2021-06-11: Seeking Antiquity
- Log: Seeking Antiquity
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Seraph Yvain, Ruth Pauling, Yulie Ahtreide
- Where: Zoara Badlands
- Date: June 11, 2021
- Summary: Josie ventures into some purported Zeboim-era ruins, only to find that her rival (and others) are not far behind. Teaming up, the group ventures into the depths, but will the old world give up its secrets so easily?
DG: A party led by Josephine Lovelace is now entering Zeboim Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - An Unstable Crossing *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Five thousand years ago, this city was buried during an apocalypse. The actual route down to the ruins below is uneventful: the Ethos team managing the excavation had installed a functional elevator and you are able to easily gain access to it and ride down. You find yourself on the opposite end of a great bridge once you step into the entrance they carved into the rock. Below you, you can see the shattered remnants of the city buried by time and cataclysm alike. The bridge itself has not had a good five thousand years: it's broken, with a good chunk of it missing. But the good news is, someone has made a makeshift bridge for the gap. The bad news is that it's rather unstable. It might be a good idea to shore it up some before you try to cross it. It's a long way down. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLFaqrDf4Zk =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Reckless========================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Most of the ruins have been duds.
They were, by far, too young. Or, in the case of the Nightmare -- which hadn't even been on the map -- too weird. Josephine Lovelace's exploration of a number of Southern Aquvy's ruins this past month has been little more than disappointment after disappointment.
But if you don't like failure, it had been said to her once, never become an archaeologist.
And besides, if one of these ruins on the map is what she's been looking for, taking her ball and going home will just mean she loses to Yvain.
As she makes her way down into the cut the Ethos had carved into the earth, she can't help but smile at the thought of it. There's something... invigorating about having a rival.
She steps out onto an ancient bridge in the next moment and things are already looking up. If it weren't for the fact that sniffing around this place after what'd gone down was outright dangerous for her health, well, maybe she would have even gone sooner.
But that's fine. She's here now, and with any luck, she's gotten here before Yvain.
"Plank bridge? Someone's right generous," she remarks, taking one step onto it.
It wiggles.
Josie, considering the drop below those unstable planks, takes a step backwards and crouches alongside it.
"Well, that'd be nasty. Lesse here," she says to herself, pulling out a screwdriver. At least she can ensure these planks are better connected to one another.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Lucky Screwdriver toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Seraph Yvain, being a social creature, made use of local adventurer's resources to post a bill for people to meet up for some reward at the Zeboim ruins, the primary reward being 'whatever is in there that they can find.' It was all very official, except that there was no one to actually talk to about it beyond showing up and finding them there. Indeed, once there, some people wouldn't know that someone was there at all...
But Yvain figures, worst case, some people show up at the right time and he goes along with them while they're unaware.
Here and now, he steps out from the shadows to see someone who would recognize him all right, and smiles amusedly. "Fancy meeting you here," he reflects, and steps down towards the planks. "Let's see who else makes it. In the meantime..." He glances over. "Well, I can make it over no problem. But the rest of you might do better thinking about how to fix it with something to drink..."
Yvain pulls a cider jug and some cups! He will heat it himself.
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Cider Jug toward his party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Sometimes, people of Ruth's... existential state of being have it in themselves to find curiosity and interest in things that appear outside the scope of their... hang-ups. Sometimes, they end up looping right back into them, whether they're aware of it or not - but one thing is always true independent of how, what, or why.
They just are, they just do. As it pertains to here, the sharpshooter of a blood-stained recent history sees and hears something about what was once a highly guarded Order of Ethos Dig site and... she wonders, what things might have been like if...
Well, never mind the navel gazing for now. There's that overdressed elven woman with them on the elevator down. At least two of the gathered know that's not what she 'really' is, but she hasn't pushed the point or have been outwardly threatening about it.
She does turn her head to look in Yvain's direction in that time he reveals himself, so it's confirmed that Yvain's in the company of three Resonant people! It makes things less awkward (except for one wrinkle, but, shh). He looks to Josie and Yulie in brief to gauge their reactions.
Then comes the bridge, which is broken and has a replacement that... is likely to break under their collective weight.
There's worry on what of Ruth's face can be seen, as she's not making eye contact. She's looking down, down, down into the great drop that awaits should the planks collapse, which is frightening, but... she doesn't hate heights. Quite the opposite.
The only thing that breaks her out of her reverie is the talk of sharing warm cider. "You would share? ...Thank you." It takes a bit for her to accept small unsolicited acts of kindness, but her contributions don't seem to come to much more than 'stare into the abyss.' She sniffs once, and there's a little guilty smile. "This is hard cider, isn't it... it doesn't take much for it to go to my head."
Josie and Yulie may be understandably nervous at this statement!
She more or less follows others' leads. She might have more trouble if it involves moving heavy things around. Her right hand coming up to rub her left shoulder is clue enough that one of her arms isn't so suited to heavy lifting any more. (And yet, on her back... that heavy sniper rifle.)
DG: Ruth Pauling has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
As it turns out, there was some interest in exploring the Zeboim Ruins. After everything that happened there... Yulie wants to know what other secrets it might hold, if there's anything left there that may be able to help them. A lot of terrible things happened because of it, but there must be some good that can come from it.
