2018-08-21: Out of the Frying Pan

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  • Log: Out of the Frying Pan
  • Cast: Prissa, Jacqueline Barber, Cyre H. Lorentz, Ida Everstead-Rey, Arleph Ardan, Lydia Seren
  • Where: Azado
  • Date: August 21st, 2018
  • Summary: Azado burns, and the Caravan Kinship is right in the middle of it. Joining up with Ida, they endeavor to forge their way through the burning city, rescuing everyone they can on their path to safety. This involves the Azado Burning dig - if you don't want any spoilers, please run it yourself before reading this log.

=================================<* Azado *>==================================

Azado is a city on the southern edge of the Goddess Plains, notable for being the nearest port to the Holy City of Pentagulia. The bounty of the Plains travels on these ships to the seat of the Goddess's power, and most residents are either employed in shipping, storing, or transporting goods in support of the faithful.

The city is also the seat of the Red Priestess Mauri, one of the Four Heroes; she spends most of her time training young acolytes of Althena in the ways of the faithful before sending them forth into the world. Construction has recently begun on a massive shrine to the Goddess Althena - once complete, it is expected to rival Pentagulia itself in its majesty.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54PlUl6avjw
DG: A party led by Ida Everstead-Rey is now entering Azado Burning.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============================<* Azado Burning *>===============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Will o' the Wisps *>=======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The night sky in Azado fills with lights. On an otherwise cloudy night, they  
 stand out sharply: little balls of bright light that rise up over the city    
 -- seemingly streaming out of the lighthouse in the town's harbor. However,   
 they grow larger and larger, and the reason soon becomes clear: those balls   
 of light are /crashing/ down towards the city.                                
                                                                               
 You see a trio of Will o' the Wisps slam into the nearby buildings. They go   
 up in flame, as a supernaturally hot fire erupts along the roofs and          
 consumes them too quickly. The trio of floating, glowing orbs lands before    
 you, and then rush in. Bolts of fire shoot ahead of them, directly for you.   
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
"So, how was your take?" says Prissa to the small group of Caravaneers walking away from the Azado market towards where they have been making camp. She has a sack of retreads and rare scraps - she's left her drum thing at the actual Caravan, a policy she may have cause to regret - and another sack of money, along with her sword sash and knife belt. Two swords are missing!

"I had a pretty good rake, I think, even if the fire sword was nothing -" Prissa then pauses as the sky illuminates. "Oh, is this a light festival?"

Several of them fall down towards the city.

At this point Prissa turns her head to look significantly at her colleagues.

shreeeeeeeiiik FWAM! Nearby buildings, including an inexpensive purveyor of noodle bowls, are suddenly struck and go up like cheap fireworks. Prissa looks back and says, "Well," a moment before a Will-o-the-Wisp emerges and shoots fire at her.

"Hiyyyhh!!" She dives to the side, tumbling as sparks fly from ignited cobblestones. As she does, she reaches for her waist, grabbing handfuls of folding knives and throwing them like the most awesome party favors ever towards the others. "Damn! What!? Do you know this!?" she says, not the most coherent turn of events but what she says even so.

DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Disturbingly Large Quantity of Knives toward her party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Fairly well...I managed to pull in a bit of a profit today." Jacqueline replies, walking alongside Prissa in the others. It had been a while before she had been able to just...relax and indulge herself in the merchant trade.

She listens as Prissa talks, then looks up with a frown as the sky begins to light up...and then something crashes down, causing buildings to go up in flame.

"Are we under attack? Is it the Metal Demons...?" Jacqueline murmurs, whirling around quite suddenly as a creature of flame emerges.

...No, that didn't look like any Metal Demon she had even seen.

"Change of plans, CaraKin! We need to do what we can to help Azado!" Jacqueline says, catching one of Prissa's thrown knives. She doesn't actually use it, since...well, stabbing fire was hard, but it may come in handy later.

"I'm not sure. Are these...Hellions, maybe?" She asks, then gestures toward one with her right hand. This sends out a burst of concussive force, aiming to simply extinguish it. "But where'd they come from...?"

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Cyre's take? Cyre's take has been very little at all. Cyre has been sleeping off the lingering aftereffects of punching a metaphysical evil in the face, and also being incinerated by a plain old ordinary physical evil. He's done a lot in the past couple of days. Cyre deserves a little rest.

"Man, they really do good noodles here," Cyre sighs over his bowl of Azadonkatsu Ramen. The purveyor, a faceless man in a big white chef's hat and a bright red apron nods his head. "Yeah, pork bone broth is good for the body and the soul. Way better than chicken. Haaah, this is a nice break. Bowl o' noodles. Nothing on fire. This is great~"

Of course, it's right then that a fireball drops out of the sky and blasts Cyre's bowl o' noodle right into his face.

MOMENTS LATER

A tornado blasts up out from the ruins of a noodle shop. A fireball sails into the sky, a pair of great big x's on its face. Then it explodes, as fireballs do.

Cyre launches out of the smoldering ruins, landing next to the rest of the Caravan with a toasty-looking faceless NPC slung over his back. He's... A little crispier than he was. "WHY IS THE TOWN ON FIRE!?" He asks a very pertinent question. Also! "Why is it ALWAYS FIRE?!" Is he going to have to hulk out and put out these too!?

Well. At least the noodle chef is okay.

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Azado is not a place Ida should be. Though she's been purified, she's still got that bounty on her head, and as one of the Four Heroes' strongholds, the city is not a friendly place to outlaws. So why is Ida here?

        The answer is fairly simple: it has people who specialize in medication, and Ida is looking into ways to manage her mental health in the long term. Word of mouth among the transplanted Drifters said that the CaraKin was heading to Azado, so Ida followed it.

