2020-06-12: The Tainted Grounds
- Log: The Tainted Grounds
- Cast: Seraph Lanval, Layna Manydays, Xantia
- Where: Kasutho Island
- Date: June 13, 2020
- Summary: An Oracle and one of his Seers seek the source of a Malevolent Domain in the making, and run into someone else who happens to be investigating the matter. An impromptu team-up effort soon follows.
=============================<* Kasutho Island *>============================= One of the few lands even in Aquvy seemingly untouched by Filgaia's degradation, Kasutho Island is home to a number of farming communities. It might be possible that this would be the only thing of note about the island -- a peaceful and harmonious way of life is the norm here -- were it not for the two entities that claim ownership of the land. Kasutho Island is split between the nation of Sylvaland and none other than the Veruni -- indeed, the Veruni have established one of their control zones on this island. Sylvaland's authority and their use of an ancient teleporter in Claiborne used to keep the balance here from shifting, but with it now destroyed by Odessa, that may well change. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9bITd7IT0I
DG: A party led by Seraph Lanval is now entering Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
================<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>=================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Strangling Knot *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The off-kilter sense that pervades the entryway to the Sacrificial Grounds
is all too familiar to those who are familiar with its sickening, inky touch
of contradiction. Malevolence permeates this place, and here, it comes in
shades that reek of panic and desperation, bubbling like an overstewed
kettle in the heart.
And it has settled deep into the bones of this place.
Deep enough that, as you enter, the hanging vinework that has settled into
the stonework seethes with a violet light before it literally whipsnaps
downward, intent to loop and lash the nearest person it can find. Vines
attempt to constrict and strangle and otherwise entrap -- unless the
ensnared can be freed from this terrible trap. It's time for some brute
force. Hurray! Brute force!
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Oh hey, there is a burgeoning Malevolent Domain on Kasutho Island. The very moment Lanval took notice of it during a recent Fox Company voyage that way, pretty much everything had to be dropped to go address it. For all the lounging around, sleeping, drinking, slurring, and other nonsense the Seraph gets up to... this is not something he plays around with. He has a solemn duty to deal with it, and by nature of the pact, so do the Seers of Water.
And, you know, anyone else along for the ride willing to throw in their lot. Or maybe it's a consequence of someone accidentally exposing the existence of bearing tasty snacks at a quantity that dictates it would be polite to share.
Nonetheless, the infection is already so pervasive that he's choosing to split the labor among the two Seers of Water and have one come with him directly inside the stony path towards the altar. It is bubbling with the purple stuff, with twisted grass growing through the cracks and grasping for anything and everything. Every contradiction, full of panic and desperation against a backdrop of acceptance that is not whole of heart.
A narrow path of sanctified, brilliant water trudges through the muck surrounding a familiar colorful raft-like thing with a creepy effigy of a smiling horse head. Maybe it is less that it is being commandeered by the Oracle of Schturdark and more that even the very element of contradiction is forced to agree that it is too creepy to behold, and thus cease to be.
...no, this is no time for jokes of that ilk.
On his own, Lanval's power is only just enough to keep the Malevolence at bay as he helps pilot a path in. It is through the mortals he has formed a pact with that the true miracle of Purification can happen, and he is keeping it at a measured and leisurely place as he gets a better gauge of just how deep they're in.
"...It'sh even worshe 'n that..." Whatever 'that' was, it was already pretty bad. Both of his eyes are open half-lidded as he gently guides the raft across the muck forth. This leg of the journey is a given - the soiled ground will not stop their approach.
...It is the dangling vines ahead that prove to be the true complication. Vines that have long since intertwined itself within the stonework has been corrupted, seething with a violet light as the lot of them approach. It whips downward and entangles the raft with Lanval on it, who stands upright and has no choice but to meet it with the drinking gourd on his person in a clash of power, will, and...
"...Fearin' it'll be too late... huh," Lanval speaks to no one, as if characterizing the vines as being less a thing of malignant intent and one more resigned to it. Anyway, he is not known historically for winning contests of physical strength.
...let alone against what is, technically, the element of earth.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Strangling Knot.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Malevolence is Lanval's solemn duty which, by extension, makes it kind of Layna's duty, too. She is one of his Seers, after all - and, of course, his friend. So, naturally, she's elected to accompany him here, following in the trail left behind by Lanval.
"...Aye, it sure is thick with it." Layna observes with a frown, looking the place over. "We sure have out work cut out for us."
As they approach, the vines themselves come to life, seething with a violet glow. Layna recites a quite incantation, and with a punch forward releases a flurry of slicing gales, looking to cut through the vines reaching for Lanval and his raft.
"Only one way to find out." Layna says, on the assertion that it'll be too late. "I'm gonna save my juice until we get a better idea what we're up against. Don't wanna tire ourselves out before we're through."
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Strangling Knot.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
There are also those who may be under no particular obligation to deal with Malevolence, but do have a vested interest in putting a stop to it. An interest which has grown more and more personal over time. This is what draw Xantia here - by herself, which may be a bit unwise, but then few people would accuse Xantia of being the wisest person around. For this, however, she is not entirely unprepared.
It's easy to spot a presence that doesn't belong, even at a distance. In a place pervaded by shades of violet, there is a bright spot: a soft white light shines through, and that light is surrounding a human figure.
If she hadn't been positively identified already, she makes it pretty obvious by her actions. Seeing the vines causing trouble, Xantia wastes no time in rushing the stonework that seems to be their source, and just... punching it. An explosion of light follows, as she attempts to simply take out the remnants of whatever stone structure this used to be entirely, and the vines with it. Seemed like the most efficient way of tackling the problem to her.
