2019-10-10: The Paths We Have Walked
- Log: The Paths We Have Walked
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Seraph Lanval, Sephilia Lampbright, Layna Manydays
- Where: Shrine of the Water Trial
- Date: October 10, 2019
- Summary: The Fox Company plummets into the Shrine of the Water Trial....
=========================<* Shrine of the Water Trial *>========================== Lefay, the Shrine of the Water Trial, is a place in Spira yet not a Spiran place. You arrive on a bubble of water: some final protection that leads you down, granting you the air that gives you life. You can draw safe breath there. Then, you land in the shadowed halls of a structure most ancient... ...and with iconography on its towering stones that is not Yevonite. The carved Seraphim and reliefs of the Goddess suggest Althenan heritage, and yet far more ancient -- and in a style unlike the ones found in the Church's impositions in Luca and Kilika. Here and there, high up, you see the fissure lines -- the places where this structure was, somehow, fused into the bottom of Macalania Temple and lost. You see Lefay, the Shrine of the Water Trial, and stand in its depths. Lost, perhaps -- save that there is only one way forward. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKOJbeymd4M
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair is now entering Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Bubbled From Harm *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
You fall.
Fall, fall, fall... into the shadowy, sapphire depths of Macalania Lake.
Perhaps it was the unending numbers of Odessa's rank and file, filtrating
through portals in endless waves. Perhaps it was the tidal wave you scarce
outran at the apex of the battle between Lombardia, Queen of the Metal
Dragons, and Sin itself. Perhaps the fierce fighting in Macalania Temple has
sent you plummeting down to the depths below.
Whatever the case may be--
You do not meet a frigid, wet end in this abyss.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKOJbeymd4M )
There is a blue light from below.
Slowly, but comfortably, a round sphere of water cloaks itself around you.
You find yourself dry and with air to breathe, as you descend to the
structure of an ancient shrine hidden underneath the frozen surface of
Macalania Lake.
The bubbles are pliant and sturdy, but impede your movements a little. Try
to coax yourself to float down towards the shrine... and keep tabs of who
you're with--
So that you do not risk losing each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Wait, Lydie was a bad robot the whole time?" Talise exclaims, apropos of nothing.
Then the ice crumbles. It's a long way down into the lake below.
Like a falling silver star wrapped in steel, Talise plummets towards the surface of Macalania Lake. Her eyes are wide with surprise as she throws a look back, trying to spot Lombardia far above. "Shit!" she blurts, flailing a bit as she realizes that not only is there nothing to grab up there and nothing coming to save them, what's waiting for them down there is probably death.
Or at least a soft blue light.
The momentum of the group's fall evens out slowly but surely. Bit by bit, water congeals around each member of the Company - Benedict coming along behind with a backpack of infant Chocobo. Talise blinks in surprise as she levels off, reaching out to touch the edge of the bubble with gauntleted fingertips.
"Lanval, did you do this?" she asks with evident surprise, twisting a bit in her bubble before realizing that Lanval isn't right next to her.
"...Lanval, are you here?" she calls out as she descends slowly, beginning to coax her bubble towards another one she spots. "Layna, Sephilia? ...Chauncey?"
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Everything is a blur for the Water Seraph. For the Seraphim, oftentimes, events just sort of come and go, come and go, come and go, there's a lot of them in their long lives. It's easy to miss a lot of the little details beyond 'a whole lot of noise.' Somewhere, somehow, in some way, he's descending quickly. (Meta)physically speaking he's not too alarmed by this, for he is a water elemental and generally does not have to concern himself overly much with bodies of water and being in them.
(Coming at them at this velocity is new though.)
Then, suddenly, he slows... stops... and floats, in a bubble. His eyes open, half-lidded. "Mmm...?"
'Lanval, did you do this?' His eyes widen more in surprise. Talise is here, too... Talise could've taken a nasty fall and he may have never known! Where is his presence of mind at?! ...He fixates on the better news instead. A small joy. He laughs at his own expense.
"...Ahhh... I didn't do thish, nope," the laughing stops. Is that a point of worry? "Thish kinda power, though... ain't no mishtakin' it..."
Lanval lets the bubbles drift as they will, with full comfort and trust in their direction as Talise calls the names of her dearest friends and travel companions.
"...That'sh Benedict over there," he remarks.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia lets out a shriek as the fall begins. Chauncey embiggens and wraps his arms protectively around the girl, shielding her from the...impact?
"Chauncey?" Sephy asks, a little surprised. "We're okay, buddy, it's okay--we're in a bubble. Lanval must hav--oh dear..." She hears Lanval admitting that he isn't behind the enbublification of the group.
"I'm not complaining," she says slowly, "but if it wasn't you...who is doing this?"
It's kind of fun, actually, though Chauncey continues to pantomime his obvious worry.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It's a moment before everything begins to happen.
Layna Manydays stands on the brink, where her crew is gathered on the exterior of where the temple is beginning to collapse.
"...Damn. Things are really turnin' belly-up in a flash, aye?" She mutters, observing it from afar through her telescope. With a sigh, she collapses it, returning to her coat.
"You're going to jump in after them, aren' you." Dahlia questions, with the dry tone that makes it clear that she doesn't approve of what's about to happen. Layna flashes her a grin.
"Aye, that I am. The rest o' you lot, get some ropes together and follow after me - slowly but carefully. Dunno what state I'm gonna be in after, might need some back-up down there." Layna says. Dahlia sighs, shaking her head.
"I suppose you wouldn't be you if you don't jump into things recklessly." She says. That gets a chuckle out of Layna.
"Aye, but that's what you're there for, aye?" She says. And with that, Layna draws a bottle from her coat and takes a deep swig before taking a step back and taking a running leap into the abyss.
And now, she's falling. She expects to have to cast a spell to break her fall - but, before she can complete it, she finds her wrapped up in a safe bubble of water. She blinks in surprise, and then grins.
"A stroke o' luck, that." She says, and then, she hears a voice.
"Aye, lass! I'm here!" She calls back to Talise. With a brief incantation, she conjures up a gust of wind that pushes her bubble closer to the others', looking toward Lanval as he denies that he did it.