        As it so happens, she catches sight of its personnel as she rides through the market, a grey traveling cloak pulled up over her head. "Miss Barber," is all Ida manages to get out before fireballs arc through the sky. "--What the devil?!" Grey Lady almost bolts. Ida pulls back on the reins, choking down her own panic. Rather than leap out of the saddle, she reaches around behind her back, grabs the handle of a metal-shod tonfa, and swings the weapon right for one of the onrushing fireballs.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         Arleph is moving along with the group, taking interest in some of the haul that's been braught in from the camp. "The fire sword seemed a little off to me." He comments, lifting up a small linen shirt, giving it a look over at the light. He can spot a grape juice stain on the left. Bah. That should be fine, in the end. "With some time and ressources, I think I could make a better one."
 
         At the call of the light festival, not evne lowering the shirt, Arleph turns to look in it's direction through the linen shirt. First, he spots another grape juice spot thanks to the lights (darnit, the money's becoming less well spent) and for second, that amount of light and explosions are CERTAINLY not fine.
 
         "No." The Symbologist comments, stuffing the shirt into his shoulder bag, tightly closing his other fist to look at the Will-O-Wisps. "I don't think that's an intended fire festival."
 
         Arleph mutters some words, spreading out his free hand to one of the Wisps, symbols spreading out from his palm to condense into a bolt of Water, while his other hand reach into his pockets to take out a small blue pill, crushing it into his palm and tossing up the results. "I don't know, Cyre. Perhaps because Fire is the lazy way to destruction, where all some psychopaths needs is toss some explosives into a TOWN to cause some damage!"
 
         The watery mists spreads out over the area. This have the nice effect of helping people support the heat and get a nice adrenaline rush to ignore the pain, but also reduce the flame around them. Fortunately, this might help the towns people as well. "I don't know. Feels like a sort of monster or Hellion."

DG: Arleph Ardan has used his Tool Ambrosia Protocol toward his party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         Arleph is moving along with the group, taking interest in some of the haul that's been braught in from the camp. "The fire sword seemed a little off to me." He comments, lifting up a small linen shirt, giving it a look over at the light. He can spot a grape juice stain on the left. Bah. That should be fine, in the end. "With some time and ressources, I think I could make a better one."
 
         At the call of the light festival, not evne lowering the shirt, Arleph turns to look in it's direction through the linen shirt. First, he spots another grape juice spot thanks to the lights (darnit, the money's becoming less well spent) and for second, that amount of light and explosions are CERTAINLY not fine.
 
         "No." The Symbologist comments, stuffing the shirt into his shoulder bag, tightly closing his other fist to look at the Will-O-Wisps. "I don't think that's an intended fire festival."
 
         Arleph mutters some words, spreading out his free hand to one of the Wisps, symbols spreading out from his palm to condense into a bolt of Water, while his other hand reach into his pockets to take out a small blue pill, crushing it into his palm and tossing up the results. "I don't know, Cyre. Perhaps because Fire is the lazy way to destruction, where all some psychopaths needs is toss some explosives into a TOWN to cause some damage!" He appears unperturbed at the Catman's EXPLOSIVE landing, concentrated into his spell.
 
         The watery mists spreads out over the area. This have the nice effect of helping people support the heat and get a nice adrenaline rush to ignore the pain, but also reduce the flame around them. Fortunately, this might help the towns people as well. "I don't know. Feels like a sort of monster or Hellion."

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia says, "My supreme confidence in myself gave me QUITE the take and AHHH FUCK!" The AHHH FUCK is actually towards IDA rather than anything else because she sees her bolting about but then she blinks a few times and says, "Wait, she's good now. I mean, not...right, right." She rubs at her gut a bit, remembering how she EXPLODED a little while fighting her.

Regardless, she's already jumpy when shit starts bursting into flame. She is caught flatfooted and tries spraying lasers at the energy balls? She didn't think this through.

"Can't we just make a lot of money without a city being burned down???" Lydia asks.

DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Will o' the Wisps.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Will o' the Wisps *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The night sky in Azado fills with lights. On an otherwise cloudy night, they  
 stand out sharply: little balls of bright light that rise up over the city    
 -- seemingly streaming out of the lighthouse in the town's harbor. However,   
 they grow larger and larger, and the reason soon becomes clear: those balls   
 of light are /crashing/ down towards the city.                                
                                                                               
 You see a trio of Will o' the Wisps slam into the nearby buildings. They go   
 up in flame, as a supernaturally hot fire erupts along the roofs and          
 consumes them too quickly. The trio of floating, glowing orbs lands before    
 you, and then rush in. Bolts of fire shoot ahead of them, directly for you.   
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
========================<* Azado Burning - Round 1 *>=========================
=======================< Results - Will o' the Wisps >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arleph Ardan                        0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Ambrosia Protocol                   1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
A Disturbingly Large Quantity of Kn 2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyre H. Lorentz                     0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         0 --(5)--> 5                   Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey           0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Fright(2)
Effects: Cleanse|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.
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
EARLIER: "Oh, is that so," Prissa says to Arleph with something resembling a purr. * Prissa will remember that.

BUT NOW:

Prissa grimaces from the ground as she rolls over, pulling out a sword. Well, she thinks, Jay's decided it, and that is that. She reaches to select a sword, drawing out her shamshir and straightening up. A moment later, faltering, she sees the flames spreading throughout the city.

At which point she makes a weird slow lunging slash at a sprite. It's almost like she's... trying to get her sword blade hot. After this she recoils, reaching into a pouch and pulling out a paper packet she tears open with her teeth. In the meantime, the sprites bobble and spit fire, even as one of them is disrupted by metal passing through it, and another is unceremoniously extinguished with a pshshh of water. Jay's blast blows away the one that Ida had thwapped. The remaining sprite bobbles underneath the lasering blast of Lydia, who draws its ire and a fire bolt.