And so, there's there at the ruins at the appointed time. She's a little nervous, of course - it was always just a little nervewracking responding to something like this, but Adventurer's Guild jobs are usually reputable so she isn't as worried as she could be.
And besides, this isn't her first time here. She knows what to expect... a least a little.
She isn't the first one here, though - when she arrives, everyone else has already arrived. She looks briefly toward Josie and Ruth, before eventually looking toward Yvain, who she doesn't know.
"Um... are you Mister Yvain? I'm Yulie... I saw your bill..." She explains, then pauses as he brings out some cider. She does look a little worried about that, but there's another matter of concern. "Oh, hard cider... thank you for the offer, but I probably shouldn't have any... it does smell delicious, though."
Right now, though, there's the matter of crossing the bridge.
"Um... Mister Yvain, you said you could cross over without any problems...? Well, I, um... I have a spell that lets me gather everyone around a friendly target... If you cross over first, I should be able to bring everyone over to you..." She suggests and then pauses, second-guessing herself. "...B-but then I guess we would still be stranded over there without a way back, so we'd still have to figure this out anyway... maybe we should save that as a last resort..."
It's an important lesson from the tales of Saint Calucion, on keeping in mind every possible outcome of a chosen course of action.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has used her Tool Calucion's Journeys toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - An Unstable Crossing *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Five thousand years ago, this city was buried during an apocalypse. The actual route down to the ruins below is uneventful: the Ethos team managing the excavation had installed a functional elevator and you are able to easily gain access to it and ride down. You find yourself on the opposite end of a great bridge once you step into the entrance they carved into the rock. Below you, you can see the shattered remnants of the city buried by time and cataclysm alike. The bridge itself has not had a good five thousand years: it's broken, with a good chunk of it missing. But the good news is, someone has made a makeshift bridge for the gap. The bad news is that it's rather unstable. It might be a good idea to shore it up some before you try to cross it. It's a long way down. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLFaqrDf4Zk =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Reckless========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 1 *>========================== =======================< Results - An Unstable Crossing >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Lucky Screwdriver 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yulie Ahtreide 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Calucion's Journeys 1 Wits Effects: Fanfare and Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Cider Jug 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruth Pauling 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie's not even applied screwdriver to screws when a familar voice pipes up.
"Shoulda known," she remarks, glancing back over her shoulder from where she's crouched. "Still. Technically speaking and all, I beat you to this one, Yvain."
Though the exploration part of the matter isn't yet complete, and who knows what they might find in the depths of this ruin, or if it's even what she's searching for?
And she takes that moment to stand and stretch hugely.
"Cider, eh?" she says to him, turning his way. "Good man. Don't mind if I do," she says, picking up a cup.
They're not the only ones here.
"...Eh? Oh, hey there, kiddo. Stayin' out of trouble?" she asks of Yulie, winking the once at the girl. "Don't mind me none. I ain't waitin' around for you here. If I were, I'd've already gone and grabbed you, right?" she says to Yulie, pairing it with a grin that might suggest that she's only joking. ...Probably.
That joviality she bears... mutes somewhat as her gaze falls upon the other.
"Ruth...? Fancy seein' you here. Doin' a tour yourself, eh?"
It's not fear. Neither is it distrust, or anything of that ilk. It's little more than a quiet piece of unease, knowing full well what Ruth is. But, so long as she's stable...?
It occurs to Josie that she doesn't know much about Hellions, really.
"...Well, ain't that a handy spell, kiddo," Josie remarks, after polishing off her cup of cider in short order. "Tell you what, if I mess up fixin' this here bridge, we'll use that trick to get over and worry about later, later. Now, gimme a hand here. Both of you, actually. I could someone who's got functional fingers..."
It takes a little bit to stabilize and better secure the existing bridge's planks to one another, but by working together with the assembly process -- and one good screwdriver -- it's at least somewhat less hazardous to cross.
DG: Ruth Pauling has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Laser Turrets *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- For a five-thousand-year-old ruin, this place definitely still has some power running through it: perhaps you've seen signs of it previously. Whatever else can be said about the Zeboim Civilization, they built to last. While this has its upsides -- lighting! ventilation! -- it also has its downsides: See also: these laser turrets. Now, it's possible you could run past them and try to perfectly evade their fire. But that would require an excess of finesse and, frankly, a better running start in this space you're in than you actually have. It might be easier to try to take them out instead. The good news is that they're not exactly mobile. On the other hand, there are a lot of them... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Reckless===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth shifts her gaze over in Josie's direction when she makes her (probable) japes to Yulie, but otherwise doesn't say or do anything untoward or scary. The hard cider takes some edge off, but the single cup is all she should have if what she's said is true. When they cross the bridge, Ruth walks out in front with quiet awe as both her hands come up to her chest. She's never been down here. She's seen some Zeboim things - her place of birth is currently all but trapped underneath a Zeboim-era dome they've never gotten back down, and Celesti's warring factions found no small number of Zeboim-era things to try and kill one another with - but nothing this intact.
She freezes when she sees a turret, as she distinctly remembers at least a handful of Congressional Knight forces that fielded some automated weapons that looked like that. Her heart races with the thoughts as she takes in a breath that never leaves.
She looks over her head again. They're in a tunnel, rather than the open air, now.