"...No clue," Layna says, looking toward Sephilia. "But whoever it is, they're sure rollin' out the welcome mat for us. This is practically an invitation, aye?"
She gestures down toward the blue light.
"No way to go but down, I say."
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Bubbled From Harm.
=====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>======================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Bubbled From Harm *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
You fall.
Fall, fall, fall... into the shadowy, sapphire depths of Macalania Lake.
Perhaps it was the unending numbers of Odessa's rank and file, filtrating
through portals in endless waves. Perhaps it was the tidal wave you scarce
outran at the apex of the battle between Lombardia, Queen of the Metal
Dragons, and Sin itself. Perhaps the fierce fighting in Macalania Temple has
sent you plummeting down to the depths below.
Whatever the case may be--
You do not meet a frigid, wet end in this abyss.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKOJbeymd4M )
There is a blue light from below.
Slowly, but comfortably, a round sphere of water cloaks itself around you.
You find yourself dry and with air to breathe, as you descend to the
structure of an ancient shrine hidden underneath the frozen surface of
Macalania Lake.
The bubbles are pliant and sturdy, but impede your movements a little. Try
to coax yourself to float down towards the shrine... and keep tabs of who
you're with--
So that you do not risk losing each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 1 *>================= =========================< Results - Bubbled From Harm >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"It definitely is," Benedict calls out from where he's navigating his bubble towards the group's. From his backpack, something exclaims, "Kweeeeh~."
Talise smiles crookedly, relieved that her Chocobo's along for the ride after all. But when Lanval comes bobbling in, denying that the bubbles are his, Talise frowns and looks down towards the lake surface far below. "...But if it's not you," she murmurs, "then who could it be...? It certainly isn't me...."
Frowning, she pauses a moment - and then widens her eyes. "...Is this one of... the places of trial? A Dragon Shrine? Here, in Spira? Or...." Again, Talise trails off, wracking her brain to try and figure it out.
The blue light fluctuates subtly. Below, the outlines of something begins to take shape - the shape of a shrine of some sort, pillars resolving themselves through the blue water, then the shapes of walls, of terraces and angles. At the peak of it all, there's a gap, and the bubbles descend slowly through.
Talise's eyes are wide with wonder. "...Then this must have been here long before anyone in Spira even remembers," she breathes in awe. "And if it's one of Althena's Shrines, then maybe they knew the Goddess, but forgot...."
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
========================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=========================================
==============================================<* CHALLENGE - Aquaphant *>===============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The very ground shakes each each step of this elephant-type Fiend's arival.
Colour-coded blue with shimmering crystalline tops, you can distinctly
recognise this as a Water-elemental Fiend... but, ah, which rules apply
here? Does Earth trump Water as in some cycles, or is it Lightning?
Make your decision fast!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval smiles gently (but also stupidly) as everyone comes together. There are others yet missing among their regulars, but, the Water Seraph - the Oracle of Schturdark - sees no reason to panic over it. "'m shorry, didn't get ta complete the thought out loud, buuuut," Lanval strokes his chin as he sits where he does, "'m pretty shure... the whole thing ish made by Seraphim." Beat. "At leasht the bubblesh... ain't no wonder ya thought I made 'em!"
There was an underlying similarity. Maybe that means there's another fancy bubble pipe around here to poach and enjoy. "Mmmm. Shtill... ya got a point--"
The ground starts shaking. Are they about to fall again? A silhouette on the ground beyond the corner gives away the approach of a large blue crystalline elephant Hell--
"That'sh a Fiend, though," Lanval stands up, and corrects the narration thusly. A large blue crystalline Fiend, watery energies dropping off of 'em. "Ahhh. I remember that big ol' ball of water in the woodsh," the one whose elemental attributes kept changing. (Also the one Lanval kept jumping the gun on, mistakenly throwing water when it's Fire-attributed and causing a few headaches.)
Lanval releases a quantity of shining, pure water from the depths of a Holy Bottle after taking a swig of it, halting it in its place momentarily.
Emphasis momentarily. It rears up, trumpets, and prepares to stomp right on past and into them.
"If any of ya got Earth or Lightning on hand... uh." He stops there. Which one should they use? Fiends of water typically react badly to Lightning, but this is a place touched by the hands of the Althena faithful and that would normally dictate Earth.
A conundrum.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Seraphim, huh?" Layna considers as they all set down within the structure. She looks around - and Talise points out the Althenan architecture, causing Layna to look upon it with interest.
"...Now ain't that a curious thing." Layna remarks. "They forgot, huh? Aye, that'd explain a lot...wonder if they did it on purpose, or it just happened..."
The existence of a Goddess was a big thing to forget. But, before she can puzzle on it any further, Lanval points out a Fiend - an Aquaphant, big and imposing.
"...Don't got either o' those, m'self," Layna comments to Lanval. "...But there is one element that I find always works in situations like this."
And so, she leaps it up to punch it right in its face.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Metal-clad heels descend to the floor of the temple as Talise makes a gentle landing. Sword in hand, she exhales and turns towards Lanval, quiet eyes settling on the Oracle. "...Made by Seraphim?" she repeats with a curious blink of bright green eyes, a pensive frown crossing her face. "That's strange, isn't it? I thought Seraphim were more recent than Dragonmasters. And yet Spira has never seem to have even heard of Althena before."
The swordswoman scratches her cheek with one gauntleted finger. "More questions. I want to know more...."
The ground trembles. Slowly, Talise turns, blinking slowly, then tensing her shoulders.
Something comes storming into view, and Talise blinks quickly before whirling Rastaban into readiness at the sight of the massive Fiend. "Tch! That's interesting...."
Lunging to the side, she lets the Aquaphant go by before she wheels and sweeps her blade through the air with a shout. The familiar green dragon's head bursts from it, raging towards the beast with a roar.
Talise herself follows, dashing in with a few skilful slashes of her blade as she strikes out at the Fiend's thick legs, aiming to cut it rapidly down.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Dragon Courage toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia looks around. "So...Seraphim were around before Althena brought our ancestors to Lunar, huh? That...kind of makes sense, if you think about it, I guess. Oh, wow, that thing's *huge*!" That last is in response to the Aquaphant dashing into view. Dashing, yes, specifically. Picture an Aquaphant. Now picture it dashing.
