2021-08-23: Beyond Heretical
- Log: Beyond Heretical
- Cast: Yue Rohay, Ashley Winchester, Lily Keil, Ida Everstead-Rey, Citan Uzuki
- Where: Buckeye Station - Market District
- Date: August 23, 2021
- Summary: Ashley is looking for Yue, and brings a few others with him. However, in the depths of the ruin once they've sorted things out and explored the place, there is a particular forgotten fragment of the past there waiting.
DG: A party led by Yue Rohay 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> Yue Rohay has posed.
It's the Zeboim Ruins.
Once, the Drifters crossed here in search of a mysterious artifact in hot pursuit of Bishop Stein and his forces. The chase has long since ended, but the mysteries that lie within the ruins of this 5,000 year old city still await. Perhaps such is the case for one such team of Drifters, both from the Black Wolves and ARMS, but...
Certainly they don't expect to see a FILTHY VERUNI with CLINICAL DEPRESSION amidst them?!
Well, no, Ashley and Lily are nice to her. And maybe Citan and Ida too, if they knew her better. But how it is right now is...
Yue's actually just hanging out near the bridge overlooking the ancient city, leaning over the broken railing and idly staring at broken hopes and dreams of the past that ended in nuclear disaster (amongst other incidents), because... it's that kinda day.
Yup, just an incredible coincidence of... hanging out in 5,000 year old ruins in a vain attempt to feel like you're home.
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
The last time Ashley saw Yue, she was being very sad on a train. Worryingly sad, in fact. Like, 'should probably not be left alone on her own' sad. So it's probably absolutely no surprise that he's been trying to do his level best to track her down.
How, you ask? How does one track a Yue who does not necessarily want to be found...?
Simple! You use the BOOTY CALL, a tool used for TRACKING BOOTY.
That is to say, Yue is a treasured person to so many people that even if she's not necessarily an object, the Booty Call is still able to pick her up from quite a distance. And so...
"Yue!" Ashley calls, utterly unsurprised to find the Veruni here of all places. "Did you want to go down and explore in there today? I uh, I hope you don't mind if I brought some friends?"
And with the Booty Call still out, Ashley might also just so happen to find some helpful bridge-building equipment lying about. Handy!
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Booty Call toward his party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
There's a lot more in here for Lily Keil to learn, she thinks--even after having had a look at the database for what she could glean. If she knew the right questions to ask, how much more could she get out of this place? But she doesn't necessarily know those questions.
Someone else might, though.
Lily Keil spots Yue quickly, given her paranoid sensory habits, as she comes down the elevator. "Yue," she greets her, calm, as Dog barks at her heel behind her. Just a single bark, in greeting. She has reasons to seek out a certain Veruni.
"So she was down here," Lily answers Ashley thoughtfully, and then steps forward, leaning down to one knee to pull her knife from her boot before she starts for the bridge. "I can cut off some of these old dead planks to reinforce the bridge with. Just need to secure it properly."
A beat, "You are coming with us, right?"
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Most people wouldn't see delving into the ruined corpse of an ancient city as a vacation, but Ida has not had a very good few months.
The heiress follows Ashley into the cavern, dressed in her usual trail clothes. A lead is firmly secured around her right forearm, and on the end of that lead--padding cautiously through the dust, sniffing, and occasionally barking to alert the others--is Lola. The little papillon stops in her tracks as the group collectively spots Yue, and lets out a tentatively friendly little "Bark!"
"Well, what do you know," Ida says, "it did work." Who put that scanner together? What sorcery does it use to locate its quarry? But Ida has a job to do, and so does Lola. "Miss Rohay," she says, walking up to the Veruni. Lola approaches her, completely fearless, and sits down before her, head cocked at an angle. She barks once. She is available for pets. Please, shower her with affection.
Ida, meanwhile, starts helping assemble the bridge. She didn't bring the lion's share of her tools with her, but augmented hands can suffice in a pinch.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Lola toward her party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Well then... it appears our missing lady has been located?"
So says Doctor Uzuki as he regards Yue standing atop the unstable bridge. He had asked to join Lily on this particular expedition when she had mentioned it to him, and there's no question that he would be more-or-less acceptable company with the others she was joining. With his Gear in a state of limbo (of sorts) until the Yggdrasil crew finished its repairs (they're backlogged after the business in Spira, and given that they're doing it for free, he's not about to nag Sigurd about it when he doesn't urgently need it) he's more or less sticking close by the rest of the Black Wolves in the Aquvy-Spira region for the time being.
Readjusting his glasses, his gaze lingers on Yue for a moment more before turning to regard the abyss of a cityscape beneath them.
Then back again.
"...It would not be amiss to explore, now, would it? It is rare to see ruins from this period in such fine condition!" He pauses for a long moment, though. "...Er, well, other than on Spira, it seems." Folding his arms over his chest, he appears to consider the immediate problem before them, which is to say, the bridge and its... rickety-ness. "Hmm... though, it seems we should-- Yes, if you could do that, Lily, then I can see to securing the planks," Citan says, fishing in his bag for a moment before retrieving just what they'll need (a gimlet, if it matters; having some holes in the plank might help for securing it with whatever else they can turn up).
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Just The Right Tool toward his party's challenge, An Unstable Crossing. � Logging to file "C:\Electra\Logs\2021\citan_zeboim time.txt" started
===============================<* 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Winchester 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Booty Call 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Lily's Knife 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Just The Right Tool 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Lola 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Yue Rohay 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Yue Rohay 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> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue has this escalating moment of comedy where her hair sproigs up with shock as Ashley, Lily, Ida and Citan all filter in, all with the extremely pointed commentary that they were looking for her. Just what's happened to her op-sec if she can be located like this?! Aaagh! Her pride as a former spy is...
... nonexistent. Right. Actually, she doesn't even feel bad about that. She's more embarrassed, really...