At which point Prissa does an overhead chop. Steam rises immensely - and she flicks the weapon around as the sprite vaporizes into a cloud of steam.

* Field Upgrade Succeed!
** +2 Sharpness!
** +1 Speed!
** +2 Potency!
** +21 Weapon EXP!
** New Mod: Water Elemental (2/10)
** 211/1000 EXP for this Weapon Level!

Nobody sees any of that. Prissa understands it in her heart. The shamshir seems wet, even now, and sprays a couple stray droplets as she flicks it. "Is your horse OK?" she asks Ida as she grips the curved blade.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Break Through a Burning Door *>================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 As you move through the streets, you hear panicked cries from a nearby home.  
 There, a door has been locked into place -- a timber has fallen from the      
 porch roof, half-blocking it. The roof and home burns, and the screams of     
 the occupants are desperate within.                                           
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Miss Ida!" Jacqueline says in surprise, as she spots Ida riding up to her. By this time, Jacqueline would've heard about Ida's purification. Her surprise is only that she was here...

...And, of course, that fire was raining from the skies.

She finds herself thankful that Arleph came along with them today - the heat was rapidly rising, but his Symbology was keeping them relatively cool.

Once the Will o' Wisps are dealt with, Jacqueline exhales and looks toward Ida again.

"Anyway...it's good to see you again, Miss Ida, though I wish it were under better circumstances..." Jacqueline greets. Before the conversation can go any further, however...

There's a crashing noise from nearby, accompanied by panicked cries. Jacqueline turns toward the building quickly, eyes open wide in fear.

"There's a person...!" She murmurs in surprise, then quickly rummages through her bags. She draws out several filtration cloths, which she passes out to everyone present.

"Quick! Secure these over your nose and mouth, you don't want to breathe in too much of this smoke!" She warns, then hurries over to the building in question.

"Don't worry, we're coming to help you! Just stay calm!" She shouts, trying to reassure the frightened occupants. She just hoped they would be able to remove this blockage...

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Fun fact: Wind seraphs are weak to fire.

Good thing Cyre's not a Seraph. Also he has lasers. Lasers help.

"Ida!" Cyre yelps, and then says the most obvious thing that comes to his mind, "Did Rosaline have a relapse or something!?"

He really hopes not. That would be... All kinds of bad and tragic? Cyre's kind of had his fill of both of those things for a few months at least.

But then, he doesn't have much time to mull it over! Jacqueline... Locates a person in need!

"Ah, crap. Can't just blow air into the house, that'd just fan the flames. Pressure wave might do more harm than good," the shaman mutters, rushing over with his censer aflame and billowing fragrant, cleansing vapors. Somehow, they seem to be... pushing back the choking smoke? Magic baskar herbs are weird.

"Okay, hold on," he murmurs, conjuring a current of fresh air toward each of the rescuers. "This should help, too. Breathe easy and let's get those people outta there."

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Invigorating Vapors toward his party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
Prissa takes a cloth from Jay and puts it on easily. "Do you do leatherworking?" she asks Jay, which seems irrelevant to literally anything ever, but then she sheaths her sword and reaches down at her waist, from whence she pulls out a weighty mallet.

Her voice lifts over the subtle muffling. "Blade Dreams comes to your rescue! Be not afraid, innocents!"

She swings the hammer around with Thor-like force to dislodge the beam; if successful she follows up with the good ol' fashioned "Destruction of Hinge Prana."

DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Hammer toward her party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        With the flames dispersed, Ida dismounts. She swings one leg out of the saddle, then another, and then walks up to give Grey Lady a reassuring pat on her muzzle. "Get to safety, girl," Ida says, and she lets go of the reins--Grey Lady gallops away from the flames, leaving her rider behind. "We've been through worse together," Ida says to Prissa.

        'Did Rosaline have a relapse or something?!'

        Ida gives Cyre a look. Then, because there are innocents in danger, she takes a cloth out of Jay's hands and ties it around your face. "Agreed," she says, her voice only slightly muffled. As Prissa takes a hammer to the hinges, Ida assists by giving it a few solid kicks. It's obvious from the look of her that she's leaning on her chi to even manage that.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         "Ida!" Arleph calls out. He had heard rumors of her purification and testimony about it from Cyre, but... to see it with his own eyes is another thing completly. They'll have time to talk later. He hopes.
 
         "Yes, same here. Let's talk when the town's not burning to cinders--" He turns give Cyre a brief look, furrowing his brows. "By her look, I do not think that's the case."
 
         At the sound of someone inside the burning house, he steps back, dropping his bag to clasp his hands together. "Alright! I can't affect ALL of it without going too insane, so I'll do my best to keep humidity in the air!"
 
         A runic symbol spreads out beneath him, his fingers splaying outward as he thrusts them in the direction of the house. The air grows heavy, more fresh around the general area as it drains the still water on the ground or exposed to get into the air, to choke the flames out the best they can while keeping safe for people to breathe. "Come on! Get 'em out!"

DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia shrieks and punches her arm until the fire is out. She regrets her exuberance shortly thereafter but at least she's no longer on fire. And that's a plus!

tilts her head curiously at Ida but it seems that it wasn't just Rosaline who got fixed up. Lydia rubs her arm where hse got burnt tenderly before she hears panicked cries! The house is burning down!! People need help! And let me tell you, Lydia has been burned alive enough times at this point, that she would REALLY like to help someone else avoid that fate.

