2018-09-09: The Only Way Is Down
- Log: The Only Way Is Down
- Cast: White Knight Leo, Skylr Paer, Kalve, Pearl, Zed
- Where: The Flooded Ruins
- Date: 9/09/2018
- Summary: An unlikely alliance is formed between Althena's Guard and two freelance Metal Demons to make their way out of the ruins beneath Azado.
DG: A party led by White Knight Leo is now entering The Flooded Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Duplicator-Sealed Door *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The terrifying rumbling from above gives some idea of what lay on the
streets of Azado. Whatever brought the tidal wave with it has not stopped,
and the occasional horrible groan of wood and shattering of stone indicates
that not all is safe in the city. The sewers, too, rumble and shake as you
move through them.
But there are deeper things hidden within these sewers, and you come across
one of several entrances... guarded by a sealed door. There are runes upon
it, glowing softly. Those with experience on Filgaia may recognize the runes
as Elw. The door has several sliding tiles, with images carved into them.
Slide them in the right direction, and the door will open.
Or, spend awhile breaking it down.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Tire===========================================
DG: A party led by White Knight Leo is now entering The Flooded Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Duplicator-Sealed Door *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The terrifying rumbling from above gives some idea of what lay on the
streets of Azado. Whatever brought the tidal wave with it has not stopped,
and the occasional horrible groan of wood and shattering of stone indicates
that not all is safe in the city. The sewers, too, rumble and shake as you
move through them.
But there are deeper things hidden within these sewers, and you come across
one of several entrances... guarded by a sealed door. There are runes upon
it, glowing softly. Those with experience on Filgaia may recognize the runes
as Elw. The door has several sliding tiles, with images carved into them.
Slide them in the right direction, and the door will open.
Or, spend awhile breaking it down.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Water still pours into the sewers from the hole that used to be downtown Azado. It flows steadily downwards, through the ancient tunnels, carrying with it dirt, debris, bodies. White Knight Leo hasn't regained consciousness since Skylr fished him out of the flow, and as the immense monster continues its rampage up above, things look grim. The Dragonmaster's fleet broke itself on the titan's body, and Ghaleon himself escaped by the skin of his teeth.Many people are dead, and if a miracle doesn't happen, the people who took shelter in Azado's sewers will die as well.
Leo isn't in very good shape, either. Skylr has healed him, but he hasn't regained consciousness--if he doesn't come around, she and Pearl might have to carry him. At least that door offers a way out--an unusual one. But then again, they wouldn't recoginize Elw runes, would they? Time for a little deductive work.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
Leo was worrying Skylr. Her magic is strong: She knows it is. She's well blessed by Althena, so to say. However, Leo wasn't up, Skylr herself is still injured (healer heal thyself), and she's still crying because Azado is home after all. The brunette rubs at her face, the tears washing away into the rest of the water.
She stares at the door.
Knowledge... knowledge is power. Knowledge is... knowledge is a good thing. Her fingers trace the sealed door and the runes on it, and she murmurs to herself. Sliding patterns. That's... familiar. Like when she was a kid, matching shapes to a pattern. How if you knit wool in a certain way... Her fingers slide into the waterlogged bag at her side, and despair rides over her further at the waterlog of her book. She inhales quietly and starts delicately flipping through the pages.
Patterns are important. She can work with patterns, and it shows in how she approaches the sliding of the blocks on the door. Just because you can't read it, doesn't mean you can't beat it at its' own game.
DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Book of Notes toward her party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
NOT LONG AGO
Kalve gets into a fistfight with an ocean.
He loses.
(It was pretty close.)
NOW
A figure amongst the detritus and refuse rises out of the flowing water. He trudges out of the flow, draped in white and grey waterlogged cloth (a robe?) that sticks to a bent and hunchbacked frame. Short, iron-grey hair is plastered to the top of his head, and his rust-red eyes are weary. He looks down and around, and does not find what he is looking for. His expression becomes annoyed.
He spots a short human female and someone unfamiliar laid out nearby. Kalve strides up, pushing past her brusquely with a muttered, "Move," extending a black-gauntleted hand from a soggy sleeve and projecting a yellowish light from his palm. It coalesces into sets of glyphs and symbols, hovering in mid-air. He turns his attention to the door and the tiles, and then to Leo.
Kalve just shakes his head and goes back to working out the puzzle. He doesn't have time for this.
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Traced Codex toward his party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Compared to Skylr's panic, the silver haired guardswoman accompanying her is almost eerily calm. Pearl has left Leo in the healer's care, as there's nothing she can contribute there. She's still covered in wounds, but most of them are old wounds. After all, she hadn't actually fought that... thing. Instead she had been evacuating people down into the catacombs. A number of them are down here now, left perhaps with more competent guards to comfort them. Pearl, instead, is focused on the way forward.
Or she would be, if she hadn't been staring uselessly at the door. She doesn't understand the language a bit, and brute force hasn't helped. And then a bedraggled, robed figure pushes past. "Who goes there?" Pearl calls out, as if it matters at this point. They're pretty much all refugees here now.
Still, as Skylr takes over assisting with door duty, Pearl walks over to the commander. This is the state of one of the four heroes? Truly? With a grunt, she kneels down to pick him up. At least she can drag bodies. She's good at that.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Duplicator-Sealed Door *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The terrifying rumbling from above gives some idea of what lay on the
streets of Azado. Whatever brought the tidal wave with it has not stopped,
and the occasional horrible groan of wood and shattering of stone indicates
that not all is safe in the city. The sewers, too, rumble and shake as you
move through them.
