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Revision as of 17:12, 4 May 2018
- Log: The Only Way Out Is Through
- Cast: Ida Everstead-Rey, Rosaline Calice, Garrett Stampede, A Mysterious Presence (NPC)
- Where: Mount Manfred, Zulan Massif
- Date: May 2, 2018
- Summary: Pursuing a lead deep into the Zulan Massif, three Hellions enter a Malevolent Domain surrounding the decaying Castle Rabenstein. They find a bit more than they bargained for.
DG: A party led by Ida Everstead-Rey is now entering Castle Rabenstein Grounds. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge Too Far Gone *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The way up to the castle will be precarious. Mt. Manfred is believed to be
uninhabited, and decades of harsh winters have done terrible things to the
local infrastructure. The footpath to the mountain passes over a shallow but
steep-sided ravine. At one point, travelers could cross via a sturdy
stonework bridge, but now that bridge is a crumbling mess.
On top of that, the Malevolence in the air heightens feelings of indecision,
feeding off anxiety and fear. The stonework trembles and whimpers beneath
your feet. This will not be a pleasant crossing, one way or another.
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- Ida made plans for this trip. She spent the better part of two weeks gathering information about the terrain and weather from people in the vicinity of Zulan--people who probably thought she was brave, or foolish, or both. Mt. Manfred is cursed. No one goes there except the mad and desperate. The peak sticks out like a knife against the horizon, taller than most of the other mountains in the range. A thin, wispy treeline clings to its flanks, though oddly enough, it seems oppressive enough when traveled through. Bare, skeletal tree branches hang over the snow-covered footpath.
- Ida leads the way, dressed in the heavy coat and thick boots she purchased for their earlier expeditions in this area. The Malevolent star in her chest glows through the leather, emitting coronal flares of violet particles as the miasma in the air gets thicker. "No question about it," Ida murmurs, as the presence gets thicker. She can smell the scent of blood on the wind. "This is someone's Domain. It feels... familiar." A few minutes later, and the group reaches what's left of a bridge.
- What are you doing?
- Images bubble up in Ida's mind, unbidden. Lady Harken sneering down at her. The Trial Knight's clawed gauntlet edging towards her throat, ready to tear it to ribbons. The images are so intense that they may well haunt Ida's companions, as well. "I will not fail again," Ida says. She grits her teeth, and jams a palm into a patch of bare rock next to the bridge.
- The lotus seeds have plenty of food in this place. Roots the size of tree branches erupt from the stone in a shower of splinters, and twist along the groaning, whimpering bridge, reinforcing it. "Come on," Ida says. She starts to walk, slowly and carefully, but driven inexorably forward.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Stainless Lotus Seeds toward her party's challenge, A Bridge Too Far Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
One silver lining to the whole Hellionization bit is that Rosaline is more honest about her feelings now. Being around the Furies, too, makes her more inclined to show her true face.
And ironically, because of this, right now she's looking a whole lot like the old Rosaline.
"I-I'm not sure about this, Ida, Garrett..."
The beastwoman, who can normally be counted on to at least be confident about her sure-footedness, made the mistake of looking down. She is catching glimpses of Ida's own trauma, but what comes to mind for her is more abstract: memories of the few times she did slip, or lose her balance, or run out of breath when she needed it the most. She can picture herself, crystal-clear, tumbling down that ravine, never to be seen again.
What an unceremonious end to her this would be. An appropriate punchline to the sick joke that is her life.
Lotus roots emerge, giving her something to hang on to and, if not banish the thoughts, at least relegate them to the background. "Thanks."
And, her tails raised and her teeth gritted, she proceeds forward.
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Bridge Too Far Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
"It'll be alright, Rosa."
Such is the knight's desire to make his friend feel at ease that he leaves off the nickname he usually gives the cat-eared priest. He's left his sword sheathed for this, needing both his hands for a trial such as this.
"Trust Ida and I, we won't let you fall." He says with a smile as he grits his teeth against the thoughts that assail him.
He has to focus on his companions at a time like this. If he doesn't? He might give in to his own near to overwhelming urge to swipe and smash at the specters of his own thoughts that flit about him.
The feel, the taint, the horror of this place seeps into the very bones but his own stubborn pride and strange curiosity keeps him moving forwards, and his desire to protect his friends.
That is something he's always kept. That desire to protect.
It's one of the reason the fall of his kingdom hurt him so much.
