2019-04-21: I Survived the Water Dungeon and All I Got was this Lousy Scripture: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 22:30, 24 April 2019
- Log: 2019-04-21: I Survived the Water Dungeon and All I Got was this Lousy Scripture
- Cast: Zed, Ida Everstead-Rey, Ratatoskr, Ivan
- Where: Kilika - Jungles
- Date: April 21, 2019
- Summary: Zed, Ratatoskr, and Ida make their way into the sunken monastery, and are joined by Ivan! Priceless artifacts are broken, water is battled, and no one goes home happy. Well, maybe Ratatoskr...?
=============================<* Kilika - Jungles *>============================= The island of Kilika is filled with a massive jungle, which is no stranger to Fiends. The recent attack by Sin has made the jungle a dangerous place indeed; powerful Fiends patrol, and a few Sinspawn are rumored to be sighted. Much of Althena's Guard, having arrived, is devoted to making headway into the jungle and protecting the route to the Temple, which is nestled up in the mountains beyond the jungle. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHw2V0C-D-o
DG: A party led by Zed is now entering Sunken Monastery of Gusong. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
========<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions *>=========
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The entrance to the Sunken Monastery is above ground, at a place where the
recent attack by Sin caused a landslide and revealed a small section of
worked stone... and tunnel that leads the depths. Following that tunnel,
however, soon leads to a portion that has flooded and filled with water.
Swimming will be required.
The entry tunnel is a long, narrow one. As you begin swimming, though, you
find the tunnel presents a challenge in addition to needing to swim:
A large stone block crashes down from the ceiling, cutting off the entire
way ahead. Blasting through it will be necessary to proceed, but poses its
own difficulties underwater.
Fortunately, there is a door ahead -- and stairs leading to air.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
For some, the sudden transport to the far side of the moon has been fraught with tragedy and confusion, heavy with sorrow and emotion. But for others, it's an opportunity. A chance to learn, to explore, to meet new people and see new places...
And then there's these guys.
"It's right here!" A strange green-haired man in a black bodysuit yells as he descends upon the collapsed temple entrance. "The rumors all say that this, here, is the heart of some kind of <<MOON MONK MONASTERY>>. The heart of their training grounds, right under our feet! Their secrets, their spirits, waiting for us to find them... Waiting for us to..."
Zed... clenches his fist...! "FIGHT THEM! Nyahahahaha! RATATOSKR! We're not going to let a big old pile of rubble keep us out! Let's break stuff!! Ahahahahahaha!"
Fortunately... Fortuantely, Zed has brought someone a little more... moderating.
Which is good, because otherwise he's probably going to break something historical and important with that great big spiked flail of his.
DG: Zed has used his Tool Berserk Hammer toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida is the aforementioned moderating influence. Truth be told, she's interested in the place, too, and was in fact on her way to check it out when she ran into Zed and Ratatoskr. Ratatoskr or Zed alone would be worrying, but the two of them...
"Keep your light sources on you," Ida says. She peers down into the flooded tunnel, and frowns. "I've surveyed places like this before, and believe me--getting lost is a very good way to drown. We don't know how far this tunnel go--"
Zed hops right in. Ida lets out a hiss of breath, and shakes her head. She finishes tying back her hair, raises her arms, and takes a deep, steadying breath. She lowers her arms, and exhales; the air rushes from her lungs, and with it, soft motes of chi. Ida repeats the breathing exercise several times, her focus drifting inwards. Her body responds. Living Metal curls up inside her chest, flowing into her lungs and differentiating into Hyadean lung tissue. More of it multiplies into blood cells.
Ida hops into the water, the light-crystal at her belt glowing as she swims after Zed. She's a very good swimmer, and while she might not be able to do much about the wall directly, she can at least ensure Ratatoskr and Zed don't drown in the process.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Zed and Ratatoskr may have fundamental disagreements about the veracity and worth of certain forms of media, but between these two survivors of the Hyadean people... there is one thing that they can agree on at the baseline level, if not always the nuances of it.
Fighting is pretty cool.
Ratatoskr's body type - a crimson-armored bipedal horned squirrel of greater height than most people - is completely alien to the people of Spira, if not all of known creation as applies to the two worlds. The less bright have gone, 'is that a Ronso?' Some might have gone 'is that a Ronso turned Fiend?' Almost anyone would be of the mind to go, 'this is probably not a good thing that's about to go down.'
"Hyahaha--!" Ratatoskr laughs with that arrogant youthful air of invincibility that is scarcely challenged, his squirrel tail swaying excitedly as he peers into the waters as he chews on a gil piece to suck on some otherwise difficult-to-get nutrients. (Apparently, for some Hyadeans, coinage runs the risk of becoming their equivalent to chewing gum if their teeth exceed the Mohs hardness scale of said coinage.)
Zed just leaps on in mid-Ida-warning, and Ratatoskr's tail stands on end with all the signs of youthful competitiveness as he also fails to properly heed Ida's warnings. Compared to Zed (probably), his frame is overall a bit lighter and can navigate the watery depths marginally better - he's got compressed air shotguns for an emergency burst of maneuvering if need be, but, that can be detailed when relevant.