But there are deeper things hidden within these sewers, and you come across
one of several entrances... guarded by a sealed door. There are runes upon
it, glowing softly. Those with experience on Filgaia may recognize the runes
as Elw. The door has several sliding tiles, with images carved into them.
Slide them in the right direction, and the door will open.
Or, spend awhile breaking it down.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Tire===========================================
=======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 1 *>======================== ======================< Results - Duplicator-Sealed Door >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Book of Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Traced Codex 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: White Knight Leo 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Reckless(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
NOT LONG AGO
Zed screams as he stabs a weird scale monster with the point end of his sword.
He screams again when the great big angry whale monster gets extra angry about someone hurting one of his babbies and slaps Zed right through the outer crust of the moon.
NOW
The ground shakes. It trembles vigorously. Something is wrong. Something is coming. Something... Something...!
EXPLODES OUT OF THE CEILING
"AAAAAAAAAAAA--"
AND FLIES HEAD-FIRST INTO THE DOOR.
*WHAM*
*Thud*
"Ghuhhhhhhhh," Zed groans, flopping onto his back. "Kaaaaaalve, my back huuuuurts."
His back, and not his head?
Well, of course! Zed's head IS basically invincible. So.
DG: A party led by White Knight Leo is now entering The Flooded Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Duplicator-Sealed Door *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The terrifying rumbling from above gives some idea of what lay on the
streets of Azado. Whatever brought the tidal wave with it has not stopped,
and the occasional horrible groan of wood and shattering of stone indicates
that not all is safe in the city. The sewers, too, rumble and shake as you
move through them.
But there are deeper things hidden within these sewers, and you come across
one of several entrances... guarded by a sealed door. There are runes upon
it, glowing softly. Those with experience on Filgaia may recognize the runes
as Elw. The door has several sliding tiles, with images carved into them.
Slide them in the right direction, and the door will open.
Or, spend awhile breaking it down.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Tire===========================================
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door. DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door. DG: Pearl has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door. DG: Kalve has used his Tool Traced Codex toward his party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door. DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Book of Notes toward her party's challenge, Duplicator-Sealed Door.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Duplicator-Sealed Door *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The terrifying rumbling from above gives some idea of what lay on the
streets of Azado. Whatever brought the tidal wave with it has not stopped,
and the occasional horrible groan of wood and shattering of stone indicates
that not all is safe in the city. The sewers, too, rumble and shake as you
move through them.
But there are deeper things hidden within these sewers, and you come across
one of several entrances... guarded by a sealed door. There are runes upon
it, glowing softly. Those with experience on Filgaia may recognize the runes
as Elw. The door has several sliding tiles, with images carved into them.
Slide them in the right direction, and the door will open.
Or, spend awhile breaking it down.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Tire===========================================
=======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 1 *>======================== ======================< Results - Duplicator-Sealed Door >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Book of Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Traced Codex 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: White Knight Leo 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Reckless(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"I am --" begins the rude stranger in Pearl's direction, when Zed literally explodes onto the scene. "-- Kalve," he finishes, with a sigh at the end. It sort of ruins his gravitas.
"You have likely compressed your spine," Kalve tells Zed, while working over the puzzle. "Again." He offers him a (normal) hand up.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
White Knight Leo is a big, burly man with jaw-length sky-blue hair, a formerly-white uniform of some sort, and a shredded red cape. He looks to be a Beastman of some sort, though what sort is a mystery for the ages--he has a spiraling horn on his brow, and his ears look equal parts equine and feline. He is a mess.
The screaming and crumbling of stone heralds the arrival of none other than ZED, and it also seems to have some effect on Leo. The White Knight mumbles something, stirs, and cracks an eye open. The world is a blur. "...Guardswoman?" he says, his voice faint. He presses a palm against the stone, and tries to rise. "...What happened?"
At least there's that. Skylr and Kalve manage to make headway on the runes, but it takes a lot longer than it should. The earth trembles around everyone the entire time, as though it could give way at any moment.
DG: Pearl has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Flood Control *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- When you enter this room, you find that you are the top of a stairwell leading down a couple of levels. However, water filled this room at some point long ago. Mounted on the wall, however, is a series of levers. These control pumps which can empty the room of water -- but, if you aren't careful, they could also pump more water into it, and fill the chamber. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Well. At least he answered the question. Fine. And the fact that he's helping and not, like Zed, smashing into the wall. That one she recognises, even if the recognition is not mutual. Still, her commander asks a question, and she responds with a swift salute.
"The city is gone, and what's left is flooded. We have civilians, but unless we move forward it's a matter of time before we all drown and are killed." Well, at least she's upfront. She casts her eyes over the door. "I'll take point." It's not really an offer so much as a statement, but Leo is in no state to lead.
The room they emerge into has seen worse than the catacombs they were hiding in before. If it were just a matter of getting across, she could probably swim across. But the fact of the matter is, the direction they need to go is even further down. "...Hm."
Pearl pulls at a lever. The water level rises. She pushes the lever back up quickly. She steps back. "Guardswoman Paer, would you mind?"
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
Skylr whirls around when she hears Leo. "Sir..." She inhales, and exhales, relief evident in her voice. "We all got washed away into... I guess what is underneath or a part of the sewers below Azado..." She glances at the levers. Her book is still in hand, and she cracks a sad, almost grumpy smile.
