2019-06-22: ...Because It's A Water Level

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DG: A party led by Loren Voss 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 - Collapsing Blocks *>============
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |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:

 Large blocks begin crashing down from the ceiling at regular intervals.
 While none fill the hallway, they crash down from the ceiling fast and
 sometimes unexpectedly, threatening to crush someone under them -- and
 sending shockwaves that makes swimming even harder.

 Fortunately, there is a door ahead -- and stairs leading to air.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Tire===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    Getting in close enough to the site on Kilika is tricky business, assuming one wants to avoid the Guard's attention. Which, for the record -- as someone with a wanted poster somewhere on Lunar and as an ally to the cause of Yevon here -- Loren would really rather not chance at all.

    So he'd come in under cover with Lorelei and Mignonette, and kept low up to the approach to the ruins.

    Krelian had been specific about their goals. Somewhere in this land there had to be the key to their return.
    It just so happens that one of the promising sites he'd read about while doing research was...

    ...back on Kilika.

    One step forward, two steps back.

    Leaving Lan to it her business -- information is a valuable currency, and even he has to admit she's better with people than he is -- he'd set out with his fellow operatives.

    And now here they are, following down the pathway of worked stone into the wreckage of the monastery.

    "...Oh, of course."

    He's less than pleased. The tunnel they've followed down terminates... in a pool of water. "They'd said that some sections were probably flooded, but they didn't say anything about it being completely flooded." Closing his eyes, he pinches the bridge of his nose as if in deep frustrated thought.

    "Fine," he settles for at length, checking that his bag is tightly sealed before he takes a step into the water. "Let's see where it goes." He's already come too far to just turn back. What's this in the grand scheme of things if it sees them home?

    Apparently, more than he bargained for, as he navigates the tunnel.

    As he navigates the tunnel with sections of it caving in at regular intervals.

    If he could speak, he would have protested loudly. As it is, he fumbles for the device looped around his wrist and spins through it a bit of his focus -- his will. Like when he's been practicing of late, except...
    It's one thing to try and do this when he's got the luxury of time and quiet. It's another when he's trying not to drown. The tuner helps. Speed rolls out in an advancing metaphysical wave from and about him. He, meanwhile, kicks, attempting to pierce through a shockwave that threatens to slow him down. Light's ahead--
    And probably air.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Collapsing Blocks.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"Oooh, no, I knew it would come to this," gasps Lorelei Calice, wringing her hands as she recoils from the water. "I don't like diving much at all! Oh, Mignonette, surely there's something we can do--"

"We can swim," Mignonette suggests quietly, clasping her hands. "Though I don't fancy doing so while robed."

The pair of women - in simpler, Spiran-style clothing of late, downplaying their Filgaian religious personages - came in with Loren, though keeping Lorelei undercover is tough. When Mr. Voss seals up his bag, Mignonette does much the same with hers before sighing and sliding out of the Spiran overcloak she wore, revealing a simple tank top and knee-length shorts beneath it. Her boots come up almost to her knees. "Be careful down there," she advises.

"Oh, I will!" Lorelei agrees with a wink, flashing a peace sign. "Are I not always?"

Lorelei's swimming outfit... consumes most of the animation budget for this episode. It is pink and blue.

The rosy-curled Etone - keeping her gun belt and boots - knifes into the water and swims down - only to bubble with surprise as the ceiling begins to come down. Twisting in the water, she grabs ahold of Mignonette's arm, then plants her heels against the ceiling and kicks off. Bubbles stream around her as she pushes herself through a gap in the falling rocks, twisting and kicking off those that she passes to build speed as she powers towards air.

DG: Lorelei Calice has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Collapsing Blocks.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei also was hoping to investigate this ruin hoping for a way back to Filgaia. It seems mad to him to do so actually. Spira has treated Fei well. Sure, there's the pained whispers of the restless dead, but it doesn't quite fill every friggin' inch of the island chain like malevolence seemed to back in the Glenwood area and more to the point there is no Solaris around to murder his friends.

But Filgaia feels like home. Spira does not feel like home. And someone has to do something. Fei has no idea what that something is but as time passes in Spira he becomes more and more restless. Who knows what is happening back home while he's fishing with Elly, as lovely as that activity is.

Fei hears Loren's voice first and he considers skipping the module altogether but he hears another voice! He has no idea if that is ALSO a Solarian or anything but it might be someone like Lan who might be a bit unwitting in their behavior.

If she is unwitting honestly it was kind of hard to tell. She seemed nice so he has to assume unwitting.

They might need help! So Fei follows along behind for now, eyes widening when he sees his suspicion was correct--it is lunar. He ends up swooshing through the water in an attempt to catch up.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Collapsing
Blocks.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Somewhere outside the entrance to Gusong Monastery, concealed by foilage, there is a wagon. Though it was presently empty of merchandise, it was currently occupied by one napping chocobo, equipped in such a manner that suggests it is tame, and that its owner is likely nearby.

This is true, as it happens.

The adventuring lifestyle was rife with bizarre coincidences such as this. Such is the case today, as Jacqueline Barber finds herself in the flooded Gusong Monastery on the same day, and around the same time, that several other individuals of note find themselves diving into it as well.

She is halfway through the flooded section, treading water as she studies the tunnel for signs of secret passageways that she might have missed on one of her previous visits. Surprisingly, she does not presently seem to need to worry about breathing. This was due to a waterbreathing mixture she had developed.

It is as she's doing this that she hears sounds of movement - first the sound of people coming her way, and the second the sound of movement from above as the ceiling begins to cave in.

With some alarm, Jacqueline begins to swim off, trying to get to the other end of the hallway before she finds herself trapped. She does not yet pay any of the others any mind...though if they find themselves starting to run out of air, she will approach them and offer a cyan capsule - a condensed form of her water-breathing mixture for underwater emergencies.

Surprise and introductions can wait until they're not all at risk of being crushed or drowning.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Collapsing
Blocks.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

A man with no shirt has walked with the party. This is not so exceptional in Spira, where many men rarely wear shirts at all. Perhaps more remarkable are the spectacles, the leather traveler's belt, the loose trousers, the abdominal definition...

For this man is a simple country doctor, and such things cannot be expected to be otherwise.

Citan Uzuki observes a big stone rock falling into the water. "Fascinating," he says. "I believe there's a feed mechanism."

He hops in after Fei with a majestic ksploosh and begins to swim, keeping even with the younger man as he speaks between rotating motions of the upper body. "We are not the only individuals exploring - this ruin site today, I see. Fei, do you recognize any of them? Perhaps we can cooperate. Even if their - goal is to obtain salvage, we have no reason to fight each other."

