2019-02-06: Equivalent Exchange: Difference between revisions

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<nowiki>
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Early Lunch for Isaac *>=======================
|Type: Entry      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          |
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
Maybe you're here to exchange favors, maybe you were passing through and     
were interested in making a quick buck, or maybe you're just here out of the 
goodness of your heart. One way or another, you... seem to have found       
yourself in front of a bald old man snacking on some kind of thick stew.     
He's actually got a great big pot of the stuff next to him. Also what looks 
like a community notice board. "Aiiyo, it's nice to see so many young'uns   
take an interest in helpin' out our little desert community. Why don't you   
all take a minute and have a bite to eat? On the house! After all, you've   
got a full day of work ahead of you!"                                       
                                                                             
And you do! There's a whole notice board full of jobs that need to be helped 
with! You're going to need to figure out what needs to be prioritized and   
what can be left for later. It's time... To build a schedule!               
                                                                             
It's also time to have some stew. It's nice and creamy and thickened with   
taro and buffalo cheese.                                                     
                                                                             
What a nice guy, this weird old man.                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================




<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Early Lunch for Isaac *>=======================
|Type: Entry      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          |
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  Maybe you're here to exchange favors, maybe you were passing through and     
  were interested in making a quick buck, or maybe you're just here out of the 
  goodness of your heart. One way or another, you... seem to have found       
  yourself in front of a bald old man snacking on some kind of thick stew.     
  He's actually got a great big pot of the stuff next to him. Also what looks 
  like a community notice board. "Aiiyo, it's nice to see so many young'uns   
  take an interest in helpin' out our little desert community. Why don't you   
  all take a minute and have a bite to eat? On the house! After all, you've   
  got a full day of work ahead of you!"                                       
                                                                               
  And you do! There's a whole notice board full of jobs that need to be helped 
  with! You're going to need to figure out what needs to be prioritized and   
  what can be left for later. It's time... To build a schedule!               
                                                                               
  It's also time to have some stew. It's nice and creamy and thickened with   
  taro and buffalo cheese.                                                     
                                                                               
  What a nice guy, this weird old man.                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
 
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.


The rhythm had been broken after a time.
The rhythm had been broken after a time.
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Leah's suggestions aren't really suggestions. This is a factor he's just accepted as a part of the price he's to pay.
Leah's suggestions aren't really suggestions. This is a factor he's just accepted as a part of the price he's to pay.


*******
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


"Is this really cheese?" he's asked Lan, though his questioning what he's eating isn't, notably, stopping him from eating it.
"Is this really cheese?" he's asked Lan, though his questioning what he's eating isn't, notably, stopping him from eating it.
Line 53: Line 53:


Well, she's probably nagged at him enough for him to give up and reluctantly agree to find a lost pig or walk the cat or whatever they do around here.
Well, she's probably nagged at him enough for him to give up and reluctantly agree to find a lost pig or walk the cat or whatever they do around here.
He's currently resignedly regarding the board and trying to find which task would be the least pain-in-the-ass of the lot to do.
He's currently resignedly regarding the board and trying to find which task would be the least pain-in-the-ass of the lot to do.


"...Who loses an entire flock of chickens?"
"...Who loses an entire flock of chickens?"
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
 
   
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
When Leah had mentioned going to speak to the Baskar, of /course/ Lan had volunteered to go with him. It's not like she /just/ took a few days off for herself to go hang out at Baskar Colony, noooooo~
 
When Leah had mentioned going to speak to the Baskar, of ''course'' Lan had volunteered to go with him. It's not like she ''just'' took a few days off for herself to go hang out at Baskar Colony, noooooo~


But if Loren is going to ask her people for help, she's going to make sure he repays their favor... whether he likes it or not! And if she's super lucky, they'll be able to eat some of her favorite foods. Solarian cuisine has left a foul taste in her mouth that all the Filgaian foodstuffs in the world just doesn't seem able to wash away.  
But if Loren is going to ask her people for help, she's going to make sure he repays their favor... whether he likes it or not! And if she's super lucky, they'll be able to eat some of her favorite foods. Solarian cuisine has left a foul taste in her mouth that all the Filgaian foodstuffs in the world just doesn't seem able to wash away.  
Line 72: Line 74:
There's clearly some kind of history there...
There's clearly some kind of history there...


DG: You use your Tool Paku-Paku against your party's Challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
 
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Early Lunch for Isaac *>=====================
|Type: Entry      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  Maybe you're here to exchange favors, maybe you were passing through and     
  were interested in making a quick buck, or maybe you're just here out of the 
  goodness of your heart. One way or another, you... seem to have found       
  yourself in front of a bald old man snacking on some kind of thick stew.     
  He's actually got a great big pot of the stuff next to him. Also what looks 
  like a community notice board. "Aiiyo, it's nice to see so many young'uns   
  take an interest in helpin' out our little desert community. Why don't you   
  all take a minute and have a bite to eat? On the house! After all, you've   
  got a full day of work ahead of you!"                                       
                                                                               
  And you do! There's a whole notice board full of jobs that need to be helped 
  with! You're going to need to figure out what needs to be prioritized and   
  what can be left for later. It's time... To build a schedule!               
                                                                               
  It's also time to have some stew. It's nice and creamy and thickened with   
  taro and buffalo cheese.                                                     
                                                                               
  What a nice guy, this weird old man.                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================


DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 1 *>===============
======================< Results - Early Lunch for Isaac >=======================
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          0 --(3)--> 3                  Pass
Investigate                        0  Wits    Effects: BASIC               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          0 --(3)--> 3                  Pass
Paku-Paku                          2  Wits    Effects: Enlighten           
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  0 --(20)--> 20                Pass
Conditions: Tire(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
 
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
 
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Gems Ore Bust *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute    |Challenge Rating: 1          |
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  Mines and quarries seem to crop up everywhere. If there's one benefit to     
  surviving a malevolent flood, it's that the rushing waters have washed out a 
  bunch of age-old sediment and revealed a host of new caves. New caves mean   
  potential new treasures, gemstones or metal veins. They can also mean new   
  dangers and new threats-- and with so much spiritual nonsense going on       
  underground recently, there could very well still be something terrible     
  lurking down below.                                                         
                                                                               
  But that's why you're here! There's a great new cave right there, carved out 
  of the side of a mesa. Even from out here, you can tell there's a whole     
  bunch of colorful, glittering ore waiting for you inside. As long as you     
  stick close to the surface, you should safely be able to gather a whole     
  bunch of samples to take back to town. They're going to be wanting most of   
  what you find, but surely you should be able to negotiate a modest share of 
  the lode...?                                                                 
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
 
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.


DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Gems Ore Bust *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute    |Challenge Rating: 1          |
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
Mines and quarries seem to crop up everywhere. If there's one benefit to     
surviving a malevolent flood, it's that the rushing waters have washed out a 
bunch of age-old sediment and revealed a host of new caves. New caves mean   
potential new treasures, gemstones or metal veins. They can also mean new   
dangers and new threats-- and with so much spiritual nonsense going on       
underground recently, there could very well still be something terrible     
lurking down below.                                                         
                                                                             
But that's why you're here! There's a great new cave right there, carved out 
of the side of a mesa. Even from out here, you can tell there's a whole     
bunch of colorful, glittering ore waiting for you inside. As long as you     
stick close to the surface, you should safely be able to gather a whole     
bunch of samples to take back to town. They're going to be wanting most of   
what you find, but surely you should be able to negotiate a modest share of 
the lode...?                                                                 
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
The oracle paper throws up the same symbol three times in a row. Hole. Hole. Hole. As Lan scans the board, she can find only a couple of jobs that refer to anything concave. "Let's start with this one," she nods decisively, gesturing at a certain job request with her spoon - before hurriedly shoveling the rest of her lunch into her mouth.
The oracle paper throws up the same symbol three times in a row. Hole. Hole. Hole. As Lan scans the board, she can find only a couple of jobs that refer to anything concave. "Let's start with this one," she nods decisively, gesturing at a certain job request with her spoon - before hurriedly shoveling the rest of her lunch into her mouth.


Line 106: Line 147:


And with that, Lan traipses right into the mouth of the cave, tying her basket to the waistband of her shorts with some twine to free her hands. "I'm really glad you decided to come here, you know," she remarks, crouching at the edge of a crystal formation several feet in. "Even if I'm a shaman, I can only tell you so much. It's really good to learn from lots of people."
And with that, Lan traipses right into the mouth of the cave, tying her basket to the waistband of her shorts with some twine to free her hands. "I'm really glad you decided to come here, you know," she remarks, crouching at the edge of a crystal formation several feet in. "Even if I'm a shaman, I can only tell you so much. It's really good to learn from lots of people."
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.
 
   
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
  <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.


It tastes pretty different from most cheese he's had. Then again, 'real cheese' has an entirely different range of taste from the 'cheese' he'd grown up eating.
It tastes pretty different from most cheese he's had. Then again, 'real cheese' has an entirely different range of taste from the 'cheese' he'd grown up eating.
(If he really interrogated that thought for a moment, he'd realize it was because the cheese he'd grown up eating wasn't technically cheese. Details!)
(If he really interrogated that thought for a moment, he'd realize it was because the cheese he'd grown up eating wasn't technically cheese. Details!)


"Yeah, I guess. ...Taro, is that like potato?" A pause. "And what are these lumps?" They're mysterious.
"Yeah, I guess. ...Taro, is that like potato?" A pause. "And what are these lumps?" They're mysterious.
The surface world really is full of strange foods.
The surface world really is full of strange foods.