"You... you were all looking for me? Why?" Yue stammers, as she turns and looks at them working on the bridge. It isn't like she was stuck -- she just didn't have any plans to go deeper in. It'd just hurt more... but...
She pauses, looking towards Dog and Lola both. It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but you can see the moment the two canine friends utterly charm her... uwaah...
She clears her throat, as Lily asks if she's coming. "Well--" Yue looks off-guard and flustered, looking at Ida. "Ida," she nods in turn, kneeling and brushing Lola on the side of her head. Then, Dog! Scritch scritch scritch. For all that she fronts, she seems to be quite happy around animals...
And... Citan. "Ah, I suppose... ... my name is Yue," Yue pauses for a moment, and when the doctor mentions those other ruins on Spira, her expression darkens for a moment. Fortunately, fixing the bridge itself is... not a terribly difficult challenge, all things considered -- they have time on their side. Time to find great materials, cut off dead planks, assemble new ones with Ida's improved grip strength, and Citan's spare tools from his bag...
A makeshift bridge is done!
The only issue is that Lola is so endearing it takes them just a bit more than anticipated. But... isn't that the point of the adventure?
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Lola plays with Dog. She flits from person to person, tail wagging as she nuzzles ankles and encourages pets. Her fur is silky-soft, and she's eager to meet new people. Lola's purpose in life is to be a precious companion. Lola did nothing wrong.
That said, they are about to enter dangerous territory. It's good for Lola to get some energy out of her system, but as soon as the bridge is finished, Ida bends down, and whistles softly. "Lola, come." Lola obeys, and Ida scoops her up, feeds her a small morsel of jerky. "Harness," Ida says, and she clips her canine friend's harness to several secure attachment points on her own load-carrying gear. Lola ends up supported, but with her legs free to move--and most importantly, she's safe and protected, and Ida's hands are free.
The path takes the group across the bridge, and down into the corpse of a gutted skyscraper. Emergency lighting gleams blood-red as Ida opens a door, and leads the group into an emergency stairwell. The stairs creak and groan, but they hold up, despite their age. At the very bottom is a lobby. The windows have been ground into dust. The word "Tower" is the only intact portion of tasteful metal lobby signage. The furniture is broken, or overturned.
And outside, a set of security turrets slide into position on their mobile mountings. A high-pitched howl echoes through the ruin, and a laser sight settles on Ida's brow. "MOVE!" she roars. She dives to the side, hitting the ground with her forearm and thigh and skidding. Lola holds perfectly still, ears pricked--a gleaming bubble of force surrounds her. Ida reaches down to pet her, then whips a flare grenade from her belt. It flies through the empty window-mountings, and erupts in the middle of the turret formation. She wastes no time in drawing Devil's Due, and following up with lead.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Flare Grenade toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily spots that moment of Yue's, all right. It's anice moment. Dog certainly appreciates it. Scritch scritch scritch! Dog wags her tail. It's very nice. But with all of them here...
"Apparently," Lily answers Citan. Meanwhile, Dog does... not need to get out so much energy. Dog is trained for danger! She instead just follows along at Lily's heel, for the moment--until Lily directs her otherwise. And the bridge is nice enough...
"So, I had an ulterior motive looking for you," Lily says. "I wondered if you could tell me a few things, or help me look for them if we reach a database in here."
As they reach the creaking lobby, Lily too notes the sight. "Dog! Cover!" Dog darts the opposite direction from where Lily does, into cover as ordered; she doesn't have much to do against lasers. Lily, on the other hand, does.
Explosions start to rock the turrets as Ida's flare grenade gives her a sign of where they are, as Lily unleashes deadly combat magic.
Lily, for her part, closes her eyes even though she's wearing sunglasses. She is wearing sunglasses because her eyes are still black sclera with prismatic iris and pupil, and her gloves and jacket largely conceal her circuit markings. But the battle movement moves her shades and makes some of this more obvious.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Not even Yue is immune to the charms of d o g. Lola is likely quite familiar with Ashley at this point. He is a Known Quantity, and so only gets visited for headpats after she's done greeting all these new people... But only if Yue finishes before they have to move to more dangerous locales.
Ashley dares not to interrupt lovey-dovey snuggletime with dog. This would be absolutely too rude.
"Oh, well! You know, because it's safer to adventure together than alone, right?" Ashley answers, not mentioning at all that he was SUPER WORRIED about her after... everything that happened on the train.
But! Onward! Onward and downward. The stairs wind deep, deep down. The tower is a familiar thing by now, and Ashley is mostly just glad they aren't cleaning up a staircase or anything like that today.
Yet.
And then! Lasers. Many lasers. Of course, they're just targeting lasers-- but that isn't much reassurance, because the guns they're attached to are very much still live.
...At least, until Ashley launches a certain canister at them. Is it an electromagnetic pulse? A powerful explosive!? No! It's... a bad batch of dough. Far too sticky, far too starchy, but absolutely perfect for gumming up the works of an ancient, automated ARM.
He of course has more palatable treats on-hand, but those can wait until after the party has a chance to catch their breath.
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Portable Pastries toward his party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue doesn't really have the heart to tell Ashley she wasn't even here to explore, just mope. It just doesn't seem... well, relevant anymore, given so many of the Drifters here seem to have an interest in the ruins. Yue watches Ida play with Lola for a moment, as if reminiscing about a long-lost pet in the past...
"Ah... you are right, Ashley."
Then, they've entered a skyscraper. Yue takes a look around, takes in the formerly posh decor for a moment... "This decor is... maybe Ashtand Corp... no, wait..."
Whatever she's remembered isn't as important as the fact that ancient corporate interests are still being protected by ancient security turrets, though. Yue blinks a few times as she drops back under cover, kneeling behind a piece of broken furniture when Lily mentions having an ulterior motive.
"... I don't see why not," Yue answers.
Still, it's going to be hard to approach them when they've got so much cover...