At the end of the ordeal he vaults himself to land. His simple country abdominal muscles glisten.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Traveler Sandals toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Collapsing
Blocks.
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>========================
============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Collapsing Blocks *>============
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |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:

 Large blocks begin crashing down from the ceiling at regular intervals.
 While none fill the hallway, they crash down from the ceiling fast and
 sometimes unexpectedly, threatening to crush someone under them -- and
 sending shockwaves that makes swimming even harder.

 Fortunately, there is a door ahead -- and stairs leading to air.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Tire===============================================
===================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 1 *>===================
==============< Results - It's a Water Level - Collapsing Blocks >==============
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Ether Tuner                         1   Agility Effects: Quicken and Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Rapid Remedy                        1   Agility Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Sassy Boots                         2   Agility Effects: Quicken
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Traveler Sandals                    2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       0 --(0)--> 0                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Slow(2)|Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(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.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "It doesn't look like it's a long passage," Loren says, a statement he will live to regret.

Loren, at least, turns his back while the ladies change, such that it is. He makes no wardrobe adjustments himself, though perhaps it could be said that he will regret this, later.

    He slips into the water before he has the opportunity to realize that he's not alone here with Lorelei and Mignonette.

    The passage is much longer than expected. Long enough that it would have been a struggle even without the collapse within the tunnelway. It's this factor alone that throws an unexpected and unwelcome block crashing down right in Fei and Jacqueline's course through the water. Fortunately, Jay has come 'armed' for an underwater delay -- they might be slowed but with her medicine, they won't drown.

    It just means they emerge from the water at a space behind the others.

    At which point Loren -- clad in sodden clothing and deeply regretting all his life decisions -- has taken in Citan. Isn't he--
    And... he's not wearing a shirt. After a moment more the medical officer averts his gaze.
    This is just unfair.

    And this is the point where he takes in Fei and Jacqueline as they emerge from the tunnel and his overall demeanor undergoes a shift.

    "What are you doing here?" he demands, his mouth getting ahead of him. He points at Fei accusatorially.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Unseen Pathways *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You enter a room that is blessedly dry. However, large panes of glass show
 that the open ocean is just outside, reminding you that you are below the
 earth and near the water. The room itself has a ledge on this side and the
 other, and a narrow pit. The light from the sun, filtered through the water,
 shines oddly on the room. That allows, at times, hints of an invisible path
 to appear: a flash of an edge here, a glimmer of a panel there. A twisting,
 winding bridge leads to the other side of the room... and strange,
 shimmering sea-filtered light provides an inconstant guide.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Exhaust=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

It's not painless by any means, but they manage to avoid drowning and that's a good outcome in her book. Jacqueline makes her way to the stairs, which leads to a thankfully dry room that they can take a moment to relax in.

This finally gives Jacqueline a chance to look toward the others who'd found themselves here - though, Loren is the one who speaks first. She's a little taken back by his demand, though it seems largely directed at Fei rather than herself.

"I was just following up on some leads, myself..." She comments, then offers a smile. "If we're going the same way, then perhaps it might be best if we all work together?"

She's met almost everyone here at least once before, so her attention turns toward the two she hasn't - Lorelei and Mignonette.

"Ah, I'm Jacqueline Barber...are you two Thomas's friends? It's a pleasure to meet you!" She asks. ...She still seems to think he's Thomas Blackwell.

Once she's done introducing herself, she turns to face the room they've found themselves in.

It's seperated by a narrow pit, with no obvious way across. Large windows reveal their general location - they're below ground, and surrounded by water. Light manages to stream through, filtered by the water...and, if one looks close enough, one can catch hints of an invisible pathway as the light passes over it.

Jacqueline takes a second to consider this...and then makes a quick gesture with her left hand. Loose dust and debris shakes itself free from the ceiling and then falls. If she's lucky, some of it will cover the pathway and give them something to go off of...

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Unseen Pathways.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

A moment after Loren, Lorelei's head breaks the surface. She gasps at the sight of a little group ahead of them - some of whom she even recognizes! "My, my! All these familiar faces all of a sudden! We must certainly attract a crowd! Ohoho~"

Mignonette's eyes dart briefly to Citan, and she tilts her head a little, before she nods quietly to the others. Water drips down the lenses of her glasses.

When Jacqueline introduces herself, Lorelei brightens a little, her tiger-like ears perking up. "Ah-- you are one of Thomas's friends, then! How wonderful! Yes, my name is Lorelei and this is my dear apprentice Mignonette. She may not admit it, but she's actually a very talented woman!"

"Hello," Mignonette answers, her tone much more neutral than her beswimsuited compatriot's.

As they step out of the water, Mignonette liberates a dry cloth from her waist pouch and dries her glasses; Lorelei just gives herself a shake, then pushes her hair back with a dramatic sigh. "And it's not even the freshest water," she murmurs as she begins to move along with Loren-as-Thomas. "Ah well. I suppose so long as we are all here together--"

The room waiting for them has an obvious gap. Lorelei clicks her tongue. "Well! This calls for a leap of faith!" she proclaims.

"Lorelei." Mignonette delicately touches her elbow; Lorelei jerks up short and bounces back on her heels, widening her eyes. The shorter, younger woman gestures past the pink-haired dynamo. "Watch the way the sunlight plays over that gap."

The pair squint for a moment. Lorelei gasps, then, as the loose dust falls. "Oh my, Miss Barber, how very clever! You certainly are an experienced Drifter to do something like that! Oh, you can see so much of it--"

Mignonette has pulled out a notepad and is drawing a shockingly accurate map. "Lorelei, step forward and don't go any further until I tell you...."

DG: Lorelei Calice has used her Tool Mignonette's Hot Tips toward her party's challenge, Unseen Pathways.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

What are you doing here?

Fei steps into a dry room and, of course, takes off his shirt (he has perfect abs this is terrible) to dry it off by wringing it as if it were a towel. It's not perfect solution but he'd rather not catch a cold...especially when 'catching a cold' might involve his alterego deciding to take over for a bit. He looks over to Loren and says, "Looking for a way back home. What are you doing here?" He looks towards Lorelei and Mignonette and upon hearing them use his alterego's name his eyes widen faintly and he frowns severely at Loren.

How dare you trick these totally non Solarian agents to do your bidding!

But he pushes the thought aside since pointing this out might put them in more danger rather than less. "Hanging with my pal Doctor Citan." Pause. "And Jacqueline Barber." SHE IS USING THOMAS TOO? Wait, did he ever tell anybody the dark truth about Loren?

Uggh, he really doesn't want to have to tell Jay about Thomas Blackwell. Maybe she'll rub off on him a little bit and he'll become a traveling alchemist or something.

"Doc says we have no reason to fight though uhh.... that isn't really true I guess, but we have less reason to fight than we do to find a path back home, so."