I'll wait.
Chauncey straightens, puffing up his chest, and then dashes forward to meet the Aquaphant head on. Chauncey is the most dashing around here, and he's not going to take a challenge to that sitting down! (He's using the chair to hit the Aquaphant anyway.)
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Folding Chair toward her party's challenge, Aquaphant.
========================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=========================================
==============================================<* CHALLENGE - Aquaphant *>===============================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The very ground shakes each each step of this elephant-type Fiend's arival.
Colour-coded blue with shimmering crystalline tops, you can distinctly
recognise this as a Water-elemental Fiend... but, ah, which rules apply
here? Does Earth trump Water as in some cycles, or is it Lightning?
Make your decision fast!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
===================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 2 *>==================================== ================================================< Results - Aquaphant >================================================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Dragon Courage 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Folding Chair 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Overwhelm Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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: Sephilia Lampbright has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=============================== ===================================<* CHALLENGE - Darken Eyes *>==================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | -------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------- Without warning, a swarm of free-floating eyes encased in black scales descend from above. Unlike so many of the eyes dotted on the walls of the shrine, these eyes float freely -- though fortunately they're more intent on violence the old-fashioned way rather than sending you back to the entrance again. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
If their life depended on it, it might have come down to a coin flip between Earth or Lightning as to the best way to dispel this pyrefly construct of single-minded desire to be a dripping wet killer elephant. As it so happens, Fox Company comes up with its own answer to the question.
Chauncey steps up to bat with the folding chair just as the Aquaphant slams its front feet down, throwing it back up and voiding its balance as the others start coming in swingin'.
Layna can't quite reach high enough to punch it in the face. She doesn't need to, because she punches hard enough with conviction, pluck, and sheer presence that she knocks it right over on its back.
Talise moves in to finish the job, skillful slashes from the singing blade as the Aquaphant trumpets its last and dissipates into prismatic wisps that further accent the hues of green light in wake of the green dragon's head, and all is peaceful.
Unless one doesn't enjoy the sound of running water, then maybe not so much peaceful.
"...It ish pretty weird, yeeeaah... but ya know," Lanval smiles, "it made shure we got here all right... ain't gonna queshtion that much."
Onward they go.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia blinks her own eyes in surprise as, without so much as a by your leave, a group of kinda nasty looking flying eyes shows up and start attacking them! For no apparent reason!
As Chauncey wheels up the chair again to bat the eye-balls around like some kind of blitzball being hit with a chair, Sephilia is asking the important question:
"How do they eat? Do they eat? How do they poo?"
A moment passes, the sound of chair-thwacking surrounding the girl as she taps her nose thoughtfully, then wrinkles up her face.
"Where do they poo?"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Folding Chair toward her party's challenge, Darken Eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise doesn't get the luxury of picking her element. She alone among Althena's children lacks the Blessing; only her skill with a blade gives her the power to project energy. She exhales and gives Rastaban a flick, sweeping the weapon into readiness again. "...Whatever this place has in store for us, we face it together," she says with a wide smile.
The eyes have other plans. Darken Eyes drop into view, and Talise squints at one of them. "...This place seems to have an eye theme."
*blip*
"Bugger, the ones on the wall warp you!" Benedict's voice yells from a ways off. Footsteps can be heard.
By the time he catches up again, Talise is already in action. Planting her heel, she waits for the Darken Eyes to descend on her - and when they do, she whirls through the first one with an arching slash before spinning to slice through another. With none in immediate range, she gathers energy along the blade of her sword before firing it off with a shout, looking to blast through another Darken Eye.
"Wherever they poo, let's dump 'em!" she urges Sephilia.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Dragon Courage toward her party's challenge, Darken Eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
The instant they deal with the aquaphant, they're beset upon a series of flying eye monsters.
It's always eye monsters, for some reason - it's amazing how many types and kinds of them there are. But, she's too busy fighting them to be impressed.
"Aye..." Layna mutters in reply to Talise, in a completely unintentional pun. She gets one of the eye monsters in a headlock - eyelock?? - but then pauses as Sephilia asks a question. She blinks.
"...Uh, they're monsters. Fiends, right? I don't think they actually...do that...?" Layna asks, making yet another unintentional pun.
But she hasn't forgotten that she's currently restraining one of the eye monsters, so she resumes punching it.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Darken Eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
They are beset upon by more Fiends, before long - as Benedict yells, Lanval looks momentarily sheepish. "Mmm, yeah, I shoulda shaid... well, wouldn't have known they'd do that, but yep, lookin' like a lot of the shtuff down here ish in good shape--"
A Darken Eye bowls into him, knocking him flat as Sephy asks the important questions about the bodily functions of the creatures they are fighting.
"Mmm... ya know, come ta think of it," Lanval says contemplatively while they're being beset, which speaks as a testament to his faith in everyone's abilities that he can feel comfortable having this conversation, "if yer that intereshted 'bout what thingsh excrete, I could tell ya a whole lot 'bout--"
That Darken Eye does not want to hear it. It is a Fiend. The Darken Eye just wants to make things hurt and suffer, as Lanval is thrust back up to his feet. "Mmm... anyway," Lanval says as he staggers and sweeps out more sanctified water from a Holy Bottle that... hey, where is he getting them in Spira? How is he replenishing them? Given what they're just talking about, um... okay, new paragraph time. Percentile mark, r, percentile mark, t.
Thank you, formatting.
"Layna'sh got the right of it..." Lanval remarks. "Only thing they leave behind ish them pyreflies... 'n whatever they got."
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Darken Eyes.