But wait. Isn't one of the turrets... really big? A big, chromatic dome that... rumble, rumble... rises up out of the ground and--
Headpats two of the turrets with her big white mitts, then lifts them up off the ground. "... you are here too, Prom-- Big Shal?" Yue catches herself with a mild look of disbelief.
The Friend to All Things, Big Shal, spins and gives her a big thumbs up.
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool An Old Golem Core toward her party's challenge, Laser Turrets.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Miss Yue, then. It is good to meet you," Citan replies, coupling the remark with a short nod. "I had heard that you were missing and that you may be in... distress?" he adds, looking her over. Only the slight frown might give away that there's more going on than mere polite regard. Perhaps Lily or the others had mentioned a thing or two about Yue's... situation.
Or perhaps being a doctor, he can put together his own conclusions regarding certain particulars.
He finishes up his own work where reinforcing the bridge is concerned and dusts off his hands. "Without question, Mister Winchester. It would be best if we went together rather than attempting to navigate these halls on our own. ...Well, shall we? The day is not growing any younger."
He trails towards the back as they proceed, pausing here and there as Yue remarks on to any specifics. "You are familiar with such things?" he asks, glancing her way. Then Lily mentions something else about these ruins--
"A database? And it is still functional? ...Well, I suppose it was a similar situation within the Spiran ruins. My, the Zeboim people did build to last...!"
And then they round the bend right into a nest of laser turrets. Citan drops back sharply, narrowly evading one particular beam.
"Try to circle around them and strike!" he calls out, guidance perhaps the best he can provide as he does his level best to avoid getting shot up.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass An Old Golem Core 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Winchester 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Portable Pastries 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(17)--> 17 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Flare Grenade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Yue Rohay 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Reckless(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Yue Rohay has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida's opening gambit buys the team time to get into cover. It takes the turrets a good ten or so seconds to reset--more than enough time for Ashley and Lily to take positions and open fire. Ashley's doughy projectile explodes in mid-air, the sickly-sweet smell of over-sugared, over-proofed dough filtering through the dust and ozone and smoke. It splatters across the turrets' cameras, and seeps into servos. One of the turrets starts to jerk back and forth, its waterproofing compromised. And then...
"...Big Shal?" Ida says, her eyebrows rising. The golem grips two of the turrets and hoists them clear out of their mounts. The third is significantly more unfortunate--it receives the brunt of Lily Keil's fury. In seconds, it's been reduced to a lump of molten slag.
It's over, and no one got shot. Ida steps out from behind the pillar she was using as cover. Smoke trails from holes bored into the metal. "Good girl," she says, petting Lola. "Is everyone...?" She looks around at the others, and then at Big Shal, half-expecting Shalune to show up at any moment. She doesn't.
That's... odd.
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Treacherous Traps *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Ethos who had excavated this place must have thought it likely that someone would have come in here -- maybe they thought that Gebler or some other arm of Solaris' forces would investigate closely, or perhaps they were even thinking of people like you. The bad news for you is that this hallway is absolutely rigged to ruin someone's day. Which is you. You're about to have a very bad day. Whether it's from the proximity mines, the bear traps, the multiple multiple bomblets... the only thing that can be said is that you should get through here as quickly as possible! =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Bad Luck=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Also, there's the part with the Golem. Hasn't he seen this particular Golem before--
"'Big Shal'... now why does that sound familiar?" the doctor remarks aloud, readjusting his glasses the once the moment the dust has finally settled. "Yes, I am quite alright, Miss Everstead-Rey. No worse for the wear!" He looks over the others, as if to assess how they are all doing -- situation: more or less great! -- before turning to regard the hallway that stretches on ahead of them.
It looks fine, at first. Absolutely normal.
Citan holds out a hand as if to stall anyone else going ahead, his expression lined in deep concern.
Then, a moment later, he picks up a scrap piece of turret and tosses it (underhand) into the hallway ahead.
A massive explosion follows. Then there is a flurry of what could be assumed to be blades. A secondary smaller explosion. ...Another explosion on a delay.
Part of the floor gives way.
Citan stands there for a long moment, his expression undecipherable.
"...Well. It may be safe to assume the rest of the hallway is similarly rigged. And yet, I see no other direction in which to head."
He appears to consider this for a moment, then produces a shining blue sphere. "Perhaps if we were to move quickly enough, we may be able to evade the worst of it? It is worth attempting. If I were to hazard a guess, this was trapped recently. But was it done by the Ethos or Solaris?"
Ice begins to coat the (remaining) floor of the hallway.
"Ah, and please take care with the trip wire here," he adds, stepping over something that's nearly invisible at the entrance of the hallway. Indeed, it can scarcely be seen in this light... is that what tipped the doctor off in the first place?
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, Treacherous Traps.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Ashtand Corp?" Lily wonders of Yue. "Is there anything else here you recognize?"
Lily does not explain things to Citan for the moment. Maybe she just assumes he already knows, like he does a lot of things. It's very possible.
"There was one down here last time I was here at least--Solaris may have taken the parts that were most valuable, but a lot of what I want to know is low-priority information to them."
Beat. "Oh, it's nice to see Big Shal."
"We're okay," Lily answers Ida, and then moves forward, but she stops immediately when Citan holds out his hand. She knows better than to discount his advice on things like this. And so... she sees the traps. Lots of traps.
"I think I can make it across regardless, and then I can help patch up whatever happens to anyone else, assuming you don't die." Pause. "So try not to die. I can't fix that."
She kneels down and pats Dog. "You need to stick with me, girl. My magic can cover both of us."
She nods sharply, and then stands up, reaching into her jacket to pull a strange necklace--and in the process revealing some of the circuitry at her collar, still glowing faintly. It is gimballed, with Ancient Tongue words inscribed on it.
"...But yeah, Yue. I was wondering... You recognized 'me' before--the me who I was. Do you know... was she sick?"