However that matter is resolved, Xantia wastes no time in bounding over to Lanval and Layna, still surrounded by an aura of light, with a smile that shines brighter still as she recognises one of them immediately. "Hi Layna!" she starts with a wave, then does a bit of double-take at Lanval, before scratching her head. "Hi, um... have we met?"
The answer is yes, kind of. As in, Lanval has been in the same place as Xantia quite a few times. Xantia has almost certainly looked right at him before, even. But did she actually see him at all those times? This may well be the first time that she's actually spoken to him directly. There's a reason for that. Something has definitely changed since last time, and it's not just the outward aura.
So much so that she can tell Lanval's nature at a glance, or so it can be inferred from her next question. "Isn't it really dangerous for you to be here?"
DG: Xantia has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Strangling Knot.
================<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>=================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Strangling Knot *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The off-kilter sense that pervades the entryway to the Sacrificial Grounds
is all too familiar to those who are familiar with its sickening, inky touch
of contradiction. Malevolence permeates this place, and here, it comes in
shades that reek of panic and desperation, bubbling like an overstewed
kettle in the heart.
And it has settled deep into the bones of this place.
Deep enough that, as you enter, the hanging vinework that has settled into
the stonework seethes with a violet light before it literally whipsnaps
downward, intent to loop and lash the nearest person it can find. Vines
attempt to constrict and strangle and otherwise entrap -- unless the
ensnared can be freed from this terrible trap. It's time for some brute
force. Hurray! Brute force!
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
===========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 1 *>============ =======================< Results - The Strangling Knot >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Seraph Lanval 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Weaken(2) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Layna's not kidding! They sure have their work cut out for them, and among the people of the two worlds, these are but the select few who have the power to cleanse the Malevolence directly between them. If either of them are saying it's going to be that bad...
It may be that admission that gives a little bit more strength to the vines as they continue to gather in greater numbers and start to get themselves all over everything that moves. Slicing gales sever vines... that join with the muck below and wriggle anew. The only grace is that the vines now attached to the shallow stream of Malevolent muck pulls and tugs at opposite ends from the rest, but this is more a communication difficulty of sorts that will soon be corrected.
Lanval has enough presence of mind to notice the bright white glow of another arriving, and the sight of a fist just smashing right into it. There is a brilliant explosion of light that gets some of the vines to part.
"Mmm... pro'lly!!" He's met a lot of mortals over the years! He pulls the gourd closer to him, as close as he can when there is a real tug of war going on as the raft starts to lift up from the ground as Xantia asks the important question.
"It'sh more dangeroush fer thish ta be on Filgaia!!" Defiant. There is a wash of the feeling of water. Water, in all of its forms, great and... not. Given Filgaia's state, more 'not' than 'great.' But there is a sense that Xantia is in the presence of some great thing of water.
The break in the action provided by Xantia's assistance lapses, and the vines envelop them. They are too strong of will to be consumed.
But they are, for the moment, not able of body enough to prevent being carried through Who-The-Hell-Knows-where. (This journey will last as long as it takes for Xantia to decide to keep punching it again.)
Whatever's going on here, it's not holding back - though by Malevolence's nature, it generally can't hold back... and neither can they.
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Hidden Ways *>=======================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The Sacrificial Grounds, for all they are mostly straightforward, are tricky
and frustratingly convoluted in some key ways that help locals in deterring
people who are not really into tricky and frustratingly convoluted things.
One of these rears its head when you find yourself at a dead end. This is
clearly the way forward -- there's only so many straight pathways and stairs
in this place, when they're not maddeningly duplicating themselves for no
real reason -- but there seems to be no actual exit.
And there, in the corner of your eye, you might see what looks like solid
ground in the all-consuming darkness of the pits surrounding the stone
walkways. A hidden underway lies beneath you. Maybe. It'll take a leap of
faith to know for sure -- and then it'll take navigating those strange
hidden walkways beneath walkways to be able to press forward. And they are
so, so very dark. Who -doesn't- love jumping into dark pits hoping to hit
solid ground and not blank, resetting nothingness??
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna pauses, glancing over as Xantia greets her. That aura of light... that's pretty new. She doesn't think she's seen her do that before.
"Xantia! Good to see you again, lass." She greets with a nod. "Fancy seein' you here - we could use another good pair o' hands."
She grins a little, though, when Xantia asks if it's dangerous for Lanval to be here.
"Don't worry, I'm keepin' a good eye on 'im - if it gets too bad, I'll pull us back an' we can consider another angle of attack." She says.
But that is easier said then done - the vines manage to overpower them, and pull them along to somewhere else in the shrine. They're deposited unceremoniously in a rather remote location, right in the middle of one of the most tricky and frustratingly convoluted sections of the Sacrificial Grounds. Layna lands with a 'thud', and with a grunt of annoyance picks herself up off the ground.
"Everyone alright? Looks like it dropped us off somewhere else..." She mutters, looking around. They appear to be on a bridge leading straight into a wall, above a dark pit.
"...Cheery place, ain't it?" She says with a shake of her head. "Let's double back - maybe there's somethin'-"
She starts the other way... but then pauses. Down in the pit, she sees something... a faint silhouette of ground. Another walkway...? Layna reaches into her bags, draws out a bottle, and takes a deep swig.
"Well, nothin' gained by holding back, I guess." She says. She tosses the bottle to one of the others and then, without giving them a chance to stop her, leaps straight into the pit, aiming for that walkway she saw.