==============================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=============================== ===================================<* CHALLENGE - Darken Eyes *>==================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | -------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------- Without warning, a swarm of free-floating eyes encased in black scales descend from above. Unlike so many of the eyes dotted on the walls of the shrine, these eyes float freely -- though fortunately they're more intent on violence the old-fashioned way rather than sending you back to the entrance again. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
=========================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 3 *>========================== =====================================< Results - Darken Eyes >====================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Dragon Courage 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Folding Chair 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ---------------------------------------------< Party >---------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Overwhelm|Suffer(1) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) =========================================< Dream Chasers >==========================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Chauncey thwacks. Talise's encouragement gets Sephy to pull out her sword and join in the fighting herself, and with the group of them working together...well, Fox Company has become quite efficient at monster-extermination. Whether they understand the monster's biological functions or not.
Where the eyes poo shall remain ever a mystery. So, Sephy hopes, will the details of whatever Lanval was about to tell her about.
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Eye for an Eye *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Darken Eyes blot the airspace above your party, harrying you with strikes
and minor spells. Just as combat breaks out, the most astute amongst you
notice the trap-laden hallway, with yet more eye contraptions (eyes! It's
always eyes!) embedded in the walls.
Done wrong, an annoying encounter could become deadly if you split amongst
yourselves.
So be quick and decisive. Bring these flying monsters to stare at the walls,
and send them packing. Keep abreast of one another.
Because you cannot afford to lose each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Eventually, Layna elects to just punt the Darken Eye into a wall, where it ceases to be a problem.
Unfortunately, right as they're about to deal with that, they find another wave of Darken Eyes descending on them - this time, much greater in number.
"Damn, there are a lot of them." Layna hisses. "Try to stay together!"
The Darken Eyes descend with physical strikes and spells. But then...Layna thinks back.
"Hey, Benedict, you said the eyes on the wall warp you, right?" She calls back to the courier. She recites a quick incantation - a small whirlwind whips up beneath one of the Darken Eyes, spinning it around so that it faces the wall.
Immediately upon doing so, it vanishes - and a wide grin spreads on Layna's face.
"...Looks like they're no safer from it then we are." She remarks. She begins to backpedal then, reciting incantations to do the same with more of the Eyes. Occasionally, she takes a break to take a swig from a bottle to keep herself hydrated.
That's one idea for how to get through here, but they're not out of the woods yet.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Eye for an Eye.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy has an idea! She's got light magic, which is convenient for exploring, but rarely in combat--but when the enemy is an eye, blinding them as she hurries along seems to be the rare combat application of shining like a Lampbright!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Eye for an Eye.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"There shure are a lot of 'em," Lanval remarks. He has a seat, gets out that 'smoking' pipe of his, and goes along with Layna's idea. Hers is the Gift of the Black aspects of Wind, after all. He thinks he's being clever by blowing bubbles, trapping them, and watching them be thrown helplessly into the eyes.
Lanval's eyes open half-lidded when he notices one of the ones being blown in a bubble aren't being teleported. "...Mmmph."
That idle, slightly annoyed grunt turns into laughter. "Heyyyy, I got an idea~"
The idea may or may not involve taking that bottle of Quartermaster's Stash, but Layna is a well-trained hand at this point at mitigating Lanval's occasional bouts of drink-theft.
"It sheemsh like... if yer in a bubble then it can't shee ya...!" Lanval laughs. "'n I can provide that jusht fine!"
And so, Lanval blows a few more bubbles to help envelop them. They don't need to have a protracted standing battle to push them all into the eyes - they can just keep moving past the eyes so long as the bubbles cover them!
"Mmm... 'm not shure if ya ever noticed, but, my bubblesh get darker in color when they're 'bout to pop." That might've been really useful information over the last year-plus when they had to use his bubbles to get past traps!!! "Shooo, move quick~"
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bubble Pipe toward his party's challenge, Eye for an Eye.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"That won't be necessary, Lanval!" Talise exclaims, her cheeks darkening just a shade.
Not that the Darken Eyes are going to give them the privilege of getting out of here easily. "Yeah," Talise puffs with a glance towards Layna. "They're pesky, huh? Not very tough, but--"
One of the Darken Eyes goes down with a crossbow bolt through its iris. "Yes, don't look into the wall eyes directly," Benedict grunts as he reloads. "I did and I wound up back at the--"
*blip*
"Althena's stupid hat!" Talise's voice can be heard from way down the hall. Then there's the sound of metal-clad footsteps approaching at a run.
With another thud, Benedict fires his crossbow a second time, trying to keep his distance and peg the Darken Eyes in midair. The big courier jukes to the side with a grunt as he reloads again, then falls back a little to keep from meeting the gaze of a wall-eye.
A second later, Talise bursts back into view. "The frigging wall eyes!" she vents as she tries to carve through a Darken Eye. She spins to attack the next-
*blip*
"ALTHENA'S STUPID THONG," Talise's voice can be heard from down the hall again.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Eye for an Eye.
===================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>====================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Eye for an Eye *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Darken Eyes blot the airspace above your party, harrying you with strikes
and minor spells. Just as combat breaks out, the most astute amongst you
notice the trap-laden hallway, with yet more eye contraptions (eyes! It's
always eyes!) embedded in the walls.
Done wrong, an annoying encounter could become deadly if you split amongst
yourselves.
So be quick and decisive. Bring these flying monsters to stare at the walls,
and send them packing. Keep abreast of one another.
Because you cannot afford to lose each other again.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
==============<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 4 *>=============== =========================< Results - Eye for an Eye >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 10 --(7)--> 17 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 10 --(7)--> 17 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Bubble Pipe 3 Agility Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Overwhelm Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Layna Manydays has posed.
Sephilia takes advantage of her elemental affinity, using it to blind some of the eyes that descend upon them. While it is helpful for mitigating the Darken Eyes, it does nothing for the ones on the wall - Sephilia finds herself being teleported back quite often. Fortunately, she isn't alone - the same occurs for Talise, but they'll both together at least be able to deal with the Darken Eyes that get separated and sent back by Layna's gusts of wind.
Meanwhile, Lanval's affinity proves uniquely suited to the task at hand. He surrounds the party in bubbles of water that allow them to sneak past both the Darken Eyes and the ones on the wall. It could be that, once upon a time, a similar tactic was the intended method for approaching the situation.
In the end, though it takes some of them a bit longer than anticipated, they're all together again and safely out of the eye-lined hallway.