Lily steps forward, and a blue shell of magic erupts around her. Traps go off and leave her untouched, passing straight through her.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, Treacherous Traps.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida is unhurt. So, too, is Lola, the Symbological shield in her harness having protected her from injury, as well as extremes of light and noise.
As Yue mentions the company, and Lily mentions the terminal, Ida thinks back to what she found down here last time. What she's hoping to find again. "The terminal was intact," Ida says, "aside from whatever Solaris stole from it. We were able to retrieve some log fragments from..." A glance back at Yue. Ida's face falls. "The last days of Zeboim. The destruction of the Veruni Kingdom. The Sword-Magess' last stand against Lord Blazer." She turns to Ashley, her expression sinking further. "I wish I knew more," Ida says, with a shake of her head. "I wish we'd found something that could help you. But maybe--just maybe--there's something still there."
To say nothing of Lily's problems. Ida looks at her, as if trying to rembember something--
And then the hallway explodes. Ida jumps. She presses a hand to her chest, staring first at the giant craters, then at Citan. "Whomever it was," Ida says, "they didn't half-ass it." She presses her bootheels together, feels Breath flow down into her legs. "I can give us a boost." And she sets off, running and leaping down the icy path Citan leaves. The air forms sparkling green vortices behind her, patches of wind magic that push anyone touching them onwards.
Ida keeps Lola tight against her chest, holding her with both arms.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Zephyr Boots toward her party's challenge, Treacherous Traps.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
B I G S H A L. The most friend-shaped of all giant robot-like entities makes her reappearance, and Ashley is glad to see her-- even if he is kind of unsure how she keeps getting around. Also, how her appearance has affected the structural integrity of this ancient Zeboim-era building. Honestly, that latter part is probably more important at the moment.
"Does she have train tracks, or something...?" Ashley asks of nobody in particular, but Yue might be able to answer regardless. Oh well, he flashes the big golem a big double thumbs up and moves along with the rest of the party--
Nope. They're stopping. Why are they stopping?
Oh.
It's because there are explosions.
"I'm... really worried about how much longer this place is going to last at this rate..." Ashley frowns and pulls his boomerang out of his pack. With a quick flick of the wrist, he sends it sailing into trap-ridden territory, seemingly set on activating as many as he can before anyone gets into range and gets seriously injured. Kabooms ensue enmasse, it's glorious! And also dangerous...
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Magic Boomerang toward his party's challenge, Treacherous Traps.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Ashley's expression softens a little at Ida's hopeful suggestion. "Don't worry," he says with a gentle smile that looks almost comically out of place juxtapositioned against the explosions bathing half of it in firelight and the other in shadow... Or it would, if it weren't the perfect metaphor for Ashley's entire situation. "Even if there isn't... We've got at least one or two authorities on the Sword Magess with us, don't we? So maybe if we don't find anything... Well, even if they didn't figure anything out, or didn't write any of it down when they did, we'll just have to piece a solution together ourselves, right?"
Right!
...Right?
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue pauses, a little awkward as Ida brings up the name and definitely recognises the Golem as usually being someone else's companion. Citan also follows suit. She scratches her head. "... were you expecting the young pink-haired inventor to appear?" she suggests. A pause. "Big Shal has a... history with me as well, so she tends to appear at the most... fortuitious moments."
There's a hesitant pause, as Lily asks a question that makes her eyes widen. "... I... yes. I did know that. I visited her frequently as her health declined. But in the end I was..." Well, there was the story of her being arrested, yes.
Ida drops some revelations that... she's not terribly mysteriously quiet about. Remembering those days only... hurts more, she finds. But Ida mentions something that could help Ashley... did she have any?
... still, it can't be helped. They have a particularly arduous trial to get through at the moment... Yue ties her hair up with a particularly nice black scrunchie, and hurries on through with a grimace.
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool Cute Scrunchie toward her party's challenge, Treacherous Traps.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Treacherous Traps *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Ethos who had excavated this place must have thought it likely that someone would have come in here -- maybe they thought that Gebler or some other arm of Solaris' forces would investigate closely, or perhaps they were even thinking of people like you. The bad news for you is that this hallway is absolutely rigged to ruin someone's day. Which is you. You're about to have a very bad day. Whether it's from the proximity mines, the bear traps, the multiple multiple bomblets... the only thing that can be said is that you should get through here as quickly as possible! =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Bad Luck=========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 3 *>========================== ========================< Results - Treacherous Traps >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Cute Scrunchie 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Winchester 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Magic Boomerang 2 Agility Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 5 --(17)--> 22 Fail Impure Pendant 3 Agility Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 17 --(0)--> 17 Pass Macalania Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Zephyr Boots 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Yue Rohay 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Injure(2)|Reckless(1) Effects: Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Yue Rohay 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> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Lily provides him with, at first, some more context.
Ida provides a good deal more.
"Is that so... I had not known there was something like that hiding down here," he remarks, quite easily. "Well, all the more reason for us to seek it and its contents, yes? It may help shed some light on what is currently afoot. After all, with what we found in New Kasim City, it seems that the past does not rest lightly."
Take, for instance, the presence of certain Golems.
"...Yes, now that you mention it," is his response to Yue on the subject of Big Shal. "Has she lent it to you, then? ...Oh, I see! Well," he says, readjusting his glasses, "They do say that friendship is of vital importance in life, regardless of, ah, the particular form it might take..."
His sole response to Ida is to simply shake his head in agreement.
"Yes, I think that we may be able to cross if we are quick enough. At least, it is fairly certain that we may-- ah, but do not overthink it! We must move with conviction!" the doctor exhorts, before taking a breath, and--
It's a lot of things that happen all at once. There are explosions. Blades fling past, their passage felt rather than seen. There are more explosions, the snicker-snap of various traps and other assorted nasties on the floor. There are probably caltrops in the mix, though no one's feet ever finds this one out thanks to the ice. And finally, once they're all on the other side, there is an ominous rumbling.
Most of the floor seems to be missing when the dust and smoke clears.