"Hello. I am Skylr." She tells Kalve and Zed. A pause as she looks at Pearl. "I'll do my best!" She's getting outclassed by Kalve here, but, trusty notes in hand, she attempts to puzzle them out, even pointing out one or two things she learned from the previous room and her notes on patterns to Kalve. Helpful Nerd is Helpful.
DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Book of Notes toward her party's challenge, Flood Control.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed groaaaaaaans, taking Kalve's hand to help himself back up to his feet. "Uuuugh. Why do spines have to be compressiblllllle~"
They aren't.
Or at least, they shouldn't be!?!
There's a beat as he notices who else is in this particular stretch of underground. "Oh! Snap!" Zed snaps, "It's that guy who hates Lucia! What's he doing here!? Kalve, were you captured!?" Oh Mother no stop him before he blows all their cover noooooo.
Beat.
Zed stares at Skylr.
"D-didn't I hit you with my luck once...?" Zed squints a little harder, then frowns and shrugs and goes to the levers and OH NO SOMEONE STOP HI--
Wait.
No, he's going past them. He's... going to just swim across?
Well.
It's one way of doing things at least.
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Flood Control.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo braces a hand against the slick sewer wall, and pulls himself upright inch by inch. His whole body aches. As Zed begins ranting, he shakes his head, and swallows to try and get the taste of his own blood out of his mouth. "We cannot evacuate them, not with that monstrosity overhead." His eyes focus on Pearl, and his lips tighten in a scowl. "Who are these--?" He doesn't finish. He turns to Zed, his eyes narrowing in a venomous glare. "Demon," he says. "Innocent lives are at stake here. If you have so much as a shred of decency in you, you will aid me, and thus them. If you do not, I will return you so you can at least distract the monster." Leo's voice is ragged. He stares after Zed as he dives on in and tries to swim, and then shakes his head. Evidently he sees fit to leave the matter of the levers to those better at puzzles.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Flood Control.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed does this weird and terrible thing where his head just kind of turns around one-eighty degrees like some kind of horrible demon owl and stares back at Leo as he swims forward. "You know how to get back to fight that thing? Can you tell me? I wanna go fight that thing. It hit me too hard, and I need payback."
A-are all Metal Demons battle maniacs...?
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Flood Control *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- When you enter this room, you find that you are the top of a stairwell leading down a couple of levels. However, water filled this room at some point long ago. Mounted on the wall, however, is a series of levers. These control pumps which can empty the room of water -- but, if you aren't careful, they could also pump more water into it, and fill the chamber. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
DG: Pearl has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Flood Control.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Be thankful," Kalve tells Zed mildly, like this is the most normal thing in the world. "If yours wasn't, it would have shattered by now."
The door eventually opens. It's a tense time; the rumbling keeps making Kalve wonder if the next is going to be the one that drops the cave on their heads. He eyes Skylr with a sidelong look now and again, trying to place her. She's familiar somehow. "...Hello." Normal greetings are not a thing he deals with on a day-to-day basis.
Aaaand Zed points out why. Kalve remembers her now: she was there when the enemy reinforcements arrived while they were meeting Lucia. It seems like she doesn't remember him, but then, the waterlogged robes and his lack of a screamingly bright poncho go a long way towards that. Zed being loud about something else, though...!
"What? No. I was carried down here by the tide. Our paths merely intersected." He can see the tension brewing between Zed and Leo (well... in one direction, anyway), and does his best to control it:
"Sir. I am Kalve, Chief Hydrargyrumancer of Brave Phantasia. This... individual..." He indicates Zed with one hand, the other still holding up the hovering glyph-projection, "...has been of great use during other similar operations before. I would take it as a kindness if you would withhold judgement by blade or word until we have found a safe place to recover."
Kalve's poker face has improved.
Kalve turns back to the levers. He checks Skylr's notes with a glance and compares it to his own on similar systems before. He steps up next to Pearl, giving her a briefly questioning look as if seeking permission, and then tries to mess with the levers.
Zed trying to swim doesn't bother him. Zed trying to go back does. "Zed," he calls, "you will need a bigger sword. I do not have the materials here to furnish you with one. Calm yourself."
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Traced Codex toward his party's challenge, Flood Control.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Flood Control *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- When you enter this room, you find that you are the top of a stairwell leading down a couple of levels. However, water filled this room at some point long ago. Mounted on the wall, however, is a series of levers. These control pumps which can empty the room of water -- but, if you aren't careful, they could also pump more water into it, and fill the chamber. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Flood Control *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- When you enter this room, you find that you are the top of a stairwell leading down a couple of levels. However, water filled this room at some point long ago. Mounted on the wall, however, is a series of levers. These control pumps which can empty the room of water -- but, if you aren't careful, they could also pump more water into it, and fill the chamber. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
=======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 2 *>======================== ==========================< Results - Flood Control >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 20 --(5)--> 25 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 20 --(5)--> 25 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Book of Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 20 --(5)--> 25 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 15 --(0)--> 15 Pass Traced Codex 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: White Knight Leo 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(1)|Stupify(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo 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: Zed has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================ ==================<* CHALLENGE - Batten Down the Hatches *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The tidal wave and the ensuing destruction have caused no small amount of flooding in Azado, and that water has to go somewhere. Parts of the ruins have always been prone to flooding. When you enter this room, this proves true. A gout of water comes bursting through an open doorway, and begins to fill the room. If you don't move quickly to, somehow, barricade the entrance, then you may find yourselves swiftly underwater. =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Injure======================================
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"...Hydro...arugulamancer?" Leo says, an eyebrow arching. Maybe it's the concussion talking, but that makes no sense.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Metal, essentially," Kalve helpfully supplies. "I am told it is more impressive than 'magician that also maintains our weaponry.'"