"You two doin' alright?" Layna asks, looking toward Sephilia and Talise.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
========================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=========================================
=====================================<* CHALLENGE - Your Very Own Tales of Skit *>======================================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
Your party arrives at an antechamber anchored by a mystical point of power.
It provides protection from nearby wandering Fiends. It is also mysteriously
designed for camping equipment like Tents to be pitched and set up with
ease, just as the light-warriors of old once did.
...
So much has happened.
Odessa. The last-minute miracle of the Guts-Dozer. Lombardia. Sin. Maester
Seymour. Jyscal's sphere. And his once-assistant, Krelian.
...
There is time.
Time for you all to mentally digest everything that has happened.
Time for you to start to pick yourselves up and rebuild what has been
broken.
Time to you to affirm what you must take back. What you can't lose again.
There is time now. Take it.
Because you are all /worth/ this time.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
There is one last eye before they step out into the antechamber. It is a jerk move, but it looks like some people already expressed their frustrations with it because that part of the wall where the eye rests is damaged beyond repair. Whew.
This last second attempt to send everyone to the beginning subverted by others' hands, the lot of them end up at the antechamber which seems to be anchored by a calming power. Fiends can't breach it - but they don't know that, and will never know that specifically because none seem compelled to go this way. (They'll just have to infer it instead.)
It seems a good place to rest and relax after a stretch of running through hallways dodging Darken Eyes and other problems, and also after a stretch of running through hallways dodging Darken Eyes and other problems, and also can't forget a stretch of running through hallways dodging Darken Eyes and other problems. That's all behind them now, for good, they won't have to repeat that again. (Again.)
Lanval ends up lying down in the center of the room, where the feel of the elemental pulse of water is greatest, the closest he gets to a comfy seat since he'd become rather infatuated with that one specific stretch of the road of Luca's Markets. Before they got blown up, anyway. (Must be a 'it makes sense if you are a water elemental' thing.)
"...Mmmph... hey... Talise... 'm glad ya told me ta worry 'bout the shtuff we could deal with then 'n there," he says with a genuine smile while sprawled out on the floor, "'caushe... it'sh shure eashy ta get all caught up in the big picture."
Now it's time for him to reconsider that. Obsession. Whatever's going on with Althena's apparent desire to crush Yevon. The Fell Dragon known to be roaming Filgaia. The location of that Hellion who did in Talise's family.
"...'n Layna... 'm glad yer alwaysh around fer a great time goin' who knowsh where! Had I never met ya all, I don't think... I'd ever really get ta know the world outshide of that shwamp of mine." As if they know the world now, with so many questions in the air!!
"...'n hey, Sephy... 'm glad yer doin' yer besht ta write it all down shomewhere, 'caushe I'd never had thought 'bout all we might be forgettin' in all of it."
These are all heartfelt words, which would probably land better tonally were he not wearing those stupid novelty glasses in this cutscene.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The peaceful chamber they find themselves in seems as good a place as any to rest. With a sigh, Talise sinks to a seat on a large, smooth stone, more like a bench than anything else.
With a blink, the swordswoman looks up to Lanval, her eyebrows rising a little as she deciphers things a little. Then she flashes a faint smile, brushing back a lock of hair to tuck it behind one pointed ear. "Yeah. I mean... we can't always change things that are big. I used to worry myself sick about that."
The swordswoman rests Rastaban's point against the ground, the hilt laying against her shoulder. Green eyes close as she strokes a gloved thumb over the emerald at the weapon's pommel, slowly and absently. "...I think traveling with all of you has made me a different person. All the old me would've cared about was wine, women and song. Well, men too, but."
She shrugs beneath her armour, eyes opening once again. "Maybe we've all changed a little. I don't think I'm the same person I was two and a half years ago, when Lyn and Lestaci pulled me out of that hole on Filgaia. Maybe it's just that I've learned a lot more. Or... I don't know. I don't think I could go back to just being a pirate anymore."
Talise smiles a mellow smile, eyes turning to Sephilia, then to Layna. "As much as things have been tough, I'm glad that we've been through everything together. And as much as I've changed, I think all of us have grown for the better."
Raising a bottle, Talise flashes a grin. "So here's to you, ya butts! Stick with me now!"
Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Local Brew
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Schnapps toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy beams at her friends. "I am so glad to be on this journey with all of you," she says earnestly. "I've got to see so many things and so many places since I first met Talise, way back when I was still a kid."
She smiles. "I didn't think I was a kid then, though. But...you're all role models to me. I wouldn't be who I am without you!" She pats her journal, full of memories that the group has made together.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Eventually, they find themselves in an ancient antechamber, anchored by a mystical point of power. There's a very safe feeling to it - like they can finally relax here.
Layna lets out a sigh of relief and immediately finds a comfortable rock to seat herself upon. She's glad to get off her feet - they've been going for what feels like forever now. She takes a brief moment to study the chamber with her telescope, but pauses and puts it away once Lanval starts talking.
She listens to what he has to say, offering a grin when he addressed her. And Talise has words, too - words that really resonate with her.
"...Aye." She replies. "Aye, I know that feeling well."
Layna massages the back of her neck awkwardly.
"I don't...really get sappy like this all that often, but...bein' aroun' you crazy kids..." She uses the term affectionately - and the way she looks at Lanval when she says it makes it clear she's including him in that, too, even though his age far eclipses her own. "...Well...I think it's changed me, too."
She chuckles a little.
"I mean...I was never as bad as well, as bad as my ol' captain got...but back then, I never really cared about, well...charity, an' big, 'fate o' the world' style stuff, aye? You get me? It was always just about...explorin', and findin' more loot, an' stickin' it to the Guard when I could." She shakes her head. "What I'm sayin' is...bein' aroun' you lot's made me go soft!"
She laughs raucously at that, but her smile goes fond.
"...But...I don't mind it, y'know. An' I think my crew like this new me better, too. So...aye, lass, I think I can say much the same. Wouldn't be who I am now without ya..." She says with a nod toward Sephilia.
She looks toward Talise, then, as she raises a bottle, and her fond smile goes back to that usual bright grin.
"Aye, I'll drink to that."