Bubbles escape Ratatoskr's grinning mouth as he sees Zed break out the hammer against the rubble. The hammer of Berserk, which he watches go to town for a bit as though distracted. As though it takes him out of the furious joy of spelunking old ruins for the information and objects of his desire. The solid yellow of his eyes dims a bit.
...He seems to be of a slightly different mind as he withdraws the busted old gun-blade ARM he likes to carry around, sticking its blade into various parts of the rubble as though he sees something slightly different in the arrangement, flicking at the side of it every so often and sending forcefield gun-pulses that might serve to dislodge the mess some.
DG: Ratatoskr has used his Tool Derelict Relic toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan was hoping to scrape together some of his lost pride after his failed assassination mission by volunteering for a Guard assignment billed as potentially dangerous--at least he can be useful to someone. The task -- to investigate some lost temple or something or other. Turns out he should have paid more attention to the 'something or other.' This place is half under water! Case closed, time to go back?
Except who are these crazy people trying to break into it anyway? Ivan approaches the group, silently at first, close enough to hear the shouted proclamations of the temple's historical significance, but not quite close enough yet to have to wade more than knee height into the water.
...some green haired guy, someone in what Ivan initially takes to be ... rather ridiculous armor... And... isn't that the woman from the inn who played poker with him and told him a bunch of weird things and knew Talia?
Just as he realizes he recognizes one of them, they dive down into the submerged tunnel. Ivan hangs back incredulously, until he hears the stone crash down and feels the tunnel shake. Ah... damn it...he's still recovering from his last water-related adventure, but he's going to have to get some closure on this...
He dives down after them, fighting off the familiar revulsion of being underwater, the chill and the way it feels like his body barely wants to move. He finds them wailing away on the fallen stone blocking the way through. With a flash of his ring, he summons his giant warhammer, and joins them in giving the stone a crack.
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Warhammer toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
========<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions *>=========
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The entrance to the Sunken Monastery is above ground, at a place where the
recent attack by Sin caused a landslide and revealed a small section of
worked stone... and tunnel that leads the depths. Following that tunnel,
however, soon leads to a portion that has flooded and filled with water.
Swimming will be required.
The entry tunnel is a long, narrow one. As you begin swimming, though, you
find the tunnel presents a challenge in addition to needing to swim:
A large stone block crashes down from the ceiling, cutting off the entire
way ahead. Blasting through it will be necessary to proceed, but poses its
own difficulties underwater.
Fortunately, there is a door ahead -- and stairs leading to air.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
==================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 1 *>================== ==========< Results - It's a Water Level - Underwater Demolitions >=========== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 0 --(8)--> 8 Pass Berserk Hammer 3 Brute Effects: Strengthen and Sacrif ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(8)--> 8 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ivan 0 --(8)--> 8 Pass Warhammer 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratatoskr 0 --(8)--> 8 Pass Derelict Relic 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Zed 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Zed has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
But it's not like he doesn't recognize the reason for the darkening of Ratatoskr's eyes. He knows it well. Legends are important to a culture, and mean different things to different people. But...
For Zed, wielding the great hammer of his ancient bully is at once a means of holding onto that memory, and of spiting it. For him, power is-- as Siegfried used to say-- just power. What it is doesn't matter to the true warrior. A will, honed stronger than any mere power, can wield any weapon in the world without fear.
And so he does, as best he can.
Before the combined power bludgeoning against it, the submerged stone has no choice but to yield. Cracks spiderweb across the rubble's surface, creating tiny fractures for water to focus its its inexorable, hydraulic force. Pressure tears through a little further with each impact, until finally the stone shatters and seawater floods into a pocket of air hidden behind the rubble.
Zed erupts from the surging seafoam with a bold laugh, his scarf spinning over his shoulders like a screw motor running on overdrive. "Hahahahaha! That was a good first step, but I can tell... I can tell that this place won't surrender its secrets without a fight! We'll need to prove ourselves worthy if we wish to claim them. And the only way to do that...!" Zed... points bravely into the dark, "Is to sally forth into the mouth of terror! Let's goooooooooo-ooooh?"
Zed... peers right at Ivan.
"Huh! Who is this? When did you get here?" Zed arches an inquisitive brow. "Are you... Another <Seeker of Power?>"
DG: Ratatoskr has drawn a new Challenge.
============================================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>============================================
============================================<* CHALLENGE - Ancient Altars *>============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The next room that you enter has an altar on the wall, showing a stylized
depiction of Sin. There is script on it, which reads:
THOU SHALL OFFER WHAT YEVON DESIRETH MOST
There is reason for haste. A loud rumble is heard from behind you. And
another. Maybe a monster is coming; maybe a hallway is collapsing. Either
way, maybe this isn't the time for a long philosophical debate?
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Fright, Overzealous, Reckless, Exhaust, Injure=
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
The lot of them surface on the other side, and not a moment too soon. The underwater tunnel behind that rock seems to drag on long enough that one runs the risk of drowning, but one and all, they surface into a chamber. An eerie chamber, because... it doesn't appear as though there is a clear way out, aside from going back into the water.