Of course, that's only half the trouble...
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, The Hidden Ways.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"That's true!" Xantia agrees readily that such concentrated Malevolence can't be allowed to stick around on Filgaia. Of course she was never about to argue that Lanval shouldn't be doing dangerous things. She does stupidly dangerous things herself all the time, it's fine.
And besides, Xantia does sense that this Seraph has some powerful water ability. In fact, she recognizes it. It's a sensation she's felt once before, in the Guardian Temple. There was certainly a time where things wouldn't have clicked in her mind so quickly, but as it is, there's a definite feeling of 'so that's why he seemed familiar'.
Not commenting on her own changes, she only grins and raises her fists to Layna, saying, "No need to worry there, these hands are very good." And she sure does keep them busy. When punching doesn't manage to keep the vines away, she instead turns to grabbing and forcing them off, but there's simply too many, and it never stops.
Still, when she eventually lands, she's only a little bit annoyed, quickly reassuming a bright disposition. "Oh well, we wanted to go deeper in anyway, right? Figure out what's causing this so we can stop it? That's what I came here for, anyway."
Xantia doesn't see what Layna has spotted before she's already ready to jump. And while there was a time when Xantia would have done much the same, she now has a tool at her disposal for situations like this. "Wait, I can--" she starts, but Layna is already gone. Funny, she's usually on the other end of exchanges like that.
With a shrug, Xantia enacts her own plan: she slips on what looks much like a very spiky brass knuckle over the fingers of her left hand, then slams down a punch on the edge of the pit, unleashing its magic. A sheet of ice springs forth, forming a makeshift slide down into it. It's not going to make it all the way to the walkway, but that won't stop Xantia from jumping onto it and sliding down, jumping at the last second to hopefully bridge the last bit of distance.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Blizzaga Claw toward her party's challenge, The Hidden Ways.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Good news! Lanval's okay, he doesn't look infested with the purple stuff (which is SUPER BAD for Seraphim, Xantia had the right of it).
...Ambivalent news! So is the creepy smiling horse head raft. It drifts across the ground as though traveling on a stream that simply isn't there on that bridge, as he lies flat on his back while holding the gourd close to him. They're really deep in the stuff now - a jarring transition even when knowing from the surface that it's lousy thick.
He sits up with a start as the pulsing of the Malevolent Domain gets ever more dire, even this far... up? Back? The Seraphim treat only a small number of the laws of the universe with anything approaching lip service and even he can't quite make full sense of direction.
...He does owe Xantia an explanation so that she doesn't worry. Worry causes problems in places like this.
"...Anyway... 'm gonna hafta keep it brief fer now, buuut... 'm Lanval. Oracle of Schturdark... the Guardian of Water." Hey, Seraphim are a Lunar thing! Guardians are a Filgaia thing! That's weird, isn't it? "It'sh my duty, honor, 'n all," he says as he stands up, "ta shoulder the burden of the very water of Filgaia."
Layna hands him a bottle of the good stuff. He doesn't think much of it because they always share drinks! Only the cursory check to make sure none of the Malevolence gets in there before he has his fill. "'n in that way--"
Layna's already taken off. Whoops! He'll have to go over the rest of that later, as the plunge is taken. Layna takes the leap of faith with a devil-may-care attitude, Xantia activates a stream of ice as she slides down it. Lanval...
Just keeps truckin' on on that raft, all too calmly riding down that chasm towards only the faintest idea there's something there. Water splashes around the raft in the descent - only after it leaves his immediate wake does the water separate from him conform to its unfortunate malleability before the corruption.
Water is notoriously easy to alter, after all.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bouyant Steed toward his party's challenge, The Hidden Ways.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Hidden Ways *>=======================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The Sacrificial Grounds, for all they are mostly straightforward, are tricky
and frustratingly convoluted in some key ways that help locals in deterring
people who are not really into tricky and frustratingly convoluted things.
One of these rears its head when you find yourself at a dead end. This is
clearly the way forward -- there's only so many straight pathways and stairs
in this place, when they're not maddeningly duplicating themselves for no
real reason -- but there seems to be no actual exit.
And there, in the corner of your eye, you might see what looks like solid
ground in the all-consuming darkness of the pits surrounding the stone
walkways. A hidden underway lies beneath you. Maybe. It'll take a leap of
faith to know for sure -- and then it'll take navigating those strange
hidden walkways beneath walkways to be able to press forward. And they are
so, so very dark. Who -doesn't- love jumping into dark pits hoping to hit
solid ground and not blank, resetting nothingness??
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
==========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 2 *>=========== ========================< Results - The Hidden Ways >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 20 --(4)--> 24 Pass Bouyant Steed 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 20 --(4)--> 24 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 15 --(4)--> 19 Pass Blizzaga Claw 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Seraph Lanval 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Weaken(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval 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.
Layna makes the jump, no trouble! That's one of her specialties, really - it's no surprise that she'd be able to hit her mark without falling into the abyss below. Fortunately, the others do, too. Xantia punches a slide of ice into being, giving her a convenient, quick, and fun way to bridge the gap between the bridge they were on and the hidden walkway below.
Lanval eventually follows, casually rafting on down with seemingly great ease.
"Sorry about that - I kind of jumped ahead without thinking." Layna says with a grin, as the others catch up with. It's pretty reckless, but it's that kind of confidence that makes her pretty resistant to Malevolence.
From there, they'll have to maneuver their way through the dark walkways until they can find a little more light, or the way forward - but it'll be easier now that they're here.