He shoots her a look, glancing down to scan faster for anything that looks relatively easy. 'Work /hard/'?
He shoots her a look, glancing down to scan faster for anything that looks relatively easy. 'Work ''hard'''?


The paper has spoken, evidently.
The paper has spoken, evidently.
They're going to explore a cave.
They're going to explore a cave.


*********
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


"Don't you people worry when sinkholes appear?" He pauses. "Or... whatever's going on here." Come to think of it, it might not be strictly geological. "Anyway, this just doesn't seem stable," he grouses, producing a light as he swings gingerly down into the cramped depths of the cavelet's opening.
"Don't you people worry when sinkholes appear?" He pauses. "Or... whatever's going on here." Come to think of it, it might not be strictly geological. "Anyway, this just doesn't seem stable," he grouses, producing a light as he swings gingerly down into the cramped depths of the cavelet's opening.
Not to worry, it opens up before long.
Not to worry, it opens up before long.


Line 129: Line 175:


"Crystal formations. Probably there used to be a lot more water in here," he muses, before reaching forward to touch one of the smaller formations.
"Crystal formations. Probably there used to be a lot more water in here," he muses, before reaching forward to touch one of the smaller formations.
And use a bit of subtle brute-force with the burst of earth Ether he summons to try and wrench it from the wall.
And use a bit of subtle brute-force with the burst of earth Ether he summons to try and wrench it from the wall.
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.


DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.
   
 
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Gems Ore Bust *>===========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Melange à Trois *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute    |Challenge Rating: 1          |
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility  |Challenge Rating: 3          |  
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  Mines and quarries seem to crop up everywhere. If there's one benefit to     
Sandworms. One of the most terrible dangers of life in the badlands and       
  surviving a malevolent flood, it's that the rushing waters have washed out a 
simultaneously one of the most... Valuable? Yes! As it turns out, the         
  bunch of age-old sediment and revealed a host of new caves. New caves mean   
Wehacans have learned that mature sandworms secrete some kind of strange       
  potential new treasures, gemstones or metal veins. They can also mean new   
crystalline powder with tremendous medicinal properties. Opportunities to     
  dangers and new threats-- and with so much spiritual nonsense going on       
harvest this so-called Melange come few and far-between, and actually making   
  underground recently, there could very well still be something terrible     
good on any of those rare chances is often considered suicidal.               
  lurking down below.                                                         
                                                                             
                                                                               
Today, a lone sandworm is heading toward one of the nearby ravines.           
  But that's why you're here! There's a great new cave right there, carved out 
Ambushing it from the cliff sides to snag some of those valuable crystals     
  of the side of a mesa. Even from out here, you can tell there's a whole     
would be relatively (for what it's worth) safe...                             
  bunch of colorful, glittering ore waiting for you inside. As long as you     
                                                                             
  stick close to the surface, you should safely be able to gather a whole     
Well. The danger is probably worth the reward, at least! The legendary         
  bunch of samples to take back to town. They're going to be wanting most of   
desert-spice is, after all, worth more than its weight in gold...!             
  what you find, but surely you should be able to negotiate a modest share of 
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
  the lode...?                                                                 
   
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
=================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 2 *>=================
=============================< Results - Gems Ore Bust >=============================
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          3 --(3)--> 6                  Pass
Force                              0  Brute  Effects: BASIC               
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          3 --(3)--> 6                  Pass
Force                              0  Brute  Effects: BASIC               
--------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  20 --(25)--> 45                Pass
Conditions: Tire(1)|Treasure(1)
Effects:
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================
 
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
 
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Melange à Trois *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility  |Challenge Rating: 3          |  
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  Sandworms. One of the most terrible dangers of life in the badlands and       
  simultaneously one of the most... Valuable? Yes! As it turns out, the         
  Wehacans have learned that mature sandworms secrete some kind of strange       
  crystalline powder with tremendous medicinal properties. Opportunities to     
  harvest this so-called Melange come few and far-between, and actually making   
  good on any of those rare chances is often considered suicidal.               
                                                                               
  Today, a lone sandworm is heading toward one of the nearby ravines.           
  Ambushing it from the cliff sides to snag some of those valuable crystals     
  would be relatively (for what it's worth) safe...                             
                                                                               
  Well. The danger is probably worth the reward, at least! The legendary         
  desert-spice is, after all, worth more than its weight in gold...!             
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
 
  <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.


It comes free with a tug. ...Well, and the abscissing jolt of Ether probably didn't hurt, either. It goes into the basket. Along with an assortment of other samples, crystal and rock alike. A little more wandering about in the depths goes to demonstrate that there's nothing ill waiting for them in here.
It comes free with a tug. ...Well, and the abscissing jolt of Ether probably didn't hurt, either. It goes into the basket. Along with an assortment of other samples, crystal and rock alike. A little more wandering about in the depths goes to demonstrate that there's nothing ill waiting for them in here.
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Which leads naturally to a series of protests:
Which leads naturally to a series of protests:


"It's a /sandworm/."
"It's a ''sandworm''."
 
"Isn't that technically worm... excretion?"
"Isn't that technically worm... excretion?"
"How is that even medicine?!"
"How is that even medicine?!"


Line 179: Line 266:


Meanwhile, the sandworm trundles forth, squirming its way up through the ravine. It's a big one. Crystals dot its wormflesh.
Meanwhile, the sandworm trundles forth, squirming its way up through the ravine. It's a big one. Crystals dot its wormflesh.
(Loren is definitely, fortunately mistaken about what part of the worm those come out of.)
(Loren is definitely, fortunately mistaken about what part of the worm those come out of.)
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Melange à Trois.
 
   
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Melange à Trois.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
"Taro is a root, kind of like a potato," she nods at him. "Or renkon, or... uh... that thing, like a white carrot?" She's forgotten what parsnips are called. On the subject of mysterious lumps: "I don't know! Maybe meat!" It's hard to tell, and Lan doesn't care what it is as long as it tastes appropriately wholesome and comfort-foodish.
"Taro is a root, kind of like a potato," she nods at him. "Or renkon, or... uh... that thing, like a white carrot?" She's forgotten what parsnips are called. On the subject of mysterious lumps: "I don't know! Maybe meat!" It's hard to tell, and Lan doesn't care what it is as long as it tastes appropriately wholesome and comfort-foodish.


*********
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


Truthfully, even Lan had had some misgivings about a jaunt into a mysterious brand-new sinkhole, especially one crusted with valuable gems and no lurking monsters or ancient traps in sight. That smells like a setup! But no matter how many crystals and ore formations they poke, prod, and tug at... nothing bad happens. Could they really be so lucky?! There's even a trickle of what looks (and smells, Lan checked) like clean water.
Truthfully, even Lan had had some misgivings about a jaunt into a mysterious brand-new sinkhole, especially one crusted with valuable gems and no lurking monsters or ancient traps in sight. That smells like a setup! But no matter how many crystals and ore formations they poke, prod, and tug at... nothing bad happens. Could they really be so lucky?! There's even a trickle of what looks (and smells, Lan checked) like clean water.
Line 199: Line 288:


"Of course it's a sandworm. Where else would we get it from?"
"Of course it's a sandworm. Where else would we get it from?"
"Sandworm e-- NO!"
"Sandworm e-- NO!"
"It's more precious than gold. They're not easy to get, but the crystals can be made into really powerful medicine. Imagine that stuff, uh..." She grasps for the words he'd taught her during their lessons. "Anti-biotic! And anal-gesic."
"It's more precious than gold. They're not easy to get, but the crystals can be made into really powerful medicine. Imagine that stuff, uh..." She grasps for the words he'd taught her during their lessons. "Anti-biotic! And anal-gesic."


Line 205: Line 296:


And, like a crazy person, she kicks off of the wall and floats ambitiously down toward the lone worm's back, dragging Loren along with her.
And, like a crazy person, she kicks off of the wall and floats ambitiously down toward the lone worm's back, dragging Loren along with her.
DG: You use your Tool Butterfly Ribbon against your party's Challenge, Melange à Trois!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Butterfly Ribbon toward her party's challenge, Melange à Trois.


DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Butterfly Ribbon toward her party's challenge, Melange à Trois.
   
 
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Melange à Trois *>========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - How To Mine For Fish *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility  |Challenge Rating: 3          |
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          |  
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  Sandworms. One of the most terrible dangers of life in the badlands and     
If there's one good thing that the enormous swamps have brought to Wehaca,     
  simultaneously one of the most... Valuable? Yes! As it turns out, the       
it's premium fishing ground. The bad news is that there's no really good way   
  Wehacans have learned that mature sandworms secrete some kind of strange     
to tell whether or not the fish are actually safe to eat without testing a     
  crystalline powder with tremendous medicinal properties. Opportunities to   
few first; you don't spend all your time living in pools of stagnant water     
  harvest this so-called Melange come few and far-between, and actually making 
generated by a near-total physical and spiritual catastrophe without           
  good on any of those rare chances is often considered suicidal.             
acquiring a few terrible afflictions.                                         
                                                                               
                                                                             
  Today, a lone sandworm is heading toward one of the nearby ravines.         
Of course, therein lies the problem. The marshes aren't exactly good for       
  Ambushing it from the cliff sides to snag some of those valuable crystals   
fishing hooks, what with all the awful swamp-grasses that have taken root.     
  would be relatively (for what it's worth) safe...                           
So instead the Wehacans have provided...                                       
                                                                               
                                                                             
  Well. The danger is probably worth the reward, at least! The legendary       
Spears.                                                                       
  desert-spice is, after all, worth more than its weight in gold...!           
                                                                             