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
The strategy of 'stand back and let the smart people do it' seems to pay off, as Skylr and Kalve compare notes, and then deftly manipulate the levers to clear the floodwater. As Zed sinks rapidly to the ground, this allows the others to cross. Pearl notes her commanders unease, but leaves the asking for help to him. Still, Zed's comments bewilder her. "There are faster, easier ways to seek death. You could simply wait here."
With that, Pearl starts moving forward, going back to taking point until the next challenge arrives, adjusting her gloves.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed sinks, but only because he doesn't swim faster than the water level drops. And this is only because he's staring at Kalve with stars in his eyes. "Really!? You'll make me a bigger sword!? First I find a giant monster to fight, and then I get promised a sword! Today is the best day!" Beat. "Oh, but uh. Doom Bringer might get jealous. So maybe if you can, like... Figure out a way to power her up instead?"
He refers to his sword as a lady?
What... a weird guy...
BUT, ONWARDS! The party progresses barely a couple rooms ahead when suddenly water starts flooding out of a nearby doorway! It... It looks and sounds like it might be the very same water that they'd just drained away from the last room. What kind of devious puzzle is this!?
Zed doesn't care. Zed just reaches into his scarf--
And extracts... A colossal, spiked ball.
Kalve and Leo might be able to tell exactly what it is. And who it belonged to, once. But now... Now it's in Zed's hands. Now, Zed has his power.
"Ahahahahaha!" The Metal Demon laughs as he wraps the giant spiked ball with his bright orange scarf. He grins menacingly at the portal of floodwater and begins whirling his makeshift flail overhead...! "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!
And so he does.
This... might be a little too familiar to some people.
DG: Zed has used his Tool Berserk Hammer toward his party's challenge, Batten Down the Hatches.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
"Luck...?" Skylr stares at Zed and Kalve, before rememberance suddenly gleams in her eyes. It's not an angry look, she gets, though. Instead, hers, true to her nature, is much, much more cool and calculating then before. She wordlessly turns from Kalve, though, her gaze set dead on Zed, before she, along with lots of other people in the room, go to try to find things to barricade the entrance. "Excuse me." She asks Zed, politely, which is weird for right now, "... can you lift this?" This is a rock that anyone else in the room can lift. She, however... cannot.
She does try to carry smaller bits to the door though. She's Helping.
DG: Skylr Paer has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Batten Down the Hatches.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Your notation is inefficient," Kalve asides to Skylr. "Seek or develop a compact shorthand for easy reference." She's being helpful, so he's offering advice. That's... nice...?
They move forward. "I may be able to find a method of extending her reach," he muses. Making Zed an extremely impractical sword is not even the weirdest thing Kalve has made in recent memory. "I am certain I will have a solution by the time we have an opportunity to go out of our way to hunt the creature."
Uh, yeah. That'll be a thing.
Water happens again. Kalve internally curses the very element. He roots himself to the ground, struggling to keep his footing. The codex vanishes, and he sweeps one hand, a cloud of metallic motes appearing in mid-air and solidifying into flat bars that start to get built up along the doorway.
Zed may or may not have a more expedient method.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Batten Down the Hatches.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo seems to have let the matter of Zed's nature drop. "If you wish to challenge that beast again, I will not stop you." (Honestly, Guardswoman Pearl has the right of it, but there are more important matters at hand than encouraging a Metal Demon's death wish.) Beastman follows after the others as they make their way through the catacombs. His stride is a little steadier, and he looks a little more alert. His ears swivel, fixing on the sound of rushing water a few seconds before the flood actually reaches them. "Stand firm!" Leo bellows, and he raises a hand. Pillars of ancient rock rise from the ground, blocking off some of the flow. Leo focuses, grits his teeth. More pillars rise up closer to the opening, forming a neat little cross-grid with Kalve's.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Batten Down the Hatches.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
This is more Pearl's speed, but even she has to stare at Zed's... bizarre showing. Still, not enough time to waste. She digs the claws on her boots into the ground, and starts pulling up chunks of the rubble. "Stand clear." She says, quietly, perhaps in the hopes Zed won't hear her, and she hurls large chunks of rubble into the gaps of the rapidly building barricade, more providing mass than anything else. But between the crisscrossing metal and earth pillars, and just reckless application of stone, it will hopefully be enough.
DG: Pearl has used her Tool Wolf Claws toward her party's challenge, Batten Down the Hatches.
===========================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================ ==================<* CHALLENGE - Batten Down the Hatches *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The tidal wave and the ensuing destruction have caused no small amount of flooding in Azado, and that water has to go somewhere. Parts of the ruins have always been prone to flooding. When you enter this room, this proves true. A gout of water comes bursting through an open doorway, and begins to fill the room. If you don't move quickly to, somehow, barricade the entrance, then you may find yourselves swiftly underwater. =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Injure======================================
======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 3 *>======================= ====================< Results - Batten Down the Hatches >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 25 --(10)--> 35 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pearl 25 --(10)--> 35 Pass Wolf Claws 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skylr Paer 20 --(20)--> 40 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 25 --(10)--> 35 Pass Berserk Hammer 3 Brute Effects: Strengthen and Sacrif ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalve 15 --(20)--> 35 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: White Knight Leo 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Overzealous(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo 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: Skylr Paer has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Ammes *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Some of the hallways of the flooded ruins have been infiltrated by monsters from above. When you see floating conicL jellyfish, hovering in midair, you may think them beautiful. They glow, with a bioluminescence, and their tendrils hang low and twitch. But when they reach out, they shock with actual electricity, and prove quite vicious. That none in Meribus or Glenwood have seen these creatures before, though... that may be worrisome. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Fright===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Metal is criss-crossed! Earth pillars are raised! Rocks are set down! Rubble is pulled from nearby walls and Zed...