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
==================<* CHALLENGE - The Illusion of Anxiety *>===================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The pathways of the Sacrificial Grounds are grimly linear; after all, there
is only one, inevitable endpoint to this place, and there is no escaping
that simple fact of fate. However, as you walk across aging stoneways, there
is a horrifying shriek from much deeper in the altar --
And suddenly, you find yourself facing two, branching paths of stone.
Take the wrong one, and two paths become four. Four become eight. Eight
become sixteen. Until you are surrounded by a dizzying, impossible degree of
branching options, with no clear sign which is the right way -- and nothing
but a growing panic of uncertainty that seeps into the soul deeper and
deeper, the more those paths and choices open up.
What is the right way, when there is no easy way forward?
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia's reaction to Lanval's introduction is... well, perhaps to be expected from her. "Okay! Nice to meet you, Lanval, I'm Xantia!" She's not the kind to be fased so quickly. Whether through being in the middle of a Malevolent Domain, or being confronted with some really freaky-looking raft, she somehow manages to take things that most would find at least a little worrisome entirely in stride more often than not.
Well, except for one thing. She doesn't ask it until later, though. After a fun slide down a pit that could have easily ended in a horrible accident with one false move. She, of course, went 'wheeee' as she slid down, jumping what remained of the distance as if she does this sort of thing all the time. "I know how that is," she calmly responds to Layna's assertion, nodding sagely. Sometimes you just have to jump down a pit.
This to her seems like the best time to get back to the one question she was left with regarding Lanval. It may not exactly encompass all that's weird about this, but all she actually asks is, "Hey, what's an Oracle, aren't you a Seraph?"
Xantia isn't even really paying particular attention to where the path before them is going. She's just having a friendly chat as she walks, no reason why you can't do that even when your surroundings are dire. She doesn't even really notice something weird was going on until the path ahead has already split into eight different paths, upon which she pauses, and frowns. "That is way too many directions, this doesn't even make sense."
Then she shrugs, and just makes to head down another path, seemingly at random. What, did you think she was going to even care about which way is the right way? She has no idea what the right way even is! As long as you keep moving forward, you've got to get somewhere eventually. It doesn't really matter where that somewhere is. That's rarely mattered to her, in any situation.
Of course, though this may not have much of a psychological effect on her, the question is whether this approach of 'don't worry about it' is actually going to get anybody anywhere...
DG: Xantia has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Illusion of Anxiety.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It does seem weirdly discordant in terms of mood, but it is in Lanval's native own power to amplify and just be in the company of the smaller joys of life - and it staves off the ambient recursive loop of panic, desperation, and resignation that this entire place has become lousy with. At long last, at the bottom of all of this, Lanval gets up off the creepy raft. Amusingly, even now, Lanval seems to have very interesting ideas of what 'locomotion' is. His manifestation (in)famously doesn't ever wear shoes - and there he is, walking barefoot soul-deep in the purple stuff.
"Yup. 'm a Seraph. Oracle... 'sh my title, ya could shay," he says as he staggers along. Some look and sound three sheets to the wind. There are a lot of sheets here, and someone lost count. "An Oracle... that'sh a Seraph who made a pact with a Guardian of Filgaia. Normally... on Lunar, the Seraphim are shupposhed ta help keep Malevolence from doin' a number by helpin' reinforce the Boundary of Althena."
There's a lot to unpack - how Her actions as of late seemed contrary to this, how the Guard has helped endanger Meribus by giving him the boot from when he used to preside over a small piece of it... but now's not the time for regrets or frustrations.
"...In my cashe... I'm doin' that, on behalf of the very water of Filgaia." It's a generalization. As Xantia expresses concern about there being too many directions, there's Lanval now wearing those novelty beer bottle glasses like an attachment that got slapped on for someone's amusement but never removed.
"...It wantsh ya ta worry 'bout it," Lanval says, "way I shee it, they're all goin' forward... 'n we gotta go forward."
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, The Illusion of Anxiety.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"I knew you'd get me." Layna replies to Xantia with a grin and a nod. The two of them were often on the same wavelength... which may be something of a terrifying prospect.
She looks toward Lanval, then, as he explains to Xantia what an Oracle is. She nods.
"And I'm one of his Seers - long story short, I help him out with that." She says, pointing at herself.
As they proceed, the path begins to split... and split, and split. Layna reaches for the telescope at her waist, draws it, and extends it. She uses it to take a closer look at the area...
...but then, Xantia just picks a direction and goes, and Lanval says they're going forward, and they have to go forward. Layna laughs raucously, at that.
"Aye, aye! True enough!" She says jovially, then collapses the telescope and just follows after Xantia. No point in worrying about it! If a problem arises, they'll deal with it.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, The Illusion of Anxiety.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
==================<* CHALLENGE - The Illusion of Anxiety *>===================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The pathways of the Sacrificial Grounds are grimly linear; after all, there
is only one, inevitable endpoint to this place, and there is no escaping
that simple fact of fate. However, as you walk across aging stoneways, there
is a horrifying shriek from much deeper in the altar --
And suddenly, you find yourself facing two, branching paths of stone.
Take the wrong one, and two paths become four. Four become eight. Eight
become sixteen. Until you are surrounded by a dizzying, impossible degree of
branching options, with no clear sign which is the right way -- and nothing
but a growing panic of uncertainty that seeps into the soul deeper and
deeper, the more those paths and choices open up.
What is the right way, when there is no easy way forward?
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
==========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 3 *>=========== ====================< Results - The Illusion of Anxiety >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 24 --(4)--> 28 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 24 --(4)--> 28 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 19 --(4)--> 23 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Seraph Lanval 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval 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> Xantia has posed.