But now isn't the time to focus on that, now is the time to move forward. Across the cryinng bridge.
DG: Garrett Stampede has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Bridge Too Far Gone.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge Too Far Gone *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The way up to the castle will be precarious. Mt. Manfred is believed to be
uninhabited, and decades of harsh winters have done terrible things to the
local infrastructure. The footpath to the mountain passes over a shallow but
steep-sided ravine. At one point, travelers could cross via a sturdy
stonework bridge, but now that bridge is a crumbling mess.
On top of that, the Malevolence in the air heightens feelings of indecision,
feeding off anxiety and fear. The stonework trembles and whimpers beneath
your feet. This will not be a pleasant crossing, one way or another.
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 1 *>==================== ======================< Results - A Bridge Too Far Gone >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Stainless Lotus Seeds 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Conditions: Bad Luck(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey has failed 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- "I know," Ida says, to Rosaline. She glances back, managing a weak, morbid little smile in support. "I am absolutely terrified." The brilliant light in her chest casts her face into shadow--it's as if she were holding an electric torch below her chin, and the effect is eerie. "But we cannot turn back. We have to keep--"
- A stone five feet away from Garrett's right foot gives way, crumbling into pieces and tumbling into the abyss. An uneartly wail echoes upwards, and more of the stones follow it. "RUN!" Ida screams. She breaks into a sprint, but it's already too late--the bridge is crumbling out from underneath them.
- You failed them. You led them to die.
- "NO!" Ida screams, her voice rising in a roar of defiance. The bridge might be crumbling, collapsing--but the vines are still perfectly serviceable. Roots snap out, grabbing hold of both Garrett and Rosa, arresting their fall--the entire mass of vines swings forwards, the three Furies clinging desperately to it as it comes to a rest on the far side of the cliff.
- Ida doesn't take a moment to compose herself until both of her companions are on the other side, with her. She's shaking. She knows better than to ask if everyone was all right. "That was wretched," she whispers. "Onward, though, I suppose." Galadian understatement. It's not like they can go back.
DG: Rosaline Calice has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Which Key Is Key? *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
A small guard tower catches your eye. Though long abandoned, the door is
still locked, and there might be useful items stockpiled inside. The problem
is that its construction is much too sturdy to break through, and the
Malevolence infusing it imbues it with an almost unearthly toughness. It
seems that you might be in luck - a keyring sways in the breeze, long since
frozen against the fortification.
A series of blood-curdling howls in the distance that grows ever louder
signifies that trouble is about to come your way. Can you find which key
opens the gate for both riches and temporary shelter before danger comes too
close? If you cannot, you have no choice but to keep moving.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
It's possible that Rosaline's pessimism became self-fulfilling prophecy. But regardless of whether or not this is true, she finds herself tumbling just a moment later, and needing rescue-- When she is finally on solid ground again, panting, she looks to Ida with an expression of gratitude. "Yes."
A guard tower was erected to watch over the bridge, and even now that it has well and truly collapsed, unidentifiable howls echo below. Rosaline's ear turn towards the sound. "It seems we've gotten some things-- or something's attention."
Taking shelter in the tower would likely be a good idea. Rosaline is the first to approach it and attempt to simply kick the door down with her monstrous foot. She winces as the structure doesn't budge, even before her enhanced strength. And soon enough, she sees why. "The whole thing is gunked up with Malevolence..." she says, peering into the cracks.
But a moment's observation later, and she's twirling a keychain at the end of a claw. The unearthly noises are rapidly approaching, however. No time to consult the spirits on this one. "If anyone has a better idea than trial-and-error, I'm open to suggestions..."
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Which Key Is Key?.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- A cold shudder races down Ida's spine at the sound of those howls. Whatever's making them, it cannot be good. Behind her, the roots finally dissolve into sparkling red-violet motes, which flicker upwards to join the miasma around the mountain. All that's left is a single, pale lotus blossom, which Ida snatches up and crushes to powder. She pockets the resulting handful of seeds, and follows Rosaline.
- "I can examine the tumblers while you do," Ida says. "Garrett, keep watch." Ida leans in closer. The familiar, spidery shape of the Demon Eye scuttles out of her pocket, crawls up her torso, and hops over to the door. It perches just above the lock, and turns its baleful red eye on the mechanisms inside. If nothing else, this is a much less sophisticated mechanism than the ones in Weylish Ruins, and Ida's had plenty of experience with those. Then again, if it's damaged, they might just be out of luck.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Loyal Demon Eye toward her party's challenge, Which Key Is Key?.