Ratatoskr bolts ahead of them with a burst of compressed air to launch himself out of the water, with all the haste and energy of a predator about to pounce... but his steps become lighter, his posture more upright. His tail's segmented plates flare out and shake violently to try and bat off the excess moisture.
"...An altar, huh..." Ratatoskr steps forward. His hands are clawed, befitting of those meant only to rend, tear, and maim in the name of conquest. They instead delicately brush across the built-up dust and grime, clearing up the sight of the mural.
It looks like... Sin? There is no way they could have captured the detail of the real deal, so they just made it huge and spiky.
There's some text that they may not be able to read: THOU SHALL OFFER WHAT YEVON DESIRETH MOST
"...I don't see anyone fighting it? I don't see anyone fighting it!" Ratatoskr's voice approaches disappointment. He gets out a Hyadean datapad which is apparently waterproofed, flicking through likewise images he's cobbled together over on Filgaia of similar murals that, indeed, often depict people fighting a thing. This is a thing without people fighting it.
"Where are the warriors?! Come onnnnn...!"
Then, there is a loud, foundation-shaking rumble. Another. Yet another. Is the room collapsing? Is something coming? That's not good. What can they do?
"...Hyahaha--!" Ratatoskr's grin widens. "Is someone listening...? Then come out and fight...!" Ratatoskr's posture goes more feral as he lifts his arms up in a fighting stance. This doesn't help solve the puzzle - if there is one - but now the others can have the confidence(?) that if there is danger lurking, Ratatoskr just might keep it at bay and rest easy.
Well, not easy. Rest intermmediate, maybe.
DG: Ratatoskr has used his Tool Corrupted Records toward his party's challenge, Ancient Altars.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Ratatoskr gives voice to the very same thoughts running through Zed's head. He definitely cannot at all read the text. Like, at all. Zed is only literate because of comic books, and as far as he knows, Spira doesn't actually have those. He has no idea what's written on the mural, he only knows one thing.
This mural...
It has a doom whale.
It has a doom whale but also nobody fighting it. That's just utterly heinous! Ratatoskr takes a different tack, facing the threat coming head-on, but Zed... Zed decides instead to right the terrible wrong that this mural has inflicted upon the world.
And immediately roars a battle cry of "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAART" and straight up flying-punches the giant doom whale mural right in the blowhole.
Clearly, there is priceless treasure hidden behind it, right? RIGHT!?!?!?
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ancient Altars.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan emerges from the water with a huge gasp, collapsing into a heap. He was pretty sure he was going to die for the final stretch of that swim. He looks over at the others, scowling with indignation as they quickly bounce back as if it were barely a challenge. Fine. Fine...!
"I'm here for... information," he says, still catching his breath, before dragging himself to his feet and over to the mural that one of them is... punching. He hesitates, with a small moment of alarm, and he feels in his pockets to fetch out a vial and check the seal. Seemed to hold. Small mercies. He doesn't know when he'll have access to the ingredients again.
He stows it back where he got it, and squints at the writing on the wall. "What Yevon desireth..." Ugh, a riddle? A religious quiz? What is that rumbling? If they don't solve it, do they die? Is it that kind of a place?
He makes the simplest and most feasible offering he has on hand, and tosses it some gil. "All gods basically want money in the end, right?" He grumbles, without optimism.
Excellent holy warrior representation, Ivan.
DG: Ivan has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ancient Altars.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida swims after Zed, propelling herself through the water with efficient flutter-kicks. She hauls herself onto dry land with both hands, water streaming off her body. She reaches up, runs gloved fingers over her hair to try and wring out a little water--
"Ivan?!" Ida cries, her eyes shooting open. "Oh. You startled me." Ominous noises echo down the corridor. Ida takes her lip between her teeth, and rummages a moment in her pockets, coming up with a small oilskin bag. "This is Zed--" Zed punches the altar. "And this is Ratatoskr."
'Then come out and fight...!'
"I'm here to ensure they don't damage anything irreplacable." Ida tosses a handful of small brass objects onto the altar, seals and stows the bag, and then pulls out her multitool. Ida efficiently disassembles the bullets into casing, slug, primer, and other components. "Apt," she says, looking at Ivan's offering of Gil. "If a bit on the nose."
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Multitool toward her party's challenge, Ancient Altars.
============================================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>============================================
============================================<* CHALLENGE - Ancient Altars *>============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The next room that you enter has an altar on the wall, showing a stylized
depiction of Sin. There is script on it, which reads:
THOU SHALL OFFER WHAT YEVON DESIRETH MOST
There is reason for haste. A loud rumble is heard from behind you. And
another. Maybe a monster is coming; maybe a hallway is collapsing. Either
way, maybe this isn't the time for a long philosophical debate?