"I've seen these turrets before," she starts, voice steadying the later she gets through that sentence. "They've never been deployed where the weather can reach them."
She takes out a Crest - one inscribed with Muse and Geo - and casts forth a large smothering crash of water to try and deal with the ones closest to them so that they have more room to work with in disabling the rest (if her theories hold).
Having this knowledge, in this place, used to this capacity... it makes something inside her sting, a bit, but that's not a novel sensation.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Splashcrest toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"But you haven't gotten very far," Yvain points out to Josie, grinning as he hands over the cider. "Sure. It's always more fun with a little warm." He glances to Yulie, and smiles at her pleasantly in greeting. "Hmmm, in that case," Yvain says, "I'll have to start carrying another option!"
There's definitely a history there--but he doesn't know what it is aside from it being difficult. "Yes, I'm Yvain. Seraph Yvain, to be specific." He doesn't immediately pry into their business, instead looking thoughtfully at Ruth as she watches her--she says it might go to her head, "I didn't go for anything especially strong--just enough to warm up a mortal a bit."
But hmmm... Ruth looks--familiar. He can't put his finger on it immediately...
"So you're familiar with them," he notes of the turrets. "Well..."
"I can help destroy them, probably--I'm not very familiar with ARMs, but it should be simple enough if they're metal. And while I'm at it..."
Yvain pulls out some steak and a grill that he sets up, setting it to go before he steps out of cover to throw fire at the turrets.
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Portable Grill toward his party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"...Trying to, anyway..." Yulie replies. She manages a small, strained smile in response to Josie's grin. Yvain, meanwhile, receives a less nervous nod.
"Sorry for the trouble..." She replies. They decide to save her spell for last, so Yulie moves in to help with the bridge. She might not really know her way around a set of tools, but she can at least help keep things stable.
With the bridge patched up they're able to move on. They start to pass through a tunnel... but, as they do, laser turrets start to emerge from the walls.
"Oh!" Yulie gasps, backpedaling quickly. "I'll keep us safe... please deal with them!"
With that said, Yulie reaches for her Granasian holy symbol, holding it tight in one hand. It releases a pleasant, pale golden light. It's calming, and it certainly helps as she draws out a Crest Graph and begins casting spells of protection around the party.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has used her Tool Holy Symbol toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Yeah? Keep it up, kiddo," Josie remarks to Yulie. "If you ain't, then it means you'll be seein' more of me and mine in the future, right?" Her gaze, briefly, turns Ruth's way, but does not linger there over-long.
"First one in is still first one in, sure enough," Josie replies, unmoved by Yvain's logic.
And then after stabilizing the plank bridge, she crosses on over it.
"Whoops," is Josie's remark as, right out the gate, they run into a bit of a hazard right in their path. Dropping back under what cover there is (not much!) Josie retrieves and makes her own retort to the turrets with a shotgun blast of her own.
"Shame to wreck 'em," she remarks, onehandedly ejecting shells to rain down at her feet. "Still, even their components are a right treat. Try and disable 'em so they ain't so problem-like. Be nice to have some good sized bits!"
As she says this, she opens fire with an ARM that is not particularly good for 'disabling' shots as much as it's geared for...
Well, mayhem, frankly.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Laser Turrets *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- For a five-thousand-year-old ruin, this place definitely still has some power running through it: perhaps you've seen signs of it previously. Whatever else can be said about the Zeboim Civilization, they built to last. While this has its upsides -- lighting! ventilation! -- it also has its downsides: See also: these laser turrets. Now, it's possible you could run past them and try to perfectly evade their fire. But that would require an excess of finesse and, frankly, a better running start in this space you're in than you actually have. It might be easier to try to take them out instead. The good news is that they're not exactly mobile. On the other hand, there are a lot of them... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Reckless===========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 2 *>========================== ==========================< Results - Laser Turrets >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yulie Ahtreide 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Holy Symbol 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Portable Grill 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruth Pauling 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Splashcrest 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Reckless(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Equipped with knowledge about the turrets' limitations from a source that may surprise, the hall of automated turrets are no match for four skilled Drifters. Ruth manages to short out plenty of time, which is more than enough for Josie to unleash utter mayhem that sees a bunch of them explode and fall apart into tiny ancient five-thousand-year-old voided-warranty bits. Some of them are okay-sized.
Yulie takes this opportunity to put forth restorative and protective spells in which to keep everyone protected as they head further into insecure territory, where Yvain can put his innate flame to work. They are made of metal and weird, smooth material (plastic), they burn and melt just fine and maybe that weirdo Symbologist who isn't here right now might be out of a job soon. (Whoever he is.)
Ruth takes point one last time with a drawn revolver, a look in her eyes both fierce yet vacant - somehow - as she rounds the corner and keeps it drawn. She's paralyzed with tension for poignant seconds before gradually lowering it down... and holstering it as she grabs for her shoulder. It's clear. They got all the turrets, and all that's left are a few small smoldering fires that burn themselves out.
Maybe they should take a moment and have some of that delicious steak.
"For... a 'mortal,' you said," Ruth speaks as she faces down and away from Yvain, but her manner seems to be a near-180 from a tightly wound soldier on the verge of something bad and someone conversationally calm. "...Is that steak? Would that... also be for us... 'mortal' types, then?" It smells heavenly.