"Perhaps so, Mister Winchester," Citan remarks belatedly, watching the crumbling remnants. In spite of (or because of?) all of that he's still managed to smile.
He has not yet managed to overhear a particular exchange.
"Is everyone alright?"
DG: Ashley Winchester has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>============================== =================<* CHALLENGE - Activated Security Drones *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- When the power was restored to this place, some of its defenses were, too. Look, here come some of them now. Flying down a corridor towards you at speed is a small fleet of armed security drones. They'd almost be cute if they weren't... shooting at you... ...Ouch. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
There is, of course, a natural consequence to all of these explosions. You don't just set off a catastrophic chain reaction of bombs and traps in the middle of a ruin like this without triggering one or two inevitable eventualities!
No, it's not the collapsing floor. Inexplicably, the place is holding up pretty well despite the gaping holes. Fortunately, there is enough of a lull in the action that Ashley is able to distribute some post-surviving-an-explodarama snacks in the form of DELICIOUS PASTRIES. Today's first bake is deep purple, sweet potato-flour muffins with strips of real purple sweet potato and a coconutty glaze. The perfect late-summer, early-fall treat...!
"I picked this recipe up in Spira," Ashley explains. "They have all kinds of interesting fruits and vegetables up there, and I just had to pick up some for my stock! And--"
SOMETHING SHOOTS AT THEM. The laser blast ricochets off the crumbling concrete right next to Ashley's ear as the lazily approaching consequence of someone else's trap-laden corridor finally catches up to them. Floating out of the holes in the ground are...
...Extremely spherical, hovering anti-personnel drones. Each one has a single (perhaps distressingly reaverbot-like) eye that simultaneously serves as their primary beam emitter.
It also means they all look like they're perpetually weepy. Look at that great big eye...!
(Don't, you'll go blind due to laser beams.)
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Portable Pastries toward his party's challenge, Activated Security Drones.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Ashley's right," Lily says, despite the explosions and the shadows and the horror. "We'll figure things out ourselves if we have to--we have the past to build on, but our own future to make, too."
"...And we do have authorities on the matter."
Lily does not think too hard about Big Shal, or particularly about how long the place will last. This is because she is more focused in the moment on Yue's answer--particularly the way that her eyes widen. "So..." She considers that answer, and nods. "So..." Lily looks over to Citan, for a moment. But he hasn't overheard, so she continues, "It's fine; you couldn't exactly help what happened. But with... some things I've learned," Lily says, "I've been trying to put things together in my mind."
"When the scientists in Shevat went to remove my limiter," she explains. "...They found I didn't have one. That I don't match anyone in their records around the world."
She stops talking to go through the corridor, and when she's through it, she is largely intact... except for a nasty nosebleed that she has to put a stop to with a shimmer of red magic. "Gh," she says, shaking her head. "Doesn't usually take that much out of me..."
"I'll be fine," Lily says then, and looks to Yue. "So that's why I wnated to know--"
Muffins! Lily accepts two at once, biting into one with ferocity that comes of being a mage and needing CALORIES. But then as Ashley starts to explain they get shot at--
Lily fires back blasts of horrifying black energy, her sunglasses slipping off in the rush and movement as she extends her hand with the spell. Her strange black-and-prism eyes are obvious in the moment.
So is disintegration ray.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Activated Security Drones.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue sounds rather exhausted by the time they're through the hall, shaking her head and batting a whole heap of dust and charred bits of fabric off her coat. How she manages to do that well with her cuffs is another thing entirely.
In the lull of the action, Ashley distributes pastries. Yue still feels guilty to accept them, but... she is real hungry... hmm... ube muffin... with coconut glaze. It takes her back...
"That sounds like a real clever recipe... will you sell it in Filgaia too?"
Has Shalune lent Big Shal to her, Citan asks? "Well... it is more that Big Shal goes wherever she pleases. And that sometimes means appearing by my side, and sometimes, by her side. I certainly cannot control when she appears, ever so timely..."
Yue frowns quietly, as she explains further while Lily eats. "... her motor capabilities degraded over time, so I spent-- some time to look after her, when her caregivers could not. Hackman's disease, they called it." She has to wonder for a moment if Citan will give her the stink-eye for talking about the past like it's absolutely nothing, feeling a bit self-cosncious.
Then they're interrupted again, by round-- rounds!! Before she can even react...
ONCE MORE
Big Shal has somehow appeared on-frame while the camera's spun around, patting one of the security drones and then coaxing it to take a sit on her shoulder. And another.
Thumbs up.
"... see what I mean? She just... somehow has a tendency to appear. It still perplexes me to this day."
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Activated Security Drones.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
They seem to be alright.
"Lily?"
Well, make that mostly alright. Still, it seems to be something she remedies quickly, even if it means that he keeps his eye on her a moment more (out of concern).
"Why, thank you," Citan says, accepting one of the muffins from Ashley. "From Spira, you say?" But he doesn't eat it, not just yet.
Citan Uzuki has just gotten distracted.
"...Hackman's disease, did you say?"
He's caught the trailing end of that particular conversation, one that would not have been particularly remarkable had it not been for a notable discussion he had with Lily (and some Shevat geneticists) on that very top. "What brings you to--
Lasers form a useful interruption here for Yue, perhaps.
"Good heavens!" remarks the doctor, falling back (with muffin in hand). "--Might it be possible to target their focusing array?!"
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Activated Security Drones.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida looks back at Ashley, her commander. She manages a weak little smile, and a nod. "...Is she, now?" Ida says, glancing back at Yue. "She's a good friend..." And she trails off, trying not to think about another mechanical friend, one who is living a life of agony and despair. She shakes her head.
On the other side, Ashley distributes muffins. Ida smiles as she recognizes the glaze and vibrant purple color. She takes a bite, chews, swallows."Ube," she says. "I'm glad you did--they're delicious..." And then she drops what's left of the muffin--horror of horrors--and dives for cover yet again, hitting the dirt on her side behind a chunk of upturned road. A laser beam sears through the air where she stood mere seconds before. She only dodged it because she moved during the split-second it took the drone to aim.