Lydia takes in a deep breath and starts smashing in windows to let the smoke out and hopefully open up an avenue of escape. When THAT'S done she might very well rush in if they aren't free yet.

But hopefully uh, that's not going to be an issue. In fact, hopefully breaking the windows was wholly unneccessary!

DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Break Through a Burning Door.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Break Through a Burning Door *>================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 As you move through the streets, you hear panicked cries from a nearby home.  
 There, a door has been locked into place -- a timber has fallen from the      
 porch roof, half-blocking it. The roof and home burns, and the screams of     
 the occupants are desperate within.                                           
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure===========================================
========================<* Azado Burning - Round 2 *>=========================
==================< Results - Break Through a Burning Door >==================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arleph Ardan                        0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Brewte Force                        1   Brute   Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyre H. Lorentz                     0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Invigorating Vapors                 1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         5 --(0)--> 5                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey           20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Fright(1)|Injure(2)|Weaken(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.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline does not give Cyre a look at his comment about Rosaline, but she does send him a frown before looking in Prissa's direction.

"...Leatherworking? No, not particularly...I believe Carina might, if you need anything in particular." Jacqueline replies with an aside glance to Prissa. She wasn't sure what the question was about, but she was certain there must be a reason for it.

Soon enough, they get to work. Prissa and Ida dislodge the beam and remove the door from its frame. Meanwhile, Cyre vents some fresh air to them - all too vital, the situation being as it is.

Arleph, however, instead focuses on the interior of the building - his water Symbology chokes out many of the flames inside. This will prove vital once they have the door finally opens - it gives them a clear path.

And Lydia does what Lydia does - smashing up some windows. It does let smoke out! Whether or not it was necessary is another thing, but hey, they were going to break anyway.

But now, the path is clear - the party is able to make their way inside and coax the trapped family out of the building.
"It's alright, it's alright..." Jacqueline murmurs. "Look, come with us for now, alright? We'll keep you safe."

It was the best they could do for now - the flames in town would only continue to rise. There had to be a designated evacuation place somewhere, right...? They'd just have to find it.

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
==========<* CHALLENGE - Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire! *>==========
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 As you sprint along, you come to a large avenue. The fire here is no natural  
 thing, and the buildings overhead crackle and snap with a fire that is too    
 hot and spreads too fast. It has other effects, too. As you run, you hear a   
 whistling -- and flame leaps away from the buildings. As if it has a mind of  
 its own, it forms fireballs -- and those come slamming down into your midst!  
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Slow=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

What!! Look, Cyre doesn't know how Hellions work. At least, not down to that fine of a science. For all he knows, there could be some kind of weird Shadow Rosaline roaming around out here or something.

But whodunnit doesn't really matter much right now. Not when there's more at risk than reputation.

"Come on," Cyre calls back to the rest of the group, special guest civilians in tow. "I think it looks clear up ahead. Just gotta get through this road--"

Well. It LOOKED clear.

The flames suddenly seem to lunge across the rooftops and windows, moving less like a natural disaster and more like some kind of predatory beast. Cyre whispers a curse as the blaze begins spitting gouts of flame and ash and barrages of great screaming fireballs that almost seem to predict where the party is going to move next.

"Go!" Cyre yells, darting aside to sweep his handy parachute through a barrel of water. He gestures, spreading the damp cloth and hide up and overtop of the party as it moves, acting as a makeshift barrier against the bombardment.

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of
Fire!.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         Arleph is a little more vocal in his curse at the flame's eruption.
 
         Of course, half of the curse is actually a shouted incantation with a foot stamped upon the ground, thrusting out a palm at the flames. The air's getting pretty dry around here, making him reduce to create water and getting SOME water out of his own bottles in his pockets. The liquids flows out after he pops open the corks, creating a shield around the group with flowing, glowing water, centered around the civilians behind them. In doing so, he neglects himself.
 
         "Move it, move it, move it!" Arleph shouts, keeping the shield up along with Cyre's own wet parachute.

DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of
Fire!.
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
"Mask," Prissa answers Jay, mid-shove.

But then! The people are free. Prissa gives the smallest child a knife to keep them all safe, and then she takes a deep breath - coughing afterwards, despite the mask. "Ugh," she says, even as her eyes turn to Lydia for a moment. Burning? But that arm's metal, she thinks.

And then the buildings burst into flame. Prissa flinches, but less than she might. She works in a forge, after all. Pointing with her wet shamshir, she says, "This is some art or other. Even with alchemy a fire does not spread like this -" BOOM!

She starts running, sword held away from other people.

DG: Prissa has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of
Fire!.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida stops in her tracks as the flames roar towards the group, almost cutting off their avenue of escape. "You're right," she says to Prissa, her eyes narrowing. Screams echo in the distance. The smell of smoke and the sight of burning homes are bringing back unwanted memories. "Azado," Ida whispers, to herself, trying to head off her panic before it reaches critical mass. "This is not Adlehyde." Sweat beads on her forehead, and runs down her face in rivulets as she moves. She spots something on a burning rooftop, then, and reaches for something at her belt--a length of rope tipped with a grappling hook. She stops, gives the rope a few good swings, and then throws it with all the strength she can muster. It hooks around the lip of the barrel. Ida strains, heaves, and then the barrel tips over, spilling rainwater down across the flaming building. It might just buy everyone some time.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Climbing Kit toward her party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of
Fire!.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Ah, the mask. That explains why she was asking. Jacqueline can explain later - right now, the important thing is transporting the civilians to safety.

She rummages through her bags and removes some potions, which she hands toward their charges as well as everyone in her party.

"Here, drink these...it should keep you safe." She says. And, most importantly, quickly - this becomes especially necessary when the flame itself arises to challenge them. Jacqueline stays primarily near the civilians, ready to utilize her sorcery as necessary.