DG: Seraph Yvain has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - An Impromptu Quiz *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There's a gateway ahead, at the end of this corridor. It looks like you'll have access to the staircase down from here, which might be good news if you've been walking this floor for a while. ...And it's shuttered as you approach it. Great. The monitor next to it flickers to life, though! At first it displays in Zeboim script which (probably) doesn't help anyone. After a moment the output changes into something (most of) you can read! ...And it's asking you what seem to be Zeboim-era trivia questions. Wait, why is a security system asking you trivia questions? Is this a security system? On the other hand, it /does/ seem to be managing the door... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Overzealous========================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Yvain makes a note that he might have to look out for Yulie, and leaves it there for the moment. "No trouble--that's a useful spell to have, and the point of carrying this around is for new friends."
Yulie can keep them safe--her light is pleasant and pale, golden and calming, and Yvain looks thoughtfully to the holy symbol. "A Granasian symbol," he points out. "Is that your faith, then?"
Josie and Josie's. Hmmm. Perhaps his rival has untoward plans for someone!! That'd be terrible. But it's fine for now.
"I'll do what I can," he says to Josephine of the components, "But fire is fire." He melts plastic. It smells terrible! Just, really awful. Yvain will remember that.
He doesn't complain though; instead, he continues onward, noting Ruth's careful approach, her haunted look. A soldier, clearly--that much he's sure of, regardless of where else he may have seen her. Perhaps she was one of those he ran into back then... But it's less important now.
"It is," Yvain answers. "And it is! Here you go." Yvain hands out food to Ruth first, then anyone else who wants it since he has a little, before he packs up the grill and moves on. It is delicious--rather simply seasoned, and one might wonder what kind of meat it was if it was local, but it tastes good and is warming.
For his part, Yvain then says, "If you've never met a Seraph, think of me as an old spirit of fire. If you'd give me your name, I'd have something better to call you than 'mortal!'"
But the gateway at the end of the corridor has stairway access--behind a shuttered door. The monitor next to it flickers to life, and Yvain brightens considerably at the sight of it. "Fascinating," he says, and the Zeboim script it does display makes him tilt his head. "So it is connected..."
It switches into something more modern however, and it's...
>In Ultimate Stickball Year XXXX, who was the star rookie of the Zeboim Tigers?
>This noted AI researcher was once known to refuse an award based on a fellow researcher being kept out of the running for having a criminal conviction on his record. What was her name?
>What's the name of the purple Lookabookaloo? Remember his adorable head markings!
Yvain looks... faintly baffled. "I haven't heard of any of these things. Could we guess?"
It is in fact multiple choice. And Josie will recognize one of the names under Question #2. 'Dr. Sharon Wyatt.'
But he pulls out a different jug along with the cider jug. "This is just water, but it's fresh and clean. And of course the cider. While we think about it, take a drink!"
[OOC] Seraph Yvain says, "bluray* add the part in #2"
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Cider Jug toward his party's challenge, An Impromptu Quiz.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Was that a grill?" Josie remarks after the chaos patters out to its stopping point. She doesn't glance back towards Yvain to confirm this, instead strolling along casually past the ruined turrets and pausing here or there to pluck a choice bit from the wreckage. "Don't see cabling like this much," she remarks on one find, stuffing it into some pocket hidden in her longcoat. "...Mostly charred-like, though. Pity, that, but fire ain't the most, eh, subtle element around," she remarks with a shrug. Of course, neither is lightning.
It smells a bit awful in here, so she's happy to move on.
Even if that path they take soon presents them with a barrier of a sort.
"Fengalon's ears," Josie hisses, perhaps irritated at the fact that (not unexpectedly) the monitor is returning text she can't read. "...?" She turns her head Yvain's way, even if moments later--
"Well, I'll be. That's convenient," she says, brightening.
Her gaze skims the questions and she...
"..."
Josie's expression darkens considerably. "Rose-of-Sharon, eh..." she mutters, and moves to stuff a hand into her pocket, drawing out
the screwdriver.
"Better idea. Let's just short this piece of junk out, right?"
And unless deterred she'll start by trying to take the front plate off.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Lucky Screwdriver toward her party's challenge, An Impromptu Quiz.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth accepts the share of steak with quiet grace. She can be witnessed giving prayer making the same sign movements of Granas that Yulie does - and she does have a rosary tied around her right forearm, so that makes two bearing the same 'What The Hell Do You Call a Male Goddess Anyway' faith between them. (Is Fengalon also someone with the same logistical problem?)
"A spirit of fire... hm." The Granas faith is not compatible with the concept of Seraphim, but they're right there, and he reminds her of at least one another who moved in much the same way, but with light... and one with... lightning? At least one or two with wind? There's an element of him that causes something to stir that she can't quite put a finger on, but it doesn't take much for her feelings to find something else to stir over. "...I'm Ruth," she says as she readjusts the fit of the rifle at her back.
Along the way, she tries to stick closer to Yulie if she allows it. A shared faith thing, maybe? She tries to give a soft smile to the Paladienne, but that's a smile that has shared a face with some wicked ones that can't ever be unseen.
But yes! The trivia.
"...I don't know." Is Ruth's answer to all of them, leaving her to only press at buttons at random with building... feelings. "This... this isn't how I best," she doesn't voice the rest of 'serves the Light,' as if some heavy words echoed throughout whatever part of her were receptive to them.