Zed's ball and chain has finally picked up enough speed to produce a nearly deafening roar.
"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" He yells again, taking a step forward. And then--
*WHAM*
Part of the wall nearby crumples and then shatters. A knock-on shockwave tumbles through the ancient architecture, filling the corridor behind the makeshift barricade with rubble.
Zed nods firmly as the dust clears and the floodwaters dwindle to a trickle... And goes to shove his wrecking ball back into his scarf.
Somehow it fits in there. Somehow.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Beat.
"Oh uh," Zed coughs and sort of... looks sheepishly in a Skylr-ward direction??? "Ahahahaha, sorry! I guess I got. Carried away? Yeah. Whoops!"
There's a beat. He walks over, picks up the rock she was standing at, and just kind of... wedges it in there with the others.
"There! All done."
...What a weirdo.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
"Ah. Pretty..." Skylr murmurs softly.
Of course, even she knows pretty things are deadly. Seriously. She starts digging around in her bag. "... thanks." She adds on to Kalve after a minute. Just because she wants to punch him doesn't mean she still can't be polite. Momma wouldn't approve. That being said, she comes up with squares of itchy wool that are more water soaked than normal, and she passes them out gravely to the party at hand. "You'll want these. Trust me. Just put it around your neck or near your nose." She advises. You know what, she'll be over here, doing what she does best...
Watching.
While she steps back, the jellyfish all swarm forward. They are not really aware of each other, nor do they have to be: They don't get stung by another jellyfish, after all, and instead just go for rope after rope of buzzy jellyfish-tentacle get swing at everyone. Yes, even Skylr in the background, who eeps and starts running around.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Jellyfish!?
"Hey, Kalve," Zed says, brandishing his favorite killsword. "Did you know. That in some places, they consider jellyfish... To be super tasty delicacies...?"
Oh no. Zed no. This does not bode well. Do not eat the jellyfish.
"I dunno," Zed says as he leaps high, his blade flashing magnificently in the dim light of the underground. "Seems pretty gross to me." Lightning zips by! Zed strikes...!
"I mean, unless there's some kind of... Peanutbutter Carp or something to eat them with...?"
DG: Zed has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Ammes.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The sound of running current joins the sounds of flowing water. "Above!" Leo cries, his head snapping up a moment before the jellyfish descend. His blade all but flies out of its scabbard, and he charges forwards, nimbly ducking between Skylr and Zed. An electrical tendril lashes out at him; Leo cuts through it in a single, clean stroke, and ducks beneath another.
Thundara
One of the jellyfish twirls in a circle. A massive bolt of lightning tears free from the crown of its jelly-bell, racing at Leo. The Beastman's blade sweeps up to block, a thunderous szzzt-pop echoing down the tunnel. Lightning crackles down his blade, and across his arms. "What are these things?!" Leo demands, perhaps of the universe in general.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Leo's Goods toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Ammes.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve doesn't look too punchable. Does he? Hmm...
"Good work." The others certainly did more than he did; his conjurations are of a limited lifespan unless he expends raw material, and he's got a limited supply of that after getting washed away. He nods appreciatively towards Pearl, always glad to see someone on the front lines who isn't noodle-armed. Noodle-armed adventurers seem to be a common thing for some reason and he just doesn't understand why.
(Idly, Kalve wonders if he ever told Lydia to stop doing push-ups.)
He takes the wool, a bit confused, and sets it near his collar. Kalve extends a hand, and a staff materializes, made out of yellow-white light with grey metal caps on the ends. He takes up a fighting stance, moving towards the jellyfish Sinspawn swarm. His wet robes ripple weirdly, flowing despite the weight of all the water. He begins to go on the attack.
"Do they?" Kalve talks to Zed between blows. "I have never heard of such a thing. Then again, this world contains a number of strange types of fauna; perhaps there are schools of snack-fish, waiting to be found...?" Kalve's serious demeanor suffers somewhat when Zed is around, it's true.
Lightning bursts out of one of the descending things. Kalve's eyes widen. He makes a twisting motion with one hand, and a blade springs up from one end of the staff. He messes around a lot less right about then, wading in and attacking in every direction with his extended reach. Occasionally he swings wide, and the entire weapon rotates around his body like a hula-hoop made of danger, only to return to his opposite hand without pause.
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Optimized Array toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Ammes. DG: Skylr Paer has used her Tool Cleansing Poultice toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Ammes.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Ammes *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Some of the hallways of the flooded ruins have been infiltrated by monsters from above. When you see floating conicL jellyfish, hovering in midair, you may think them beautiful. They glow, with a bioluminescence, and their tendrils hang low and twitch. But when they reach out, they shock with actual electricity, and prove quite vicious. That none in Meribus or Glenwood have seen these creatures before, though... that may be worrisome. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Fright===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
In one way, these creatures are a problem. Flowing with electricity as they are, and Pearl's weapons that aren't her bare fists are made of metal. Some of said metal connects directly to her skull. She takes the cloth skyler offers with a brief nod, wrapping it around her neck. This could be messy.