He reaches into his bags and draws out a sketchpad. He flips through it a bit before finding a map which he says, "Hope I got this right." as he starts following the path.

"I really wish people would stop using this gimmick." He adds.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, Unseen Pathways.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    This is one of those moments where it's almost a good thing that Loren is glassesless. Unlike Mignonette and Citan, he doesn't have to manage anything on that front.

    On the flip side it means he can see everything just fine.

    Which includes Fei taking off his shirt too. Loren just sort of squints, drops his hand, and averts his gaze. He doesn't need this, not on top of being soaked to the skin and everything else. "The same as you," he answers, because, well, it's true and it's not as if the act of seeking a route back home is in any way unexpected or unprecedented from him regardless of whether anyone here knows who he really is or not.
    Which, apparently, it seems Jay doesn't. Loren's sense of agitation only amplifies. "...Yeah," he says to the alchemist at length. "They're friends."
    Lying is awful.
    "So they're your friends. Huh." That gets added to the mental scoreboard; too bad he has no access to the database out here on Lunar.

    He takes the next moment to gaze about them, taking in the details in this room.

    "An invisible pathway. Hmm." He undoes the clasps on his bag and fishes around inside for something stowed among the contents. There is, briefly, the crinkling of a wrapper being undone.

    He breaks off a piece of the nutribar, then breaks it down further into smaller pieces. They wad up nicely.

    he throws these for the panes, as if to mark the path from a distance with 'crumbs'. He has a good arm and better aim.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Unseen Pathways.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Citan looks at Loren as the others present introduce themselves.

He adjusts his glasses.

Then he proffers one hand to him. "It is a pleasure to meet you... Thomas," he says.

"Please, there is no need to stand on formality. It is a pleasure to meet all of you, as well - Lorelei, Mignonette, Jacqueline." Citan quietly hands Mignonette a small (and somehow dry) cotton cloth, using another one to wipe off his own spectacles and then turning his attention upwards. "How intriguing..."

"This area was constructed entirely of glass, wasn't it? That's suggestive of the technological capacity of the original builders. Glass, of course, is an excellent material in many ways, but its energy intensity of production and the brittle nature of thin portions presents challenges... However, the refractive index suggests a thick construction. There should be little risk of damage..."

Citan ponders matters in silence as Fei sketches. "Do you have dry pigment or watercolor, Fei?" he suggests.

He then looks at Loren as he makes use of the bar. He nods once, as if in approval.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Unseen Pathways.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Unseen Pathways *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You enter a room that is blessedly dry. However, large panes of glass show
 that the open ocean is just outside, reminding you that you are below the
 earth and near the water. The room itself has a ledge on this side and the
 other, and a narrow pit. The light from the sun, filtered through the water,
 shines oddly on the room. That allows, at times, hints of an invisible path
 to appear: a flash of an edge here, a glimmer of a panel there. A twisting,
 winding bridge leads to the other side of the room... and strange,
 shimmering sea-filtered light provides an inconstant guide.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Exhaust=========================================
==================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 2 *>==================
========================< Results - Unseen Pathways >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Soylent Nutribar                    2   Wits    Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Mignonette's Hot Tips               1   Wits    Effects: Enlighten and Fanfare
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   0 --(15)--> 15                 Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       0 --(15)--> 15                 Fail
Artist's Toolkit                    2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Stupify(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(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.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline, too, has to worry about glasses - she takes a second to dry her own off in between conversation. Unfortunately, the technology to water-proof her glasses still evades her

"Lorelei and Mignonette." Jacqueline repeats to herself, and then nods with a smile as Loren 'confirms' what she says, though she pauses as she looks between Fei and Thomas.

"...Did something happen between the two of you?" She asks, a bit concerned. "...Though I understand if it's none of my business."

After all, right now there's the gap to deal with. Lorelei compliments her and Jacqueline chuckles sheepishly, blushing at the praise.

"Th-thank you. It's just something I picked up..." She replies.

The dust layer Jacqueline made doesn't last for long before it fades, but it's just long enough for Mignonette to map it out. This'll be indispensible moving forward, as they all carefully make their way across.

Loren's crumbled bar, too, will be beneficial - it provides a more solid way of knowing where a platform will be.

"I think you're right about that...it's really quite fascinating." Jacqueline comments, glancing toward Citan out of the corner of her eye. For obvious reasons, she doesn't want to take her eyes off the pathway for too long.

Even so, they manage to make it to the other side eventually, and all in one piece.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
=============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs *>==============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 To continue, it is necessary to enter one of the many flooded chambers of
 the Sunken Monastery.

 As you swim into this chamber, you find the cavernous great hall of the
 monastery. Water has reduced the once-fine tapestries and the wall
 decorations, save for carvings, to an indistinct mush. The wooden table is
 rotting away down here, and the metal bowls that monks ate from have rusted
 and tarnished.

 And, ancient machina pose a danger. Large, mechanical spheres move through
 this chamber. Whenever you get close, they emit a powerful field of
 electricity. Swimming through involves managing to not get too close to any
 of these erratically moving machina.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Exhaust============================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

It's just a parlor trick, just a little something they have here in Gusong, pay it no mind...

Having reached the other side, further progress is impossible without immersion. ksploosh

"Ah... this must be a refectory, or perhaps a hall of worship," Citan says, as he treads towards one corner of the walls, reaching up to put a firm hand on a dramatically held blitzball so he doesn't have to keep kicking. "Illustrative... This structure has been immersed for a long while, but I would expect that the darkness, as well as an isolation from most sources of decay-causing microbes, had limited these matters to physical degradation."

Citan keeps speaking. "The fabric, of course, was porous. The wood resisted decay... however, the very processing that rendered it a usable object exposed most of the otherwise durable interior structures to gradual dissolution. Even so, it might be salvageable. As might - hm - dishes? Or cooking equipment...? No; I would expect they were used for dining. A very frugal decision, and informative in its own -"

A big machina sphere floats by.

Citan stops talking.

"Kah!" he says, seeming to do something under the water. It is not clear what, although there is a little hint of cavitation.

Two seconds pass.

One of the spheres suddenly blossoms in electricity! The field strength falls off, obviously, but there's still a faint tingling -- though the outline of the truly dangerous zone is quite clear from the visible auroral crackling.

"... I see... defensive mechanisms. I would suggest observing their course before proceeding."

DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Machina
Orbs.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"Ah, we're simply helping our dear friend! You see, we do our best to try and be helpful, Mr. Fei," Lorelei says, touching one hand to her cheek and flashing the martial artist a winning smile. Her eyes glitter with honest warmth. "Do you not think it's best to be so? It can be so terribly lonely out there, adventuring, so that's why we wanted to keep Mr. Thomas company!"