Xantia listens attentively to Lanval and Layna's explanation of Oracles and Seers. That's certainly something that she didn't know was possible. "Huuuuh. So that must be kind of a new thing." Unless people from Lunar were already here earlier than she's aware of. Which is entirely possible given her memory loss, but it seems that this isn't one of those times where she asks a question most people would know the answer to. That's always nice.
She nods, adding, "Makes sense to me. The Guardians can't really do much on their own." That's not intended as a dig of course, Xantia doesn't do that. She's just relating what seems to be a fact, from what she knows. And besides, as she clarifies afterwards, "I'm glad you're helping them. I've tried my best to do what they asked, though I was probably gonna do that anyway. I want to keep Filgaia safe more than anything."
That much, she's become certain of in her quest for her memories. Not knowing why she feels the way she does doesn't keep her from feeling that way.
Meanwhile, the dark forces manipulating the path ahead have met their match, utterly failing in making any one of the trio worry about the correct way in the slightest. The illusion falls away harmlessly and unnoticably, as the current path simply continues on without splitting again.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
================<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Fear of Loss *>======================= |Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are many lives that have been lost here in the Sacrificial Grounds; some of them intentional, some of them not -- some that were intended to be intentional, but not the way they ultimately lost that life. And the Malevolence here gives horrible life to these trapped, purposeless souls, animating skeletal remains into fearful simulacrums of the lives that once inhabited them. The bony Hellions aren't much of a challenge physically -- but with them, they carry a very real fear of mortality that permeates this place, the frightening auras surrounding them, and their raw numbers, making up for lack of physical strength as they rise up and begin to swarm. Skeleton goons. Just the worst. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
They're getting deeper. When you are, by your nature, a being who came into existence to help regulate Malevolence by stopping it from clumping up into... well, this... you have an acute sense for when there is a lot of it. It is something different from sniffing lemon-scented soap from a distance, and then gradually coming closer so it smells stronger. It means growing ever more embroiled within emotions in turmoil. Emotions that feel wrong and terrible and awful and unfair and...
Few things are more upsetting than death. Death, usually, is such a 'final' thing that there usually isn't much for the individual to be upset about. They're dead. They're beyond upset. They're beyond joy. They're dead.
The captured emotions within the moment of death, given a medium in which to fester such as this...
The trio find themselves in a catacomb whose remains do not appear to have been interred with any level of respect, or organization. They are strewn about everywhere, mixed and (mis)matched as the miasma animates them. They are old, rotted, shattered bones. Physically that's no real challenge.
They can all hear, feel.. live their fear of death. This sort of thing is something anyone who bears the power of Purification will find themselves coming up against a lot, having to confront these conflicting emotions with no healthy outlet in which to expunge or come to acceptance with. Uncertainty about everything they leave behind, their panic about what has had to happen, the desperation involved in... either accepting it is their fate for some greater good, or desperation in wishing for another way. If they are to physically touch, it is exactly like living within the very moment of their death.
For a Seraph, who has lost a good mortal friend - their first - so long ago and then having to further watch other mortal types see their ends in horrible (and sometimes strange) ways, therein lies one of the great emotional gulfs that occur between mortal and Seraph. Any Seraph of at least a century or more, no matter what, has had their fill of watching mortals meet their end. Lanval, taking point, pours down a shining liquid of familiar Lunarian make - identical to that of a Holy Bottle - setting a line and divide and... in some ways, a river styx, to put it poetically.
Lanval doesn't say anything. He trusts in the emotional and spiritual strength of both of them to not be dragged down into it.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, The Fear of Loss.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Following Xantia without any concern for where they're actually going turns out to be the right call. They're getting closer to the sensation of Malevolence. Naturally this means they're almost to their destination... but first, they find themselves in a catacomb, surrounded by bones. The Malevolent miasma is thick here - and it animates the dead. They rise up against the living... and Layna just sighs. She can feel their emotions and their fears crashing against her a wave. But she remains steadfast.
"...Sorry. You didn't deserve this. I can tell that much. There's only one mercy I can offer you." She says, shaking her head. And then, she cracks her knuckles. Her left bracer - the piece of equipment she offered during her trial to become a Seer of water - begins to shine and water, shining, shimmering, Purifying water, begins to surround her hands.
She rushes into the fray, delivering a devastating flurry of punches into the midst of the skeletal Hellions. Each punch results in a splash of that Purifying water.
It might not be enough to clean this whole place - at least, not from here - but maybe it'll be enough to put these particular souls to rest.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Fear of Loss.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia... is not really acting like one might expect in a place. She can't be so oblivious as to not notice anything amiss in the catacomb the group has entered into. And yet she seems perfectly calm, sounding pretty much the same as always when she asks, "You think this is where it's all coming from?"
It's possible that she's asking that exactly because she's noticed the negative feelings in the air being stronger here. But if she did, she seems to be weathering it pretty stoically. Not fully understanding the magnitude of it all could play a part in this, but it can't explain it entirely. Perhaps this is the result of having such a short span of memory, making her unusually accustomed to situations like this to the point where they're normal to her. Or maybe her resolve has hardened to the point where she can handle this sort of thing without letting empathy interfere. Who can say? Either way, her reaction to the appearance of skeletal adversaries is quite different from Layna's.
"I was wondering when this would happen!" Xantia cracks her knuckles, grinning from ear to ear. She's perfectly happy to see a small army of skeleton goons. Why wouldn't she be? This is a very obvious problem with an even more obvious solution, a solution that is her forte. Who's got time to worry about mortality and who these unfortunate souls might have been, there's skeletons to bash!