She draws out a bottle of her own, and then, two more - one goes to Lanval, and one goes to Sephilia.
"Cheers!" And with that, she raises her bottle to meet Talise's.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, Your Very Own Tales of Skit.
========================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>=========================================
=====================================<* CHALLENGE - Your Very Own Tales of Skit *>======================================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
Your party arrives at an antechamber anchored by a mystical point of power.
It provides protection from nearby wandering Fiends. It is also mysteriously
designed for camping equipment like Tents to be pitched and set up with
ease, just as the light-warriors of old once did.
...
So much has happened.
Odessa. The last-minute miracle of the Guts-Dozer. Lombardia. Sin. Maester
Seymour. Jyscal's sphere. And his once-assistant, Krelian.
...
There is time.
Time for you all to mentally digest everything that has happened.
Time for you to start to pick yourselves up and rebuild what has been
broken.
Time to you to affirm what you must take back. What you can't lose again.
There is time now. Take it.
Because you are all /worth/ this time.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
===================================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 5 *>==================================== =======================================< Results - Your Very Own Tales of Skit >======================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 17 --(0)--> 17 Pass Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 17 --(0)--> 17 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Overwhelm|Save Point(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>======================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Asura's Wrath *>==========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
An enormous Hellion awaits you at the end of Lefay, the Shrine of the Water
Trial.
This is Asura.
Asura, shelled in armour and bearing three pairs of weapons -- paired battle
forks, twinned gear-like warhammers, and matched glimmering greatswords of
water. He wields each of these enormous weapons one-handed, seemingly
unencumbered.
His howl shatters the very chamber you engage him in, and combat soon
follows--
--and after several rounds at it, it's clear his six-armed guard is
impeccable.
You'll need the brilliant in your team to stop his movements.
You'll need the powerful in your team to breach his defence.
You'll need the adroit in your team slip through and deal lasting damage.
You'll need the soothing in your team to tie this plan together long enough
to work.
But that is why you are all here together now.
Past all the horrifying hardships you've survived together.
Overcome this Water Trial together.
Because you all can /do/ this.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Ha ha ha! Cheeeeersh~!" There's not a whole lot for the Oracle of Schturdark to be able to brush under the rug, but it is in his nature to enjoy and enhance the small joys, as he is shared a drink. A whole bottle! All to him!
They'll stick with Talise.
They'll continue to form memories together to keep in Sephilia's journal.
They'll keep on doing as they love, even as new people, with Layna.
"Mmm..." Lanval looks over to Chauncey and Benedict.
"Ha ha ha! Heyyy, c'mon over here, ya too, ya know~!" Lanval says, as he... dares to share a bottle whose contents he didn't empty in a matter of seconds?! what
"Yer part of it too!"
A great time is shared together, as they rest, reflect, and ready themselves for what comes ahead when they deem the time is right to do so - as some of the best of friends, together.
Lanval even leaves some behind for the others of Fox Company who haven't shown up here yet.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"You know, half the fun of this adventure has been watching you grow up into a woman," Talise says with a smile for Sephilia, resting Rastaban over her shoulder. "And you've done good. I think you're more than your father's daughter now. You've really blossomed into an adventurer in your own right. You should feel proud of that."
She eases to her feet with a stretch and a laugh, draining the last of her bottle before flashing Layna a grin. "Hey, you're hard in other ways, Layna! 'sides, half of what I liked about the sea life wasn't the loot. It was the adventure."
Benedict smiles quietly behind his beard and shakes his head. "In some ways you people remind me of my boys. Always full of life. Makes me wish I were a young man again."
Raking her hair back with one hand, Talise begins to move forward again, towards a set of doors at the end of the room. "And we've still got adventures ahead," she says as she pushes the way open.
The chamber beyond is lit brilliantly - and as the Company enters, the figure within turns to face them, slowly and ominously. An armoured figure, six-limbed and brandishing paired warhammers, forks and greatswords of rippling water, only one hand needed for each.
WRATH OF WATER TRIAL'S ENDING
A S U R A
"Thaaaat's Asura," Talise says with a widening of her eyes - but Asura cuts her off with a thunderous howl that shatters the chamber itself. Cracks run up the walls and through the floor, nearly jarring Talise off her feet.
But not entirely. The swordswoman catches herself and moves forward. "It's said that nothing can breach Asura's guard," she says. "Or so say the legends. Everyone... I'm going to try and tie up his arms. If you can, slip in and attack any time you see an opening."
With a grunt, Talise launches herself forward. She raises her voice, slashing a burning green dragon's head of courage through the air. The blow slams into Asura's guard - but its purpose is not to break it.
It is to force it up while Talise launches herself into range. She closes with Asura unmolested; only once Talise is in melee distance does the massive Hellion begin to attack her with all six weapons at once.
Planting her heels, Talise flashes Rastaban through the air, not to attack, but to defend. The blade weaves and blurs in an insane dance, darting and flowing as the swordsinger tries to keep up with not one weapon, but six titanic weapons ranging from bludgeons to cleavers. They swing and swing and swing --
Talise doesn't give ground. Her breathing quickens as she parries a hammer, pushes another aside with her arm, flicks Rastaban back to bat away two greatswords, elbows a fork aside, swings to parry more strokes. It's not a swordsmanship borne of anger; she has learned not to let that rule her. It's not a swordsmanship that seeks victory at all costs.
It is a swordsmanship designed to stalemate Asura so that Lanval, Sephilia and Layna can carry the day.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Dragon Courage toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval grows more alert, standing upright rather than staggering about as he has when he notices the presence of something so very different from the Fiends they had to deal with - indeed, it seemed odd for Fiends to be where they were within the environs and what they appear to signify.
"A Hellion, yep," Lanval echoes as Talise identifies the Asura. There's that tinge of energy that reminds him strongly of Ida as she descended further into Malevolence's throes - more in the sense of being able to identify a duck once one encounters a duck prior. The same 'type' of Hellion.