The fact that Lorelei also took her shirt off and is down to a bikini top probably doesn't help matters. This may or may not be Loren Voss's personal hell, minus Valmarspawn.

Mignonette, for her part, accepts the cloth from Citan and dries her glasses neatly, flashing a simple, grateful smile. "Yes... we've had some clues that the builders of some of these areas had a sophistication which seems to be absent from modern Spira."

Soon enough, they're forced to immerse again. Lorelei sighs and dives.

When they come up, there's enough room for the pink-haired woman to take a breath and listen to Citan explain things. With a quick blink towards him, she touches a delicate hand to her cheek. "Ah, yes, I can see it - it truly does look like the sort of church I recall! Except of course for the machina--"

One goes crackling past Citan. Lorelei bites down to her bottom lip. "Goodness, how close...."

"I wonder if those are more recent," muses Mignonette, who has stuffed her notebook into her watertight pouch.

"Well! There's hardly time to debate that now, is there?" Lorelei takes her apprentice in a tight hug; Mignonette squeaks in surprise as she's squished to the Beastwoman's bosom, before Lorelei submerges again, braces her feet against a support beam and kicks off.

For a cat, she's a powerful swimmer. She weaves past one of the spheres, touches the bottom and kips again, using those heeled boots of hers to give her a speed boost...!

DG: Lorelei Calice has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Once again, they have to dive underwater. Thankfully, Jacqueline is prepared - she draws out yet more of those waterbreathing capsules.

"I didn't really have the time to explain before...but each capsule can allow you to breathe underwater as you would on land for up to fifteen minutes, depending on a number of factors." She explains. She was working on increasing the time limit, but for now that's what she had.

She takes one herself as her own was just about to wear off, before passing the rest out to the others and pausing to listen to Citan.

"Interesting...you seem quite knowledgeable on the subject." Jacqueline observes.

Citan reveals the defensive mechanisms, and now they need to proceed carefully. Jacqueline slowly drifts forward, keeping an eye on the metal spheres as she does.

Thankfully, her potion will give them a bit more leeway in how long they can spend to avoid them.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei of course is completely oblivious to Loren's reaction here because he is kind of reining in the part of his head screaming like a kid from Lord of the Flies here. "Well," He admits. "Fair enough."

He glances to Citan. "Pigment. I wouldn't want to take watercolor with me into a dig like this." It's wet enough.

His path is kind of a bit halting because his mind just isn't on the task at hand. Fei doesn't put his shirt back on because it's just going to get wet again anyway and it's not like he's going to put it out on a line to dry in here.

Lorelei puts on the charm and Fei blinks a few times, thinking of other overly friendly people like Tabitha but he shakes his head. Sometimes people are just super friendly. And she's calling him Mr. Thomas and everything. He does not seem affected by the bikini, neither ogling or quickly averting his gaze. His eyeline is directly towards Lorelei's own. Frankly, he's looked at Citan more but that's probably just because he's a dear friend.

"Maybe this really is the path to get out of here then." Fei admits. He pauses when Jay asks if something happened between the two of them.

*** SEE THE POWERS THAT BE YOUNG READERS...EXCELSIOR ***

"Nothing to worry about." He says to Jay lest he spawn a Solarian hit squad on her or something.

*** ACTUALLY SOLARIS ALREADY HAS A FILE PROBABLY WHAT WITH HER HARBORING ONE OF THEIR PROJECTS...EXCELSIOR ***

Fei tries to get through this next area without electrocuting himself but who are we trying to fool here.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Machina
Orbs.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    There are like three people in here without a shirt at this point, this has become a special hell made just for him, the sinner in question.

    "...Yeah. Apparently this is out of place with regards to local architecture, which means it's a likely target." About as good as he was going to get, unless he felt like wandering the Thunder Plains, and everything he heard about that place made him think that even risking the Guard's wrath was small fry by comparison.

    "Something like that," Loren says to Jay, folding his arms across his chest. If ever a stance said 'I don't want to talk about it', this just about comes out and screams it while jumping up and down waving its arms over its head.

    He glances over at Citan, fleetingly. "You're a pretty smart guy, huh..."
    Then as if suddenly self-conscious, he looks away again.

    What the hell do you think you're doing...? Are you that hard up?

    From there, it's onwards, across the glass plated floors, taking care to avoid the obvious gaps.

    Until the going means that they'll need to take a dip again, that is.

    Breaking through to the surface again, Loren pushes back his bangs, treading water as he takes in the surroundings.

    "If the water's cold and deep enough, it'd work as a preservative. I read something about old wooden ships being preserved that way. Seems like this has only been exposed recently to the air."

    He pauses a moment.

    "Did you hear som"

    He cuts off his statement with all speed, his mouth clamping shut as he spots the machina device. What the hell is something like that doing in here?

    Beneath the water, he fumbles with the device about his wrist, a headache splitting seemingly through his skull as he does so.
    For an instant, blue slithers across his field of vision. He grits his teeth. Not this again--

    Before it abates, as he threads Ether outwards, adding speed to his pace as he swims onwards.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
=============<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs *>==============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 To continue, it is necessary to enter one of the many flooded chambers of
 the Sunken Monastery.

 As you swim into this chamber, you find the cavernous great hall of the
 monastery. Water has reduced the once-fine tapestries and the wall
 decorations, save for carvings, to an indistinct mush. The wooden table is
 rotting away down here, and the metal bowls that monks ate from have rusted
 and tarnished.

 And, ancient machina pose a danger. Large, mechanical spheres move through
 this chamber. Whenever you get close, they emit a powerful field of
 electricity. Swimming through involves managing to not get too close to any
 of these erratically moving machina.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Exhaust============================================
==================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 3 *>==================
===============< Results - It's a Water Level - Machina Orbs >================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          0 --(22)--> 22                 Fail
Ether Tuner                         1   Agility Effects: Quicken and Rally
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   0 --(22)--> 22                 Fail
Rapid Remedy                        1   Agility Effects: Cleanse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      0 --(7)--> 7                   Pass
Sassy Boots                         2   Agility Effects: Quicken
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   15 --(22)--> 37                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       15 --(22)--> 37                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  40 --(10)--> 50                Fail
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Slow(2)|Stupify(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lorelei Calice has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=========================
================<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Air Sphere *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 Many of the rooms in the Sunken Monastery are flooded, and this one is no
 different. This room is a long, L-shaped hallway. As you swim through,
 though, you catch sight of something strange: a shimmering, blue sphere. It
 is actually a persistent air bubble, made by either machina or sorcery. If
 you can catch it -- it moves erratically -- it gives you a chance to,
 literally, catch your breath.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

"I can only generalize from what I have studied," Citan answers Jay. "Spira would be the project of many lifetimes to fully understand... it would be yet more, but the biota is not drastically different from that of Filgaia. As for the dating of the autonomous units - the 'machina' - it would be impossible for me to speculate meaningfully."