"...You're right. It's almost like it's acting with a mind of its own." She murmurs. Her gaze settles on Ida for a moment.

...This is not Adlehyde...

That has a different meaning to Jacqueline, but she would do what she could for these people all the same.

One Adlehyde was more than enough.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of
Fire!.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia blinks a few times as the flames start behaving unnaturally. Well it was pretty obvious before, but it's not like she can shoot fire at them and dropping a meteor on them will just make it worse and LASERS didn't work either. Lydia frowns thoughtfully at this conundrum. "Nhh...."

She draws out her portal pistols and launches right where a flame is jumping. The fire goes through and vanishes within it.

Lydia...Lydia didn't make an exit portal.

"I wonder what'll happen with it now." Lydia says thoughtfully. "I think the last portal I made was at the Castle Rabbit Stein, I don't think they'll go that far..."

Nevertheless, she gets a-running.

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Portal Pistols toward her party's challenge, Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire!.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
==========<* CHALLENGE - Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire! *>==========
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 As you sprint along, you come to a large avenue. The fire here is no natural  
 thing, and the buildings overhead crackle and snap with a fire that is too    
 hot and spreads too fast. It has other effects, too. As you run, you hear a   
 whistling -- and flame leaps away from the buildings. As if it has a mind of  
 its own, it forms fireballs -- and those come slamming down into your midst!  
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Slow=============================================
========================<* Azado Burning - Round 3 *>=========================
============< Results - Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire! >============
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arleph Ardan                        0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Climbing Kit                        2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Rapid Remedy                        1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyre H. Lorentz                     0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Reverse Parachute                   1   Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         5 --(0)--> 5                   Fail
Portal Pistols                      2   Agility Effects: Stalwart             
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey           40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(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> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Who knows what could still dwell in Castle Rabbitstein. Only that whoever they are, they might have a way to actually cook their wall meat tonight. Times have been tough since Lady Firecat up and left.

But!! That's there. This is here.

The flames are simply too numerous and too hungry for Ida and Lydia to deal with alone, though they do mitigate some of the danger. Fewer fireballs smash into Cyre and Arleph's combined safeguards, which means fewer still collide anywhere near the assemblage of adventurers and civilians.

At that point, Jay's potions are more than enough protection. The party makes it through in one piece, but...

"You're right," Cyre mutters at Prissa's observation, glancing worriedly at the spreading flames as they move. "This isn't a natural fire. Something's controlling these things, making them cause as much damage as possible. We need to get these people out of here and as far from town as we can. This fire might not stop 'till it eats up the entire town."

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Azado Burning *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Burning Timbers *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you run down the street, you hear a titanic creaking noise. The            
 two-storied building next to you shifts -- and then a pair of massive         
 timbers rip out of the side of the building. Already wreathed in flame, they  
 come crashing down for your heads!                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "This isn't Adlehyde," Ida whispers. Her face is streaked with sweat and soot, and her eyes dart about as she tries to stay one step ahead of the fire. This ends up being very helpful when someone's fancy wood-framed teahouse lists to the side, support beams snapping like dry, burned twigs. Some of the roof comes loose with a horrible crack, and tumbles down at the group!

        "MOVE!" Ida screams. She shoves one of the civilians to the side, before leaping that way herself, twisting into a tuck-and-roll.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

It most certainly is not Adlehyde! Adlehyde wasn't full of SENTIENT FIRE.

"You heard the lady!" Cyre shouts, scooping up the smallest member of the rescue squad and sweeping his parachute forward. A sudden gust of wind blasts the pair forward, under and ideally beyond the tumbling beam. "Move, move, move!"

Seriously though, how is it that just these beams are toppling their way!? Also, wow, that smoke smells weird.

...Is that... tea?

...Hm. Cyre has new ideas for incense.

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"You're right...at this point, I don't think we can stop it..." Jacqueline murmurs. Evacuating the citizens was the greater priority - particularly with the flames apparently actively seeking them.

And then, there's a crack.

Ida's shout spurs Jacqueline into action - she practically lifts one of the smaller ones as she dives to the side. Ordinarily she wasn't capable of that kind of feat of strength, but...

...Well, sometimes, need meant doing things you couldn't otherwise do.

The lingering effects of her potion from before helped, as well.

"Is everyone alright!?" Jacqueline shouts over the din once she touches back down.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         Arleph hoofs it the best he can. Somehow, it's never been his strong suit and might understand how some wizards keeps some floating spells handy at all times. That'd be great, right about now.
 
         "I don't know who's causing it. Or what." Arleph snaps out, moving along. "We can't really stop it, but we can mitigate the damage the best we can."
 
         Then there's a crack.
 
         Not a good kind of crack.
 
         "RHYAAAAH!" The Symbologist shouts, lifting an hand upward with another spreading symbological circle spreading from his feet, a pillar of ice erupting from the ground to create a (very) temporary pillar. "Move it! Move it!" He shouts, diving himself through

DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
"I wonder this," Prissa says to Cyre, darkly. "Is this your Malevolence again?" This is probably Prissa constructing sentences weirdly, rather than suggesting that Cyre is the author of Malevolence. Though, you know, has he ever been seen in the same room as -

This train of thought is abruptly derailed by a collapsing house. "Hyii!" Prissa shouts, leap-rolling away and nearly carving her shoulder open. Nearly! It's fine. She calls out, "Get nearer water! Sea is better!"

To Lydia she says, "Where did you send the --"

DG: Prissa has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"Whazzat?" Lydia asks of Ida.