She quietly accepts Yvain's offer of water. Clean water is a delicacy in Zoara. This may even need DOUBLE ITALICS. Is there such a thing? Let's find out.
delicacy
That's how much of one clean water is. Still, it might be odd - Ruth is dressed in that many layers on an overcoat that's too big for her (and to the perceptive, lots of binding underneath her shawl holding it and some sleeves up), but she's not showing the physical signs that would come with that.
DG: Ruth Pauling has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Impromptu Quiz.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie looks away nervously at Josie's remark. That's not really something she wants to think about... She looks toward Yvain then, nodding quietly, and smiling a little at his question.
"Yes, that's right. I'm... a follower of Granas." She confirms with a nod.
Together they're able to deal with the sentries, but Ruth... she looks a little tense after the fact. Yulie hesitates a little before deciding...
"...Are... you alright?" She asks. A little worried about her, she won't object when Ruth decides to stick closer to her... but, the smile Yulie returns is a little tense.
She might not be old enough yet for the cider, but steak is perfectly acceptable. She will gladly take some when offered before digging in.
"Ah... this is really good, Mister Yvain. We might need to swap some recipes later..." Yulie says, the meal have done well to help restore some of her cheer.
Before long, they have to get back to the task at hand, which results in...
...Trivia questions...? Yulie frowns a little.
"I don't, um... I don't know any of this..." She admits. It sounds like she isn't the only one. Her gaze falls on Ruth for a moment as she starts to say something worringly familiar, before looking back at the terminal.
"Um, maybe we can make it give us the questions in a multiple-choice format...? At least then we might have a better chance..." She considers. "But... if you think about it, even if we don't know the answers themselves, this is an interesting look at their society..."
She brings out her copy of Calucion's Journeys, paging through it.
"Saint Calucion... always stressed the importance of looking at the whole, and learning from all of it..." She says.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has used her Tool Calucion's Journeys toward her party's challenge, An Impromptu Quiz.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - An Impromptu Quiz *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There's a gateway ahead, at the end of this corridor. It looks like you'll have access to the staircase down from here, which might be good news if you've been walking this floor for a while. ...And it's shuttered as you approach it. Great. The monitor next to it flickers to life, though! At first it displays in Zeboim script which (probably) doesn't help anyone. After a moment the output changes into something (most of) you can read! ...And it's asking you what seem to be Zeboim-era trivia questions. Wait, why is a security system asking you trivia questions? Is this a security system? On the other hand, it /does/ seem to be managing the door... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Overzealous========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 3 *>========================== ========================< Results - An Impromptu Quiz >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Lucky Screwdriver 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yulie Ahtreide 5 --(3)--> 8 Pass Calucion's Journeys 1 Wits Effects: Fanfare and Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 5 --(3)--> 8 Pass Cider Jug 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruth Pauling 25 --(3)--> 28 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Reckless(1)|Tire(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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 Yvain has posed.
"Interesting! Sometime we're in less danger perhaps, I'd be honored if you'd tell me a bit more from your perspective. I serve another, but I find questions of faith to be very interesting."
"It was," Yvain answers Josie. "I find people think better when they've got something to eat. Fight better, too." He doesn't specify mortals this time. He also doesn't fail to make himself half a steak, even if he doesn't need the whole thing because he doesn't actually have to eat.
To Yulie, "Ah, you cook? I'd be happy to in that case." And to the other, "It's good to meet you properly then, Ruth." He avoids condescension, but does keep an eye on her; he can tell she has some demons, even if he can't sense the Malevolent variety in her so easily.
Where did he get the water??? It is a mystery.
"Ah, Fengalon. That's the one who the owner of this censer served," Yvain says pleasantly, gesturing to something he carries at his hip that would be otherwise easy to miss in these circumstances. But he notices... Hmmm.
"That's a thought."
"It's not how any of us best work, I think," he says. "That's true, though, Yulie! It's an interesting look regardless. We see some of the things they... valued? It seems." A beat, "Your Saint Calculon sounds wise."
As it turns out, multiple choice does help. They get some correct answers, including a single star for effort! But Josie's effort to just short the thing out has mixed results; she does indeed get the plate off, but the wiring is so old that while it does short... It also shocks her for her trouble.
"You all right?" he wonders.
>blpghTriviamaster! Good effort! The door is open!
...it doesn't tell them they have big brains.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Emergency Staircase *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find an elevator within the ruins, which is all well and good -- except for the fact that it doesn't even remotely seem to be working (did someone set off a bomb in there?). But that's fine, there are the emergency stairs here right next to it. The emergency stairs, which are littered with debris and rubble, and which descend an uncertain distance into the tower. Where is the next floor, precisely...? You'll probably want to hurry down these stairs to find the next floor entrance more quickly. Also, try not to trip. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"Oh...? Well, I'd be happy too, then..." Yulie replies with a smile. As for cooking, she nods. "Yes, I do... I'm on the road a lot, so... it helps."
There's another smile on the subject of Saint Calucion.
"Yes, I think so... I'd love to tell you more about her, as well." She says.
Through teamwork, the door opens! It leads into a hallway. There are some largely empty rooms here and there, but the thing of greatest note is at the end, where there is an elevator accompanied by a set of stairs. Yulie presses a button... and then, after waiting a few moment, frowns.