He accepts the potion, though he is a pro and does not immediately pop the flask while the group is maneuvering.

"It came to mind as a possible alternative strategy, Fei... a finely ground and easily visible powder would be an asset in such visually challenging tricks."

"Hm...? I would say I am 'an educated guy,' Thomas... but this is the fruit of hard work," Citan says, briefly pegging a distant dad-ometer with benign force. "And--"

The way is clear. Citan brings up the rear, pushing himself downwards below the level of the water and then kicking off for a strong pulse. As he moves through the water, he dives deeper - deep enough to collect one of the metal bowls from the monastery tables.

            CITAN UZUKI - HE ROBS FROM THE DEAD

<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"Did everyone make it?" Lorelei calls back as she pops her head above the water again. Her roseate hair fans out across the surface like a huge peacock's tail. With a look back, she flicks her tigerlike ears to try and shake water out of them.

Once again Lorelei submerges. There's a door waiting for them, and she swims through it deftly, hair and tail streaming behind her. Mignonette slips through after her, with a look back as if to check on Citan's whereabouts.

The delay might prove costly: Water fills the corridor ahead up to the ceiling. There's nowhere to take a breath. Except--

Drifting through the water, a blue sphere moves erratically, the water rippling around it. With a bubble of surprise, Lorelei raises her right hand.

Mignonette grabs her wrist and pushes the hand down. She bubbles something urgently, fixing the senior Etone with a stern look. Then she gestures at the bubble and cups her hand over her mouth, pantomiming a breathing mask.

Lorelei blinks at her. Then she bubbles something, lifting a hand to her mouth. Her laugh sounds weird under water.

"Bllhllhllb~"

With a gesture to the group, Lorelei swims after the roving blue sphere even as it approaches a wall and begins to veer away at an odd angle. Again she springs off the wall, kipping after it. She swims quite quickly, her cheeks puffing out at this point as she tries to reach the bubble - but the corridor's quite long.

You'll have to swim fast to catch it - but within, fresh air awaits!

DG: Lorelei Calice has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Air Sphere.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Fei says it's nothing to worry about, and Loren says it's 'something like that'. ...With a reception like that it's definitely something to worry about that. A slight frown crosses her face, but she doesn't press it any further.

As long as they didn't openly try to murder each other down here, she was fine with letting them sort things out themselves.

Eventually, and with an exhausting amount of effort, Jacqueline emerges.

"I-I'm okay..." She replies to Lorelei, sounding a bit winded. She has to take a second to recover before diving back down and continuing forward.

Once more they have to face a long corridor of water, but mercifully there aren't any falling blocks to contend with. Just a bunch of water and a blue sphere moving erratically.

Jacqueline has seen this once before - it's an air bubble. She might have waterbreathing potions, but right now she decide it's worth pursuing some real fresh air, just in case it becomes necessary.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Air Sphere.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

ZORCH.

Fei is considerably electrified when he next appears on screen, looking between Citan and 'Thomas' over there. He flinches a little when Citan says a dad-phrase because Fei is strangely very sensitive to that kind of talk. He looks down, slightly red in the face. Naturally, Citan doesn't read as 'dad' to Fei but he does see him as a male authority figure who kinda roughly fills some of the same holes there. He would never call it 'dadliness' but rather something better than dadliness.

'Doc'. Educated, knows what he's doing, has a wise air about him.

Robs from the dead??

Fei's eyes widen faintly as Citan robs from the dead but honestly it's an underwater monastery. The alarm fades quickly.

"Kinda." He mumbles to Lorelei before swimming for that air bubble.

If Jay presses Fei will tell her all about it, but he isn't going to do it here while Thomas is listening. And poor innocent Lorelei!!

DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Air Sphere.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Citan doesn't get zapped, the jerk. As he keeps on swimming forwards, Citan holds his breath. With the presence of all the water, he is unable to exposit, and as such he has lost a number of his greatest weapons, among which are intelligence, education, eloquence, and an almost fanatical dedication to--

Never mind.

What Citan does do is swim closer to that air bubble and reach out with the bowl. It's a big long one - perhaps by luck, perhaps by malicious preparation - but it does change the geometry of the bubble's outer border... expanding it notably if not drastically. THAT is where he sticks his head.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Traveler Sandals toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Air Sphere.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    It's the tone of voice that causes the younger man's eyes to sort of glaze over, in the sense of 'I can't believe someone's actually talking like this' sense the younger generation can get around the older. He may, in fact, be starting to get an impression of Citan's approximate age, physique aside.

    Loren doesn't, say, get a nasty shock as he swims through the waters, but neither does his use of Ether precisely help. He's distracted, he realizes, taking pains to evade one of the floating spheres. He's dwelling on that color when he should be focusing elsewhere.
    Has he been practicing for the last few months in vain, if he's losing his focus so easily? Gritting his teeth in frustrating, he sluices on forward, though the water.

    "Yeah," he answers Lorelei, at a distance.

    Before, once more, they're forced to dive down.

    He's already trying to feed his awareness through the device looped at his wrist when he sights it -- in the same moment that Mignonette meaningfully gestures at her mouth and the bubble. He doesn't have to be told twice. Pushing off with Ether, he speeds for the bubble, his lungs starting to burn.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - Air Sphere.
=========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=========================
================<* CHALLENGE - It's a Water Level - Air Sphere *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 Many of the rooms in the Sunken Monastery are flooded, and this one is no
 different. This room is a long, L-shaped hallway. As you swim through,
 though, you catch sight of something strange: a shimmering, blue sphere. It
 is actually a persistent air bubble, made by either machina or sorcery. If
 you can catch it -- it moves erratically -- it gives you a chance to,
 literally, catch your breath.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
====================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 4 *>====================
==================< Results - It's a Water Level - Air Sphere >===================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          22 --(0)--> 22                 Pass
Ether Tuner                         1   Agility Effects: Quicken and Rally
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   22 --(0)--> 22                 Pass
Rapid Remedy                        1   Agility Effects: Cleanse
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      7 --(0)--> 7                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   37 --(0)--> 37                 Pass
Traveler Sandals                    2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       37 --(0)--> 37                 Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  50 --(20)--> 70                Pass
Conditions: Save Point(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(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.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"O-oh no, Miss Barber, please be alright! You seem so very sweet and I would hate to lose you when we've only just met!" Lorelei, well within the air bubble, cups her hands to her cheeks and widens her eyes.