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
And then there is the sound of the ground giving way.
Its a familiar sound to Garrett, and not a welcome one. He looses his footing as everything drops from under his feet. His heart goes to his throat as freefall catches him and...
...and then Ida's vines prevent him from pasting himself across the bottom of the gorge.
He gulps in air as he sits on the opposite side. "Well." He finally says. "Thats one way to get the blood singing." A longer pause. "But yes. Thanks." A smirk towards Ida at that before he takes a deep breath and looks towards the tower itself.
"I think breaking it down would be a bit counterproductive." Garrett replies with a smirk towards Rosa as the screams get closer. "We need something to keep them out. Whatever they are." But there is a nod towards Ida as he pulls his sword, watching the pair of them work and keeping them free to do just that.
DG: Garrett Stampede has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Which Key Is Key?.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Which Key Is Key? *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
A small guard tower catches your eye. Though long abandoned, the door is
still locked, and there might be useful items stockpiled inside. The problem
is that its construction is much too sturdy to break through, and the
Malevolence infusing it imbues it with an almost unearthly toughness. It
seems that you might be in luck - a keyring sways in the breeze, long since
frozen against the fortification.
A series of blood-curdling howls in the distance that grows ever louder
signifies that trouble is about to come your way. Can you find which key
opens the gate for both riches and temporary shelter before danger comes too
close? If you cannot, you have no choice but to keep moving.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 2 *>==================== ========================< Results - Which Key Is Key? >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 15 --(15)--> 30 Pass Loyal Demon Eye 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 20 --(20)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 20 --(20)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 5 --(5)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Reckless(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey has failed 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> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Today is, obviously enough, not the Furies' day.
Rosaline goes for trial-and-error, with helpful assistance from Ida and her Scuttle Buddy. This seems like a good plan, except for one problem: Ida is correct, as she soon finds out. The keys are fine, but the lock mechanism itself is broken, without even going into the terrible things Malevolence has done to it.
Soon, Garrett signals the arrival of shadows in the distance. Since this one is obviously a no-go, well... "Plan B it is."
And so, she runs.
DG: Garrett Stampede has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Fog *>============================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you explore some nearby abandoned buildings, a thick, choking fog starts to settle in--a fog so thoroughly saturated with Malevolence that it's now alive. It claws at you, trying to tear the breath from your lungs, but it's heavier than the air above it. You can escape it, but to do this, you have to take a perilous path across the snow-covered rooftops of long derelict buildings. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Bad Luck=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
Sometimes you win some...
...sometimes you're chased by shadows into evil fog.
This is one of the latter times. As the trio dashes away from the approaching specters the night seems to fold in on them like a muffling cloak. The air turns thick, sticking to lungs. Clinging to limbs. Pulling them down.
Garrett tries to bull though it, but pushing against it just seems to make it worse.
"Ida! Can you make a bridge with your vines over this mess?" He shouts out. "Before whatever those shadows were catch up?"
DG: Garrett Stampede has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Fog.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline slows down as she runs. It's not fatigue, no. It's the very air trying to outright choke her out from within. Malevolence will never run out of ways to make her life terrible, will it?
Garrett has a good suggestion, but she doesn't wait for it to materialize-- She's very good at climbing up structures, even if the fog makes it hard to tell what the structure even IS. She isn't leaving the others behind, though, of course not: Once she's reached safety (however temporary, this is still a precarious walk), she conjures up a few friendly (well, 'friendly') specters to distract their pursuers and, if necessary, airlift a friend or two.
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Fog.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- Ida stows the Demon Eye, and takes off after Rosa. Her boots churn up plumes of snow behind her, and she can only hope she's outpacing whatever's behind them now that it has their scent. As if that weren't enough, the miasma in the air has its own opinion on what they should do. Ida coughs sharply as the air thickens in her lungs, but her very next breath draws more of it in. The star in her chest begins to fade, as though the Domain outside were trying to smother her own. She stumbles, sags, and sinks to a knee. "You won't," is all she gets out before breathing starts to become difficult. Garrett makes a... damned fine suggestion, actually, and the sound of his voice is like a light in encroaching fog.
- Ida nods. She reaches into her pocket, takes a fistful of seeds, and jams them into something that might have been a water channel before years of ruin got to it. Are the crumbling hulks around them the remains of buildings? Was this part of a castle town? Did someone live here?