"...No response. I guess, um, we have to take the stairs..." She says. The stairs lead downward, littered with debris and rubble. It's their only option and so, with a bit of trepidation, Yulie cautiously starts making her way down the stairs. There is, at least, a railing, which she makes sure to hold onto tightly as she descends.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Emergency Staircase.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Ruth, native to Guara Bobelo - once a major center of worship for that particular Granasian saint - is silent and downcast as Yulie offers to engage in interfaith dialogue with the inquisitive and friendly fire spirit. It is not out of exclusion, but that pervasive gnawing guilt that serves to at least keep that weight on her heart (and not in her head).
She notices Yulie's trepidation at the prospect of having to take the stairs down, when there's so much rubble and ruin in the way. "Yulie," she speaks with a tired but gentle voice (which, having heard Ruth scream in hiss-filled furious grief at Halim or deep within the Nightmare, scarce sounds like it should ever come out of the same throat), "you're worried, aren't you?"
She clutches a different Crest Graph, bearing the marks of Muse and Wing. She turns her head in the direction of Yvain without looking him in the eyes directly. "...I can try and wash away the rubble, but then the steps will become slick." Her own skirt is very long, and - on second look - her boots are of both shoddy quality and don't match. They're so shoddy and ill-fitting one might presume she'd be much better off just going barefoot, for all the good boots like that do. "If they can be dried..."
It seems like a sound idea to her - wait for Yulie to be in a place she feels secure enough to wait, then send a rapid stream of water traveling down the steps to wash up and gather what loose debris it can.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Rivercrest toward her party's challenge, Emergency Staircase.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"True, true," Josie remarks, shaking her head. "I just always figured it meant trail rations... gotta say, a freshly-cooked steak's a sight for sore eyes in a ruin like this..."
If she has the opportunity, she might pinch some of it, though the eating part might come a little bit rushed--
"Got it in one," she remarks to Yvain. "Another of 'em Guardians, if you wanna think of it that way. Your lot are kinda similar, in some ways..."
Still, she takes a moment to regard that censer of his, thoughtfully even.
Taking the faceplate off at first seems to work out nicely... until it doesn't. Josie lets out a yelp as she gets zapped; she takes a step back, shaking out her hand.
"Right as rain," she remarks to Yvain, stooping a moment to retrieve her fallen screwdriver. "Just a little bad business, eh?" Pocketing the screwdriver, she doesn't delay in moving through the door after the rest.
"Well, ain't that a pain in the ass." The elevator's out. But the stairs aren't. "Let's get to it, then. C'mon--"
Ruth suggests that she try to wash off some of the rubble.
"...Couldn't hurt. But let kiddo there get somewhere better first, eh?"
Josie herself shows little trepidation, making her way down at pace. About midway she snaps her fingers, a single orb of light manifesting to hover nearby.
Just in case the power's out below.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Emergency Staircase.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"Yes, important for having more than 'trail rations'," Yvain answers lightly.
"That would be very interesting!" He says of Saint Calucion, and indeed it seems he thinks it would be. But the matter of the Guardian, "I heard a little about them--a few similarities. Though of course to my knowledge they have little to do with Althena..."
Little bad business. No big problem. Yvain is unfamiliar with mechanical mishaps, so as it turns out to be fairly fine, that's good enough. The elevator, though--it indeed... doesn't work. And Yvain notes with similar concern to Ruth's that Yulie seems very troubled about this particular obstacle, which is fair, given bones to break and flesh to bruise. Even Yvain could be hurt falling down the stairs, though those things aren't the same kind for him.
He looks to Ruth when she looks at him. "I can dry them," he offers, seeing what she has in mind. When everyone is ready, Yvain makes use of a gentle fire to bake the stairs warm, and walks down in his own shoes along the way.
"It's fascinating to see the structures they built. They're so tall."
DG: Seraph Yvain has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Emergency Staircase.
==============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Emergency Staircase *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find an elevator within the ruins, which is all well and good -- except for the fact that it doesn't even remotely seem to be working (did someone set off a bomb in there?). But that's fine, there are the emergency stairs here right next to it. The emergency stairs, which are littered with debris and rubble, and which descend an uncertain distance into the tower. Where is the next floor, precisely...? You'll probably want to hurry down these stairs to find the next floor entrance more quickly. Also, try not to trip. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
=========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 4 *>========================= ======================< Results - Emergency Staircase >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 20 --(29)--> 49 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 8 --(29)--> 37 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Yvain 8 --(29)--> 37 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruth Pauling 28 --(29)--> 57 Fail Rivercrest 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Josephine Lovelace 60 --(15)--> 75 Fail Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Slow(2)|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has failed this challenge! The party gained 15 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: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ================<* CHALLENGE - Don't Fall Into The... Ravine *>================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You're almost there. You can feel it -- the center-most point (and probably the place with the most goodies) can't be far from here. You just have to cross over this bridge that connects the tower fragment you're in to another-- Until you reach the center point. It's here that an enormous Gear ascends from below, hovering just beyond the walls of the bridge you're attempting to cross. It's unfamiliar -- the most anyone can tell about it is that it's definitely of Zeboim make (and it looks like it's sat around five thousand years underground) ... but the insignia is a strange one. Those who can read the script of the long-lost civilization will be able to make out the name on the insignia: RAVINE. Who, or what is Ravine? ...This might be a question for another time, since the Gear begins to open fire on the bridge. The bridge that... you're standing atop and in the process of trying to cross--! Hurry! (It doesn't answer your hails. Either the pilot is an asshole or it's completely automated.) =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Overwhelm==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
It looks like the others have a plan. Yulie hesitates for a moment, and then nods.