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
It's a spear-fishing expedition, then. That said, it's unlikely that the       
 
locals will complain if you take more... extreme measures to land a catch.     
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 3 *>===============
It just seems a little cheaty is all.                                         
=========================< Results - Melange à Trois >==========================
                                                                             
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
At least it's pretty relaxing out here, aside from the bugs.                   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
Loren Voss                          6 --(5)--> 11                  Fail
   
Rush                                0  Agility Effects: BASIC               
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          6 --(0)--> 6                  Pass
Butterfly Ribbon                    2  Agility Effects: Quicken             
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  45 --(25)--> 70                Pass
Conditions: Treasure(1)
Effects: Quicken(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
 
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
 
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - How To Mine For Fish *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          |  
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  If there's one good thing that the enormous swamps have brought to Wehaca,     
  it's premium fishing ground. The bad news is that there's no really good way   
  to tell whether or not the fish are actually safe to eat without testing a     
  few first; you don't spend all your time living in pools of stagnant water     
  generated by a near-total physical and spiritual catastrophe without           
  acquiring a few terrible afflictions.                                         
                                                                               
  Of course, therein lies the problem. The marshes aren't exactly good for       
  fishing hooks, what with all the awful swamp-grasses that have taken root.     
  So instead the Wehacans have provided...                                       
                                                                               
  Spears.                                                                       
                                                                               
  It's a spear-fishing expedition, then. That said, it's unlikely that the       
  locals will complain if you take more... extreme measures to land a catch.     
  It just seems a little cheaty is all.                                         
                                                                               
  At least it's pretty relaxing out here, aside from the bugs.                   
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
 
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
You wouldn't think that a giant worm that lives in sand would be a pushover.
You wouldn't think that a giant worm that lives in sand would be a pushover.


This is because they totally aren't. Loren nearly finds out the hard way when, perhaps based on some kind of sixth (or even /seventh/) sense, the solitary sandworm rears up and twists itself into a strange pretzel shape, its eyeless 'face' little more than an enormous hinged maw. Lined with rows of serrated proto-teeth, it gapes open, lunging towards the medic as he dangles precariously from Lan's grip--!
This is because they totally aren't. Loren nearly finds out the hard way when, perhaps based on some kind of sixth (or even ''seventh'') sense, the solitary sandworm rears up and twists itself into a strange pretzel shape, its eyeless 'face' little more than an enormous hinged maw. Lined with rows of serrated proto-teeth, it gapes open, lunging towards the medic as he dangles precariously from Lan's grip--!


The shaman's voice calls out from just above him: "METEORAIN!"
The shaman's voice calls out from just above him: "METEORAIN!"
Line 250: Line 376:


"So you just stand still in the water, and when a fish gets close you stab it with the spear," she tells him, sloshing through the weeds. Her sandals have been tied to the other side of her belt, the better to enjoy the rare sensation of lukewarm mud between her toes. "Oh, and watch out for leeches!"
"So you just stand still in the water, and when a fish gets close you stab it with the spear," she tells him, sloshing through the weeds. Her sandals have been tied to the other side of her belt, the better to enjoy the rare sensation of lukewarm mud between her toes. "Oh, and watch out for leeches!"
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.
 
   
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
  <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.


'Maybe meat!' Lan offers, with all due cheer.
'Maybe meat!' Lan offers, with all due cheer.
Loren's reaction is to just give her a look that would probably be best subtitled as 'why this'.
Loren's reaction is to just give her a look that would probably be best subtitled as 'why this'.


******
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


"Don't lick that-- ugh," he grumbles, when she tastes the water. "There's no telling what's dissolved into it. Heavy metals, effluvia..."
"Don't lick that-- ugh," he grumbles, when she tastes the water. "There's no telling what's dissolved into it. Heavy metals, effluvia..."
She asks, though, what his people do with a sinkhole.
She asks, though, what his people do with a sinkhole.
He stops and just looks at her for a moment. "We don't have any," he says, rather plainly. "I suppose if the closest equivalent happened," complete rupture of Etrenank's outer walls and then exposure of the city to stratospheric temperature and pressure gradient changes, "we'd all die."
He stops and just looks at her for a moment. "We don't have any," he says, rather plainly. "I suppose if the closest equivalent happened," complete rupture of Etrenank's outer walls and then exposure of the city to stratospheric temperature and pressure gradient changes, "we'd all die."
Probably before the matter of 'height' came into play. Cheerful thought, that.
Probably before the matter of 'height' came into play. Cheerful thought, that.


One job is thus completed with minimal effort and fuss. Things might be looking up.
One job is thus completed with minimal effort and fuss. Things might be looking up.
At least, until the other rears its head.
At least, until the other rears its head.


"I hate those things. Isn't there something easier we can do?"
"I hate those things. Isn't there something easier we can do?"
"Then what /is/ it?"
 
"Don't you people use-- that's AN-algesic, not-- look, pronounce it /right/!!"
"Then what ''is'' it?"
 
"Don't you people use-- that's AN-algesic, not-- look, pronounce it ''right''!!"


What's the saying about losing the battle and winning the war? It might apply here, as she leaps from the cliffside with his hand in hers--
What's the saying about losing the battle and winning the war? It might apply here, as she leaps from the cliffside with his hand in hers--
Line 275: Line 409:
A little too soon.
A little too soon.


/I really/, runs the thought as he's ragdolled through the air, dangling in Lan's grip.
''I really'', runs the thought as he's ragdolled through the air, dangling in Lan's grip.
 
As the sandworm lunges for him.
As the sandworm lunges for him.
/I really hate sandworms./
 
''I really hate sandworms.''


He doesn't bother with screaming or doing anything but apparently stoicly awaiting his fate, whatever it might be.
He doesn't bother with screaming or doing anything but apparently stoicly awaiting his fate, whatever it might be.


Fortunately, it does not involve death or maiming this day. One heroic burst of comets later, and he's left to sprawl along the worm's back, blinking in wake of his brush with... well, bad fortune probably sums it up.
Fortunately, it does not involve death or maiming this day. One heroic burst of comets later, and he's left to sprawl along the worm's back, blinking in wake of his brush with... well, bad fortune probably sums it up.
He collects the crystals, though, because what is he going to do? Sit there atop an angry sandworm and /not/ do it out of spite?


*******
He collects the crystals, though, because what is he going to do? Sit there atop an angry sandworm and ''not'' do it out of spite?
 
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


All's well that ends well, though. They return once again and unload their precious cargo (?) (Loren is still dubious about this, but they are paying well enough for it... if he's got his surfacer exchange rates right this time).
All's well that ends well, though. They return once again and unload their precious cargo (?) (Loren is still dubious about this, but they are paying well enough for it... if he's got his surfacer exchange rates right this time).
(???)
(???)


********
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


"I'm picking the next one," he informs Lan, as he hefts his spear with some trepidation.
"I'm picking the next one," he informs Lan, as he hefts his spear with some trepidation.
Line 298: Line 436:


Lan mentions the leeches.
Lan mentions the leeches.
Loren, apparently, can become paler than he already is. He takes a hasty step back, stirring up the water, already reaching for the bag that carries his kit.
Loren, apparently, can become paler than he already is. He takes a hasty step back, stirring up the water, already reaching for the bag that carries his kit.


Lan is going to have to take over, isn't she.
Lan is going to have to take over, isn't she.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.


DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.
   
 
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
  ======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - How To Mine For Fish *>========================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Signs of Life *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1         |  
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2         |  
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  If there's one good thing that the enormous swamps have brought to Wehaca,  
Bad news- no, closer to an emergency. A hunting party returns to town       
  it's premium fishing ground. The bad news is that there's no really good way  
battered, bruised and... missing several members. It seems that some vicious  
  to tell whether or not the fish are actually safe to eat without testing a   
beast has come down out of the mountains in search of the fresh game being    
  few first; you don't spend all your time living in pools of stagnant water    
attracted by the new wetlands. They're pretty sure the rest of the hunting   
  generated by a near-total physical and spiritual catastrophe without         
party is still alive out there somewhere, but they won't be for long. Not   
  acquiring a few terrible afflictions.                                        
with that thing after them.                                                  
                                                                               
                                                                             
  Of course, therein lies the problem. The marshes aren't exactly good for    
The hunting party gives you a rough idea of where to start looking. You     
  fishing hooks, what with all the awful swamp-grasses that have taken root.   
follow a nearby river upstream, towards where it winds out into the wetlands  
  So instead the Wehacans have provided...                                     
  from between the mountain crags. The sun hangs low in the sky by the time   
                                                                               
  you spot the first claw marks scratched into the stone, each furrow almost   
  Spears.                                                                      
  deep enough to fit a man inside. Enormous scales are scattered here and     
                                                                               
  there, apparently torn off in some kind of intense battle. Nearby, you also    
  It's a spear-fishing expedition, then. That said, it's unlikely that the     
  find a busted waterskin and a broken shortbow. You must be getting close.   
  locals will complain if you take more... extreme measures to land a catch.  
  Now all that's left is to follow the trail and hope you find the survivors   
  It just seems a little cheaty is all.                                       
  before the beast hunting them finds you.                                     
                                                                               
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
  At least it's pretty relaxing out here, aside from the bugs.                 
  =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
 
  =================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 4 *>=================
=========================< Results - How To Mine For Fish >==========================
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Loren Voss                          11 --(5)--> 16                Fail
  Solarian Medical Kit                1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse             
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          6 --(0)--> 6                  Pass
  Fight                              0  Combat  Effects: BASIC               
  --------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
  Leader: Loren Voss                  70 --(20)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Save Point(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================


<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
 
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Signs of Life *>=========================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
  Bad news- no, closer to an emergency. A hunting party returns to town       
  battered, bruised and... missing several members. It seems that some vicious 
  beast has come down out of the mountains in search of the fresh game being   
  attracted by the new wetlands. They're pretty sure the rest of the hunting   
  party is still alive out there somewhere, but they won't be for long. Not   
  with that thing after them.                                                 
                                                                               
  The hunting party gives you a rough idea of where to start looking. You     
  follow a nearby river upstream, towards where it winds out into the wetlands 
  from between the mountain crags. The sun hangs low in the sky by the time   
  you spot the first claw marks scratched into the stone, each furrow almost   
  deep enough to fit a man inside. Enormous scales are scattered here and     
  there, apparently torn off in some kind of intense battle. Nearby, you also 
  find a busted waterskin and a broken shortbow. You must be getting close.   
  Now all that's left is to follow the trail and hope you find the survivors   
  before the beast hunting them finds you.                                     
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
 
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
And in fact, Lan ''does'' take over -- she has to, particularly when in the midst of Loren's backpeddling, he discovers that she wasn't kidding about the leeches.