But she mostly focuses on what Prissa is asking. "Uh--somewhere!?" Lydia says. Not willing to test it out by summoning a fire filled portal to test it out, she is forced to try dodgerolling in the hopes that her i-frames handle the situation. It might not, at which point she might be buried under timber!

She's still kind of hoping she manages to get through this day without being combusted.

DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burning Timbers.
==============================<* Azado Burning *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Burning Timbers *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you run down the street, you hear a titanic creaking noise. The            
 two-storied building next to you shifts -- and then a pair of massive         
 timbers rip out of the side of the building. Already wreathed in flame, they  
 come crashing down for your heads!                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
=========================<* Azado Burning - Round 4 *>==========================
=========================< Results - Burning Timbers >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arleph Ardan                        0 --(5)--> 5                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   0 --(5)--> 5                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Rapid Remedy                        1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyre H. Lorentz                     0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Reverse Parachute                   1   Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         5 --(5)--> 10                  Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey           60 --(20)--> 80                Pass
Conditions: Hesitate(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(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: Prissa has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Open and Shut *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You round the next corner to find, finally, safety: for both you and anyone   
 you rescued, as well as a cluster of a dozen people ahead of you. The city's  
 guards have unlocked a massive floodgate, which leads into the sewer system   
 below the city. A few people have already rushed in. One of the guards, upon  
 seeing you, calls out: "Hurry!"                                               
                                                                               
 All seems safe, but you hear the strangest sound behind you. A titanic roar,  
 and a rush of wind that blows in front of you.                                
                                                                               
 When you turn, you see the reason why: cresting above the burning roofs of    
 the city, even as high as the distant lighthouse, is an enormous tidal wave.  
 It slams into the city. Buildings shatter, as fire is turned to steam in an   
 instant, and the wave is crashing for you.                                    
                                                                               
 "GET INSIDE! WE HAVE TO CLOSE THE FLOODGATE NOW!"                             
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        The roof comes down. It slams into the alleyway, scattering bits of shingles and flaming timber every which way. The little group of civilians escapes with only a few scrapes, largely because their protectors fare somewhat worse. Ida forces herself to her feet, even as pain blooms along her left forearm--she runs gauntleted fingers down it--they come away bloody.

        "I don't sense any," Ida says, to Prissa. "If it is, it's hiding itself well." Which is disturbing in its own right. She doesn't answer Lydia. She might not have even heard her in the chaos. (Sorry, Lydia.)

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
Lydia's nanomachines interfere with her i-frames. Finally, something negative that came from nanomachines! Balance is restored, but at what cost? Either way the group continues forwards, the flames licking them in. Prissa sweats, not least because the motion towards the sea seems like it was a bad idea. Was the tide going out? she wonders as she hustles downslope. Until:

The sewers?

There's a huge iron flood gate that's been wedged open. Desperate and singed people are running in, with Guardsmen - yes, probably the straight up Althena's Guard, or perhaps local people; anyway, they're in semi-uniform jerkins - are waving them in. One of them blows a wood whistle, seeing the group and waves them urgently. Any suspicions are waived in the face of

A burning house falls over from like two switchbacks up, bouncing with a shower of sparks before the entire frame lands straight dead-ass on the front of the flood gate. "You have GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" says Runk the guard, who seems overworried. He then looks towards the coast and blanches.

The tidal wave is forming.

Prissa looks at it momentarily, but then says to Jay, "It does not pour but it rains," even as she surges forwards. That blacksmith's hammer comes out again, smashing into disintegrating timbers. She gets several streaks of blisters around her upper arms, but it's not the first time.

"If you can get this -- this -- cacapoopy horse DOODIE out of the gates we can seal 'em shut!" says Runk. "Hurry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that was enough !'s that it scrolled off the side of the text box. There is a timer here. It is for serious.

DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Hammer toward her party's challenge, Open and Shut.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Prissa suggests heading toward the sea, and Jacqueline would agree. They could probably more effectively deal with the flames that way. They start to head that way...

...But then, the sea starts coming for them.

Jacqueline pales, and nods quietly toward Prissa in agreement.

"We'll deal with this, hurry inside! Let whoever's in charge here know that I'll be there soon to distribute medical supplies." Jacqueline urges, then rummages through her bags.

This time, she passes out strength-enhancing potions. Right now, they just needed to break things. Usually she wasn't a big fan of breaking things...but now, she believed she could make an exception.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, Open and Shut.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"Yeah I'm not picking up on any Malevolence either. Just a whole lot of fire. I don't think fire hides malevolence, but I say that only because half of the malevolence I've run into has been on fire and the other half has been--"

Cyre's ears twitch.

His hair stands on end.

"Uh, guys," Cyre says, as a house crashes down in front of them. "Something weird's going on. There's, like, this weird buzzing at the back of my head and I think I hear the ocean for some reason--"

Cyre's ears twitch back.

His head follows them.

And he finds...

"Oh," Cyre mouths. "Tidal wave."

Tidal wave?

TIDAL WAVE!!

"First fire, now water!? What's wrong with this place!!??" Cyre quickly lights his censer again and... Lobs it over the house and into the sewer tunnel. "I'M COMING TO GET THAT," he yells as he starts deploying LASER ARRAYS to blast away the rubble. "JUST, LET IT BURN FOR A BIT."

"NO MATTER WHERE I'VE BEEN," more lasers! "SEWER STANK IS ALWAYS THERE WAITING! THAT SHOULD HELP!"

And it does! Now they can all take shelter in a relatively fragrant smelling sewer tunnel, as opposed to the alternative.

DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Invigorating Vapors toward his party's challenge, Open and Shut.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia is clobbered by timber :(. Luckily she's not too badly off anyway thanks to nanomachines! NO DOWNSIDE!!!