- Questions for another time. The lotus seeds sink into the rock, and grow stubbornly upwards, leaving thick, sturdy roots in their path. Ida clambers to her feet and starts to climb, one hand over the other.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Stainless Lotus Seeds toward her party's challenge, The Fog.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Fog *>============================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As you explore some nearby abandoned buildings, a thick, choking fog starts to settle in--a fog so thoroughly saturated with Malevolence that it's now alive. It claws at you, trying to tear the breath from your lungs, but it's heavier than the air above it. You can escape it, but to do this, you have to take a perilous path across the snow-covered rooftops of long derelict buildings. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Bad Luck=======================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 3 *>==================== =============================< Results - The Fog >============================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Stainless Lotus Seeds 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 10 --(15)--> 25 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Hesitate(2)|Reckless(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey 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. DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Althena's Lament *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Once upon a time, the settlement erected a statue of Althena. That statue
still stands, but Malevolence has taken the holy icon and twisted it into
something horrific. Althena's gentle face is thin and dessicated, a papery
mask over her skull. Her eyes are sunken, hollow sockets, and dark stains
run down her face. Her elegant robes are nothing but rags.
The statue begins to stalk after you, despair flowing off it in waves, its
voice rising in a grief-stricken wail. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save
her. The sound of it is sapping the life from you. Destroy the statue before
it does the same to you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Exhaust=====================================
<Pose Tracker> Yarobeleedt has posed.
- The fog thickens, churns, and expands from an elevation level lower than those three - but no matter where they may yet go, they will find that this haze is inescapable. It may yet be out of sight, out of taste, out of scent, out of touch - but it will not leave their very beings.
- The air runs thick with blood, a brush of red through the blizzard-battered air of Mt. Manfred.
- They may yet find that there is no escape from that. This promise is given as sure as the very sight of... something... or someone... peeking out from beyond.
- "...It must."
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
Up, up, up the seeds go and they hold. Garrett grabs on, waving Rosa up with a grin as he hauls himself up the greennery to the next level above. "Very nice, Ida!" He calls out as they come back to 'solid' ground, the fog filling the level below. He looks down at the haze though, frowinging slightly. "...its persistant." A longer frown though. "...and apparently being controlled."
There is a frown at that voice.
"...what is next you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- The three Furies haul themselves back onto solid ground, leaving the worst of the Malevolent fog far below. All that's left is the all-pervasive scent of blood, and the sense that someone is watching, which is disturbing on its own. "If this is anything like what the Lord of Calamity did," Ida said, "then yes." She glances at Garrett. "I don't know if you felt it, but we certainly did." She starts to walk forwards, towards the tumbled-down hulks of buildings. This looks like it was yet another section of castle-town or settlement, more well-developed than the first. It even has a Statue of Althena in the proper location...
- "We each have a... Domain, I think Rose called it. A sphere of influence. A more powerful one can exert great influence on objects within it, and even other Hell--"
- The statue lurches upright with a sound like crumbling stone. It turns towards the Furies. The sight of its face makes Ida's heart leap against her ribs--it starts to stalk towards them, lips opening in an eerie, keening, soul-flaying wail. Tears form in Ida's eyes as it repeats those sorrowful words over and over again. For a moment, it feels like she's back in the mire of the Trial of the Nahual, a place so saturated with despair it could suck life and hope from anything inside.
- "Break it!" Ida roars, her lips peeling from her teeth. Chi flares within her as she rushes the statue, staying upright even as despair wells up within her. This is hopeless. Give up. You'll die alone, and be forgotten, just as the Trial Knight said.
- "FUCK YOU," Ida roars, as her chi-laced fist races for Althena's knee.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Althena's Lament.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline clicks her tongue, noticing the way the taste of blood persists in her mouth. "And it seems it knows we're here." She wrinkles her nose.
She listens to Ida's clarification with interest. But her ears twitch as something moves in the distance. She turns, and...
Rosaline's eyes widen.
"What the hell." She is not a great fan of Althena, she believes she's made that much clear enough, but this doesn't make the twisted apparition any less horrifying. That wail drags her back to Hope Springs, back when everything started, back when she couldn't do anything to save her charges and, and--
Break it!
"YES!" Rosaline roars back, drawing Mother's Mercy from her sleeve while prayer tags manifest around the three of them, granting them monstrous strength. Concentrating her frustration on something so tangible makes it easier for her.