And in fact, Lan /does/ take over -- she has to, particularly when in the midst of Loren's backpeddling, he discovers that she wasn't kidding about the leeches.
She wasn't kidding at all.
She wasn't kidding at all.


Line 340: Line 521:


Only part of a hunting party returned, and injured at that.
Only part of a hunting party returned, and injured at that.
The rest of them are still out there. Are they still alive? Is it even safe to go after them?
The rest of them are still out there. Are they still alive? Is it even safe to go after them?


Every bone in Loren's body says that this is not his problem.
Every bone in Loren's body says that this is not his problem.
And yet, he's the one being beseeched to please go and look.
And yet, he's the one being beseeched to please go and look.


If he says no, they're not likely to help him out.
If he says no, they're not likely to help him out.
And then Leah might be upset.
And then Leah might be upset.
And it might jeopardize his career, just like that.
And it might jeopardize his career, just like that.


Line 363: Line 548:
"Come on."
"Come on."


DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Signs of Life.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Signs of Life.
   
 
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
Lan was, in fact, not kidding about the leeches. "If you get them on you, don't pull them off until we're on dry land. This water's not good to put on a wound," she cautions him. So if the leeches are dirty, the water is worse?!
Lan was, in fact, not kidding about the leeches. "If you get them on you, don't pull them off until we're on dry land. This water's not good to put on a wound," she cautions him. So if the leeches are dirty, the water is worse?!


Line 384: Line 569:


Lan is absolutely, positively sure she didn't draw a skull! "This way," she tells him, stopping only to inspect a discarded bow.
Lan is absolutely, positively sure she didn't draw a skull! "This way," she tells him, stopping only to inspect a discarded bow.
DG: You use your Tool Paku-Paku against your party's Challenge, Signs of Life!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Signs of Life.


DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Signs of Life.
   
 
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Signs of Life *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Queen of the Land *>=======================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
|Type: Final      |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |  
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  Bad news- no, closer to an emergency. A hunting party returns to town       
One wrong step almost proves fatal. A puddle of noxious toxins has pooled in   
  battered, bruised and... missing several members. It seems that some vicious 
the pit it's carved into the canyon floor. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to     
  beast has come down out of the mountains in search of the fresh game being   
be the right kind of purple to be malevolent. Unfortunately, judging by how   
  attracted by the new wetlands. They're pretty sure the rest of the hunting   
fresh it is, its source is bound to be close by.                               
  party is still alive out there somewhere, but they won't be for long. Not   
                                                                             
  with that thing after them.                                                 
Suddenly, a shadow falls across the valley. A tremendous, viridian drake       
                                                                               
drops to the canyon floor, covered in what remains of a weighted net that     
  The hunting party gives you a rough idea of where to start looking. You     
seems to be in the process of being dissolved by the same venom that drips     
  follow a nearby river upstream, towards where it winds out into the wetlands 
from its maw. As she takes notice of you, the beast tears what's left of the   
  from between the mountain crags. The sun hangs low in the sky by the time   
net away with a few swipes of her massive talons. She clicks her fangs         
  you spot the first claw marks scratched into the stone, each furrow almost   
together judgmentally, sending a stray spark into a nearby venom pool.         
  deep enough to fit a man inside. Enormous scales are scattered here and     
                                                                             
  there, apparently torn off in some kind of intense battle. Nearby, you also 
The whole thing goes up in flames.                                             
  find a busted waterskin and a broken shortbow. You must be getting close.   
                                                                             
  Now all that's left is to follow the trail and hope you find the survivors   
Someone shouts from up above and fires a hail of arrows downward, but the     
  before the beast hunting them finds you.                                     
bolts do little but clatter against her thick hide. It seems it falls to you   
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
to drive this beast from the canyon-- but at least it seems that the hunters   
 
have managed to survive.                                                       
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 5 *>===============
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
==========================< Results - Signs of Life >===========================
   
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          16 --(0)--> 16                Pass
Soylent Nutribar                    2  Wits    Effects: Resilient           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          6 --(0)--> 6                  Pass
Paku-Paku                          2  Wits    Effects: Enlighten           
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  90 --(0)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Reckless(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
 
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management
commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
  DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
 
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Queen of the Land *>=======================
|Type: Final      |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |  
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  One wrong step almost proves fatal. A puddle of noxious toxins has pooled in   
  the pit it's carved into the canyon floor. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to     
  be the right kind of purple to be malevolent. Unfortunately, judging by how   
  fresh it is, its source is bound to be close by.                               
                                                                               
  Suddenly, a shadow falls across the valley. A tremendous, viridian drake       
  drops to the canyon floor, covered in what remains of a weighted net that     
  seems to be in the process of being dissolved by the same venom that drips     
  from its maw. As she takes notice of you, the beast tears what's left of the   
  net away with a few swipes of her massive talons. She clicks her fangs         
  together judgmentally, sending a stray spark into a nearby venom pool.         
                                                                               
  The whole thing goes up in flames.                                             
                                                                               
  Someone shouts from up above and fires a hail of arrows downward, but the     
  bolts do little but clatter against her thick hide. It seems it falls to you   
  to drive this beast from the canyon-- but at least it seems that the hunters   
  have managed to survive.                                                       
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
 
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
A shadow falls over them moments after Lan's sandal sends a cascade of pebbles scattering into a small... pond...? She looks up. And up. And up. "...Oh."
A shadow falls over them moments after Lan's sandal sends a cascade of pebbles scattering into a small... pond...? She looks up. And up. And up. "...Oh."


She steps away from the edge not a moment too soon, because the heat of the resulting fireflash threatens to singe the ends of her long hair. "Awk! Loren! It /does/ fly!" Too bad being right doesn't make her happy!
She steps away from the edge not a moment too soon, because the heat of the resulting fireflash threatens to singe the ends of her long hair. "Awk! Loren! It ''does'' fly!" Too bad being right doesn't make her happy!


The clatter of arrows bouncing off of the drake's armored scales brings some relief to her heart, the tightness inside her ribs easing a bit. Oh, thank goodness. "Back me up!" she tells Loren, and reaches deep inside of herself. She needs more. More strength than what she has.  
The clatter of arrows bouncing off of the drake's armored scales brings some relief to her heart, the tightness inside her ribs easing a bit. Oh, thank goodness. "Back me up!" she tells Loren, and reaches deep inside of herself. She needs more. More strength than what she has.  
Line 428: Line 651:
She moves almost too quickly to see, long legs driving her forward-- "HAAAAAA!"
She moves almost too quickly to see, long legs driving her forward-- "HAAAAAA!"


--to drive a single hand into the space between two scales, a gout of the reptile's blood splattering across her cheek as she absolutely /devastates/ a chakra point just beneath its skin. "NOW! Loren, NOW!"
--to drive a single hand into the space between two scales, a gout of the reptile's blood splattering across her cheek as she absolutely ''devastates'' a chakra point just beneath its skin. "NOW! Loren, NOW!"
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.
 
   
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
  <Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
 
"I'm ''not stupid''!" he manages to get out, amidst abject panic. Yes, leeches were covered... but in a passing sort of 'you probably will never need this but if you are so unfortunate to be in a field position on certain areas of Filgaia' sort of way.


"I'm /not stupid/!" he manages to get out, amidst abject panic. Yes, leeches were covered... but in a passing sort of 'you probably will never need this but if you are so unfortunate to be in a field position on certain areas of Filgaia' sort of way.
He's fumbling to remember what you're supposed to do, since most of his memory seems to recall the things you're not supposed to do. Like burning them, cutting them, putting salt on them, honestly irritating them in any way...
He's fumbling to remember what you're supposed to do, since most of his memory seems to recall the things you're not supposed to do. Like burning them, cutting them, putting salt on them, honestly irritating them in any way...


Apparently if you annoy them they vomit into your wounds.
Apparently if you annoy them they vomit into your wounds.
He decides as he scrambles onto the shore, that he hates leeches more than sandworms.
He decides as he scrambles onto the shore, that he hates leeches more than sandworms.


At least he's got the kit. And at least Lan helps with getting them /off/.
At least he's got the kit. And at least Lan helps with getting them ''off''.


********
&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;&#42;


"Flying..." He pauses, surveying the gouges. The ruined equipment left by the hunting party.
"Flying..." He pauses, surveying the gouges. The ruined equipment left by the hunting party.
Line 451: Line 677:
A pebble dances off the edge of the path, dashing into a pool below. "Wait-- something's wrong with the water," Loren starts to comment.
A pebble dances off the edge of the path, dashing into a pool below. "Wait-- something's wrong with the water," Loren starts to comment.