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Fright, Overzealous, Reckless, Exhaust, Injure=
=======================================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 2 *>======================================= ==============================================< Results - Ancient Altars >============================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 8 --(18)--> 26 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Multitool 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ivan 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ratatoskr 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Corrupted Records 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Zed 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Hesitate(2)|Injure(2)|Overzealous(2)|Reckless(2)|Tire(1)|Weaken(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Zed has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
As Ida voices her fears about what the two Hyadeans might do, Ratatoskr pivots as Zed hauls back and prepares to punch the big dumb doom whale image in the entire image, and the solid yellow of his eyes flashes brightly in abrupt agitation.
"What? D--"
Zed punches the doom whale mural. The mural is no match for the fist.
The doom whale itself, though this is just an artistic depiction... suddenly, fragments of wall fly out as water under pressure blasts Zed back. Fragments of stone fly through the air, as a worst fear is realized...
...and yet, there is noticeably different text on the other side of these fragments, as though something was indeed meant to be seen on the other side of the mural, but the sweeping flood ensures these pieces cannot be recovered, even as RAtatoskr pounces after and tries to covet some of the tiny pieces of rubble.
Ida and Ivan share a detached sentiment about what it is Yevon must want. Could it be truth? The rushing waters remove coin and brass detritus, where they seem to come to rest in a number of gaps that seem a bit too conspicuous to be coincidental - but there's no greater mechanism that seems to be activated. The rumbling continues, as the flood of water from Zed's furious 2-D DOOM WHALE PUNCHING abates, leaving everyone about knee-high in water but also providing an opening to get out of the chamber.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>======================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Potion Flan *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The next barren room -- empty save for some scattered shards of wood, from furniture long ago smashed -- has one of the rarest of Flans: a Potion Flan. Though its shade of blue might make one mistake it for another subspecies, the Potion Flan is less vulnerable to one element... but upon its death, inevitably leaves at least a dozen potions. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Zed," Ida says, in the exact same tone one might use to scold a misbehaving younger sibling, "what did I just say?" She grabs for the elder Hyadean's scarf, gives it a firm tug, and takes off at a jog. Runes on the walls glow with brilliant aquamarine light, and the wall of water stops, as though it ran into a physical barrier. The party can get through just fine.
Ahead: a chamber filled with wooden detritus. Ida lets go of Zed's scarf, and huffs out a breath. "Let's all take a moment to collect ourselves, shall we--?"
*BLORP*
Something oozes out of a grate in the ceiling, splattering jelly-like onto the floor in front of Ida. It looks, at first glance, like an ordinary, everyday Slime, but this one contains a dozen small vials inside. Potions? Where did it get them??
Ida isn't going to look a gift flan in the mouth. She raises something that looks like a plate of metal with gems set into it--gems the color of Filgaia's ley. Light flickers off the Crest Cap, turning into a brilliant display as the crests of Muse and Wing flicker into existence. The whole party becomes that much faster.
Of course, the flan is still obnoxiously resilient. Can our heroes get to the tasty prize inside???
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Haste Cap toward her party's challenge, Potion Flan.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"But I thought it looked like a punchablllllle~" Zed whines as he's dragged along through the ankle-deep water. Being RIGHT AT THE EPICENTER of the flood, the Hyadean was knocked quite promptly right onto his ass. Or as the case might be, onto his face. Still, he doesn't seem to object to being tugged, possibly because of what the sudden influx of hydraulic pressure did to his eardrums.
It doesn't last.
Which is...
...G...ood?
Probably?
Not for the flan, though. The moment it looks as though ~battle~ is afoot, Zed eagerly bolts upright and starts eying the slimy blobule and its contents greedily. "Finally! I thought we were going to go through an entire mysterious training hall and not fight a single thing! That would've just been a travesty! But. Hm."
How... how to deal with this.
Zed pokes the flan with his sword. It just kind of wobbles and makes slime noises that somehow sound almost... offended. "I don't know if we can... cut it up. Hm." Even with Ida's haste spell, Zed can only cut so quickly, and with the corridors as cramped as they are, attempting to go full speed might sink them all!
Zed... is in quite the pickle.
"Hmmm. Maybe... Maybe the things inside are the source of its strength...?" They ARE healing potions, after all. How to get them, though? "I... have a plan!" Zed presses his fingers to his lips and blows--
A shrill sound, only audible to the upper range of animal hearing, cuts through the air. For a long moment, nothing seems to happen...
And then Ida might notice, off in the distance, her spell connects with something... else.
It's... something that would probably be mistaken for a fiend. Something that Ivan certainly hasn't ever seen before. It's vaguely canid in shape, though clearly mechanical and covered in plates of golden armor. Also it has blade-tentacles mounted to its back. Also an actual jetpack. "Goldie!" Zed orders with a grin, "Fetch!"
"Wao-waooooooooon~!" The Metal Beast howls as it rushes at the flan, snatching potion after potion out of its slimy body...! Zed follows up each lunge with a sudden strike of his own, doubling how quickly he can attack! It's basic mathematics. If a thousand cuts won't kill a slime... Then what about two thousand!?
DG: Zed has used his Tool Goldie Whistle toward his party's challenge, Potion Flan.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
Speaking of 'collect,' Ratatoskr has, in his arms, a bunch of fragments like a(n actual) squirrel might hope to hold a countless number of acorns. They're damp and shattered and frankly there is no quite putting it all back together, but in the moment of rest that is afforded, the horned squirrel-like alien soldier is obsessively trying his level best to rearrange the pieces back together. It's almost like watching a small child put together a shattered toy.