"FUCK YOU AND YOUR ZEALOT FOLLOWERS!" she parrots in agreement, blasting away at the effigy's head-- When defacing a hated religious icon, it's important to properly deface.
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Sinner's Prayer toward her party's challenge, Althena's Lament. Rosaline Calice (Rosa) pages Lily Keil and Ida Everstead-Rey: I'm defacing it, and by that I mean attempting to remove its face with my explosive shotgun
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
"Well to be fair," Garrett observes with a flash of a grin towards Rosa as he looks back to the ruins of the bridge behind them. "We aren't really very subtle." Not that he seems to mind in the least. A fair fight suits him.
Hellion vs Hellion counts as fair. Right?
Of course the next attack comes from not an angle that he would expect as a full statue suddenly bears down on them. Twisted mockery of other holy icons he's seen then thing seems to try to crush their spirits with its very presence.
There is a vicious grin from Garrett.
Ice flows down his arms as he raises a hand at the thing, twists and pulls the moisture from the very air around it. "You've been here too long, you decripit thing. I think its about time you BREAK."
Ice shoots up around the statue, timing it just as Rosa shoots and Ida swings.
DG: Garrett Stampede has used his Tool Ice Shield toward his party's challenge, Althena's Lament.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Althena's Lament *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Once upon a time, the settlement erected a statue of Althena. That statue
still stands, but Malevolence has taken the holy icon and twisted it into
something horrific. Althena's gentle face is thin and dessicated, a papery
mask over her skull. Her eyes are sunken, hollow sockets, and dark stains
run down her face. Her elegant robes are nothing but rags.
The statue begins to stalk after you, despair flowing off it in waves, its
voice rising in a grief-stricken wail. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save
her. The sound of it is sapping the life from you. Destroy the statue before
it does the same to you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Exhaust=====================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 4 *>==================== =========================< Results - Althena's Lament >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 45 --(20)--> 65 Fail Sinner's Prayer 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 45 --(5)--> 50 Pass Ice Shield 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(20)--> 45 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Exhaust(1)|Hesitate(1)|Overzealous(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey 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: Rosaline Calice has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Eternal White *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- All visibility has been stripped from your party. There is nothing but white all around. The snow is so thoroughly saturated with Malevolence, that it's beside itself in misery - misery it spreads further by enveloping you. It is not a question that you will break through the snow - the question is how much the snow will break you in the process. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- The statue is impervious to the Furies' words. Rosaline's shotgun blast smashes into its face, but rather than blowing its head off, the buckshot smashes craters into its eyes and mouth, somehow making it even more horrific. Garrett's ice is a bit more effective--one only needs to look around to see the effects of ice on stone structures. The magical rime he conjures up seeks into the already-cracked statue. Althena raises her hand, and with a crunch, it snaps off at the wrist and falls into the snow.
- Ida's fist slams into the statue's knee a moment later. The limb snaps off at the joint; ice creeps up the other leg, encasing the statue, cracking it apart even as it freezes it in place. Ida clenches her fists, and brings them down in a vicious overhand blow.
- The statue explodes. Bits of ice and stone fly everywhere. Rosaline gives it a little extra buckshot, just to be sure.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline even spits, for good measure.
The party proceeds and has no choice but to return to solid ground, where the fog is at least relatively more breathable. And yet, the Domain surrounding them takes a different tack. The snow grows thicker and thicker with every step, and soon all visibility is lot.
"God DAMN it--" Rosaline says, though her voice is muffled.
She incants to keep her Sinner's Prayer going a bit longer. The snow surrounding them is thick enough to obscure all vision, and crossing it is a miserable experience, quite literally. It whispers to the group, as it tends to.
Rosaline conjures up a sphere of flames as she usually does when snow becomes too much to handle. The others might even catch a flicker of it if they're observant. But she seems to be wavering. Will this be enough?
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Sinner's Prayer toward her party's challenge, Eternal White.
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
Snow. This really feels like home now.
Garrett smirks at the storm as they push forwards though the white. As Rosa's experience turns miserable he starts to laugh. Shake his head. "Do you know where I'm from spirit?! This is a summer day to me!" He calls into the screaming wind. "Keep in sight of each other!" This to Rosa and Ida. "I'll do what I can!"