Lanval nods his head once as Talise mentions her plan - spoken with a certainty and calm one wouldn't have expected of her so long ago. He smiles a bit. "All right," Lanval has himself a drink from his gourd, and his eyes flare open to that brilliant aquamarine that signifies hitting that balance of alcoholic stupor and comprehension. The happy medium, as his own aura flares up - water, in all the forms it comes in. Water, in all the forms it gets altered into.
Watery energies take leave of him, through the pact, imparting a piece of Schturdark's power to Talise and Layna as Seers of Water. The power to purify. He keeps his focus and calm as Talise holds strong against the relentless six-armed assault, feeling the washing tendrils of the purple miasma wash by with their own unique whiffs of contradiction and reason.
Striding with a speed and grace not usually known to him, he slides off to the left flank, not far off from Sephilia and Benedict alike, throwing out an arm and hurling forth more sparkling water where an opening presents itself - an opening to allow Sephilia and Benedict their shots against the creature.
"Hellion Asura...!" Lanval's voice projects, as it oft does. "We bid thee be on thy way in good health...!"
There's no follow-up tremendous water explosion. The 'we' is for everyone.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Chauncey charges towards Asura once Talise has engaged the enemy, at the last moment sliding in for a kneeling-clothesline, Foxington style! And there, coming in behind him, shortsword gleaming, is Sephilia Lampbright. Who has, apparently, decided that making her sword glow appropriately dramatically is a good use of her powers.
"This guy's not so tough! He doesn't have any idea who he's messing with!"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"...Aye. Aye, you know, you're right." Layna agrees with a nod toward Talise. She sends a smirk toward Benedict, then, as he speaks.
"Hey, you're only as old as you feel, aye? Look at Lanval over there. He's...what, how old, and still gettin' up to all kinds o' shenanigans?" She replies, then pauses. "...'Course, he is a Seraph, that's kinda cheatin'."
She says this fondly, of course.
But, they can't afford to sit around reminiscing forever, as nice as it was. Layna gets to her feet, then, and begins to follow after Talise.
Ahead, they find a brilliantly lit chamber, occupied only by an armored figure with six arms and a weapon in each.
Layna lets out an whistle.
"Damn, they're really bringin' out the big guns, now." She says, then looks toward Talise. She studies her for a moment...and then, she grins. "Right. I'll leave it to you, lass."
And so, she waits - watching as Talise contests Asura. It's one sword against six, a deadly test of skill. But, Layna has faith in Talise - faith that she'll be able to keep his defenses occupied while remaining safe herself.
She watches, and wait...and the moment she sees an opening Layna rushes in, the bracer on her right hand igniting and burning bright. A whirlwind whips around it, and she strikes at one of Asura's arms with the force of a tornado as she seeks to disarm the ancient warrior.
Maybe even literally, if he's that occupied.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Asura's Wrath.
=====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>======================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Asura's Wrath *>==========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
An enormous Hellion awaits you at the end of Lefay, the Shrine of the Water
Trial.
This is Asura.
Asura, shelled in armour and bearing three pairs of weapons -- paired battle
forks, twinned gear-like warhammers, and matched glimmering greatswords of
water. He wields each of these enormous weapons one-handed, seemingly
unencumbered.
His howl shatters the very chamber you engage him in, and combat soon
follows--
--and after several rounds at it, it's clear his six-armed guard is
impeccable.
You'll need the brilliant in your team to stop his movements.
You'll need the powerful in your team to breach his defence.
You'll need the adroit in your team slip through and deal lasting damage.
You'll need the soothing in your team to tie this plan together long enough
to work.
But that is why you are all here together now.
Past all the horrifying hardships you've survived together.
Overcome this Water Trial together.
Because you all can /do/ this.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial - Round 6 *>================= ===========================< Results - Asura's Wrath >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 17 --(10)--> 27 Pass Dragon Courage 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 17 --(10)--> 27 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 10 --(10)--> 20 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has successfully explored Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial!
=====================<* Lefay - Shrine of the Water Trial *>======================
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Proof of Spiritual Power - Lefay *>==============
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
It is a long and hard-fought battle, but in the end, your team has managed
to overcome Asura.
Dissipating into motes, the Hellion gives you an approving expression, as if
it has been lifted from a great burden. At long last, you can feel, a great
and ancient anger has finally found peace at your hands.
A great, bright blue light erupts from a nearby altar and suffuses the
entire room with a feeling of power -- a feeling not dissimilar from another
trial of spiritual power you may have visited before in your travels, Uzda
il-Jam. It envelops your person for but a brief moment, but you feel your
spiritual presence strengthening further...
Acquired
Proof of Spiritual Power -- Lefay!
When the light subsides, you discover that great stone tablets have taken
their place. Engraved upon them are the secrets of powerful water and ice
magics only known to some of the most powerful mages in Lunar. If you are so
inclined, reach out and absorb the knowledge the ancients in your travels...
or if you do not possess the Gift, reach out with an object or weapon -- and
suffuse it with the power of water!
(OOC: You have discovered the spells of Waterga and Blizzaga! A character
with the Gift of Althena's Black Magic may apply for these in their next
character advancement! Alternately, if you lack the Gift, you can opt for a
water or ice enchantment on your weapon or tool.)
---
A shimmering portal erupts from the ground once you've finished your
business with the tablet. It expands further and further, until it
overwhelms your senses...
And before you know it, the scent of salt and the noise of gentle waves has
replaced the ancient ambience of the Shrine. You and your companions are
standing on a large, rusted aircraft carrier inhabited by varied folk -- the
Thames.
You have arrived in Filgaia!
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The legend is a legend Talise is more than familiar with. The tales she has learned told her what to expect. The experience she has gained showed her that she had the skill to confront it. The tools she had built up ensured that she could walk away with her head held high.
And the friends they had all made ensure that the legend has no hope against the Company of the Fox. Water slams into Asura's flank; the beast cannot bring its weapons to bear to guard against the blows, and it howls, trying to force Talise and Lanval back. It only opens up another flank. Sephilia comes dancing in, jabbing her swordsword in with deft strokes. Chauncey has delivered a few blows, but Sephilia herself is more than she was two and a half years ago, and her strikes sting the vast Hellion, evoking a roar.