But then there is the counterpoint that the young woman doesn't give a damn about the risk of pain. She charges forward with a wolf like growl, a spinning roundhouse tearing claws into the flesh of the creature even as electrified tendrils wrap around her leg. Even as she is getting shocked she claws at them, trying to dodge between bolts of lightning that head straight for the claws or the metal tooth jutting out of her mouth. She rips and tears like a feral beast, leaping into the heart of the enemy, drawing them to her. The calm, detached woman seems to have passed to make room for a furious fighter, grey eyes glinting with joy of battle, if anyone can get close enough to see her.
She has no answers for Leo's question. All that matters to Pearl is that they end up dead.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Ammes.
===========================<* The Flooded Ruins *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Ammes *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Some of the hallways of the flooded ruins have been infiltrated by monsters from above. When you see floating conicL jellyfish, hovering in midair, you may think them beautiful. They glow, with a bioluminescence, and their tendrils hang low and twitch. But when they reach out, they shock with actual electricity, and prove quite vicious. That none in Meribus or Glenwood have seen these creatures before, though... that may be worrisome. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Fright===========================================
======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 4 *>======================= =========================< Results - Sinspawn Ammes >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Leo's Goods 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pearl 35 --(0)--> 35 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skylr Paer 40 --(0)--> 40 Fail Cleansing Poultice 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalve 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Optimized Array 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: White Knight Leo 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Injure(2)|Overzealous(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo 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> Skylr Paer has posed.
Swords go out. Claws, fists, everything, Skylr jukes one into getting crushed under a wall... Zed makes good work of many with his blade, and Leo does the same, the two working in a strange sort of unison in order to take out the jellyfish. Kalve isn't too far behind using his sword, knocking jellyfish left and right, and into the path of the other two fighters with sharper blades. Pearl does decently well, though, although the last one she goes for gets off a THUNDARA! That fries her effectively. Meanwhile, behind the rest of the party, Skylr yelps several times in a row as a few jellyfish take turns nearabouts strangling her with tendrils and lighter thunder-based attacks.
Interestingly, as they die, they do go up into strange motes of light, unseen before on Lunar....
DG: Kalve has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================================<* The Flooded Ruins *>===================================== =================================<* CHALLENGE - Puddle Jumper *>================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------ When you enter this room, you find that much of it has flooded -- and you enter on a second level. There, you discover that the waterline is at the edge of the platform you enter. A door across the way provides an exit. Between you, however, is a pond -- and some debris, ranging from loose tiles to driftwood, has floated in. That provides a means to hop across. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Fortunately, Metal Demons-- er, wizards, appear to be resistant to stinging tentacles and proactive enough to murder the hell out of anything that looks electrical and in their direction. Kalve looks puzzled at the dissolution, though. "That is not a typical reaction," he notes. "Even Hellions leave a corpse."
They move on. Somewhere safe has to be nearby, right? If they blaze a trail, they'll surely get there, and then they can lead everyone else to a refuge away from the monster. The corridors down here are fairly straightforward, bending twice but coming to... a chamber. A big one. It looks like a cistern, maybe, or another part of the workings of that early flood-control room. It's full of water and floating debris.
The door is on the far side. At least nothing seems to be in the water, waiting for them... this time.
Kalve steps up to the edge. He scowls at the water and the floating bits. "This is irritating," he gripes. He'll wait for someone else to go first, and then follow up. He's not sure any of this will hold his weight, if he even makes the jumps to the right spots.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Puddle Jumper.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Aaah! Evil lightning fireflies! Zed... swats them with a flaming WIZARD ENERGY infused sword until they die. (They might still not die) "Ugh. Weird! Weird weird weird. What are these gross things even!?"
Oh well. It probably doesn't matter, right?
Right! Let's just move on. There's still adventure to be had! Still rivers to fjord.
Literally.
Zed blinks at the river. He blinks at Kalve. He blinks back at the river.
"Hmhmhm, don't you worry, best wizard pal!" Zed chirps, and then... Leaps boldly across the river!
He hurls one end of his scarf to one side! He tosses the other end of his scarf to the other! He twists and pivots until he's standing right on top of it in the middle!
"Here! We can use my ALWAYS USEFUL SCARF to get across instead! That's a way better idea than trying to JUMP across, right? I mean, I could do it, but I don't know. It kind of looks like some of you have been SKIPPING LEG DAY."
Is that a challenge?
Will anyone bite?
...Or will they just... use Zed's scarf to get across?
DG: Zed has used his Tool Grapple Scarf toward his party's challenge, Puddle Jumper.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo moves to wipe his blade off on a cloth, but stops--the jelly-gunk is evaporating, dissipating into motes of whitish light. Watching it raises the hairs on the back of his neck, and makes his ears flatten. "Are these the spawn of that monstrosity?" Leo says. It's a wild guess, but the giant whale monster is also something he's never seen before. "Regardless. Guards, hirelings--" Leo pulls out a pouch, and holds it out for the others. Inside are fresh Apple Gels, and they're only a little soggy from the seawater.
The group gets to the cistern. "We'll have to cross it," Leo says. He pulls a length of rope off his belt, and ties one end to a grimy metal bar that looks sturdy enough to bear weight. The other end--the one with the hook on it--Leo throws, watches it latch into position with a clink. He looks at Zed. He rather pointedly starts to make his way across, hopping from chunk to floating chunk, using the rope to stabilize himself.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, Puddle Jumper.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
"Oh no." Skylr says, staring at the room they've gotten into now. "Oh, sweet Althena, I'm going to drown here, in a strange ruin, under the sewers of my hometown. I knew that whale was such a bad idea. Oh dear oh dear oh dear."