"Flare out!" Ida cries, hurling another grenade at the flying drones. Once she's collected her wits, she pops up and snaps off several shots, emptying the rest of her clip.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Flare Grenade toward her party's challenge, Activated Security Drones.
==============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>============================== =================<* CHALLENGE - Activated Security Drones *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- When the power was restored to this place, some of its defenses were, too. Look, here come some of them now. Flying down a corridor towards you at speed is a small fleet of armed security drones. They'd almost be cute if they weren't... shooting at you... ...Ouch. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
=========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 4 *>========================= ===================< Results - Activated Security Drones >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Portable Pastries 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 22 --(9)--> 31 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 17 --(9)--> 26 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Flare Grenade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yue Rohay 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Injure(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yue Rohay 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> Ashley Winchester has posed.
"Definitely!" Ashley answers Yue, and the public rejoices. "If I can figure out a supply contract with the Al Bhed, that is. Spira's got way more of this stuff than we do, and the Elw teleporters make it possible to import all kinds of stuff! We'll... Uh. Need to also figure out, you know, customs."
"...Moon customs. Like, how would we even... do that? Maybe I could twist Irving's arm..."
(Potentially literally, given prior history.)
But that is before! This is now. Sadly, both snacktime and dramatic revelations must be put on the back burner to deal with a swarm of upset drones. Lily going loud only seems to summon more out of the abyss! For every one she obliterates, two more appear. Citan makes a hasty retreat and saves his own skin, but in the process does not actually gain any EXP from this encounter... But he does offer some very useful advice.
Ida exploits the drones' extra-large ocular apertures with a quick flash-bang. Unused to dealing with anything but the absolute dark of the ruin's depths, the anti-flash mechanisms built into the security drones aren't able to adjust in time. Soon they're firing wildly, leaving the swarm open for...
...Big Shal to adopt them all.
Or, at least, the survivors.
...Well, that worked out. "Everyone okay...?" Ashley asks, giving Big Shal another thumbs up, because Big Shal is the best robo-friend.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Swimming In A Sea Of Souls *>================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Judging from the signage -- even if you can't read it (it's just got that look to it) -- you must be getting close to the apparent central chamber within these ruins. It won't be long now until this expedition of yours reaches its conclusion. And then... something strange happens. The air around you is shimmering. Very quickly it's as if you're adrift in a soft pearly blue sea. Perhaps you have someone among you who can recognize the substance that has engulfed you for what it is: it's an upswell of the Ley, keyed to the energies of Muse. The ruin must sit very close to some sort of Leyline node -- perhaps the power of the planet only intrudes into the remains of this city every once in a while. Filgaia is wondrous, isn't it...! But it's a problem for you because moving through it is extremely difficult and takes extra effort. This means, if you don't want to just stay hanging around here until the Ley chooses to recede, you're going to have to put your back into it...! =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overwhelm========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is not as concerned with recipes or moon customs, though that is definitely a valid thing to be thinking about. She watches Yue instead, thoughtfully. "So..." Citan speaks up--he catches the trailing end of the conversation, and Lily inclines her head. "That's right. Just like 'they' were talking about."
But soon Lily is dealing with just, a really, really, ridiculously large number of drones, apparently, and it's pretty tiring to take them all out. "...They were good muffins," Lily says eventually, finishing the one she had in her other hand and walking forward as she does. "I'm fine. Better than before, even."
But the signage indicates, "We're closer to the central chamber..."
Then the air shimmers. Blue radiates all around them, all at once, and Lily's eyes widen as she looks around. "That's--"
It's a problem--moving through it is difficult, and it is very unhealthy for Ashley in particular. So Lily knows what she needs to do immediately:
Counteract it.
"Get moving!" she says, pulling a small card with effort from her jacket, glancing down at it. "Fray is equal to..."
She puts out both hands. "I'm going to try to cancel it out with enough Fire energy that we can clear a path through. Move quickly!"
Lily starts gathering up power--and floats off the floor as she starts channeling raw Fire into the Water of Muse.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Demolition Formula toward her party's challenge, Swimming In A Sea Of Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue looks just a bit surprised as Citan speaks up, on the name of the disease. She looks a bit taken aback and is about to excuse herself when-- well, fortunately the drones interfere. ... really, she doesn't have much to say about moon customs either.
That honestly just sounds like a massive pain, like 'who has the right to act in the name of all Filgaia' leading to 'doesn't that just mean that the richest will move to act first'.
Yue pauses, as the air shimmers around them and blue... radiates all around them. There's a faint grimace, and she murmurs, "It's the Ley. Fire..." Lily has the right idea. There's a faint sigh, and she stoops gently, gathering power into her stance as she focuses on her core and her legs.
"I will also cut a path. That way!"
A centered breath, a peak of focus, and she spins, using the centrifugal force of her body as she carves a red, shining line through with her heel. It feels -- weird, for a moment, like magic can't quite resolve correctly, and it ends up ripping open a maw that prevents the Blue from getting through for a few precious seconds.
"I never thought I'd use this Fast Draw like this, but... whatever works," Yue remarks, as she hurries.
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool Zantetshoeken toward her party's challenge, Swimming In A Sea Of Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Oh.
Oh, he's here again.
Ashley stares at the literal sea of metaphysical water. He feels His will strain against the walls of His prison. In an instant, this could all be boiled away. This could all be simply set aflame-- no, worse. Obliterated beyond all repair. Even boiled Muse could someday return to being Muse, but the Blazer promises a solution that's rather... more permanent.
But the Blazer is also very easily distracted, and relents the moment Lily does Lily things to the lifeblood of the world. For some reason, Ashley senses a vague sense of appreciation-- maybe even approval? Can Lord Blazer even feel such emotions, or is he simply piggy-backing off of Ashley's own darker thoughts...?