And then /it/ appears, soaring on the updrafts.
And then ''it'' appears, soaring on the updrafts.


/...Like a dragon/, runs his thoughts, before more practical reactions take hold. "Get back!" he shouts, drawing up glittering hard-edged crystalline walls of barriers from his Ether, their power holding back /some/ but not all of the incoming wash of flame.
''...Like a dragon'', runs his thoughts, before more practical reactions take hold. "Get back!" he shouts, drawing up glittering hard-edged crystalline walls of barriers from his Ether, their power holding back ''some'' but not all of the incoming wash of flame.


They have backup, he notes.
They have backup, he notes.


'Back me up', Lan asks.
'Back me up', Lan asks.
He nods once, reaching into his kit and drawing out a vial of Rosesol, downing it in a shot. His gaze flickers over at her in passing.
He nods once, reaching into his kit and drawing out a vial of Rosesol, downing it in a shot. His gaze flickers over at her in passing.


Did she... always have tattoos there?
Did she... always have tattoos there?
He doesn't get long to look, to confirm he saw what he thought he saw. Her hands move; reptilian blood splatters.
He doesn't get long to look, to confirm he saw what he thought he saw. Her hands move; reptilian blood splatters.


/NOW/, she asks of him.
''NOW'', she asks of him.


He takes a breath, and obliges. Around her but never touching her arise those spires of stone. He'll pierce it in as many places as he can reach.
He takes a breath, and obliges. Around her but never touching her arise those spires of stone. He'll pierce it in as many places as he can reach.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.


   
  DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.
DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue!
 
DG: Lan Lilac is too exhausted to continue!
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Queen of the Land *>=======================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers!
|Type: Final      |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Turning Tail *>============================
  One wrong step almost proves fatal. A puddle of noxious toxins has pooled in 
|Type: Discovery  |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |  
  the pit it's carved into the canyon floor. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to   
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  be the right kind of purple to be malevolent. Unfortunately, judging by how 
Who knew that wyverns could detach their tails when sufficiently distressed?   
  fresh it is, its source is bound to be close by.                             
As the beast flees, it swings its hindquarters in your general direction and   
                                                                               
somehow manages to set its tail loose! The thing flies through the air like   
  Suddenly, a shadow falls across the valley. A tremendous, viridian drake     
a tree trunk in a cyclone and smashes hard into the ground nearby. Briefly     
  drops to the canyon floor, covered in what remains of a weighted net that   
distracted by the deadly projectile, you're unable to catch up as the         
  seems to be in the process of being dissolved by the same venom that drips   
lightened wyvern makes its escape, but...                                     
  from its maw. As she takes notice of you, the beast tears what's left of the 
                                                                             
  net away with a few swipes of her massive talons. She clicks her fangs       
It seems to have left you a prize regardless.                                 
  together judgmentally, sending a stray spark into a nearby venom pool.       
                                                                             
                                                                               
The creature's tail twitches a couple more times before going still and       
  The whole thing goes up in flames.                                           
dead. One of the hunters clambers down from where they were hiding and         
                                                                               
offers their help in carving the enormous thing up. That tail is worth a       
  Someone shouts from up above and fires a hail of arrows downward, but the   
whole bunch of meat, enough for the whole family and the cousins too! But     
  bolts do little but clatter against her thick hide. It seems it falls to you 
more importantly, it's covered in a collection of spines and a large           
  to drive this beast from the canyon-- but at least it seems that the hunters 
quantity of bone, blood and hide that can be used to make all kinds of         
  have managed to survive.                                                     
things, from alchemical mixtures to weapons and armor. For a discerning       
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
craftsman, it's hard to ask for a better find.                                 
 
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 6 *>=================
   
=========================< Results - The Queen of the Land >=========================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Player                              Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          16 --(100)--> 116              Pass
Solarian Medical Kit                1  Combat  Effects: Cleanse             
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                          6 --(100)--> 106              Fail
Fight                              0  Combat  Effects: BASIC               
--------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  90 --(10)--> 100              Fail
Conditions: Fright(2)|Reckless(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================
 
DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Lan Lilac is too exhausted to continue!
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers!
 
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Turning Tail *>============================
|Type: Discovery  |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |  
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
  Who knew that wyverns could detach their tails when sufficiently distressed?   
  As the beast flees, it swings its hindquarters in your general direction and   
  somehow manages to set its tail loose! The thing flies through the air like   
  a tree trunk in a cyclone and smashes hard into the ground nearby. Briefly     
  distracted by the deadly projectile, you're unable to catch up as the         
  lightened wyvern makes its escape, but...                                     
                                                                               
  It seems to have left you a prize regardless.                                 
                                                                               
  The creature's tail twitches a couple more times before going still and       
  dead. One of the hunters clambers down from where they were hiding and         
  offers their help in carving the enormous thing up. That tail is worth a       
  whole bunch of meat, enough for the whole family and the cousins too! But     
  more importantly, it's covered in a collection of spines and a large           
  quantity of bone, blood and hide that can be used to make all kinds of         
  things, from alchemical mixtures to weapons and armor. For a discerning       
  craftsman, it's hard to ask for a better find.                                 
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
 
  <Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
 
Lan has fought at Loren's side before. She's learning how he thinks, at least in battle - and the weapons he has at his disposal. He's got a fondness for spears of stone...
Lan has fought at Loren's side before. She's learning how he thinks, at least in battle - and the weapons he has at his disposal. He's got a fondness for spears of stone...


She has to trust that his aim is true, because she's /right underneath/ the wyvern's chest when she screams for him to strike.
She has to trust that his aim is true, because she's ''right underneath'' the wyvern's chest when she screams for him to strike.


With her hand buried in the monster's scales there's no room to dodge. She just grits her teeth and yanks her hand free, thrown to the side by a furious swipe of a tail that seems as thick as the trunks of Lunar's ancient trees. She lands hard, but is already pushing herself back to her feet when the thing takes off.
With her hand buried in the monster's scales there's no room to dodge. She just grits her teeth and yanks her hand free, thrown to the side by a furious swipe of a tail that seems as thick as the trunks of Lunar's ancient trees. She lands hard, but is already pushing herself back to her feet when the thing takes off.
Line 507: Line 775:


She doesn't seem to be properly appreciating the marvelous treasure trove presented to them.
She doesn't seem to be properly appreciating the marvelous treasure trove presented to them.
</nowiki>
 
[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Chapter 1]]
[[Category:Chapter 1]]
[[Category:Chapter 1, Act 4]]
[[Category:Chapter 1, Act 4]]

Revision as of 07:45, 7 February 2019

  • Log: Equivalent Exchange
  • Cast:Lan Lilac, Loren Voss
  • Where: The village of Wehaca
  • Date: 2019-02-06
  • Summary: In order to receive knowledge, one must first give up service...


======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Early Lunch for Isaac *>=======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 Maybe you're here to exchange favors, maybe you were passing through and      
 were interested in making a quick buck, or maybe you're just here out of the  
 goodness of your heart. One way or another, you... seem to have found         
 yourself in front of a bald old man snacking on some kind of thick stew.      
 He's actually got a great big pot of the stuff next to him. Also what looks   
 like a community notice board. "Aiiyo, it's nice to see so many young'uns     
 take an interest in helpin' out our little desert community. Why don't you    
 all take a minute and have a bite to eat? On the house! After all, you've     
 got a full day of work ahead of you!"                                         
                                                                               
 And you do! There's a whole notice board full of jobs that need to be helped  
 with! You're going to need to figure out what needs to be prioritized and     
 what can be left for later. It's time... To build a schedule!                 
                                                                               
 It's also time to have some stew. It's nice and creamy and thickened with     
 taro and buffalo cheese.                                                      
                                                                               
 What a nice guy, this weird old man.                                          
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

The rhythm had been broken after a time.

The one that had been made up of work, work, and more work in medical at Bledavik, that is. Honestly, Loren's not certain at all how he feels about it. It's a relief in on one hand to have a routine, but at the same time, it makes him worry.

Leah had of course been the one to shatter it, giving him an assignment that had frankly seemed suspiciously easy, at least on the face of it.

It was to understand how to use the Medium better, she'd said. And so she'd suggested he go speak to the Baskar.

Leah's suggestions aren't really suggestions. This is a factor he's just accepted as a part of the price he's to pay.

*******

"Is this really cheese?" he's asked Lan, though his questioning what he's eating isn't, notably, stopping him from eating it.

...Lan is, almost certainly, the one advocating community service. Because otherwise, the young medic would officially say something to the effect that this... stuff is absolutely not his problem.

But with her here, it's...

Well, she's probably nagged at him enough for him to give up and reluctantly agree to find a lost pig or walk the cat or whatever they do around here.

He's currently resignedly regarding the board and trying to find which task would be the least pain-in-the-ass of the lot to do.

"...Who loses an entire flock of chickens?"

DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

When Leah had mentioned going to speak to the Baskar, of course Lan had volunteered to go with him. It's not like she just took a few days off for herself to go hang out at Baskar Colony, noooooo~

But if Loren is going to ask her people for help, she's going to make sure he repays their favor... whether he likes it or not! And if she's super lucky, they'll be able to eat some of her favorite foods. Solarian cuisine has left a foul taste in her mouth that all the Filgaian foodstuffs in the world just doesn't seem able to wash away.

Which is why, when Loren asks if she's sure it's cheese, Lan barely looks up at him. "Mmmmf." Cheeks bulging, she chews a bit more before swallowing, a warm flush of comfort-happy-carbohydrates warming her from the inside out. "Oh yeah! Isn't it the best??"