It is Layna who comes powering in with a thunderous burst of wind - and her fist slams into the beast, knocking away three of its weapons. Asura staggers - then screams as Rastaban slices across its chest, then staggers again under a burst of water.
Sephilia's shortsword slashes through the Hellion, and a last screech rings from the monstrosity before it fades into light. Breathing heavily, Talise shields her eyes with one arm as a vivid blue light begins to fill the room, radiating from the heart of the chamber - from an altar Asura had stood before.
The light fades after a moment. Waiting for them are a pair of stone tablets. The secrets etched upon their faces are clear enough, even to those who cannot speak or read the ancient language.
"...Water magic," Talise murmurs as she steps forward with wonder, approaching the tablets. She gazes down at them.
And she chuckles sadly, shaking her head. "...Of course."
A gift of magic for the one of Althena's children who knows none. With a sigh, she reaches out. "Sephilia, you might be able to learn this spell," she indicates, tapping Rastaban to the tip of the tablet.
The second she does, there is a blinding light.
Talise lets out a shapeless shout of surprise as the energy surges out around her. It's so bright that it swallows her up completely. The ringing of the light resonates in the ears....
...but the sharp might hear a subtle whisper within.
##### ## ######## ### ### #############
######## ### ########## ### ## ## ######## ##### ####
### ## ##### ##### ##########
Slowly, the light fades. A visibly flustered Talise blinks her ocean-blue eyes and looks down at Rastaban.
She turns it over in her hands and stares in bafflement at the aquamarine stone in the pommel.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Together, they all defeat the Asura - the implacable rage. Lanval laughs heartily, falls on his seat, and has a moment of rest as peace and tranquility take further hold in the triumph that follows.
"Mmm... I can tell thoshe are energiesh of Water... and Ice." Next time the Ice Seraph Ceimglace shows up to insist Water and Ice are the same thing, boy, he's going to point and this and say they're totally different! But that is a peripheral thing, for once more... Fox Company as a whole have shown how far they all have come as warriors, and friends, and drunkards.
(maybe the last one is more him than anything)
He wises up some when Talise taps the tablet and sees herself startled, rising up as the bright blue light whispers in a tongue and sensation that is understood by him by its basest concept, as a touch of the watery energies of Althena intermingle momentarily with one of both the very water of Althena's Blessing... and that of Filgaia.
"...Blue water. That'sh what I could make out... an ol' incantation, of shome kind," Lanval says. Apparently he went past the point of balance between wisdom and being a slurring mess in all of that, "mmm... ya okay there, Talise?" It didn't look bad - sure didn't feel bad! - but it's worth asking her. "...That shaaaaid... the tabletsh there sheem ta have the energy of Black Magic... but shome of it might catch if ya touch it with shomethin'... if ya really needed ta blessh shomethin' with Ice."
With ice? Why not wate-- oh. He's right there.
He stops talking as he takes another look at Rastaban after swaying a few steps to the left - the pommel, and into Talise's eyes, too.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Through their teamwork, the mighty Hellion falls. A wide grin crosses Layna's face and she extinguishes her right gauntlet once more.
"Well now, that went pretty smoothly, aye?" She remarks. From the altar, a vivid blue light emits - and Layna feels somehow stronger than she was before. Not not only that...a pair of tablets are waiting for them.
"...Huh." Layna remarks. She looks toward Talise, who taps Rastaban against the tablet...which causes another flash of blinding light.
"Wh-whoa! Lass, are you alright!?" Layna asks as the light surges around Talise. She steps toward her. There's a ringing in her ears, though she can't hear what it says.
Eventually, the light fades. Layna sighs in relief as Talise reappears, looking none the worse for wear...but, there's been a change in Rastaban.
"...Hhhuh, that's new." She remarks. She looks toward Lanval, as he says something - 'blue water'.
"...Black Magic, huh? Lemme take a crack at it." She looks toward the tablets, then, approaching them herself. She reaches out for them, and pauses. A soft blue light radiates off the tablet, settling over her hand. She blinks.
"...Huh. Huh. It's really that simple? Never woulda guessed." She remarks with a chuckle, stepping back. She looks toward a clear portion of the room and recites an incantation.
Suddenly, a globe of water swirls to life into the air, hanging for a moment before crashing down to the floor below with a massive splash.
"...Neat." Layna says, a wide grin crossing over her face. It was her first time casting a water elemental spell, but it just felt right.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's eyes widen at the prospect of learning a new spell, but she quickly realizes--"I can only use light magic," she says. "Not black magic--whoah!" Rastaban's infusement with the magic of the tablet, it is impressive!
Sephy considers for a moment, trying to decide which of the two tablets she wants to use, but Chauncey makes the decision for her, touching his giant paw to the water tablet. Now he'll be able to douse himself against enemies who attack with fire!
"Chauncey!" Sephy scolds. "You--aww, buddy, I can't be mad at you!"
Chauncey appears relieved at this outcome.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Blue water?" Talise repeats Lanval in a murmur. Tugging a gauntlet off, she runs a bare thumb over the sea-blue aquamarine gem gleaming at the pommel within the silver and black-enamelled setting, then moves the touch down to the crosspiece gem. It's also an aquamarine. "...I don't feel any magic, though," she says quietly, a pensive frown hanging at her lips. "I wonder what happened...."
When she looks up, it's into Lanval's face, and she blinks twice. "You think something happened?"
But Layna's demonstration draws her attention. Talise smiles, setting one hand at her hip. "Oh, hey, you picked up a new spell, didn't you? That's pretty excellent, isn't it? Congratulations."
As Chauncey adds to his skillset, Talise grins toothily and winks one dazzlingly blue eye. "Hey, good for Chauncey. That's awesome. How could anyone be mad at him?"
Before she can say any more, however, something sparks beneath her. She gasps as a swirling portal begins to swell open. It widens and widens, the light peaking and brightening --
The next thing Talise feels is a familiar sensation.
The brush of sea air. The scent of salt. The soft sussurus of the waves.
Opening her eyes, Talise stares around the deck of the huge aircraft carrier in wonder - and then up to the shape of the Silver Star above.
"...Filgaia...."