Skylr does indeed, use everything, including Zed's scarf and Leo's rope ladder to get across. Perhaps sadly, before she's even an eight of the way across she can be heard uttering a prayer under her breath and wondering why she never remembered to learn how to really do anything in water. Send help.
DG: Skylr Paer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Puddle Jumper.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
Despite her potential effectiveness against the dissolving creatures, the electric blast still slams her hard into the wall. Her head and body are ringing after that, and it takes her a few moments to get up. But get up she does. She's a little shaky, and definitely bleeding, but probably no new scars, especially with Skylr there. "Can everyone still proceed?" She asks, despite probably meant to be the person answering this question. As they make it forward, though, Zed makes his declaration.
Pearl just sort of stares at Zed. A brief thought passes through her head wondering where the hell Zed's heart my sit so she can tear it out and feed it to him. Fortunately, she's gotten better at hiding those things.
"You'll excuse me if I don't trust my life to your fashion sense." The martial artist comments, and then Leo pulls out the rope ladder. She finds herself refusing that as well, instead moving to leap from platform to platform on her own strength, because accepting help is for well adjusted people.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Puddle Jumper.
=====================================<* The Flooded Ruins *>===================================== =================================<* CHALLENGE - Puddle Jumper *>================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------ When you enter this room, you find that much of it has flooded -- and you enter on a second level. There, you discover that the waterline is at the edge of the platform you enter. A door across the way provides an exit. Between you, however, is a pond -- and some debris, ranging from loose tiles to driftwood, has floated in. That provides a means to hop across. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
================================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 5 *>================================ ===================================< Results - Puddle Jumper >=================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 40 --(5)--> 45 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Grapple Scarf 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 35 --(5)--> 40 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------- Leader: White Knight Leo 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ========================================< Dream Chasers >========================================
DG: The party led by White Knight Leo 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> White Knight Leo has posed.
"Focus, Guardswoman!" Leo says. He reaches out with his other hand to offer Skylr a bit of stability--at the cost of potentially tipping both of them into the drink if she slips. "Breathe! There are innocents counting on us, your friends and neighbors!"
DG: White Knight Leo has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Water Level *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
In the depths of these flooded ruins, you find salvation. Those who were at
the Pleasing Garden recognize, instantly: a circular room, with a
crystalline structure in the center. A teleportation station, which will
activate a wide-area teleportation for smaller people. Those in Azado could
be whisked away from the thing destroying their city.
However, there is a problem.
You have entered on the third level of a three-tiered room -- and it is
flooded. You will need to swim down, and swim past some fences and rails
that pose obstacles, to activate the teleporter. The activation is a simple
matter of pressing the crystal into the receptacle. And, of course, you will
need to hope enough others can do the same...
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Nothing leaps up to eat anyone. This is a blessing in disguise.
The actual passage across the water is almost placid compared to the last few. Some of the platforms shift and slide, and it turns out to be a little bit of a sliding platform puzzle on top of the jumping that everyone had better get used to. That's kind of frustrating.
Between the ladder and the fashionable accessory, most of the group makes it across. Kalve and Skylr do not do it dry. Skylr has to worry about her chosen debris sliding all over the place, floating this way and that until she can get a hold of the ladder; Kalve, in an attempt to prove a point, jumps out to a platform near Zed's scarf, sticks the landing, nods once, and promptly sinks it to the bottom of the lake.
He pulls himself up to the scarf and uses it to get to the other side. It is not at all dignified.
It does keep Kalve from taking a shot at Leo for the hirelings remark, though. They aren't even getting paid!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The earth rumbles again as the Guards and their mercenary allies-of-convenience reach the other side. Leo takes point as they start moving again--they pass beneath another arch emblazoned with those strange runes, and down a length of corridor festooned with chunks of light-crystal. Finally, they reach... something.
Leo recognizes it. "This is... another of those teleportation systems," Leo says. It's very similar to the one the Vile Fiends accessed in the Pleasing Gardens. That was powerful enough to remove a self-proclaimed Lord of Calamity from the premises. Could it rid Lunar of this monster? Leo steps forward, and stares down into the water a moment. The ground rumbles. Drops of water drip from the ceiling into the pool below. It's clear enough that he can make out the controls. He shakes his head, takes another rope off his belt, and ties one end to a crystalline projection.
"Guardswoman Pearl," Leo says. "Guardswoman Paer. Soldiers of Brave Phantasia. I know what this device is--if activated, it will teleport that monstrosity elsewhere, or else whisk us somewhere that is not here. I know not if it leads to Filgaia, or... elsewhere. The alternative is staying here until that beast kills us all, and then the innocents depending on us. Gather your courage, and dive!"
Leo does just that. He traces out a graceful arc, hits the water, and starts to swim downward with powerful strokes. He trails out the line behind him, since there's wreckage in there, and he might need to make his way around it without being able to see.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, The Water Level.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
That... That is...
That is...!!!
Zed tilts his head. He taps his chin. "Uhhhhh." Huh. What is that, exactly?
Beat.
Oh! Leo knows. Leo explains! Yes, okay. That makes sense.
"Wait," Zed frowns, "You're saying. That this thing... can maybe take us back home?" But that means... That they can take it, and get right back to the fight. They can go, and they can make things right again. They can...!