The sheer enthusiasm she's showing for such a simple (and, let's be real, questionable) foodstuff is a bit much... "Buffalo cheese and taro root are the main ingredients. Isn't it great?!" There are, of course, other things thrown in the stew pot. Most of them are mysterious. That isn't dampening Lan's enthusiasm one whit.

Between bites, she glances up at the work board again. "Mmmmhmmhmm~~ Hey, Grandpa, thanks again! We'll make sure to work hard, okay?" And part of working hard is working smart! She slips a hand into her pocket for the paku-paku, working it with one hand while the other shovels stew into her mouth. "Chickens are horrible, willfull creatures," she mutters to Loren as an aside. "It's no wonder."

There's clearly some kind of history there...

DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Early Lunch for Isaac.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Early Lunch for Isaac *>=====================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Maybe you're here to exchange favors, maybe you were passing through and      
 were interested in making a quick buck, or maybe you're just here out of the  
 goodness of your heart. One way or another, you... seem to have found         
 yourself in front of a bald old man snacking on some kind of thick stew.      
 He's actually got a great big pot of the stuff next to him. Also what looks   
 like a community notice board. "Aiiyo, it's nice to see so many young'uns     
 take an interest in helpin' out our little desert community. Why don't you    
 all take a minute and have a bite to eat? On the house! After all, you've     
 got a full day of work ahead of you!"                                         
                                                                               
 And you do! There's a whole notice board full of jobs that need to be helped  
 with! You're going to need to figure out what needs to be prioritized and     
 what can be left for later. It's time... To build a schedule!                 
                                                                               
 It's also time to have some stew. It's nice and creamy and thickened with     
 taro and buffalo cheese.                                                      
                                                                               
 What a nice guy, this weird old man.                                          
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 1 *>===============
======================< Results - Early Lunch for Isaac >=======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Paku-Paku                           2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Tire(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Gems Ore Bust *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 Mines and quarries seem to crop up everywhere. If there's one benefit to      
 surviving a malevolent flood, it's that the rushing waters have washed out a  
 bunch of age-old sediment and revealed a host of new caves. New caves mean    
 potential new treasures, gemstones or metal veins. They can also mean new     
 dangers and new threats-- and with so much spiritual nonsense going on        
 underground recently, there could very well still be something terrible       
 lurking down below.                                                           
                                                                               
 But that's why you're here! There's a great new cave right there, carved out  
 of the side of a mesa. Even from out here, you can tell there's a whole       
 bunch of colorful, glittering ore waiting for you inside. As long as you      
 stick close to the surface, you should safely be able to gather a whole       
 bunch of samples to take back to town. They're going to be wanting most of    
 what you find, but surely you should be able to negotiate a modest share of   
 the lode...?                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

The oracle paper throws up the same symbol three times in a row. Hole. Hole. Hole. As Lan scans the board, she can find only a couple of jobs that refer to anything concave. "Let's start with this one," she nods decisively, gesturing at a certain job request with her spoon - before hurriedly shoveling the rest of her lunch into her mouth.

Now, just outside the brand-new cave, she looks down at the slip of paper in her hand. "It says 'gather samples and bring them back for study'. That's super easy!" She offers him one of the two handbaskets they'd been given with a smile. "You're better at science stuff, so you pick out anything that looks the most useful, okay? I'll look for anything that sings to me."

And with that, Lan traipses right into the mouth of the cave, tying her basket to the waistband of her shorts with some twine to free her hands. "I'm really glad you decided to come here, you know," she remarks, crouching at the edge of a crystal formation several feet in. "Even if I'm a shaman, I can only tell you so much. It's really good to learn from lots of people."

DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

It tastes pretty different from most cheese he's had. Then again, 'real cheese' has an entirely different range of taste from the 'cheese' he'd grown up eating.

(If he really interrogated that thought for a moment, he'd realize it was because the cheese he'd grown up eating wasn't technically cheese. Details!)

"Yeah, I guess. ...Taro, is that like potato?" A pause. "And what are these lumps?" They're mysterious.

The surface world really is full of strange foods.

He shoots her a look, glancing down to scan faster for anything that looks relatively easy. 'Work hard'?

The paper has spoken, evidently.

They're going to explore a cave.

*********

"Don't you people worry when sinkholes appear?" He pauses. "Or... whatever's going on here." Come to think of it, it might not be strictly geological. "Anyway, this just doesn't seem stable," he grouses, producing a light as he swings gingerly down into the cramped depths of the cavelet's opening.

Not to worry, it opens up before long.

"Doesn't look like anything's living down here. ...Huh." His light lingers on a trickle of water pouring down a rock face.... and the crystals that glitter on the wall beneath it.

"Crystal formations. Probably there used to be a lot more water in here," he muses, before reaching forward to touch one of the smaller formations.

And use a bit of subtle brute-force with the burst of earth Ether he summons to try and wrench it from the wall.

DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gems Ore Bust.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Gems Ore Bust *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 Mines and quarries seem to crop up everywhere. If there's one benefit to      
 surviving a malevolent flood, it's that the rushing waters have washed out a  
 bunch of age-old sediment and revealed a host of new caves. New caves mean    
 potential new treasures, gemstones or metal veins. They can also mean new     
 dangers and new threats-- and with so much spiritual nonsense going on        
 underground recently, there could very well still be something terrible       
 lurking down below.                                                           
                                                                               
 But that's why you're here! There's a great new cave right there, carved out  
 of the side of a mesa. Even from out here, you can tell there's a whole       
 bunch of colorful, glittering ore waiting for you inside. As long as you      
 stick close to the surface, you should safely be able to gather a whole       
 bunch of samples to take back to town. They're going to be wanting most of    
 what you find, but surely you should be able to negotiate a modest share of   
 the lode...?                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 2 *>=================
=============================< Results - Gems Ore Bust >=============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          3 --(3)--> 6                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           3 --(3)--> 6                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  20 --(25)--> 45                Pass
Conditions: Tire(1)|Treasure(1)
Effects: 
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Melange à Trois *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Sandworms. One of the most terrible dangers of life in the badlands and       
 simultaneously one of the most... Valuable? Yes! As it turns out, the         
 Wehacans have learned that mature sandworms secrete some kind of strange      
 crystalline powder with tremendous medicinal properties. Opportunities to     
 harvest this so-called Melange come few and far-between, and actually making  
 good on any of those rare chances is often considered suicidal.               
                                                                               
 Today, a lone sandworm is heading toward one of the nearby ravines.           
 Ambushing it from the cliff sides to snag some of those valuable crystals     
 would be relatively (for what it's worth) safe...                             
                                                                               
 Well. The danger is probably worth the reward, at least! The legendary        
 desert-spice is, after all, worth more than its weight in gold...!            
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

It comes free with a tug. ...Well, and the abscissing jolt of Ether probably didn't hurt, either. It goes into the basket. Along with an assortment of other samples, crystal and rock alike. A little more wandering about in the depths goes to demonstrate that there's nothing ill waiting for them in here.

It's a safe cave, full of shiny crystals of moderate value, especially if they are then cut and polished. A fine outcome for a mysterious new cave to present.

Which is when someone (Lan) spots a particular task (Melange) on the job board and then that someone (still Lan) excitedly suggests they go and collect it.

It's in a ravine, after all, and the fortune paper said that holes were good fortune...

Which leads naturally to a series of protests:

"It's a sandworm."

"Isn't that technically worm... excretion?"

"How is that even medicine?!"

But, there is no defying the undefiable.

AND SO:

"I can't believe we're doing this," Loren mutters, perched on an outcropping high up alongside the walls of the ravine.

Bluish, flowing light bursts forth around himself and Lan; a small invocation of water Ether.

Meanwhile, the sandworm trundles forth, squirming its way up through the ravine. It's a big one. Crystals dot its wormflesh.

(Loren is definitely, fortunately mistaken about what part of the worm those come out of.)

DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Melange à Trois.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

"Taro is a root, kind of like a potato," she nods at him. "Or renkon, or... uh... that thing, like a white carrot?" She's forgotten what parsnips are called. On the subject of mysterious lumps: "I don't know! Maybe meat!" It's hard to tell, and Lan doesn't care what it is as long as it tastes appropriately wholesome and comfort-foodish.

*********

Truthfully, even Lan had had some misgivings about a jaunt into a mysterious brand-new sinkhole, especially one crusted with valuable gems and no lurking monsters or ancient traps in sight. That smells like a setup! But no matter how many crystals and ore formations they poke, prod, and tug at... nothing bad happens. Could they really be so lucky?! There's even a trickle of what looks (and smells, Lan checked) like clean water.

She swipes a fingertip against the wall and brings a droplet of water to her tongue, tasting it. "Mm. Why, what do your people do when there's a sinkhole? If you're caught in it, do you fall right through towards the planet's surface?" Wouldn't that... kill everybody?! She looks quite a bit dismayed at the very idea.

It's much nicer to bring back their baskets full of ore samples, handing them over to the old man at the job board with a smile (definitely Lan's) and some grudging, sort of condescending remarks (definitely Loren's).

Before Loren can find another, easier, safer job... Lan's already thrusting a different job notice at him. "Loren! Loren, we have to do this one! It's important!"

And that's why Loren gets to learn about sandworms today.

"Of course it's a sandworm. Where else would we get it from?"

"Sandworm e-- NO!"

"It's more precious than gold. They're not easy to get, but the crystals can be made into really powerful medicine. Imagine that stuff, uh..." She grasps for the words he'd taught her during their lessons. "Anti-biotic! And anal-gesic."