It's not clear that Ratatoskr is capable of actually crying, but the intense grin and flickering of his yellow eyes... might... come close?
"Who was this? Who was this!" Ratatoskr asks what should be the obvious. That was Sin, right? But apparently even he doesn't want to immediately jump to the obvious conclusion. "Why was no one fighting it...?" He scarce pays attention to the actual danger lingering overhead, sliming down by them, as sorcerous energies native to Filgaia are channeled. Everything's a blur.
It's only when the flan inches close to him and even so much as accidentally absorbs a pebble that Ratatoskr just thrusts a hand into the membrane to try and grab it right back out. Over and over and over. There might even be a burst of compressed air if the membrane is too tough for him to pierce. Could that be its elemental weakness?!
(Wind is not often regarded as an element in Spira, culturally speaking, so it is not likely.)
DG: Ratatoskr has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Potion Flan.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
"Er... yeah. Hello again."
Ivan shrugs awkwardly as Ida aknowledges him. "Zed. Rata..." he kind of gives up in the middle of the second name and mumbles the rest. He looks to Zed, who he thinks was the one who addressed him earlier. "You said you were here to gain power, or something...?"
But then, water is unleashed! Ivan jumps in spite of himself. He does not want to meet his end in an 'ancient temple filling with water' type scenario. But it doesn't swamp the place and drown them, and they're able to carry on, sodden and (in Ivan's case) quite miserable. The strange armored guy seems pretty miserable too, if for different reasons. "Why's it so important that somebody was fighting it in the picture...?!"
Their journey takes them to a squishy looking enemy, which Zed determines to be un-stabbable, and subsequently summons a... what in Althena's name is that thing?!
Regardless of what it is, it seems to be on their side.
Ivan searches his own soul for the appropriate way to deal with this flan, and settles on the warhammer again. He calls it to his hands, and tries to bring it down on the slimy being from above. If this strategy gains any success, there might be a bit of splattering.
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Memory toward his party's challenge, Potion Flan.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>======================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Potion Flan *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The next barren room -- empty save for some scattered shards of wood, from furniture long ago smashed -- has one of the rarest of Flans: a Potion Flan. Though its shade of blue might make one mistake it for another subspecies, the Potion Flan is less vulnerable to one element... but upon its death, inevitably leaves at least a dozen potions. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
===================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 3 *>=================== ===========================< Results - Potion Flan >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 26 --(0)--> 26 Pass Goldie Whistle 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Haste Cap 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Memory 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Zed 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Hesitate(1)|Injure(1)|Overzealous(1)|Reckless(1)|Save Point(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zed has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
After the third or fourth attempt, Ratatoskr manages to pierce the flan's membrane. Compressed air fires inside the beast, spraying flan goo everywhere with an audible *SPLORTCH*. This allows him to get the missing mural piece, and--more importantly--provides an opening in the flan's defenses. Deprived of its potions through the actions of one good pupper, the flan's resistance starts to slacken. It flails about with pseudopods, groping at anyone within range.
Ivan's hammer comes down.
SPLORTCH.
Good thing the potions weren't inside, huh?
DG: Ivan has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>========================
=============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Once again, you have to jump into the water and swim. This time, you enter a
long hallway with columns, which has been completely submerged. As you swim
ahead, though, you see the glitter of gold -- and a quartet of flying pieces
of golden metal, bound by a strange yellow light, float ahead. Yellow
Elements are a type of fiend that draws upon elemental energies to take
their form.
The problem with these, however, is that they emit powerful blasts of
electricity -- which is /exceptionally/ dangerous underwater.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure, Exhaust===================================
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan wipes some goo off of his face with a small smile of satisfaction that can only come from squishing the hell out of a monster. But, alas, the thrill of victory can only be savored for so long before they have to explore more of this accursed place. As they come upon another submerged area, Ivan glances back to the others.
"We've probably seen all there is to see, right? Probably nothing else worth finding...?"
This suggestion proves unpopular, though, and Ivan finds himself reluctantly diving in after the rest of the group into another submerged tunnel.
This latest tunnel is bordered by columns--and there may be some beautiful architectural details to inspect, if one is less inclined to be internally obsessing about where the next air pocket is than Ivan happens to be. But perhaps more importantly, there is some glitter and motion coming their way.
Is it treasure?? Nope, it's underwater electric fiends that only happen to look like coins!
Ivan is a fire mage, underwater, who needs air, and basically just panics and tries to punch, kick, and elbow the elementals aside while trying to swim past.
DG: Ivan has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
"Gain power?" There's a manic edge to Ratatoskr's voice as he is obsessively trying to save what cannot be saved, unless he has decided to become a fan of powdered masonry. "Gain power...! No."
He slowly turns his gaze, that creepy yellow solid glow in his eyes as he regards the reticent participant in the excursion. "History. History of warriors I never knew existed...!"