No. He can't think of such things now. "We need to move quick while the Ley's split...!" Ashley calls, rushing into the void opened first by Lily, then by Yue. He moves as fast as his legs will carry...!
Hopefully, that's going to be fast enough.
DG: Ashley Winchester has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Swimming In A Sea Of Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"We're all right," Ida says, as she picks herself off the ground. Lola looks down at the poor, abandoned muffin, lying in the dust of ages, and whines. Ida lets out a breath, goes over her mental inventory of Things That Are Safe For Dogs, and reaches down to break off a tiny piece. She offers it to Lola, who snaps it down. At least it wasn't completely wasted.
Something presses against Ida's senses as they start to advance. Lily has undoubtedly already sensed it--and in the space of a few heartbeats, a veritable wall of Ley erupts around them. Ida stops in her tracks, sucking in a breath as she remembers the eruption of tainted Muse in Rahab's prison. The voice of Setanta, speaking to her--or the woman they thought she was. The all-consuming hunger of Ixqic.
But Lily takes immediate, decisive action, and Ida follows through. She rushes in after Ashley, following close on his heels. She keeps her head down, and shields Lola with both arms. She can ask questions about Yue's Fast Draw(?!) later.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Swimming In A Sea Of Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Hmm... negotiating trade between two worlds seems quite the complicated endeavor," Citan observes, shaking his head. Fortunately, perhaps, there are things with which he doesn't need to become entangled...
The drones are felled (at least, the ones that aren't adopted by Big Shal. Will this become a problem for Shalune later? (probably not, in that it won't be a problem)). Not only does Citan fail to gain experience from the encounter, but--
"Ah," the doctor remarks a touch mournfully, inspecting his muffin in the aftermath of the battle. It's made that greatest of sacrifices for the cause and taken a laser beam right through its middle, a perfectly round hole right on through it. "But perhaps it is still edible...?"
It might be a little singed on the inside.
It's the same, Lily confirms, without clarifying what it was, specifically, that they were speaking on. "I see... and you have known someone with the same condition, Miss Yue?" He gazes at her for a moment, before regarding Lily. "Hmm..."
She says she's fine. His expression betrays perhaps some mild doubt on that front, but all the same.
He doesn't press her on it. Rather in fact...
He continues on without a word and towards the section marked as the central chamber.
The air shimmers. "What in the world-- is this the power of 'the Ley'?" Citan utters, turning as best he can when caught in this field. "...Goodness, this could be quite the..." He fidgets, trying to reach for his bag. It's like he's underwater.
In a way, this may not be such a bad thing. Muse is akin to water, and water is a force with which he's quite acquainted. Slowly he pulls a paperback manual out of his bag and finds the page he needs.
"Move quickly, you say... I shall do my best," he says, as he applies a certain amount of chi-oriented realignment to the space around them. The blue energy ripples in response.
Acupressure can apparently have some interesting alternative applications...
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Swimming In A Sea Of Souls.
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Swimming In A Sea Of Souls *>================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Judging from the signage -- even if you can't read it (it's just got that look to it) -- you must be getting close to the apparent central chamber within these ruins. It won't be long now until this expedition of yours reaches its conclusion. And then... something strange happens. The air around you is shimmering. Very quickly it's as if you're adrift in a soft pearly blue sea. Perhaps you have someone among you who can recognize the substance that has engulfed you for what it is: it's an upswell of the Ley, keyed to the energies of Muse. The ruin must sit very close to some sort of Leyline node -- perhaps the power of the planet only intrudes into the remains of this city every once in a while. Filgaia is wondrous, isn't it...! But it's a problem for you because moving through it is extremely difficult and takes extra effort. This means, if you don't want to just stay hanging around here until the Ley chooses to recede, you're going to have to put your back into it...! =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overwhelm========================================
==========================<* Zeboim Ruins - Round 5 *>========================== ====================< Results - Swimming In A Sea Of Souls >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 5 --(10)--> 15 Pass Zantetshoeken 4 Brute Effects: something -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Winchester 5 --(10)--> 15 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 31 --(10)--> 41 Pass Demolition Formula 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 26 --(22)--> 48 Fail Acupressure Guide 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(22)--> 47 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Yue Rohay 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Overwhelm|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Yue Rohay has successfully explored Zeboim Ruins!
===============================<* Zeboim Ruins *>=============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Showing Its Age *>======================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Regardless of how you manage it, you make your way into the technological vault at the apparent heart of the ruins. It's still very much alive and humming with possibility, in spite of five thousand years of neglect. Loose wires suggest the presence of a now-missing component at the center, but the rest of the system can be accessed with some button-pressing and panel manipulation. The only problem is, this is still Zeboim-era data, which means that you (probably) can't understand what you're getting out of the system-- Oh. Actually, yes you can. All of a sudden as the text scrolls, it shifts to a language you can read, as if some protocol had come alive and translated the text for you in real time. It reads: ...developed the Quantum Refractor on this date in 5865. The Quantum R3fract&r b^came a po#enT pow@r s0urce for our c1vilizati##nT!57hqr.... ERROR It seems like the data might be corrupted. After a long period of time another segment of text is pulled up: April 21 - Our work has reached a critical phase. We may well see the Artificial Guardian Project completed in the years to come. But there have been a number of frustrating challenges in recent months. Aside from my ongoing disagreements with my colleague, several of my assistants have been jockeying for us to side with Shevat in the war with Solaris. I am torn in this. Quite clearly, Shevat's position is most in line with my own but I feel as scientists we ought not to involve ourselves in matters of war and domination. And yet, with the movements of the Metal Demons in recent weeks, we may not be able to remain neutral much longer. Some of my fellows are concerned about where they may strike next, and there are rumors that they may have an eye on Nimrod. Moreover, Valmar's followers are increasingly attempting to push his position among us regarding the conflict, complicating our existing dispute. At this rate, our neutrality will... It descends into error code and random symbols from there. But what's more, the system didn't even translate that. That was presented as-is. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Dog trails along, rushing with Ashley and barking encouragement behind him if he needs it to get him moving. Or maybe she's barking because she senses Him all of a sudden inside Ashley. It's hard to say in the moment.