Lydia isn't sure how her Brute Tool: A Rock would help stop a tidal wave so she uses a rock to bash aside tinders, downing any potion as neccessary as well, but frankly she is not inclined to go into the sewer either since that's where the water will be draining and then she'll drown. Of course, she might drown up here too.

"I... I took swimming lessons from Rebecca but I'm not sure I'm ready for this test--!"

She sobs.

"I JUST WANTED TO MAKE LOADS OF MONEY AND DIE IN A GIANT MONEY BUILDING! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO UUUUUS?"

DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Open and Shut.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida manages to keep pace with the others. Kalve's physical therapy has helped, but so has the massive dose of adrenaline that flooded her system as soon as things caught fire. The sight of the civilians trying desperately to get to safety twists something in her guts. She watches the wooden framing fall from high above. As a Hellion, she could've pushed it out of the way, just like she stopped a falling tower from flattening escaping citizens at Lastonbell. If only--

        Ida swallows, hard. She breathes, and feels chi wash into her limbs like a burning tide. She rushes through the gates, snatching a potion bottle out of the air with a gauntleted hand. (Those are new. They're leather with metal plates on the back, designed to add weight to punches.) Ida chugs it down, throws the bottle aside, and starts punching the hell out of the wooden frame as though it were a large, inconveniently-placed punching bag. She doesn't yell at Lydia. Honestly, she is skating along the razor's edge of panic, too.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Open and Shut.
Cyre H. Lorentz says, "LYDIA I DON'T THINK BUILDING A BUILDING OUT OF MONEY IS VERY PRACTICAL. ALSO IT'S VERY
FLAMMABLE.""
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         "I don't smell any malevolence either. If it's here, it's pretty subdued--" Arleph comments, then stopping up at the sight of the large gateway. Then the screaming. Then the tidal wave behind him.
 
         "Oh, blow me out of a black hole." The Symbologist snaps out. Despite the (very major) severity of his cussing, there is something of a grin on his face as he takes a grounding stance. He pop his neck left and right, popping his knuckles as he takes. Honestly, a good dose of cockiness is what's keeping the sheer panic at bay currently.
 
         Arleph reach into his side pockets, taking out what is to some people a familiar clay ball, with a long symbological circle running along it circumference. He trace a finger along its length, the symbols lighting up as he go all around it.
 
         "MONEY IS VERY FLAMMABLE, EXCEPT IF IT'S GOLD." Arleph shouts, squeezing the clay ball into one hand, pushing energy into it as he casts a spell, willing the icy mists growing around him into it.
 
         He straightens up, balled fist into his open palm before. He twists to one side, leg pushing back and flexing.
 
         With a grunt and something of a snarl, he makes a small run and fling the clay ball up ahead through the gate, aided by his spell. It sails into the air, rolling...
 
         And detonate in a large, quick flash of ice, flash freezing the water for what will, he hope, give some time for people to get out.
 
         Including him. Oh god.

DG: Arleph Ardan has used his Tool Symbological Bomb toward his party's challenge, Open and Shut.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"IT'S A BUILDING FOR MONEY NOT A BUILDING LITERALLY MADE OUT OF MONEY OBVIOUSLY WHY DO YOU ASSUME THE DUMBEST THING ALL THE TIME ARGHHH" Lydia says.

DG: You've already acted for this round. Please wait for the round GM to push +act/complete.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

Cyre is still yelling, still lasering rubble, "LOOK IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU ARE REALLY BAD AT BEING SPECIFIC WITH THAT KIND OF THING. MONEY BUILDING IS A VERY VAGUE PHRASE LYDIA."

<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

"GUYS A LITERAL MILLION LITRE OF WATER ARE COMING CAN WE HAVE THIS ARGUMENT ANOTHER TIME?" Arlpeh shouts back.

=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Open and Shut *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You round the next corner to find, finally, safety: for both you and anyone   
 you rescued, as well as a cluster of a dozen people ahead of you. The city's  
 guards have unlocked a massive floodgate, which leads into the sewer system   
 below the city. A few people have already rushed in. One of the guards, upon  
 seeing you, calls out: "Hurry!"                                               
                                                                               
 All seems safe, but you hear the strangest sound behind you. A titanic roar,  
 and a rush of wind that blows in front of you.                                
                                                                               
 When you turn, you see the reason why: cresting above the burning roofs of    
 the city, even as high as the distant lighthouse, is an enormous tidal wave.  
 It slams into the city. Buildings shatter, as fire is turned to steam in an   
 instant, and the wave is crashing for you.                                    
                                                                               
 "GET INSIDE! WE HAVE TO CLOSE THE FLOODGATE NOW!"                             
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
========================<* Azado Burning - Round 5 *>=========================
=========================< Results - Open and Shut >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arleph Ardan                        5 --(0)--> 5                   Pass
Symbological Bomb                   3   Brute   Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   5 --(0)--> 5                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Brewte Force                        1   Brute   Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyre H. Lorentz                     0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Invigorating Vapors                 1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         10 --(0)--> 10                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Ida Everstead-Rey           80 --(35)--> 115               Pass
Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Reckless(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(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 Azado Burning!
=============================<* Azado Burning *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - In the Darkness *>=======================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The floodgate slams behind you, locked shut as the tidal wave slams into      
 it... but bounces off, and those waters rush into the city. That leaves you   
 in the catacombs of Azado, in the darkened sewers and tunnels that run        
 beneath. There is no light down here -- and no answers as to what terrible    
 fate befell the city above. There is only the way forward.                    
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS A LITRE!?" Cyre screams, his lasers intensifying. More lasers. More. "ALSO THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANOTHER TIME SO I'M BONDING WHERE I CAN."