"...Okay. I'm ready." She says, gripping the handrail even more tightly now.
And so with that, the plan is put into practice - Ruth washes away the debris, and Yvain dries them to ensure they won't be slippery. And all the while, Josie provides some light to ensure that they won't be completely in the dark. It's a good plan!
...There's just one problem. This particular tower... is tall. Very tall - it may even be one of the tallest. And unfortunately, while they do come across a few exits... they're are blocked by rubble, piled up over ages, leaving the only option left to keep on going.
It's a pretty exhausting descent, all told.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The stairs are...
Very extensive. It seems for a time as if they've been climbing down them for a lifetime, and still no door has presented itself. What if there isn't a door? What if they get to the bottom and find they have to climb all the way back up again?
Who would make a building like that?
But no. While the door presents itself only after the stairs have been managed for a long, long time, there is a door.
"Let's... let's take five," Josie suggests, leaning against the tower wall for a moment.
"Whew... too bad about that lift," she says, closing her eyes for a moment.
They currently stand on one end of an extensive bridge leading from this tower to another location (another ruined spire). The setup is not unlike the one they had crossed when first setting foot into this place, and there's something about the door on the opposite end that Josie finds rather promising.
"Right, then. Let's go and have ourself a look there," she says, beginning to cross the bridge--
And a large Gear roars up from the abyss beneath them. "--What? Who're you, then?" she asks of the Gear. It's an unfamiliar make; all she can be certain of is that it's old. Very old. But who in the world is piloting it?
It slowly lifts a hand, the muzzle of an artillery weapon erupting from its palm. Josie doesn't wait for it to start firing. She bolts, racing in an all-out dash for that promising-looking far door.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Don't Fall Into The... Ravine.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
It's a climb that comes just shy of being futile to have ever made, what with so many debris blocking promising exits (and debris being too big to try and move aside with water). She stays upright through the taken five, patient and almost statuesque in the way she holds where she does while the rest work out their exhaustion and/or frustration.
They do come out to a new opening as Josie leads the way for the lot of them, to an extensive bridge that does not seem anywhere near as collapsed as the others! It would be a clean shot were it not for the sound of rumbling that comes muffled a bit due to which side of her is facing the source, but she can feel the rumbling through the ground and her eyes widen to pinpricks as a great shadow bears upon them in the form of a large, unfamiliar Gear.
It's full on fight-or-flight, and her heart races as she draws the Crest Graph she used to sweep the steps to try and create a stream to help carry forward as many of them as she can, as fast as she can. Unsettling likenesses of the situation - the colors, the available maneuvering space, the movement of the others - her memories grasp at anything and everything with even the faintest likeness to past experiences, and squeezes.
It takes a little more than that to dislodge the despair-flavored Malevolence she's keeping locked inside who she once was. She has become adept at burying it deep within her - maybe too deep, for the handful of times it has spilled and exploded. It's holing up in there even as adrenaline scrapes at its metaphysical location.
The thing is... it does, indeed, take a little more than that. Only a little. If any of them prove to be in mortal danger of being caught...
...in some ways that might become the better problem to have.
DG: Ruth Pauling has used her Tool Rivercrest toward her party's challenge, Don't Fall Into The... Ravine.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
As it turns out, while Yvain is not made of flesh or blood, he can tire; this many stairs is troublesome for anybody. At the bottom, he leans on a wall, sighing once and closing his eyes, but opening them to look around for trouble as the others rest. "Well," he says, "That was unpleasant, but we're closer to our goal!"
He will try to keep spirits up anyway.
But the bridge... Hmmm. Yvain looks over each of the others: Josie, Ruth, and Yulie, mentally gauging their condition. He does still plan to compete with Josephine about whatever they find, of course... but that doesn't mean he wishes her ill. But suddenly, as they start to cross the bridge--
Yvain blinks widely and looks to the large Gear, sprinting across. He, much like Ruth, will slow down and guard someone if it's necessary--perhaps his efforts will preclude hers. Perhaps... not.
DG: Seraph Yvain has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Don't Fall Into The... Ravine.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
"I-I agree..." Yulie says with a sigh, when they're finally at the bottom. It takes her a moment before she's good to get going again, but before long she's up and ready to get moving again. They find themselves on a bridge, with a spire on the other end.
But before they can cross... there's an ominous rumbling.
"...Oh no." Yulie says, her heart sinking. She doesn't know what it is, but she has a bad feeling about it... a bad feeling that is proven correct as a Gear rises. She doesn't know who or what 'RAVINE' is, but what she does know is that the Gear is currently firing upon them.
"R-run!" Yulie urges, breaking into a run. She scrambles to draw out her Crest Graphs again, invoking spells of protection over the party as she flees.