As should go without saying, Lorelei's able to make it to the bubble, thrusting her entire upper half into it and drawing a big deep breath before gushing at Jacqueline. She still has Mignonette clutched to her chest like a doll.

Fei's the last one to make it into the bubble. They're all able to keep pace with it as it drifts through the corridor. It gives Lorelei time to moue her lips at Citan a moment. "Ou... that's quite the trick, Mr. Mysterious." She lowers her lashes ever so slightly.

"Please focus," Mignonette mutters into Lorelei's chest. "And let me breathe, please."

Releasing her apprentice with a gasp, Lorelei bobs back in the water, and nearly out of the bubble. "O-oh, well, so long as we are all in one piece! Ah, five pieces...? No, I'm not sure how that works--"

"Focus," Mignonette repeats.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Mysterious?" Fei says. "Doc?"

Yeah sometimes he's a dumbass.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Opening a Flood Gate *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 While much of the Sunken Monastery was not meant to be flooded, some rooms
 were built to expect floodwaters. The one that you enter next is one such
 room. At one end, there is a massive round floodgate, carved with countless
 inscriptions, and it has been rolled over a large drainage canal that splits
 the room in half. Though the controls have rusted away, the flood gate could
 be moved -- or destroyed -- and allow water to drain from elsewhere in the
 Monastery, helping to open passage for your future exploration.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure, Secret===================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"I-it's okay, I'm alright!" Jacqueline says hurriedly, as Lorelei expresses her concern. She sends a smile her way. "I just need to catch my breath, is all... Thank you, though!"

And catch it she does, as she manages to successfully make it through the bubble along with the others. Thankfully, the room that awaits them on the other side is not flooded - though, from the looks of things, it may have been up until recently.

The way forward has been blocked by a massive floodgate carved with various inscriptions, set over a drainage canal that splits the room.

"...That's certainly a fascinating piece of architecture." She says. "I wonder what those inscriptions mean...?"

She wanders up close, taking a moment to bring out a notebook and jot them down for later reference. As she's doing so, however, she spots a control console nearby.

"Oh! I wonder..." Jacqueline says, approaching it. She grabs a lever and pulls...

...Or rather, she tries to pull, but it doesn't budge.

"...I was afraid of this. It's all rusted together...I don't think even my finest rust solvent would be able to do anything here. I'm afraid we're going to have to do this the hard way." Jacqueline takes a moment to rummage through her bags, drawing out a few bottles of bright red liquid.

"These will boost your strength. I think we'll need to move it manually..." She says.

...Destroying it is totally an option too, though, not that she brings it up.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, Opening a Flood Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"I'm so glad!" Lorelei assures Jacqueline, her smile bright and beaming. "I do so worry, you know... I always have, I suppose! But I'm sure you're a very capable person, truly!"

The room that awaits is dry, and Lorelei again flicks her hair back, sending droplets scattering against the wall behind her. "One day this ruin will decide whether it wants to be on dry land or wet," she sighs.

But the floodgate ahead beckons. Setting her hands on the generous arches of her hips, Lorelei strolls forward, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a thoughtful sound that penetrates far too loudly to be reasonable. "My, my... this must have been how they controlled water flow in and out of this place. Certainly we could use this the way the designers anticipated... though...."

Jacqueline identifies the problem, leaving Lorelei to moue her lips. "Mmmmn. How irritatingly troublesome. But I suppose time will do that...."

Mignonette watches Jacqueline a moment, then holds her potion up to the light, giving it a small shake. "What's in this?" she asks as she uncorks it and takes a small sniff. The question isn't unkind. "I assume at least some of it is remediocyanin concentrate."

Lorelei doesn't have time for such questions. She takes a swig of the potion. "Ahh! Whatever's in it, it's very empowering! I feel like a million gella! Or I suppose gil, for that matter, ohoho~"

With a swish in her step, she strides up to the floodgate and lays her hands on it. "I wonder if this will work," she muses - before the metal beneath her hand begins to slowly redden, then turn orange, as she applies a steady, growing heat to it, hoping to melt away key parts of the floodgate.

DG: Lorelei Calice has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Opening a Flood Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    Lorelei's not the only one to notice the trick of the hour. He arches one blond eyebrow soon after reaching the bubble and achieving that well-needed lungful of fresh air. He doesn't say anything, though -- he's simply off again, pushing on through the waters to their next destination. Which, small mercies, isn't underwater.

    He does take a moment to sort of haphazardly wring himself out. Damn, what's he going to do when they leave here? Slosh around the boat they borrowed and hope the sun dries him out a little? Maybe he'll get lucky and find spares somewhere...

    Those thoughts are first on his mind as he regards the floodgate.

    "Were they expecting this place to fill up with water? I guess if the sea was always this close they'd want to think about it," he observes, approaching the gate.

    Briefly, he touches the gate, his fingertips lingering on a carving.

    It's like the sea can't be restrained.
    With that thought -- or pulse, really -- he jerks his hand away as if he'd been stung.

    Why is it getting worse again? He'd started to think maybe...

    He takes the vial when offered, investigating it briefly before popping the cap off the potion. "Standard components," he answers Mignonette, making an unobtrusive movement with his free hand.
    'Safe' reads the gesture in the military handsign of Solaris.
    He downs the contents. It isn't as if he's in a situation where he can analyze any part of it, and he's used it before.

    Approaching the gate again, he takes hold of the bars as if he were attempting to lift it. He takes a breath.

    And meanwhile intrudes with his will upon the basic structure of the metal. Apply enough stress in the right places, and most things will break.
    Earth endures, yes, but it also shatters. Sheers. Melts.

DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Opening a Flood Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Huh. There's a floodgate.

Fei stares at it numbly for a while as he says, "Oh good idea." as Jay offers a bottle of bright red liquid which he downs immediately because he is not a pro. He may have missed the concept of 'moving it manually' because he's starting to crackle with a red aura around him which is usually a bad thing except in these situations where he probably won't bring down the entire temple down upon their heads.

"Arright... Let's see here." He looks to Lrelei, noticing her work even as he adjusts his breathing, steadying it, focusing his mind inward, again missing Loren's mysterious gestures towards Mignonette or does he? Probably. But you can't really be sure can you? He has two pairs of eyes in a sense.

But for now it's not something you have to worry about because when he throws a heavy kick for the grate with enhanced strength behind it, it's at the very least not aimed at anyone here.

Not even Loren.

"This entire monastery makes me wonder," Fei admits to Loren.

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Mother's Cross toward his party's challenge, Opening a Flood Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

Citan smiles in a benign, trustworthy way. That's Dr. Mysterious to you, young lady.