The pieces of rubble are stashed away... somewhere... on Ratatoskr's person as he regards Ivan, standing upright with arms crossed. He towers over most humans when he stands upright, and the lighting of the place doesn't give Ratatoskr all that welcoming an appearance.
"All there is to see? All there is to see...! Hyahaha--! Come onnn, there's more..."
They go into the water again, and Ratatoskr's eyes light up anew when he sees something glittering and moving towards them. He casts a look towards Zed and Goldie, then over to Ida, then over to Ivan who--
Compressed air discharges from Ratatoskr's legs as he all but shoots through the water, reaching out to wrap his arms around these flying entities of golden yellow gleaming with energy and... um, electricity. While everyone's underwater.
It's as if he's decided he doesn't want Ivan to break something irreplaceable like Zed might have, and this is a decision he might come to regret very soon or - depending on how one looks at the probable outcome - maybe he'll never get to regret it at all.
DG: Ratatoskr has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Nope!" Zed answers as he quaffs a potion. 'Quaffs.' He chucks the entire thing into his mouth, glass and all, and just sort of... chomps through it. "We're not leaving until we know for sure we're done! You'll know it too. Usually there's some kind of awesome boss fight or something like that between us and the treasure. Oh hey speakin' of--"
Zed turns down a corridor, led by the scent of ADVENTURE, which apparently is coming... out of a submerged tunnel.
Which he dives right down into.
But it seems as though Zed's instincts are right on the money! There are, there in the distance, glimmering, glittering somethings. Zed barrels forward, grinning open-lipped into the pretty, pretty danger.
Headfirst.
With lightning arcing through the water all around the pretty, pretty sources.
This might end poorly for him, if...
If it wasn't for the literal rocket dog shooting through the saltwater to continue 'fetching' the elementals' distinctly tennisball-shaped cores.
And, as it turns out, golden dog armor... is ALSO lightning resistant...!
DG: Zed has used his Tool Goldie Whistle toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida watches as Ratatoskr tries to salvage the mural, her lips twisting. It's... admirable, in its own way, she thinks. But doomed. "Ratatoskr," Ida says, taking a step towards him. "If--if you wish to attempt a reconstruction, I might be able to help, but..." But there is the slight problem of him being an Odessa agent, Ida reminds herself. She shakes her head, water dripping from her hair. "Come on," she says, to Ivan. "Eyes focused, swim as fast as you can." And then she leaps in, right on Zed's heels.
A problem immediately presents itself. Ida's eyes widen, and she gesticulates wildly, trying to signal the others to swim as fast as they can through aggressive pointing alone. Her hand dips into her pocket, and comes up with another of those Crest Caps. She clutches it tightly, focusing her will into the tiny piece of metal. Light and power erupt in a coruscating arc, illuminating the others, and hastening their movements.
Ida just swims for the far side, as fast as she can. She's reasonably sure the two Hyadeans will make it through, somehow.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Haste Cap toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>========================
=============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Once again, you have to jump into the water and swim. This time, you enter a
long hallway with columns, which has been completely submerged. As you swim
ahead, though, you see the glitter of gold -- and a quartet of flying pieces
of golden metal, bound by a strange yellow light, float ahead. Yellow
Elements are a type of fiend that draws upon elemental energies to take
their form.
The problem with these, however, is that they emit powerful blasts of
electricity -- which is /exceptionally/ dangerous underwater.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure, Exhaust===================================
===================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 4 *>=================== ===============< Results - It's a Water Level - Yellow Elements >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 26 --(0)--> 26 Pass Goldie Whistle 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Haste Cap 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 8 --(20)--> 28 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Zed 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Injure(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zed has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Zed has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
===========<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault *>===========
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
There is one, final chamber to enter. You locate, after passing through a
large stone door, the vault of the Sunken Monastery. While some rooms are
not flooded, the main chamber is. This makes getting anything valuable in
the higher sconces difficult, if not impossible: the water might ruin much
of it.
Fortunately, the vault includes a vast number of large sealed doors and
drains in the floor. If you can devise a way to drain the water from them,
you might be able to take the loot you have uncovered from here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Reckless========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Things start getting pretty dodgy as the elemental fiends arrive. Ida activates her Haste Cap, buying everyone a little more time to make and execute their choices, whatever their quality. As Ivan struggles against the elementals, doing little more than agitating them into the beginnings of electric retribution, Ratatoskr swoops in to protect them. The elementals crackle and spark, but soon realize they feel safe in his protective embrace, and revert to a quieter state.
Sidenote: This probably narrowly saved Ivan from drowning. Nice!
The group of elementals that Zed is rushing toward is stil very much hostile, but fortunately his mechanical rocket dog rushes ahead, minesweeping them out of his path. These obstacles safely dealt with, the group is able to break the surface on the other side, gaining a reprieve of oxygen before the next challenge.
For Ivan's part, he's quite shaken and takes a bit to get going again.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida's head breaks the surface with a splash. Sweet, sweet air floods into her lungs. She takes a moment just to catch her breath--she needs it--before glancing down into the tunnel. Ivan breaks the surface not long after. Ida looks at the young man, concern creasing her features. Treading water with one arm, she offers the other to him--something stable for him to hold on to while he recovers. If he'll allow her, she even helps him clamber out of the water, onto solid ground.