But their plans work out well--Citan finds that his energies are dragged with somewaht more force than he would like by the sheer power of the Ley, but his realignment does work, and similarly Ida rushes through but has to take some Ley burns in order to shield Lola. But Ashley gets right the hell out, through the path Yue cuts--and Lily moves along too before her magic wears off and the Muse floods back into being.
"...I," Lily says to Yue, "Need to find out where you buy your shoes."
But then she looks to the database ahead. "I was looking for some more details on my--on Dr. Wyatt's history, records and things. But this... Hm. Quantum Refractor..."
Lily's personal quest takes a backseat to the stunning revelation of a certain name: "The Artificial Guardian Project...?"
Lily immediately pulls a notebook and starts copying down what data has presented itself, strange eyes and all, as Dog keeps watch.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Citan's muffin gave its life for the cause. But at least you can probably just... eat around the singed parts? And it'll probably be fine??
Maybe it's just how high the stakes are at present, but Ashley pumps his legs faster than many here have ever seen him run. It's almost as though he has some manner of hound barking at his heels, or something. Whatever the case, he manages to make it through before That Guy immolates even the slightest bit of runaway ley.
He's not even out of breath by the time he's across! That Musketeer training must really be paying off...!
What they find is... fascinating. It's most certainly not information about Lord Blazer and the Sword Magess, but it's fascinating nonetheless. The Artificial Guardian Project makes him double-take, and instantly his mind goes to a certain Granasian cleric he knows.
And then the text mentions Valmar. Like, as a person. A politician, even. Not as an abstract force of evil. What...
What the heck is History, even...?
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
There's a haggard noise from Yue by the time they successfully escape through the Ley and in towards the heart of the ruins; exerting power on that scale -- especially through the anti-magic of her shackles -- is no small feat indeed. Fortunately, they seem to have succeeded well enough.
Lily says she should figure out where she buys her shoes. "Hmm. You would look nice in heels," she does admit.
There's a mainframe. "Mm," she quietly murmurs. She starts to translate, before realising: "Wait... this is being output in a common language..."
A frown. Artificial Guardian Project. She keeps well mum about it, but Yulie certainly brings forth to her mind. A quiet grimace. "... wait," she pauses. "This doesn't make sense. It makes mention of the Metal Demons and Valmar, but those were..."
A pause. "Those were not topics of the Zeboim era. The Metal Demons were not present back then..." She looks a bit perplexed. "Is this an entry from a much more recent time, say... the Day of Collapse?"
A quiet sigh. "... if you wish to stay around, Lily, we can search for those records you are looking for. I am not particularly in a hurry to go anywhere."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
For a few, terrible moments, Ida wonders if she'll be swallowed up--or if the force of the Ley will ignite within her, scourging her for her impurity. It does neither. The raw lifeforce of Filgaia seeps into her, and her Breath responds by surging outward to meet it. Sharp pain shoots through Ida's shoulder, as if she'd touched it to something cold enough to burn. Her elbow brushes against another current. She clenches her teeth, curls tighter around Lola. Lola, for her part, remains perfectly still, and secure within her Symbological shield.
Once they're on the other side, Ida swigs a vial of heal berry cordial, and scratches Lola's ears to reassure her. "Good girl, Lola," she says. "I'm all right. See? Everyone's all right." And there, before them, is the terminal.
Lily boots it up in a matter of seconds--like she's known how to do this her whole life. "...Doctor Sharon Wyatt," Ida says. She looks at Lily, waits for further elucidation. Has she been like Fei all this time, or...?
Something else gets her attention. Ida's gaze falls on the terminal, her eyes widening as soon as she sees the words. "'...Artificial Guardian Project?" she breathes. Scientists. Neutral observers. Hyadean movements during the Day of Collapse, if the timeline is right. Valmar. Valmar's followers?
Ida's mouth falls open. She looks at Ashley, struggling for words, and failing to find them. She settles on the same task as Lily--copying the text, word for word, because this is a crucial puzzle piece. Valmar, treated as a man, and not a monster. A scientist. "...I think so," Ida says, to Yue. "Valmar. A scientist, of all things?" It makes no sense. She knows Valmar as a pernicious, corrupting influence straight out of the Gospels. The entity that would usher in the Day of Darkness.
Was Valmar once a man? The thought is beyond heretical. And yet...
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Maybe he can find out for himself later whether the muffin can be salvaged.
For the time being, however, there is the upswell of the Ley that stands between him and the database in the core of these ruins. However, Citan soon finds for himself that the Ley can be savage in spite of appearances, and that while Muse has its similarities to water...
It's not Ether.
Still, after a fashion, he's able to assert himself and with the added exertions from the others, press on to the database still archived here in this place.
"Well," he remarks once he's had the chance to look about himself, clearly deeply impressed by the array of computer cores here, "you were not exaggerating. I wonder however much of these data may be still accessable?"
Lily tries her best, remarking in the meantime on Dr. Wyatt's own history.
"Dr. Wyatt? Was that not the creator of the Gryndille..."
He trails off, silenced by the text that fills the screen.
"...The Artificial Guardian project... Was such a thing...?"
He glances over at Yue.
"Yes. It seems to have been entered into this database more recently. See, it mentions 'Nimrod'," he explains. "This was the precursor to the country we known as Nisan, today. Along with the war between Solaris and Shevat, that would mean that this particular section of text would have been added about five hundred years ago."
He nods, once. "Yes. Just prior to the Day of Collapse, I would assume. Perhaps a few years before. And, this mention of Valmar..."
He falls silent, seemingly lapsing into contemplation of this particular fragment as Ida remarks upon it herself.