And he reaches out with his own powers. Ice. Snow. Frost. These are his playthings. And he pits his own will against the ruler of this Domain as he demands the snows stop to let them pass. His own Malevolence pushing, fighting, pulsing against whose commands the snow to wrest control away.
DG: Garrett Stampede has used his Tool Ice Shield toward his party's challenge, Eternal White.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- Watching that statue shatter was entirely too satisfying. Ida wonders if that's how Kalve felt when he broke the Statue in El Pazzo--that mixture of glee and cathartic relief. It doesn't last very long, though. As the Furies trek further up the mountainside, the snow becomes the next obstacle. "Damnation," Ida growls, because Rosaline isn't the only one who has decided that swearing is excellent catharsis. She bulls her way through the snow towards that flickering, guttering light, and takes up position beside Rosaline. Garrett is right--if they lose sight of each other, it could be the end. Ida is not about to let that happen.
- Garrett might be doing the heavy lifting, but Ida isn't about to let him handle this alone. She balls up a fist, Malevolence surging down the meridians in her arm, outlining them through her clothing in violet light. She drives a fist forwards, a quarter-inch--the movement is subtle, but packs all the force of a thunderclap. The snow ahead blows backwards, and its despair goes with it.
- As Ida observed so long ago, sometimes the anger is the only thing keeping her out of that dark pit. She clings to it.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Eternal White.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Eternal White *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- All visibility has been stripped from your party. There is nothing but white all around. The snow is so thoroughly saturated with Malevolence, that it's beside itself in misery - misery it spreads further by enveloping you. It is not a question that you will break through the snow - the question is how much the snow will break you in the process. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 5 *>==================== ==========================< Results - Eternal White >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 65 --(5)--> 70 Pass Sinner's Prayer 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 50 --(5)--> 55 Pass Ice Shield 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 45 --(20)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Overwhelm|Overzealous(1) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey 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> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Garrett commands the storm, asserting his own Domain. Ida chases despair with anger. Rosaline, meanwhile...
"...n't let you BURY ME!"
A wave of heat washes over both Garrett and Ida, as what used to be Rosaline's shield of flames dissipates into the air, taking a small infinite of snowflakes with it. She looks back to her companions, panting, and managing something resembling a smile in dim light.
The storm has passed, for the moment.
DG: Garrett Stampede has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Thirsty Dead *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
At one point, this place had actual inhabitants, and the remains of their
settlements dot the footpath leading to the castle. A dilapidated cottage
sits next to the road, bowed beneath the weight of winter. You can faintly
make out the splatters of blood underneath the ice and snow that now cling
to its walls... as well as Malevolence.
As you approach, the snow shifts, and bodies rise from within the cottage.
Malevolence has twisted them into horrific shapes--dessicated ghouls with
pronounced canines and extra sets of arms. They seek your lifeblood for
warmth, to deprive you of what was taken from them. You can not offer them
peace, nor satiation. You can only offer them oblivion.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
The snow fades in the wake of the Furies powers. The elemental forces of Ice, Fire, and Being Goddamn Pissed Off have won the day and allowed them passage further up towards their goal.
Garrett slows as he comes to the ruined buildings. The smell of old blood and death fills his nostrils as he reaches slowly for his sword...
...a precaution that seems like a good idea as the bodies start to twitch and move.
"I'm going to guess," He calls back towards Rosa as he sweeps the cursed blade off his back. "That isn't you."
As they leap he gets his answer, and answers their screams for his blood with a sweep of his sword. After images of long dead bladesmen fracturing off his shadow in the wake of the slash to tear into the horde.
DG: Garrett Stampede has used his Tool Past Sins toward his party's challenge, The Thirsty Dead.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline shakes her head no to Garret. Flames fly everywhere.
She assumes a fighting stance and casts her claws out, sending the glowing red strings snaking through the snowflakes. They reach for bodies that haven't risen yet, if there are any left. If not, the plunge into the ghouls themselves, as Rosaline extends her will to try and wrest control of individual creatures and turn the tide of this battle.
"Domain, was it? Let's see here..."
And if that doesn't work, well, maybe old-fashioned fire will!