It's questionable how much Xantia's aura of light - while certainly offering some measure of physical protection - can serve to protect her from the effects Malevolence would have on most people. Perhaps it's her eternal optimism that's anathema to Malevolence, and gives her a measure of resistance to it. Or maybe it's just that she likes to punch things too much to worry about anything else. Who can say?
For now, what matters is that Xantia has an energy blade built into her bracer, and she's not afraid to use it. It's not exactly purification, but skeletons whose bones are either punched or sliced into smaller bits do tend to pose a significantly smaller threat in short order.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, The Fear of Loss.
================<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Fear of Loss *>======================= |Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are many lives that have been lost here in the Sacrificial Grounds; some of them intentional, some of them not -- some that were intended to be intentional, but not the way they ultimately lost that life. And the Malevolence here gives horrible life to these trapped, purposeless souls, animating skeletal remains into fearful simulacrums of the lives that once inhabited them. The bony Hellions aren't much of a challenge physically -- but with them, they carry a very real fear of mortality that permeates this place, the frightening auras surrounding them, and their raw numbers, making up for lack of physical strength as they rise up and begin to swarm. Skeleton goons. Just the worst. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
===========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 4 *>============ =========================< Results - The Fear of Loss >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 28 --(4)--> 32 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 28 --(4)--> 32 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 23 --(4)--> 27 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Seraph Lanval 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Reckless(1) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval 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> Seraph Lanval has posed.
In a straight-up fight, it is no contest. Layna and Xantia are more than a match for the reanimated (and not at all rebuilt) dead. Emotionally, as Layna faces their tangled emotions head-on with the blessing of Schturdark channeled through Lanval, she can see so many passed lives together. The clarity is muddled only by how many there are, as the choking miasma thins in her wake. The amount of terror of those who feel they must give it up, they have to, but don't want to, that there must be some other way, that there must be a way out, something better... it's a lot to take in, but all that is left behind is the faint drizzle of rain where she clears.
Xantia does not have this same gift, but it is not to say she lacks a gift - moving with clarity of purpose if not of reason, there is no dissonance for any of it to cling to. It all just washes off around her as she dices up the long-rotten remains by depriving what Malevolence that lingers a proper physical host for it. Through acceptance and innocence, they untangle the knotted-up emotions enough that there is a clarity provided in their way forward.
Lanval does not narrate to Xantia what happened, as if the demonstration alone were apt. This chamber is clear - but Malevolence beyond will look to fill the gap, and they need to hurry to its very source.
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Uncertain Signs *>=====================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You enter a large, square chamber. The signs of the zodiac are arranged in a
circle at the center's chamber, and the surrounding exits seem to correspond
to the patterns on the ground. There are inscriptions on these exits,
inscriptions that -should- give hints as to the methods of opening them...
except that every time you look, the messages change. Perhaps one time they
tell you to stand upon the lion's roar; the next time you blink, the message
explains that you must 'stand across from where the arrow pierces.'
Sometimes, the messages are simply, confoundingly wrong.
Every time, Malevolence pulses subtly through this place.
Every time, the need to find some answer from the signs grows ever-stronger.
So how do you deal with it, when your hint text is being horribly
mismanaged?
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna doesn't linger long in the catacombs. She takes the lead as they move on, and soon enough they all find themselves in a large, square chamber. The signs of the zodiac are visible here, arranged in a circle with exits corresponding to them. They're currently sealed, however - but each one bears a cryptic message related to the sign of the zodiac they signify.
...Except, every time they look, the message seems to change. Sometimes they're a complex series of instructions... sometimes, they're just clearly wrong.
Layna stares, blinking and running a hand through her hair.
"...I shoulda brought Dahlia, she's better than I am with nonsense like this." She says, shaking her head in disbelief.
"'Boil the crab to' - hey, wait, I wasn't done!" She sighs and shakes her head. "...This puzzle is stupid, I'm lookin' for another way out."
And with that, Layna draws out her telescope.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, The Uncertain Signs.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Although it seemed like there was no end to it for a little while there, eventually the skeletons stop coming. Xantia waits a moment longer before deactivating her ARM and raising a fist triumphantly. "Alright, that takes care of that!" This kind of dungeoneering is very much her speed. This could be a lot worse, as far as she's concerned. It could be a puzzle dungeon.
Wouldn't you know it, no sooner did she have that thought or it becomes reality. She's already getting slightly dizzy just looking at the setup, and that's before she's tried to read any of the inscriptions. Indeed, Xantia isn't quite immune to this one, rubbing her temples as if nursing a headache. "Uuugh, I don't like puzzles, I'm not going to get this at all."
Still, as Layna is trying her best, she's willing to give it a college try, reading aloud the inscription on one of the exits. "'A flame flickers inside the ring of fire'. What's THAT supposed to mean?" Then she squints as the text changes before her eyes. "'Garlic in the graveyard summons a stranger.' Uhhh..."
Layna beats her to declaring that this puzzle is stupid, prompting her to chime in, "Yeah! This is like that puzzle the Guardians gave us, I don't think they even expected us to solve that one. And it was fine when we didn't, it was like... our own answers were what mattered? Maybe this is one of those puzzles?"
That's about the best she's got. Or, of course, her next suggestion. "...I could just punch one of the doors and see what happens."