<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

"IT'S 0.26 GALLONS!" Arleph continues shouting, pressing and pushing his spell. "AND FAIR ENOUGH, YELLING IS GOOD BONDING."

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

"THAT IS A REALLY WEIRDLY SPECIFIC CONVERSION RATE," Cyre continues to scream because he has great pipes and talking is a free action, "WHY NOT JUST ROUND TO 0.25 LIKE A SANE PERSON!?"

<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

"BECAUSE I'M ALREADY ROUNDING IT UP FROMR 0.25--I MEAN 0.264-- DAMN IT YOU'VE TRIPPED UP MY MATH!" Arleph screams further, then wheezing. Free actions do have limits.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

".01 IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LANDING ON THE MOON AND LANDING ON THE SUN." Lydia says.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
"Suppression of trade," Prissa tells Lydia as they whack at the crap. Fortunately, a framework of a building that was pretty well on fire disintegrates swiftly, presenting the group with a bunch of immature charcoal units and some superheated nails. Prissa grabs one up with her bare hands.

"OH THANK THE GODDESS," says Runk as he leaps in, several other Guardsmen in the process of turning the wheel, which shuts with ponderous slowness the rest of the way. There's a little foresurge from where the tidal wave washed up a street before it closes - but it's a simple splash of the sea, not...

Not what must have been.

There is a th-WUMP and a horrid sea-noise as the ocean washes up and over the flood gate. The air reeks of salt water but the sewer holds underneath the flood waters. The drains fill in the area with water - but the tide washes out afterwards.

The Guardsmen are silent. There are some other townsfolk in here. A child cries.

It is probably good, in this moment, to not think too much about the numbers.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Finally - finally - they manage to get the floodgates shut. And just in time, too. They can hear it outside, but it doesn't manage to get through.

...Jacqueline exhales and then raises her left hand to conjure up a small ball of light.

"...Is everyone alright?" She asks quietly. She's trying not to think about things right now. Trying not to wonder how everyone else is doing. If the people she sold things to today had managed to survive, or if they perished before they could make use of her goods.

"Let's head further inside. I need to check up on the wounded and distribute some potions to those who need them." She says, heading away from the floodgates. She's...a little subdued.

There was nothing to do now but to do what she could for those who were here.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        When Ida was a little girl, a hurricane hit the Galadian coastline. She still vividly remembers sheltering in a saferoom in the family's basement, which was still well above the waterline--Edmund had cried the entire time, and she'd done her best to comfort him. She'd tried not to think about how everything she loved could be washed away, or about the people that didn't have safe places to shelter in. As the door slams shut, she remembers sitting in the dark with the entire extended household. Her stomach twists. She hears that horrible wash of water outside, and chokes back a sob.

        Something horrible and unfathomable just happened, again, and all she can do is endure it.

        Jay asks if everyone is all right. "No," Ida whispers. Her arm is still bleeding. "But I'll live."

        The little family is all right, though. Their little boy clings to his mother's leg. Ida looks at him. "It's all right to be scared," she says. "I'm scared, too."

<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.

They're alive! They're alive. By some miracle, they're alive. Cyre sighs, sagging against the inside wall of the sewer pipe. Fatigue from running non-stop from a massive living fire, compounded with the lingering injuries he incurred up in Rabbitstein, seems to have caught up with him. He's tired, man.

The incense is helping, though. It's keeping the sewer stink down, too.

But bolstering the body does little to bolster the spirit. Cyre sighs, his pulse gradually slowing down to a somewhat less fevered pitch. He looks over to the people they saved, the noodle cook, the family and their children, and anyone else they might have helped out. He looks to Jay, frowns, and moves up to squeeze a hand around her shoulder. "We did good, boss," Cyre says. "We did right by these folks, I think."

<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.

         They are, somehow, alive. The Symbologist lets out a sigh once they are inside(and the sheer amount of shouting about maths) before slumping to the side of a wall. He rubs the side of his cheeks for a moment, taking off his hat before putting back on.
 
         "I'm fine." He says, looking over at Jay, then nodding at Ida, pushing himeslf back to his feet. "Thanks, Ida. You were pretty timely, there. I'm glad you made it."
 
         He may not be a healer, but he still know some medicine that should help on the matter. Plus, that should help getting the mind off things for a little while.

<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia is frankly terrified. Her experience with water is largely to nearly drown in it. Her experience with fire is to be burned alive by it. When everybody gets inside, she curls up into a ball (not an actual ball, to be claer) and hugs her knees.

She's asked if she's alright and she doesn't answer for a moment, but upon seeing Ida able to keep cool enough to reassure a small child, Lydia nods a few times and pulls back into a normal seated position.

"Yeah, yeah sure." Lydia says. "Let's do that.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
Prissa leans heavily against a wall.

She doesn't move much. Her arms fold. She looks at her feet.

As Runk the guard and other people bustle around - for once unfettered allies in the face of natural disaster - Prissa thinks.

Some of it is the terror of which she has just seen and the thought of what that would represent in sword form. Another part is that something about the sound of the waves is keeping her attention.

"Let the sea roll back into place, before you start going out," Prissa says, voice toneless.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline pauses in place as Cyre rests a hand on her shoulder. She nods, quietly, then continues on once more further into their current makeshift shelter.

What Prissa says gives her pause, however, for just a moment, before she continues on...

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida's other hand slips into a pocket, peels an Apple Gel out of its parchment, and pops it into her mouth. She'd gotten so used to her wounds healing themselves that relying on healing from others is unfamiliar. She chews and swallows, and in a few minutes' time, the wound starts to clot and close. "She's correct," Ida says. "The storm surge will drag you out to sea and drown you if it gets the chance." Her lips twist. She looks across the room, at Prissa. "If it was even a storm."