As they move forwards, Citan keeps the bowl, tucking it under his arm. He, and his abdomen, seem to be in excellent shape for this overall situation, but then the main challenge has been swimming -- which is a relatively aerobic exercise, compared to sprinting from wild chocobos or blitzball.

Even so he takes a few moments to breathe deeply once they're in the clear. He also takes this moment to address Jay. "I will tell you what I know... which is that I do not have the clearest idea. If we had photographic equipment, we could image them. Then again, they do have such 'Spheres' in this land... It might be worthwhile to return here with something like that."

Citan downs the shot.

Then he approaches the grate, eyeing it as other people apply force. As he does he speaks to Loren. "I believe it was thought lost, but the recent activities of 'Sin' have raised it to accissibility. This would, of course, involve alteration of drainage patterns..."

"Hah!"

Citan jabs the gate with his finger at a key point.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Inventory Clutter toward her party's challenge, Opening a Flood Gate.
=======================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>=======================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Opening a Flood Gate *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 While much of the Sunken Monastery was not meant to be flooded, some rooms
 were built to expect floodwaters. The one that you enter next is one such
 room. At one end, there is a massive round floodgate, carved with countless
 inscriptions, and it has been rolled over a large drainage canal that splits
 the room in half. Though the controls have rusted away, the flood gate could
 be moved -- or destroyed -- and allow water to drain from elsewhere in the
 Monastery, helping to open passage for your future exploration.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure, Secret===================================
==================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong - Round 5 *>==================
======================< Results - Opening a Flood Gate >======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          22 --(0)--> 22                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   22 --(5)--> 27                 Fail
Brewte Force                        1   Brute   Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      7 --(5)--> 12                  Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   37 --(5)--> 42                 Fail
Inventory Clutter                   1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       37 --(0)--> 37                 Pass
Mother's Cross                      4   Brute   Effects: None
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  70 --(20)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Secret(2)|Weaken(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(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: Loren Voss 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"I-I try my best, really..." Jacqueline says with a sheepish grin, yet again blushing as she massages the back of her neck. It seems Lorelei has found her greatest weaknesses - compliments and a winning smile.

Her attention soon returns to the floodgate as Lorelei looks it over. Jacqueline considers it briefly...though her attention does turn toward Mignonette, offering her a knowing smile.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal my secrets, but don't worry - every one of my mixtures has been stringently tested to avoid any harmful side-effects." She replies. Loren's gesture goes unnoticed by her - or, at least, if she sees it she doesn't realise there's actual meaning behind it.

Once everyone's had a look, they get to trying to break it down. Just moving it is completely out of mind, it seems.

Lorelei steps up first, resting her hands against the rusted metal. It begins to heat up, reddening before gradually turning orange beneath the overwhelming heat. It doesn't quite melt, but it does leave it vulnerable as Loren steps up.

In it's prime, this might be a difficult task for him. But now it is rusted, weakened by age. It cannot resist his will and begins to break down.

Meanwhile, nearby, Citan...jabs the gate with his finger? It seems an insignificant gesture...at least until Fei sends a heavy kick toward the structure.

It doesn't so much shatter as it crumbles as the sheer combined force proves too much for it in the vulnerable state they put it beforehand, and it finds itself swept away by the waters below.

"...I'm glad I decided to take notes beforehand." Jacqueline comments, blinking. "...A-anyway...let's move on!"

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    Stress shifts and readjusts at several key points within the gate's structure. It introduces fault lines, failure points. Even before Citan and Fei turn their attentions upon it, it's beginning to come to its end.

    Loren just watches as the other two men reduce the gate into nothing, effectively.

    It had worked... better that time. His Ether, that is, wound into the structure of the gate. Maybe he is managing something 'more'. Maybe it hasn't all been for nothing. In silence he moves onwards, through the passageway ahead.

    "...Of course."

    There's no question about it.

    This... is a vault. Loren gazes upwards, taking in the various rooms... before regarding the pool of water that dominates the room. "Open any of those doors without handling the water and whatever's inside could get wrecked." He rubs at his chin, as if in deep thought. "We could chance it, or..." His gaze falls on the sealed doors. The grates.

    "Try and drain the pool."

    He slips down to reach one of the grates, kneeling by the side of the drain. "See if you can get some of those doors open."
    He's going to see if he can fix the drain. First, he applies to the top of the drain the remainder of the nutribar. Fishing around in his bag, he comes up with a couple vials which he applies to the bar. It begins to hiss and smoke, slipping down into the depths of the grating. A thin smoke begins to waft upwards from below.

    Hopefully that will work. If the blockage is organic, that is.

DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

"Interestingly complex hierarchy," Mignonette muses, folding her arms across her midsection and giving the vault below an assessing look. She looks up towards Loren, watching the way he reacts.

"I don't like chancing things," she muses. "I wonder if there's a way to do this methodically--"

There's a loud splash as Lorelei Calice jumps straight into the water. She pops above the surface with a breath. "Don't worry, dear Thomas!" she calls out with a wave. "I'll take care of one of the doors."

Mignonette slips her glasses off and pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

Diving down, Lorelei swims towards one of the drains in the floor. The rosy-haired Beastwoman bobbles over it, hanging upside down in the water and poking around with her fingers as she tries to figure out how they work. After a moment of that, she puffs her cheeks out a bit.

With an imperious gesture, she bubbles something - and the water pushes out from around her with a little burst of air. Lorelei inhales in that second - and the water ebbs back in. But she got her breath.

Deftly, she slips her fingers into one of the drain mechanisms. She fiddles around with something, trying to jar loose a mechanism - until she just shakes her head and rests her hand on it. Bubbles begin to gush from the drain as Lorelei applies heat to it magically, dragging her palm across it like a cutting tool as she attempts to just slice the drain open.

From above, Mignonette sighs. "So impulsive, Dame Calice," she murmurs as she dips more carefully into the water, beginning to swim over to one of the doors.

"There probably has to be some master mechanism behind these. I can't imagine there not being one."

DG: Lorelei Calice has used her Tool Mignonette's Hot Tips toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The
Flooded Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

And so, they arrive at the vault. Jacqueline's been in similar parts of these ruins before, but each one of them was in a different state of disrepair and required a difficult strategy to tackle.

This one is no different.

Jacqueline gives it an assessing 'hmm', with a pensive frown on her face as she considers how to proceed.

Loren and Lorelei both act on their own manner, and Jacqueline doesn't see any reason to get in their way.

"Good idea, Mignonette. I'll check the other side - there's bound to be something somewhere." Jacqueline says, diving in and heading toward one of the doors on the opposite side of the one she was checking.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded
Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei can't exactly blow smoke off his foot in fascimile of blowing smoke off a gunsmoke arm but he seems kind of smug about how good he is at murdering inanimate objects in this moment. Normally maybe he wouldn't be but, well, Loren IS here.