DG: Xantia has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Uncertain Signs.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmmph." So 'mmmphs' the Oracle of Schturdark himself, who walks in the center of the square chamber. He doesn't so much as look at the hint plaque. He is also wearing those silly glasses again, but that is beyond the point. "At thish point... do ya really need ta be told where we go?" So the Seraph asks, as he sits down at the northern end of the chamber. It's a weird thing. Given a choice, he just likes to be towards the north - or north-equivalent.
He seems - and is! - calm for someone who is caught in an impossible puzzle that keeps chanting its rules with the same lack of consistency as a vivid nightmarish dream where everything changes the moment one looks back at the fluctuating snapshot of one's psyche. "Ya ain't lookin' fer the right door... nope. If you're payin' attention to the way the Malevolence is actin' up..."
Xantia may have the right of it, by his measure.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, The Uncertain Signs.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Uncertain Signs *>=====================
|Type: exploration |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You enter a large, square chamber. The signs of the zodiac are arranged in a
circle at the center's chamber, and the surrounding exits seem to correspond
to the patterns on the ground. There are inscriptions on these exits,
inscriptions that -should- give hints as to the methods of opening them...
except that every time you look, the messages change. Perhaps one time they
tell you to stand upon the lion's roar; the next time you blink, the message
explains that you must 'stand across from where the arrow pierces.'
Sometimes, the messages are simply, confoundingly wrong.
Every time, Malevolence pulses subtly through this place.
Every time, the need to find some answer from the signs grows ever-stronger.
So how do you deal with it, when your hint text is being horribly
mismanaged?
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
==========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 5 *>=========== ======================< Results - The Uncertain Signs >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 32 --(8)--> 40 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 32 --(8)--> 40 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 27 --(8)--> 35 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Seraph Lanval 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(1) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval 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.
Confusing, perplexing, and puzzling... well, puzzles, are presented. But soon enough, someone puts for a suggestion!
'I could just punch one of the doors', Xantia suggests. A wide grin crosses over Layna's face.
"I like the way you think, lass." She says with a grin. And so, Xantia punches a door. They're sturdy things, but not a whole lot can stop Xantia when she wants to get somewhere. The chosen door shatters under the force of her punch, presenting the way forward!
"Excellent." She says with a grin.
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
=======<* CHALLENGE - Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity *>========
|Type: final |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
There is a crystal here, pulsing between shades of purer red, and polluted
violet. Touching it transports you all in a seething flash of ley's light
and Malevolent contradiction, deeper in to the heart of the grounds, where
the Malevolence thrives thickest.
And it is here, in a large, circular chamber, that you find it.
An egg.
A tremendous, black egg, hanging in the center of a large altar. The eggs
surface bubbles like boiling liquid, rippling now and then in rhythmic
patterns like the thing was breathing. Every 'breath' makes the very earth
tremble, sending liquid fissures of Malevolence gouting like a volcanic
eruption from the egg's oval surface.
And attached to this egg? A multitude of Malevolent chains, running from
somewhere else in the grounds into the egg to hold and support its weight.
No -- more than that.
They are feeding it Malevolence, like an incubating egg thrives and is
nurtured on heat.
The platform you arrive on contains one such chain leading towards this egg;
surrounding this platform are statues carved in prayer, eyes aglow with
bruise-hued light. A chorus emanates from them, their panicked, desperate
refrain filling the air with discordant notes that seem to harmonize and
strengthen the shriek of the thing within the egg. They drown out everything
-- all sense, all reason, all rationality, until only their anxious, wild
madness dominates. Whenever a statue is somehow disabled, though? The chain
begins to shake and weaken.
If you can find a way to shut down these statues, then just maybe...
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia doesn't need to be told to punch a thing twice, or even once. She just goes ahead and does it as soon as she hears anything that doesn't sound like an objection. It's the Pisces door she smashes, not that this should be considered symbolism of any kind, it was entirely random. It takes a few regular punches before she resorts to drawing the light of her aura towards her right hand, and takes it out with an explosion of light energy. So much for the light that used to surround her, but that wasn't really an essential piece of protection, regardless.
She only has to lay eyes on the crystal ahead for a second before deciding, "There it is, that must be where this is all coming from." She's already in the straightforward mindset - the way she sees it now, all she has to do is crush the dumb crystal and everything will be solved. Any warnings come too late to stop her from laying a hand on the gem, at which point reality warps, and so does the party.
The next thing Xantia knows, she's standing with a hand outstretched towards where the gem used to be, but instead, ahead is a horribly sickly-looking egg-shaped object, bubbling with black ooze. Xantia lets out the breath she'd been holding for a few seconds. "...Okay. Maybe that's where this is all coming from."
She then eyes the chains that the egg is linked to, and follows one back to the very platform the group is standing on, and the series of distressed-looking statues making noises all around it. She turns to the others, wondering aloud, "Is this another puzzle?" And, by logical extension, "I could just punch one of the statues and see what happens."
She hasn't seen any evidence yet that this isn't usually the correct solution. In general, not just in this place.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
What lies ahead, after the crystal deposits them... Lanval stands utterly still. Even with the protection of a vessel, a Seraph has their limits. Malevolence is anathema to them, after all... but no, it has nothing to do with the concentration of it.
It is everything to do with what is inside of it, and Lanval's eyes flare right the heck open to their brilliant aquamarine color as he stagger-runs right forward to better have a look at what was hidden-- no.
Malevolence doesn't really obfuscate. It overwhelms. What was going on in the ambience of the afflicted area was bad enough. If one just follows the sight of the chain - ignoring the five other platforms which all appear to have chains that have already been broken or are currently in the process of breaking - it terminates around an enormous black egg.