This is different, Ida tells herself. This is not pity. Part of her, though, insists that it is, that he's going to explode at her again.
Once the group has reassembled, Ida looks at their surroundings in earnest--and blinks, surprised. "It looks like we've hit paydirt," she says. The room is full of sealed crates, chests, and boxes--but none of them look terribly waterproof. "Look," she adds, pointing to the side of the hole they just climbed through. "It looks like there used to be a ladder there. And I think I saw a grating on the way in, and--yes. We simply need to drain this central chamber, and we can extract the vault contents safely." Ida looks at Ivan, then, concern flickering in her eyes. She doesn't want him to get hurt. She doesn't want to have to explain to Talia that her brother got hurt on her watch. And, God forbid, she doesn't want worse to happen to him. "We can do this," is the bit of encouragement she decides upon.
And then, after a bit of a break to stare down into the water at the locking mechanism, Ida dives back in. Her multitool glimmers in her hand as she swims to the bottom, and starts scraping the rust off stuck, ancient gears.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Multitool toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
The concerns are well-founded. Ratatoskr pledged overwhelming desire to see the likes of Vinsfeld Rhadamanthus carry out his war against the governing bodies of Filgaia. He should be, and technically is, an enemy to anyone who might disagree with this thought.
And yet, caught up here in Spira with the rest of them, he seems to have... mostly behaved? He made a good friend out of one of Besaid's greatest menaces, has been chasing around fiends, and seemingly immersed himself in the more scholarly pursuits of taking to a world and a culture he never imagined existed. Far removed from a world where his very kind begat countless tragedies... left to his own devices, perhaps the mysteries and splendor of Spira will hold him from being a further perpetrator of the horrors of war back on Filgaia.
Maybe Odessa's ambitions will stay within Filgaia, and give everyone the time they need to resolve the issue of Sin. Granas knows it would be nice for something to go right for once, in all of this.
There is an electrical discharge just as most everyone else surfaces, and a stunned Ratatoskr floats up to the surface of the water. There's a few uncharacteristic coughing noises and visible scorch marks on his armor, but that grin never fades. The light comes back to his eyes as his lungs take in oxygen.
He's not sure what just happened but he catches wind of Ida discussing how she wants to deal with the flooding in order to better extract the contents of the vault.
Coming to, Ratatoskr rises from the drink and steps out onto (comparatively) dry ground, withdrawing the data tablet again. "There's so many different kinds of boxes..." He murmurs. Almost all the records he has seem to depict places with one specific style of container in a given place.
"...So there must have been so many different warriors that took up arms here." Ratatoskr's grin widens. "...I want to know them all... I want to fight them all..."
His fantasizing comes to an abrupt halt when he so thinks that the water level might be incidentally rising. "Hyahaha--! Does the water want to take them from memory? Does the water want to take them from memory!"
An arrogant sneer comes to his face as he stares down the water, staring down into the depths.
"...Fight me, water!!" Then he just jumps into the water and... fights it? Fights it with the same ferocity he displayed when trying to 'fight' the snow of Elru, as though attempting to wrestle a force of nature unto itself to convince it not to flood the chamber.
This makes as much sense as it sounds.
DG: Ratatoskr has used his Tool Corrupted Records toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan quietly accepts Ida's help getting out of the water--she hasn't known him long, but even from their brief acquaintance, she may be able to intuit that this weird for him. No angry explosion comes to punish her for trying to help him, just a murmured aknowledgement that isn't quite thanks. He seems to be somewhat dazed, in general -- as they're walking into the next room, he bumps into the wall as if he's a little drunk.
When they come to yet another water-filled area, Ivan seems to stir to life again, it's only to bury his face in his hands and muffle a frustrated yell.
...there. Out of his system. He rallies a bit--surely, if he can get something valuable from here, it would be worthy of a successful report and he can be done with this place? (Except for swimming back through the same tunnels he came through, but don't think about that, don't think about that!)
He doesn't dive so much as gradually lower himself into the water, before finally quickly ducking down under the surface to begin inspecting the mechanisms that might allow them to drain the water.
DG: Ivan has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
In some ways, the way Ratatoskr takes to fighting basic manifestations of elemental forces with incredible gusto is... Enviable. Maybe he's right. Maybe literally punching the sky, snow, mountain, water-- maybe this really IS a way to rage against the injustices of a cruel, impersonal world.
To pretty much everyone else though, it just looks crazy.
But not Zed.
Zed understands all too well.
He looks on and nods his head in quiet respect. "I understand your rage, Ratatoskr. Your fury lights sparks in my soul. Umu. Very well! I will lend you my aid!"
Zed leaps into the air!
Zed's sword...
Starts glowing with power...!
Zed starts trying to aggressively evaporate the water into a slightly more manageable cloud of vapor. All while drying off the crates! What a brilliant plan!!
