 =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================

 ====================<* Abandoned Frontier Town - Round 5 *>=====================
 ============================< Results - The Hatch >=============================
 Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Loren Voss                          24 --(100)--> 124              Pass
 Etheric Lenses                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Elhaym van Houten                   19 --(100)--> 119              Fail
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seraphita                           33 --(100)--> 133              Fail
 Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
 -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
 Leader: Loren Voss                  80 --(10)--> 90                Fail
 Conditions: Stupify(2)
 Effects: Enlighten(1)
 ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

 DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue!
 DG: Elhaym van Houten is too exhausted to continue!
 DG: Seraphita is too exhausted to continue!
 DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over.
 DG: The party led by Loren Voss has been fully Exhausted by Abandoned Frontier Town!
 DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.

 =========================<* Abandoned Frontier Town *>==========================
 ===================<* CHALLENGE - The Better Part of Valor *>===================
 |Type: Escape      |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |
 ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  There are too many of them! The party can no longer continue to explore the
  town, and the number of Reapers in the area are too great to handle. There's
  no choice but to run out of town, and hope that they don't follow you. The
  creatures are still out there, and further explorations may be necessary in
  order to ensure that the Reapers are destroyed once and for all.
 =Dungeon Conditions: =========================================================

 <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

	Elly's lightning is let loose at the Wels attempting to evacuate whatever horrors lie beyond the hatchway.

	Seraphita embraces Elly, empowering her with her love.

	Loren, glancing sidelong at the crowd of Wels attempting an escape, glances back at the keypad, and at a loss under current circumstances, takes a guess at the probable sequence.

	These things happen more or less at once.

	It's hard to tell if charred Wels add or detract from the general smell in the air right now. Aside from that, though, there's good news and bad news.

	The good news is, the dead Wels plug the hole.

	The bad news is, it's not for long. It's also not a very pretty sight as Wels tear and shred their way through their fallen kin, emerging with surging force from the chamber within.

	Loren taps the 'enter' key. Hits it ''twice'', for good measure.

	No response. Maybe it doesn't work anymore.

	He steps back, edging away from the horde. "Ma'am! Van Houten!" He hesitates, his gaze swinging wildly across the room in search of--

	"There! Do it!" He points at a section of the wall, one that, judging from the windows up high, must face the outside. They'll need to break out of here ''fast'' and...

	Well, run.

	And very belatedly, as Wels continue to swarm out of the broken hatchway, the keypad announces a very chipper 'beep!' as the light flashes green.

	That hatch is ''still'' not closing, though.

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Chapter 1]]
[[Category:Chapter 1, Act 2]]