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Corpse Strings toward her party's challenge, The Thirsty Dead.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- "I wonder what this place was," Ida whispers, as the group approaches the tumble-down house. "Who would build here? Who would even think to make a castle in these wastelands?" The answer will not come now--now, after all, is time to fight. As the horrors lurch out of the snow, Ida reaches into the shadows of her cloak, and draws forth her revolvers. She opens fire, sending Malevolence-laced lead downrange in a standard anti-Wel pattern. These things might not be Wels, precisely, but... same principle applies.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Thirsty Dead.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Thirsty Dead *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
At one point, this place had actual inhabitants, and the remains of their
settlements dot the footpath leading to the castle. A dilapidated cottage
sits next to the road, bowed beneath the weight of winter. You can faintly
make out the splatters of blood underneath the ice and snow that now cling
to its walls... as well as Malevolence.
As you approach, the snow shifts, and bodies rise from within the cottage.
Malevolence has twisted them into horrific shapes--dessicated ghouls with
pronounced canines and extra sets of arms. They seek your lifeblood for
warmth, to deprive you of what was taken from them. You can not offer them
peace, nor satiation. You can only offer them oblivion.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Exhaust==========================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 6 *>==================== =========================< Results - The Thirsty Dead >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 45 --(5)--> 50 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 70 --(5)--> 75 Pass Corpse Strings 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 55 --(5)--> 60 Pass Past Sins 3 Combat Effects: Rally -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 65 --(20)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey 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: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Gate *>=========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The castle's main gates have long since fallen prey to the elements, but that doesn't mean they're not an obstacle. Malevolence has taken hold of the remains, molding chunks of wood and stone and iron into an approximately gate-like shape. The whole mass is bound securely with ropy tendrils of Malevolence. You're going to have to break it down in order to proceed. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- The good news is that nothing else jumps out at the Furies as they trudge their way through the snow. The Malevolence in the air grows thicker--they're clearly approaching the epicenter of the Domain--but it's no longer actively opposing their presence here. All that remains is a long walk up the last leg of the mountain, past rows of tumbled-down heaps that used to be homes and places of business. The remains of an Althenan holy symbol cling to one of the larger wrecks, covered with rime.
- And then, at long last, the castle gates. The Malevolence here is stubborn and desperately persistent. Ida frowns at it, and clenches a fist. "The only way out is through," she says. It's like a mantra to her.
- Rage boils up around Ida's fist. The chi glows violet, then gold, then bright red-orange, stacking on layers as she channels--and then she lunges, bringing brute strength and burning rage to bear in a single punch.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline recognizes the sight of the castle from before, when they saw it from the vintage point of Mt. Zulan. She breathes out in satisfaction, even though she knows there is still work to be done.
Work such as breaking that gate down. Once more, she puts her index claws together and incants to conjure up some more prayers for violence and destruction.
She then goes and slices away at the tendrils of Malevolence, screaming all the while. She leaves busting the door itself open to Ida (and possibly Garrett!), content to put her claws to work on something that deserves it. (Its crime is being in her way.)
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Sinner's Prayer toward her party's challenge, The Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
The Knight stalks up to the doors as Ida hammers on them. A vicious smile crosses his face. "I think its getting desperate to keep us out." He drawls as he raises his sword and then slams it hard down against the face of the door. Timing it in tandem with Ida's wrathful smashes.
"Knock. Knock. You bastard!" He shouts spikes of ice explode against the door with every strike.
DG: Garrett Stampede has used his Tool Ice Shield toward his party's challenge, The Gate.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Gate *>=========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The castle's main gates have long since fallen prey to the elements, but that doesn't mean they're not an obstacle. Malevolence has taken hold of the remains, molding chunks of wood and stone and iron into an approximately gate-like shape. The whole mass is bound securely with ropy tendrils of Malevolence. You're going to have to break it down in order to proceed. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 7 *>==================== =============================< Results - The Gate >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 50 --(10)--> 60 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 75 --(10)--> 85 Fail Sinner's Prayer 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 60 --(5)--> 65 Pass Ice Shield 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 85 --(0)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Rosaline Calice has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - The Gauntlet *>=========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The gate is breached. As you pass through, a spiritual weight comes to rest
on you--the force of a Malevolent Domain. It might not be as strong as some
others, for now, but it's yet another reminder that you're not welcome here.
The other reminder is less subtle. Your intrusion has summoned lesser
Hellions from all across the castle grounds, and they've arrayed themselves
against you. White-furred wolves with icy breath, skittering centipedes the
size of horses, hordes of wriggling leeches--you'll have to fight through
these, and more, if you want to make it to the inner sanctum.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- Ida's fist hits Malevolence with a disgusting squelch. Rosaline hacks and slashes. Bits of stone and goo fly everywhere, but as bits of the gate crumble, more Malevolence oozes out of nowhere to patch the holes. It's as though the gate were doubling down on its own stubborn convictions in the face of an overwhelming opinion that it should not be there. Garrett ultimately ends up making the persuasive argument. Shards of ice lacerate the ropy tendrils, freezing them with the glacial force of his personal Domain. It takes some doing from there on out, but it isn't long before the gate is rubble once again.