Something is being born here - poisoned with highly concentrated Malevolence which in turn causes the environs to belch up even more of it. Statues carved in prayer, eyes aglow with the bruise-hued light as their hymns are of panicked, desperate discordance.
"It doth be something more than an origin for this blight," that's still Lanval - less slurring, more... something closer to divinity, which he attains sometimes after he drinks just enough. The feeling of 'water' intensifies. "'tis its very destination...!"
Translation: they are totes making something with all of this Malevolence! As Xantia asks aloud if it's another puzzle, what they are seeing and experiencing (...what Lanval is, to clarify) is a heavy test even for one of his spiritual strength. He has an inkling of what is going on...!
He struggles to communicate the urgency in which it must be stopped! Maybe he doesn't need to, for he quietly channels additional power to Layna as he holds the drinking gourd heavy with the piece of Filgaia's very water - and going the extra mile to try and impart further water-like power to Xantia to further her on the productive ends of 'punch one of the statues and see what happens.'
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
There is a crystal, and with a Malevolent flash, they're placed before...
"...What the hell, a giant egg??" Layna states, perplexed. A Malevolent egg, more importantly - and what's more, there are statues carved in prayer, with ominously glowing eyes and emitting a strange tune. She looks at Lanval. Xantia suggests it, and Lanval says that it's more than that - it's the destination. Layna frowns, folding her arms in front of her. She said they'd have their work cut out for them... but, she wasn't expecting this.
"I don't know what they're doin' with this... but we gotta do somethin'." Layna says. She looks toward Xantia.
"...Guess that's a good a place to start as any!" She says. The Purifying waters surround her hands once more, and she rushes to punch a statue of her own.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity.
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
=======<* CHALLENGE - Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity *>========
|Type: final |Dungeon Ability: wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
There is a crystal here, pulsing between shades of purer red, and polluted
violet. Touching it transports you all in a seething flash of ley's light
and Malevolent contradiction, deeper in to the heart of the grounds, where
the Malevolence thrives thickest.
And it is here, in a large, circular chamber, that you find it.
An egg.
A tremendous, black egg, hanging in the center of a large altar. The eggs
surface bubbles like boiling liquid, rippling now and then in rhythmic
patterns like the thing was breathing. Every 'breath' makes the very earth
tremble, sending liquid fissures of Malevolence gouting like a volcanic
eruption from the egg's oval surface.
And attached to this egg? A multitude of Malevolent chains, running from
somewhere else in the grounds into the egg to hold and support its weight.
No -- more than that.
They are feeding it Malevolence, like an incubating egg thrives and is
nurtured on heat.
The platform you arrive on contains one such chain leading towards this egg;
surrounding this platform are statues carved in prayer, eyes aglow with
bruise-hued light. A chorus emanates from them, their panicked, desperate
refrain filling the air with discordant notes that seem to harmonize and
strengthen the shriek of the thing within the egg. They drown out everything
-- all sense, all reason, all rationality, until only their anxious, wild
madness dominates. Whenever a statue is somehow disabled, though? The chain
begins to shake and weaken.
If you can find a way to shut down these statues, then just maybe...
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
==========<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar - Round 6 *>=========== =========< Results - Desperation's Chains ~ The Drowning Necessity >========== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 40 --(101)--> 141 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 40 --(101)--> 141 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 35 --(101)--> 136 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Seraph Lanval 90 --(10)--> 100 Fail Conditions: Stupify(2) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: Seraph Lanval is too exhausted to continue! DG: Layna Manydays is too exhausted to continue! DG: Xantia is too exhausted to continue! DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Seraph Lanval has successfully explored Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar!
===============<* Sacrificial Grounds ~ Desperation's Altar *>================
===============<* CHALLENGE - The Altar's Chains ~ Shattered *>===============
|Type: discovery |Dungeon Ability: conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
As the last of the obstacles fueling the chain are taken care of, the
Malevolence-wrought tether begins to tremble. Cracklines form throughout its
gleaming, glowing metallic-purple surface, before the contradictory links of
it snap, one by one, and the entire thing breaks apart, swinging dangerously
low and wild as it disconnects from the egg it had been so chillingly
supporting.
It shatters into a thousand little motes of Malevolent light before it can
swing into -you-, leaving nothing but the chamber, the remaining chains, and
the egg.
The egg-like structure sags slightly, and small, glowing fissures run
through its surface as the thing rumbles.
One chain down. With any luck, others will be taking care of the rest.
=Dungeon Conditions: =========================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia does notice that Something Is Up with Lanval, but all the reaction it gets from her is a squint and the remark, "You're talking even funnier than before." She wasn't going to say anything about it, but he's just getting hard to understand at this point.
She does manage to understand, though. And it's only serving to make her more angry. "So, all of this, it was done just for... whatever this is? That's exactly the kind of nonsense that K.K. would do." And that alone is plenty of reason to make sure that whatever is being attempted here doesn't succeed.
Lanval imparts the power of purifying water, and instantly, Xantia flashes back to the Guardian Temple once more. That happened back then, as well. At the time, she elected to use the power of purifying fire over it, simply due to having more affinity with fire. That doesn't mean that she won't use water if that's what she has to work with. With a nod to Layna, she closes her fist, employing an element she never has before with Lanval's assistance, and punches a statue on the opposite end from Layna.
While this may not have been the intended way to deal with the issue, it works well enough - as the statues crumble, the link loses its cohesion, and purifying water courses through the chain, evaporating its Malevolent composition. The egg seems affected by this, but... will it be enough to stop whatever was being done here?