...Of course, there's a large difference in scale between deflecting fire from a laser turret and defending against an entire Gear. There's only so much she'll be able to do.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Don't Fall Into The... Ravine.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ================<* CHALLENGE - Don't Fall Into The... Ravine *>================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You're almost there. You can feel it -- the center-most point (and probably the place with the most goodies) can't be far from here. You just have to cross over this bridge that connects the tower fragment you're in to another-- Until you reach the center point. It's here that an enormous Gear ascends from below, hovering just beyond the walls of the bridge you're attempting to cross. It's unfamiliar -- the most anyone can tell about it is that it's definitely of Zeboim make (and it looks like it's sat around five thousand years underground) ... but the insignia is a strange one. Those who can read the script of the long-lost civilization will be able to make out the name on the insignia: RAVINE. Who, or what is Ravine? ...This might be a question for another time, since the Gear begins to open fire on the bridge. The bridge that... you're standing atop and in the process of trying to cross--! Hurry! (It doesn't answer your hails. Either the pilot is an asshole or it's completely automated.) =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Overwhelm==========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 5 *>========================== ==================< Results - Don't Fall Into The... Ravine >=================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 49 --(101)--> 150 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yulie Ahtreide 37 --(101)--> 138 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 37 --(101)--> 138 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruth Pauling 57 --(101)--> 158 Fail Rivercrest 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 75 --(15)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Overwhelm|Slow(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Josephine Lovelace is too exhausted to continue! DG: Yulie Ahtreide is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Yvain is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ruth Pauling is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has been fully Exhausted by Zeboim Ruins! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Out-of-Place Artifact *>===================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The obstacle you encounter in your attempt to break into the apparent vault concealed in the ruins proves too much for you: however it happens, you're forced to turn back and regroup elsewhere in the ruins. However, this is not quite so much an unfortunate occurrence as it might at first appear. Various conditions prevent you from following quite the same route as you had when you came in, and so you're able to explore areas of the ruin which you hadn't managed before. It's behind a crumbling wall (easily cleared) that you find it: a Day of Collapse-era ARM, and in good shape, too, and seems like it would be quite functional with a little attention from an ARMs Meister. Judging from the amount of dust in the room, undisturbed, you can easily surmise that it wasn't left down here recently by an unlucky explorer. It's been down here for quite some time. But what is something from 500 years ago doing in a ruin from 5,000 years ago? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It only takes a moment for everything to go very badly.
The Gear's ARM sweeps ahead of them, utterly destroying the bridge. If there is indeed a pilot -- a fair question: no one answers Josie's question or remarks from anyone else -- they are a super asshole.
"Retreat!" Josie shouts as the bridge starts to shudder. If it's possible to cross the gap, they have only seconds to do it in and a little bit longer to regret it after if they fail.
Some risks aren't worth it.
As it is, the Gear's attention (and artillery shells) sweep back their way, further obliterating the bridge and threatening to do the same if they're not fast enough on their feet.
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Then - something worse, that will immediately unsettle the Seraph among them given his own recent (...centuries-long) experience and narrow escape from its venomous, transformative influence -
Malevolence.
In the purplish haze that intermingles with the dislodged layers of dust flitting about... something larger. (Something larger in an overcoat that remains too large.) Yvain can identify the 'make' of Hellion from the silhouette. No two Hellions are exactly alike, but many of them have general archetypes they fall into - and that's a gargoyle. A gargoyle missing(?) a wing, but a gargoyle who is now wielding a sniper rifle warped by Malevolence into an equally ghastly naginata too.
The artillery shells detonate before they even reach the bridge, to the sound of four deafening bangs - like a door being knocked on.
"It'ssss over," a voice hisses, hunched over as their tail reaches inside a coat pocket to withdraw a fresh set of bullets for her to load in there like clockwork. The sounds and sights of Zeboim-era weapons... she's only ever known them as things both sides of the Celesti Civil War flung at one another. She somehow laughs and cries at the same time. "No, no, it doesn't stop," her voice absolutely not calmer but sounding it. Little of what she says after escapes that death spiral of whether or not something has stopped or hasn't.
This is giving everyone adequate cover to BACK THE HELL OFF (and they should, it's getting ugly and it's not clear for who) - unwittingly? She hasn't so much as turned to look their way, let alone shoot at them.
That's the only good thing to be said about this new problem in its place.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Very, very badly, as it turns out. Yvain is confident in his ability to escape one way or another--but trapping himself further in, and leaving the mortals he'd guided down here? Not only a bad idea but unthinkable. Josie calls the retreat, and he goes with it... Except--
As they start to retreat, Yvain feels it suddenly, sharply: Malevolence. He turns immediately towards her, sharply, but the shells detonate before they can touch the bridge... and there is Ruth, changed into some kind of gargoyle, a Hellion in certainty.
"A soldier," he says sadly, and recognizes one of many who have fallen to such a fate. He does not know if he could talk her down in her normal form, but she's hissing now, and he makes a split decision--
"With me!" Yvain calls to the others, stepping immediately between them and Ruth in a defensive posture, despite the fact that if anything he may be the most vulnerable to Malevolence in some ways. Particularly given his old nature...
He does not, however, draw her attention by calling to her. Instead, he leads the others out another direction, making use of a passageway that opened up thanks to all the explosions.
...That he happens to find something on the way out, a fascinating new ARM, is a smaller, but still different story.