Clinging to the side of the cliff face, Lan waits for the swift, cooling rush of water Ether to settle into her skin before she tugs the silver ribbon out of her hair, wrapping it around her wrist and taking Loren's hand in hers. "One, two, three- go!"

And, like a crazy person, she kicks off of the wall and floats ambitiously down toward the lone worm's back, dragging Loren along with her.

DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Butterfly Ribbon toward her party's challenge, Melange à Trois.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Melange à Trois *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Sandworms. One of the most terrible dangers of life in the badlands and       
 simultaneously one of the most... Valuable? Yes! As it turns out, the         
 Wehacans have learned that mature sandworms secrete some kind of strange      
 crystalline powder with tremendous medicinal properties. Opportunities to     
 harvest this so-called Melange come few and far-between, and actually making  
 good on any of those rare chances is often considered suicidal.               
                                                                               
 Today, a lone sandworm is heading toward one of the nearby ravines.           
 Ambushing it from the cliff sides to snag some of those valuable crystals     
 would be relatively (for what it's worth) safe...                             
                                                                               
 Well. The danger is probably worth the reward, at least! The legendary        
 desert-spice is, after all, worth more than its weight in gold...!            
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 3 *>===============
=========================< Results - Melange à Trois >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          6 --(5)--> 11                  Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           6 --(0)--> 6                   Pass
Butterfly Ribbon                    2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  45 --(25)--> 70                Pass
Conditions: Treasure(1)
Effects: Quicken(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - How To Mine For Fish *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 If there's one good thing that the enormous swamps have brought to Wehaca,    
 it's premium fishing ground. The bad news is that there's no really good way  
 to tell whether or not the fish are actually safe to eat without testing a    
 few first; you don't spend all your time living in pools of stagnant water    
 generated by a near-total physical and spiritual catastrophe without          
 acquiring a few terrible afflictions.                                         
                                                                               
 Of course, therein lies the problem. The marshes aren't exactly good for      
 fishing hooks, what with all the awful swamp-grasses that have taken root.    
 So instead the Wehacans have provided...                                      
                                                                               
 Spears.                                                                       
                                                                               
 It's a spear-fishing expedition, then. That said, it's unlikely that the      
 locals will complain if you take more... extreme measures to land a catch.    
 It just seems a little cheaty is all.                                         
                                                                               
 At least it's pretty relaxing out here, aside from the bugs.                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

You wouldn't think that a giant worm that lives in sand would be a pushover.

This is because they totally aren't. Loren nearly finds out the hard way when, perhaps based on some kind of sixth (or even seventh) sense, the solitary sandworm rears up and twists itself into a strange pretzel shape, its eyeless 'face' little more than an enormous hinged maw. Lined with rows of serrated proto-teeth, it gapes open, lunging towards the medic as he dangles precariously from Lan's grip--!

The shaman's voice calls out from just above him: "METEORAIN!"

Comets burst through the sparse clouds, the first one knocking the sandworm's trajectory offkilter; the rest just continue to drive the poor thing's head into the ground. By the time their feet touch down on the worm's crystal-studded back it's very, very unconscious. Possibly even dead.

Lan tests her footing before releasing his hand, and kneels to begin tugging the growths free as quickly as possible. "Hurry! Grab as many as you can! We don't have long!" She's already filled a third of her own basket.

This time, when they return to the village, they're greeted as heroes! ...By that grandpa, at least. Lan hands over their baskets with a longing look at the goods within (even with a few crystals tucked into her own pockets for later use). She does, at least, have the good manners to pick an 'easy' looking task this time, perhaps as an apology to Loren for nearly becoming worm excrement.

"So you just stand still in the water, and when a fish gets close you stab it with the spear," she tells him, sloshing through the weeds. Her sandals have been tied to the other side of her belt, the better to enjoy the rare sensation of lukewarm mud between her toes. "Oh, and watch out for leeches!"

DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

'Maybe meat!' Lan offers, with all due cheer.

Loren's reaction is to just give her a look that would probably be best subtitled as 'why this'.

******

"Don't lick that-- ugh," he grumbles, when she tastes the water. "There's no telling what's dissolved into it. Heavy metals, effluvia..."

She asks, though, what his people do with a sinkhole.

He stops and just looks at her for a moment. "We don't have any," he says, rather plainly. "I suppose if the closest equivalent happened," complete rupture of Etrenank's outer walls and then exposure of the city to stratospheric temperature and pressure gradient changes, "we'd all die."

Probably before the matter of 'height' came into play. Cheerful thought, that.

One job is thus completed with minimal effort and fuss. Things might be looking up.

At least, until the other rears its head.

"I hate those things. Isn't there something easier we can do?"

"Then what is it?"

"Don't you people use-- that's AN-algesic, not-- look, pronounce it right!!"

What's the saying about losing the battle and winning the war? It might apply here, as she leaps from the cliffside with his hand in hers--

A little too soon.

I really, runs the thought as he's ragdolled through the air, dangling in Lan's grip.

As the sandworm lunges for him.

I really hate sandworms.

He doesn't bother with screaming or doing anything but apparently stoicly awaiting his fate, whatever it might be.

Fortunately, it does not involve death or maiming this day. One heroic burst of comets later, and he's left to sprawl along the worm's back, blinking in wake of his brush with... well, bad fortune probably sums it up.

He collects the crystals, though, because what is he going to do? Sit there atop an angry sandworm and not do it out of spite?

*******

All's well that ends well, though. They return once again and unload their precious cargo (?) (Loren is still dubious about this, but they are paying well enough for it... if he's got his surfacer exchange rates right this time).

(???)

********

"I'm picking the next one," he informs Lan, as he hefts his spear with some trepidation.

And pauses. Like her, he's discarded his footwear, rolling up his pantlegs to keep them out of the muck.

"So what do you do," he asks, glancing over at her. "Just... stab them with the spear?" He seems skeptical about this working.

Lan mentions the leeches.

Loren, apparently, can become paler than he already is. He takes a hasty step back, stirring up the water, already reaching for the bag that carries his kit.

Lan is going to have to take over, isn't she.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, How To Mine For Fish.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - How To Mine For Fish *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 If there's one good thing that the enormous swamps have brought to Wehaca,    
 it's premium fishing ground. The bad news is that there's no really good way  
 to tell whether or not the fish are actually safe to eat without testing a    
 few first; you don't spend all your time living in pools of stagnant water    
 generated by a near-total physical and spiritual catastrophe without          
 acquiring a few terrible afflictions.                                         
                                                                               
 Of course, therein lies the problem. The marshes aren't exactly good for      
 fishing hooks, what with all the awful swamp-grasses that have taken root.    
 So instead the Wehacans have provided...                                      
                                                                               
 Spears.                                                                       
                                                                               
 It's a spear-fishing expedition, then. That said, it's unlikely that the      
 locals will complain if you take more... extreme measures to land a catch.    
 It just seems a little cheaty is all.                                         
                                                                               
 At least it's pretty relaxing out here, aside from the bugs.                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
=================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 4 *>=================
=========================< Results - How To Mine For Fish >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          11 --(5)--> 16                 Fail
Solarian Medical Kit                1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           6 --(0)--> 6                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  70 --(20)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Save Point(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Signs of Life *>=========================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Bad news- no, closer to an emergency. A hunting party returns to town         
 battered, bruised and... missing several members. It seems that some vicious  
 beast has come down out of the mountains in search of the fresh game being    
 attracted by the new wetlands. They're pretty sure the rest of the hunting    
 party is still alive out there somewhere, but they won't be for long. Not     
 with that thing after them.                                                   
                                                                               
 The hunting party gives you a rough idea of where to start looking. You       
 follow a nearby river upstream, towards where it winds out into the wetlands  
 from between the mountain crags. The sun hangs low in the sky by the time     
 you spot the first claw marks scratched into the stone, each furrow almost    
 deep enough to fit a man inside. Enormous scales are scattered here and       
 there, apparently torn off in some kind of intense battle. Nearby, you also   
 find a busted waterskin and a broken shortbow. You must be getting close.     
 Now all that's left is to follow the trail and hope you find the survivors    
 before the beast hunting them finds you.                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

And in fact, Lan does take over -- she has to, particularly when in the midst of Loren's backpeddling, he discovers that she wasn't kidding about the leeches.

She wasn't kidding at all.

But at least he has that kit.

She spears a number of good-sized fish that look healthy -- full, complete fins, fat cheeks, clear eyes and scales, no funny odors. The village will be pleased with these.

When they head back with their riches (Loren, limping a little) they return to the village in an uproar.

Only part of a hunting party returned, and injured at that.

The rest of them are still out there. Are they still alive? Is it even safe to go after them?

Every bone in Loren's body says that this is not his problem.

And yet, he's the one being beseeched to please go and look.

If he says no, they're not likely to help him out.

And then Leah might be upset.

And it might jeopardize his career, just like that.

And besides, it's...

"Ugh. Fine," is his ultimate pronouncement, before he heads out in the direction the hunting party had been, along the river. Through the wetlands again. Towards the crags.

The setting sun colors the rocks. Under other circumstances, Loren might even appreciate its beauty.

But he's currently crouched by the path here, picking up a shed scale and comparing its apparent weight against one of those nutritional bars.

"It's big, but lightweight," he announces, getting to his feet. "Whatever shed this needs to keep its overall weight low. ...Most animals with scales favor heavier ones, for defense."

A pause, then he moves onwards.

"Come on."

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Signs of Life.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

Lan was, in fact, not kidding about the leeches. "If you get them on you, don't pull them off until we're on dry land. This water's not good to put on a wound," she cautions him. So if the leeches are dirty, the water is worse?!