Honestly Fei has to wonder about how Loren is seen in the Solarian Empire sometimes. He isn't sure what his rank is, exactly, but he knows that rank doesn't neccessarily mean as much as esteem and considering he went on a mission to assassinate Siegfried and by all accounts succeeded, well, he must be pretty popular in the Empire by now.

Fei can be a dumbass sometimes.

"I took notes on this from last time." Fei says, examining his sketchpad briefly as he starts fiddling with the levers. "Maybe this time we'll actually find a way back home."

Or money.

So Fei can keep buying bait for Elly's fishing.

"Wait did you say Calice?" He asks. "As in Rosaline Calice?"

DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, It's a Water Level - The Flooded
Vault.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.

"This seems like a perverse structure," Citan muses. "I wonder who would have chosen to construct such a thing... Perhaps it is intended to guard something very precious. No doubt one who followed the monastic rule would be able to access these vaults with ease... but we are faced with both our ignorance and the water itself."

He folds his arms, the bowl still under his arm.

Until...

He had been considering in silence, but Fei makes him glance up, and then momentarily towards Lorelei.

DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her 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 6 *>===================
==============< Results - It's a Water Level - The Flooded Vault >==============
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loren Voss                          22 --(100)--> 122              Pass
Soylent Nutribar                    2   Wits    Effects: Resilient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacqueline Barber                   27 --(100)--> 127              Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lorelei Calice                      12 --(100)--> 112              Fail
Mignonette's Hot Tips               1   Wits    Effects: Enlighten and Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elhaym van Houten                   42 --(100)--> 142              Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong                       37 --(100)--> 137              Fail
Artist's Toolkit                    2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Loren Voss                  90 --(10)--> 100               Fail
Conditions: Reckless(2)|Secret(1)|Stupify(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Loren Voss is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Jacqueline Barber is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Lorelei Calice is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Elhaym van Houten is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Fei Fong Wong 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 Sunken Monastery of Gusong!
========================<* Sunken Monastery of Gusong *>========================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - 2000 Gil *>===========================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Even monks have to eat. Inside of the sealed away sconce, you find a
 treasure chest. Within it are centuries-old coins; they show the images of
 High Summoners of that time on them, and the gil seems to be in good
 condition altogether.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "Yeah, you do that," 'Thomas' says absently, still watching his own drain as Lorelei sets off to tend to the other.

    Citan muses about the nature of this vault.

    It's just about the last coherent thing anyone is able to do before a couple things happen all at once:

    Something deep in the grate Loren had sunk the doped-up bar down apparently detonates, sending the plating ricocheting into the air to crash with something overhead.

    The lever snaps off in Fei's hand.
    But not before the doors -- including the one Jacqueline approaches... open.

    The water comes out in a deluge.

    Funneling off towards the drains, including both the one catastrophically opened and the one... less catastrophically opened. But not before everyone in the room is treated to a bit of a first-hand tidal wall.

    But there is good news, once one picks oneself up off the vault floor:

    There, shining in an opened side room, is a pile of money in the local currency.

    Loren, leaning on the doorframe, just stares at the money with all the disdain someone can give cold hard cash. "Great. So much for a way out of here," he mutters, closing his eyes as if he's just done with the world at large.

    (It really is too bad. A month ago, and that would have seen him and Lan taken care of for weeks instead of forced to camp on a beach in desperation. Sors immanis, et inanis...)

<Pose Tracker> Lorelei Calice has posed.

Mignonette gives Fei a brief look. "You did meet her before," she reminds quietly.

Briefly, Lorelei pops back up above the water for a breath - in time to hear Fei. "Ah-- oh yes, Rosaline and I grew up together, you see! She's such a dear little sister to me - oh, but you asked me about this before, didn't you? Thank you so much for looking out for her."

And then - everything happens at once. And the tide comes in.

"Oh dear," Lorelei murmurs, covering her mouth with one hand.

The tide hits. With a squeal of protest, Lorelei's swept along. The water swirls, and then... slowly drains away. The rosy-haired Elite Etone is left sprawled on her back over a piece of masonry.

Lorelei rests the back of her hand on her forehead dramatically and sighs. "Miiiin. Cats don't like being wet."

"I thought you were a Beastwoman," Mignonette points out as she retrieves her glasses and dries them off meticulously.

"I'm a tiger," Lorelei huffs as she sits up, wringing her hair out with a twist. "Ugh... this is going to tangle so much. Stupid impromptu diving...."

Loren's prize is met with a similar reaction from Mignonette. The young woman lowers her eyelids and sighs, then gives him a brief look of sympathy, managing a small, tight smile.

Lorelei, on the other hand, rushes in and scoops up a couple handfuls of coins. "Ah-- are these antique doubloons?! Do they call them doubloons, Thomas? Can we say that? Oh, but they're in such good condition, even for their age - I wonder if they are still worth something! Oho, surely we could trade them in--"

"She gets excited," Mignonette murmurs with a little sigh. It's not news to anyone who's spent time with her.

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "I noticed," Loren replies to Mignonette. There may be a hint of commiseration, there.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline pauses and looks back as Fei mentions 'Calice'. She hadn't heard Mignonette mention it the first time, so this came as a surprise to her.

"Oh, I didn't even know!" Jacqueline says, looking toward Lorelei. Her face lights up. "Rosaline is a friend of mine, as well. It's nice to meet her sister, after all this time!"

With that, Jacqueline opens a door! ...And is immediately swept away along with the others. It's a pretty harrowing experienced, that ends up leaving her sprawled out on the vault floor, drenched.

She lays there still for a moment...before groaning and rolling over.

"...Is everyone alright...?" She asks, hauling herself to her feet. She shakes her head, and then hears Loren say something about money. Her eyes are drawn to the coin pile. Jacqueline creeps forward to take a closer look along with Lorelei.

"Hmm...these are pretty old, actually...I don't recognize any of these High Summoners." She agrees. She then frowns pensively. One can practically see the gears turning in her head as her merchant senses kick in and she plots. "There's about two thousand here, I'd estimate...but if we found the right historian, we could probably get a good deal more out of this."

"I would have preferred more books, but this is an okay alternative..." She considers.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Yeah, Rosaline's sister. I'm glad you're okay." Fei says but wait didn't you retcon the line that brought this whole line of questioning up?? It's ok he probably would've said something similar like 'Oh right! Jay did you know she's Rosaline's sister?' or something like that. See? Timeline restored.

"Yeah it means we get to eat so I'm pretty excited too," He asides to Mignonette. "Though they honestly seem to have stored up a lot of cash in here. I'm starting to worry maybe they were basically robbing the people."

TIMELINE RESTORED.