...Fight Siegfried.
And Alhazred.
And Boomerang.
Zed... Feels the quicksilver blood pumping through his steely veins...! Is it fear? Or is it excitement?
This is a Metal Demon. There is only one answer.
"You heard the man!" Zed cackles, "Let's go, Kalve! Let's head home!" Zed grins and leaps straight in. He tucks and rolls, cannonballing into the water, and then...!
His scarf... begins to twist upon itself.
It spins and twirls, moving faster and faster, corkscrewing rapidly. It's no longer merely a scarf. Now, it is an IMPELLER! Zed does not need to swim. He's got a built-in multi-horsepower motor!
DG: Zed has used his Tool Grapple Scarf toward his party's challenge, The Water Level.
<Pose Tracker> Pearl has posed.
At least someone knows what's going on. As Pearl follows Leo through the door she looks at the sunken ruins. As she hears the explanation, she blinks. Either get rid of the creature... or be teleported somewhere else? "This is the way to the blue star, then?" The guardswoman seems surprised, but there's no time to ask further questions, as Leo dives and Zed follows him.
Can she even go along with this? Would it not...
No, that decision has already been taken from her. The commander is right. It's do this or die. And she has already made the decision not to die once lately. Wordlessly she dives in after Leo and Zed, making for the crystal. Time is of the essence, after all. And hopefully she won't have to waste air going back for people.
DG: Pearl has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Water Level.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve is mercifully quiet on their way down to the next leg of the bizarrely mystical sewer level. It keeps all his grumblings about it internal, and prevents him from saying things he can't take back -- like that he thinks that if everyone else had scarves like Zed, jumping puzzles would soon become obsolete.
hmmmm
"A teleportation --" Leo dives in. Kalve can almost hear the heroic fanfare. It makes him feel mildly nauseous. Fortunately, Zed is there to ground him, by which we mean to cackle and leap blindly into certain doom.
"This is a terrible idea," Kalve says, and dives in after Zed. His robe ripples like a jellyfish as he tries his best to get horizontal distance while his weight makes him get the vertical kind. This is going to be a tricky landing to stick.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Water Level.
<Pose Tracker> Skylr Paer has posed.
"I knew it. I'm going to drown down here."
Skylr, without an ounce of goodwill, cheer, or thoughts on the matter of being told about a TELEPORTER, quietly starts stripping off some of her more encumbered clothes. Everything gets thrown without a care in the two worlds into her bag, leaving her much more dressed for a swim, but also slightly embarrassed about it. She watches everyone else hop in, including Zed.
"I agree with a ... whatever he is. Great. This was more than terrible... this is an awful idea!" She says to the empty room about her, before bellyflopping in and attempting to 'swim' her way down.
DG: Skylr Paer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Water Level.
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Water Level *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
In the depths of these flooded ruins, you find salvation. Those who were at
the Pleasing Garden recognize, instantly: a circular room, with a
crystalline structure in the center. A teleportation station, which will
activate a wide-area teleportation for smaller people. Those in Azado could
be whisked away from the thing destroying their city.
However, there is a problem.
You have entered on the third level of a three-tiered room -- and it is
flooded. You will need to swim down, and swim past some fences and rails
that pose obstacles, to activate the teleporter. The activation is a simple
matter of pressing the crystal into the receptacle. And, of course, you will
need to hope enough others can do the same...
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
=======================<* The Flooded Ruins - Round 6 *>======================== =========================< Results - The Water Level >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 35 --(100)--> 135 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pearl 35 --(100)--> 135 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skylr Paer 45 --(100)--> 145 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 35 --(100)--> 135 Pass Grapple Scarf 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 40 --(100)--> 140 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: White Knight Leo 90 --(10)--> 100 Fail Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Slow(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: White Knight Leo is too exhausted to continue! DG: Pearl is too exhausted to continue! DG: Skylr Paer is too exhausted to continue! DG: Zed is too exhausted to continue! DG: Kalve is too exhausted to continue! DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by White Knight Leo has successfully explored The Flooded Ruins!
============================<* The Flooded Ruins *>=============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Teleporter Activated *>=====================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You swim down into the depths of the teleportation room. It is hard, but you
manage to press the crystal into the activation chamber. There is a moment
to wait -- perhaps to swim back up -- as other groups must also press in
their crystals. When you look around, you realize: this room is similar
enough to the one in the Pleasing Garden that it must be part of a network.
Then, however, the room rumbles. There is a flash, as all of you are whisked
away.
You have returned to Filgaia.
=Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
As it turns out, actually getting to the terminal and pressing the crystal is the easy part. Leo manages it with breath to spare, and chances opening his eyes in the murky water to watch Skylr and Pearl make their way down. He can't help but notice that the metal mage seems to be... sinking? (Maybe he's just wearing armor.) Everyone touches a hand to the crystal, and collectively, they shove it into place. There's a sudden surge of power that even Zed and Kalve can feel as another node in the nexus activates. And then, up to the surface!
Skylr is about halfway back when her sleeve snags on a piece of crystalline debris. Leo sees far too many bubbles rising around him, and swims back down, pulling her free. He grabs for Pearl with his other hand, even as his lungs start to burn from the exertion of it all. And then--
The world twists and blurs. Elw runes encircle Leo, his soldiers, and the two mercenaries, neatly plucking them out of local spacetime with eldritch sorcerous might.
As for where Leo ends up, well, that's already a matter of public record.