By the time they've managed to catch some fish (Lan is surprisingly good with a spear for someone who fights barehanded), she's also managed to catch a few leeches on her ankles. At least she's not squeamish about tugging them free, and helps Loren with his as well.

The disinfectant he brought along stings... Lan sighs, and dumps the leeches into a small jar to bring back along with the fish. "More medicine," she tells him. The bandages she winds around their ankles afterwards slowly soak through with blood on the walk home as the leeches' anticoagulant continues to work for a short time.

It's not until they're back at the village, with Lan studiously checking and re-dressing their ankles, that more bad news comes in. "..." Even though she's getting a little tired - it's been a very busy day!! - she doesn't hesitate when they're asked to help find the missing hunters.

After all... it would be terrible if someone's parent, or sibling, or child didn't come home today...

She's careful to lead him across the driest bits of the swamp this time; it's not fish (or more leeches) that they're out to find.

He weighs the scale. Lan, for her part, has drawn the paku-paku out of her pocket again, lips pressed thin as she manipulates it between her fingers. "Maybe it flies?" she muses. "But the size of these claw marks..."

The oracle paper speaks. Damn it, not again...

Lan is absolutely, positively sure she didn't draw a skull! "This way," she tells him, stopping only to inspect a discarded bow.

DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, Signs of Life.
===================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>====================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Signs of Life *>=========================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Bad news- no, closer to an emergency. A hunting party returns to town         
 battered, bruised and... missing several members. It seems that some vicious  
 beast has come down out of the mountains in search of the fresh game being    
 attracted by the new wetlands. They're pretty sure the rest of the hunting    
 party is still alive out there somewhere, but they won't be for long. Not     
 with that thing after them.                                                   
                                                                               
 The hunting party gives you a rough idea of where to start looking. You       
 follow a nearby river upstream, towards where it winds out into the wetlands  
 from between the mountain crags. The sun hangs low in the sky by the time     
 you spot the first claw marks scratched into the stone, each furrow almost    
 deep enough to fit a man inside. Enormous scales are scattered here and       
 there, apparently torn off in some kind of intense battle. Nearby, you also   
 find a busted waterskin and a broken shortbow. You must be getting close.     
 Now all that's left is to follow the trail and hope you find the survivors    
 before the beast hunting them finds you.                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
==============<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 5 *>===============
==========================< Results - Signs of Life >===========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          16 --(0)--> 16                 Pass
Soylent Nutribar                    2   Wits    Effects: Resilient            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           6 --(0)--> 6                   Pass
Paku-Paku                           2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  90 --(0)--> 90                 Pass
Conditions: Reckless(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management
commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Queen of the Land *>=======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 One wrong step almost proves fatal. A puddle of noxious toxins has pooled in  
 the pit it's carved into the canyon floor. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to    
 be the right kind of purple to be malevolent. Unfortunately, judging by how   
 fresh it is, its source is bound to be close by.                              
                                                                               
 Suddenly, a shadow falls across the valley. A tremendous, viridian drake      
 drops to the canyon floor, covered in what remains of a weighted net that     
 seems to be in the process of being dissolved by the same venom that drips    
 from its maw. As she takes notice of you, the beast tears what's left of the  
 net away with a few swipes of her massive talons. She clicks her fangs        
 together judgmentally, sending a stray spark into a nearby venom pool.        
                                                                               
 The whole thing goes up in flames.                                            
                                                                               
 Someone shouts from up above and fires a hail of arrows downward, but the     
 bolts do little but clatter against her thick hide. It seems it falls to you  
 to drive this beast from the canyon-- but at least it seems that the hunters  
 have managed to survive.                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

A shadow falls over them moments after Lan's sandal sends a cascade of pebbles scattering into a small... pond...? She looks up. And up. And up. "...Oh."

She steps away from the edge not a moment too soon, because the heat of the resulting fireflash threatens to singe the ends of her long hair. "Awk! Loren! It does fly!" Too bad being right doesn't make her happy!

The clatter of arrows bouncing off of the drake's armored scales brings some relief to her heart, the tightness inside her ribs easing a bit. Oh, thank goodness. "Back me up!" she tells Loren, and reaches deep inside of herself. She needs more. More strength than what she has.

Don't be afraid of the dark. You'll only be afraid of half of the world...

Something like ink bleeds through her skin, digging in like thorns, binding her arms like vines. Just a little, just enough, just black bracelets wrapping tight around her wrists. Lan reaches past the stars for the darkness beyond.

She moves almost too quickly to see, long legs driving her forward-- "HAAAAAA!"

--to drive a single hand into the space between two scales, a gout of the reptile's blood splattering across her cheek as she absolutely devastates a chakra point just beneath its skin. "NOW! Loren, NOW!"

DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

"I'm not stupid!" he manages to get out, amidst abject panic. Yes, leeches were covered... but in a passing sort of 'you probably will never need this but if you are so unfortunate to be in a field position on certain areas of Filgaia' sort of way.

He's fumbling to remember what you're supposed to do, since most of his memory seems to recall the things you're not supposed to do. Like burning them, cutting them, putting salt on them, honestly irritating them in any way...

Apparently if you annoy them they vomit into your wounds.

He decides as he scrambles onto the shore, that he hates leeches more than sandworms.

At least he's got the kit. And at least Lan helps with getting them off.

********

"Flying..." He pauses, surveying the gouges. The ruined equipment left by the hunting party.

And shakes his head at the sight of it all.

"A flying lizard, huh. I guess we'll find out."

A pebble dances off the edge of the path, dashing into a pool below. "Wait-- something's wrong with the water," Loren starts to comment.

And then it appears, soaring on the updrafts.

...Like a dragon, runs his thoughts, before more practical reactions take hold. "Get back!" he shouts, drawing up glittering hard-edged crystalline walls of barriers from his Ether, their power holding back some but not all of the incoming wash of flame.

They have backup, he notes.

'Back me up', Lan asks.

He nods once, reaching into his kit and drawing out a vial of Rosesol, downing it in a shot. His gaze flickers over at her in passing.

Did she... always have tattoos there?

He doesn't get long to look, to confirm he saw what he thought he saw. Her hands move; reptilian blood splatters.

NOW, she asks of him.

He takes a breath, and obliges. Around her but never touching her arise those spires of stone. He'll pierce it in as many places as he can reach.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, The Queen of the Land.
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Queen of the Land *>=======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 One wrong step almost proves fatal. A puddle of noxious toxins has pooled in  
 the pit it's carved into the canyon floor. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to    
 be the right kind of purple to be malevolent. Unfortunately, judging by how   
 fresh it is, its source is bound to be close by.                              
                                                                               
 Suddenly, a shadow falls across the valley. A tremendous, viridian drake      
 drops to the canyon floor, covered in what remains of a weighted net that     
 seems to be in the process of being dissolved by the same venom that drips    
 from its maw. As she takes notice of you, the beast tears what's left of the  
 net away with a few swipes of her massive talons. She clicks her fangs        
 together judgmentally, sending a stray spark into a nearby venom pool.        
                                                                               
 The whole thing goes up in flames.                                            
                                                                               
 Someone shouts from up above and fires a hail of arrows downward, but the     
 bolts do little but clatter against her thick hide. It seems it falls to you  
 to drive this beast from the canyon-- but at least it seems that the hunters  
 have managed to survive.                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
=================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers - Round 6 *>=================
=========================< Results - The Queen of the Land >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          16 --(100)--> 116              Pass
Solarian Medical Kit                1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lan Lilac                           6 --(100)--> 106               Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------< Party >--------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  90 --(10)--> 100               Fail
Conditions: Fright(2)|Reckless(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==================================< Dream Chasers >==================================
DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Lan Lilac is too exhausted to continue!
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers!
======================<* Wehaca - Homeland of the Godwalkers *>======================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Turning Tail *>============================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------
 Who knew that wyverns could detach their tails when sufficiently distressed?  
 As the beast flees, it swings its hindquarters in your general direction and  
 somehow manages to set its tail loose! The thing flies through the air like   
 a tree trunk in a cyclone and smashes hard into the ground nearby. Briefly    
 distracted by the deadly projectile, you're unable to catch up as the         
 lightened wyvern makes its escape, but...                                     
                                                                               
 It seems to have left you a prize regardless.                                 
                                                                               
 The creature's tail twitches a couple more times before going still and       
 dead. One of the hunters clambers down from where they were hiding and        
 offers their help in carving the enormous thing up. That tail is worth a      
 whole bunch of meat, enough for the whole family and the cousins too! But     
 more importantly, it's covered in a collection of spines and a large          
 quantity of bone, blood and hide that can be used to make all kinds of        
 things, from alchemical mixtures to weapons and armor. For a discerning       
 craftsman, it's hard to ask for a better find.                                
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

Lan has fought at Loren's side before. She's learning how he thinks, at least in battle - and the weapons he has at his disposal. He's got a fondness for spears of stone...

She has to trust that his aim is true, because she's right underneath the wyvern's chest when she screams for him to strike.

With her hand buried in the monster's scales there's no room to dodge. She just grits her teeth and yanks her hand free, thrown to the side by a furious swipe of a tail that seems as thick as the trunks of Lunar's ancient trees. She lands hard, but is already pushing herself back to her feet when the thing takes off.

"Ugh," Lan complains, wiping a smear of blood from her eyes with hands that are once more tattoo-free. Loren must have imagined it. "Gross! It's sticky!"

She doesn't seem to be properly appreciating the marvelous treasure trove presented to them.