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>========================
============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault *>============
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
There is one, final chamber to enter. You locate, after passing through a
large stone door, the vault of the Sunken Monastery. While some rooms are
not flooded, the main chamber is. This makes getting anything valuable in
the higher sconces difficult, if not impossible: the water might ruin much
of it.
Fortunately, the vault includes a vast number of large sealed doors and
drains in the floor. If you can devise a way to drain the water from them,
you might be able to take the loot you have uncovered from here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Reckless========================================
===================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 5 *>=================== ==============< Results - It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault >============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 26 --(100)--> 126 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 8 --(100)--> 108 Pass Multitool 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 28 --(100)--> 128 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ratatoskr 8 --(100)--> 108 Fail Corrupted Records 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Zed 80 --(10)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Injure(1)|Reckless(2)|Stupify(2)|Wound(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Zed is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ida Everstead-Rey is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ivan is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ratatoskr is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Zed has been fully Exhausted by Sunken Monastery of Gusong! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>======================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Water-Logged Texts *>====================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Although you have found some treasure, something else found it first: a cache of centuries-old Yevonite texts were soaked through by water. The damage is severe, with many of the texts having been ruined. You might be able to salvage some... but you will need to find someone trained in how to preserve these to fetch even a single gil for them. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Everyone puts forth a valiant effort, but the drainage mechanisms just won't budge. After the fifth dive, Ida clambers out of the water, and just sits there, frowning. She watches Zed and Ratatoskr below, and for a moment, she wonders what it must be like to be so optimistic. "Gentlemen," she says, "I don't think this is working. And we're not taking anything out without draining that chamber first." That Ida is adamant on.
Thankfully, the way out of the main chamber is short, with an air pocket at the end. Ida's head breaks the surface, and she clambers onto dry ground--
And stares.
This was a library, once, before centuries of humidity got to it. The walls are lined with warped, waterlogged shelves, and the books are in equally bad shape. Nevertheless...
"Perhaps something can be salvaged after all," Ida says.
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
There is a grand battle between Hyadean and water, and there is no clear victor, in so much that there is no clear point. Ratatoskr valiantly struggles to the last, and it might even be gut-wrenching to watch. Hyadean soldiers are among the most resilient abominations of alien science Mother and her ilk could muster, and to think as to how long their blood could hold oxygen and prevent them from drowning as a means to make them difficult (or even almost impossible) to kill through even something like asphyxiation... even in this absurd context, it is a stark reminder that Filgaia both suffered and triumphed against something like them.
Ratatoskr's wriggling takes him up to the same air pocket Ida retreats to in their bid to extract themselves, and the squirrel-like Hyadean is mercifully less twitchy, less a taut bundle of violence ready to flying off at any moment. (This may also be because he nearly drowned, again.)
"...These are records?" He asks as he goes up to one of the damaged bookshelves and retrieves one of the more damaged, water-logged tomes. The amount of restraint he seems to be able to show in this specific context is admirable. With hands meant for tearing, he extracts the soft, ruined thing without so much as a cut or a puncture with all the reverence something like this deserves.
He starts to thumb through it. This is a damaged tome and there is nothing to glean from it. The words are all smudged to uselessness. Some pages are stuck together. There's an undeniable light in his eyes, though, and that grin... what does he see?
"...This one looks like the mural...!" If anyone goes up to double-check this claim, holy hell, no it doesn't, that is just smudged and ruined text. "Hyahaha--! I could put it back together with this...!"
...
At least he's content.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
The reward for all their trouble is...
...Books!
Waterlogged books.
...
Books...
That Zed... can't actually read.
Zed just sort of looks a little put out for some reason as he flips through ultra-humidified, smudged-to-death books, hoping to find something-- anything-- legible. "Man," Zed sighs, "This sucks."
"This sucks!" Zed repeats.
"I didn't even get to fight anything worthwhile!" Oh. That's what he's so disappointed about.
"I mean, what's the point of hidden sunken warrior monk temples if there isn't at least ONE zombie or ghost or something to fight that is also the long-lost master to a forgotten martial art!?" Zed's idea of these kinds of things might be somewhat skewed by the whole... Sword Temple thing back on Filgaia. "Ugh. Ugh!" Zed... stands up! "Ratatoskr! I leave these to you! Ida, I'm going for a swim! I'll be back when I find my demon-ghost!"
Zed... goes and dives back into the water.
...What a weird, dedicated battle-maniac.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan isn't able to manage very long under the water at all, nor can he concentrate on trying to determine how the mechanisms of the vault are meant to operate, despite his determined intentions. In the end, he's the first to give up, and ends up waiting above the surface for the others to do the same before joining them in swimming ahead to the next room.
The library, impressive as it may seem with its hope of ancient knowledge which may or may not have been lost to the soggy ravages of time, can do little to hold his attention at this point, and Ivan just sort of sits down and rests on the floor for a while as the others search for viable books. He will help inspect them... later. They've been here for centuries or something, probably. They can wait a little longer.
"...what did he just say about fighting ghosts...?"
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The look Ida gives Ivan is at once knowing and hollow. "He'll be back soon enough," she says. "I hope."