- "Onward," Ida whispers. "We're almost there."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Finally, the Furies have reached the castle proper, and the weight of the Domain reaches its full intensity. It may not be quite as powerful as the Lord of Calamity's, but they ran away from that one, rather than attempting to reach its center.
Rosaline grits her teeth as she tries her best to resist it. It's not pleasant, to say the least. "I wish I had something to shoot, right now."
For once in a long while, Rosaline's prayers are answered, though of course it had to be a monkey paw's wish. A moment after the group has passed the gates, already lesser Hellions are swarming them from every direction.
A white-furred wolfman lunges for Rosaline, only for the beastwoman to weave out of its way and blast its head clean off with Mother's Mercy. This sort of thing is turning into a habit. But it's not without its perks, as the headless creature rises a second later, somehow exhaling frost from its wound at a wave of leeches coming their way.
"Yes, let's make this a loud entrance!" Rosaline decides, wild-eyed, before blasting away with her shotgun just about every which way, with her back to her temporary familiar's.
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Corpse Strings toward her party's challenge, The Gauntlet.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
- The smell of blood thickens in Ida's nostrils. "The master has to be inside," she says. "Whatever it is." Then, the courtyard. Ida's guns all but leap out of the shadows of her cloak, and she steps in to cover Rosaline's blind spot as the lesser Hellions start to swarm. She could try and usurp control, but that would be a risk she's not willing to take--she can tell everyone is running on their last dregs. The sharp crack-crack-crack of gunshots split the air, joined by the thunderous boom of Rosa's own ARM firing. Ida stops to reload, spent brass shells hopping obediently into her pockets, even as fresh rounds speed into the chambers in flickers of shadow.
- "Well," Ida says, flashing a grin that shows teeth that seem sharp all of a sudden. "We attempted to knock, and there was nowhere to leave a calling card. It's his own fault, really."
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Gauntlet.
<Pose Tracker> Garrett Stampede has posed.
"I like the way you think, Rosa!" Shouts Garrett as he grins viciously. The sword is gripped in both hands as he sweeps it up into a combat stance. Shadows appear around him, shades of the dead walking with their once companion as he leaps forwards.
"Oh lets be fair," He calls with a laugh, showing that even in this heavier armor of his, the speed he was once known for is still there. "We all prefer it just like this."
He swirls around, tearing though the lesser Hellions.
"Come out!" He roars. "Show yourself and lets chat about this wonderful house of yours!"
DG: Garrett Stampede has used his Tool Past Sins toward his party's challenge, The Gauntlet.
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>=========================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - The Gauntlet *>=========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The gate is breached. As you pass through, a spiritual weight comes to rest
on you--the force of a Malevolent Domain. It might not be as strong as some
others, for now, but it's yet another reminder that you're not welcome here.
The other reminder is less subtle. Your intrusion has summoned lesser
Hellions from all across the castle grounds, and they've arrayed themselves
against you. White-furred wolves with icy breath, skittering centipedes the
size of horses, hordes of wriggling leeches--you'll have to fight through
these, and more, if you want to make it to the inner sanctum.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
===================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds - Round 8 *>==================== ===========================< Results - The Gauntlet >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 60 --(10)--> 70 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 85 --(5)--> 90 Pass Corpse Strings 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garrett Stampede 65 --(5)--> 70 Pass Past Sins 3 Combat Effects: Rally -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey 85 --(35)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Ida Everstead-Rey has successfully explored Castle Rabenstein Grounds!
========================<* Castle Rabenstein Grounds *>========================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - They Await Within *>======================= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The lesser Hellions are not enough to stop you. You reflect upon all the swirling Malevolence that builds ever further, letting it soak in. It does not bring warmth nor comfort. Despair continues to pour forth from within.
Nothing else on the grounds outside moves to stop you - you are either far too much, or the one who has enacted the Domain is relenting only so much as to bid you to enter. Collectively, you oblige, and make your way in to the inner castle. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure==================================================
TO BE CONTINUED...