2024-04-19: The Streets of Eluria
- Log: The Streets of Eluria
- Cast: Luna Meitner, Eleanor Klein, Venetia Vuong, Holly, Citan Uzuki
- Where: Ruins of Eluria
- Date: April 19, 2024
- Summary: To discover an enemy's intentions, sometimes it is best to return to whence their influence had come. But digging answers out of the rubble of Eluria isn't as easy as that.
DG: A party led by Luna Meitner is now entering Eluria Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Long-Sealed Gate *>=======================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Mighty walls once surrounded the city of Eluria. The ravages following the
Sorcery Globe's descent left them damaged, but not entirely leveled.
Exploring the city of Eluria means getting past them. Over the tops of the
walls, you can see scattered roofs, though many have holes broken into them,
and there are gaps in what was once a proud city skyline.
You find a gate that leads into the city, and the walls nearby -- while
damaged -- stand strong and tall enough to make it hard to break past.
Before Eluria fell, someone sealed this gate, though; the huge,
steel-reinforced wooden gate was shut and barricaded. To get into the city,
you will need to break your way through... or take a very, very long way
around.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
What secrets might lie within the ruined kingdom of Eluria? What could be left to find, after the Sorcery Globe--or the Quadratic Sphere, as it might eventually come to be known--brought so much devastation to it? Buildings lie in ruin, the streets are empty, scavengers and looters have picked the place over many, many times since the collapse of law and order.
There was one valiant soul--a hero, perhaps--who tried for many, many years to hold the line, turn back the tide of decay, and to bring down a mighty beast that still terrorizes the shattered kingdom... to no avail. But she has since ventured out into the wider world, upon learning the name of the pestilence that plagues Eluria still, of learning that it had a cure...
So who stands watch now? And, again, what could there possibly be left to find? Not another defender of the realm, certainly.
That is a question individuals will have to answer.
Of course, to get in to the realm, there is a strong, still-sturdy gate the blocks the way. It might be possible to break through--far more potential there than to try the walls, at least. But there may be barricades and other defenses to contend with.
DG: Luna Meitner has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Long-Sealed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Far away from a war Eleanor can't directly intervene in, there's the remnants of a war long over. Eleanor Klein has traveled to Elru, to investigate the site of the Sorcery Globe's fall. She hasn't come alone, either. It's an important set of questions to answer, and ARMS is not the only group to need them.
So Eleanor walks up to the gates, her boots trudging through the dirt and dust, and looks up. An earring on her pointed ear shines in the dim of the sunset.
"Well," Eleanor says, looking up at it, her orange clothes bright against the darkness. "We'll have to find a way in."
She steps forward, and the Power Bracelet at her wrist glints. "I have one thought."
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Power Bracelet toward her party's challenge, Long-Sealed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
RIP to those watchers, but Venetia Vuong would not have had that happen to her, that's for sure. She has no idea what happened, but for whatever her other flaws, Venetia is certain she would have handled the problems differently.
How? She'd have stepped in.
But what would she do then? She'd handle it.
How, one might ask? By stepping in.
And so she is coming up. Venetia had already been reaching for her Crest Pouch and she pauses when Eleanor's power bracelet gleams. "Oh!" she says.
"Wait, we should organize a little," Venetia says, holding up a Crest Graph threateningly. "Just so we don't overlap. Here, who wants to go straight down the middle at the gate?"
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool Simulacrum Sign toward her party's challenge, Long-Sealed Gate. Fanfare!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly's doing things on an official-ish capacity. Which mostly means she's tagging along because she wanted to help and satiate her curiosity. Besides, the walking encyclopedia might be useful to have on an investigation as long as you can keep her from going off on a tertiary tangent.
With the door blocking the way though.
She had followed Eleanor and Venetia along. And both are proposing methods of getting through.
She floats there, slowly drifting back and forth. "I can go look for a lever to see if it still operates, but uh.." She holds up her hands, "I'm thinking I won't be much help in bashing the gates and letting us barbarians in."
She gestures upward with her thumb, "Back in a few if I find anything." She's being remarkably short in her sentance length today!
That's because as soon as she sees the remnant of a banner, the faint hints of her talking to herself about the history, how neat it is and everything else can be heard trailing behind her.
DG: Holly has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Long-Sealed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The gate is shut.
This may well be the least of their problems when the dust settles. It would not surprise Citan, in any case.
His focus of late has been more or less divided between the war in Ignas and the problem of the Ten Wise Men and how they might be defeated, certainly. But this does not mean that he does not have time for other things. And when Eleanor had approached him in Adlehyde to investigate a certain matter further to the east... well. Sometimes what one needs is a break from their concerns.
And was it not in Elluria that the Sorcery Globe had first descended?
Who wants to go straight down the middle at the gate?
"Kyu," declares Ise the Mimikyu, who is already in the process of trundling towards the gate. "Now--" Citan starts only to stop, watching the Pokemon approach it. Ise draws forth his 'tail' (really a piece of wood) in an inky tendril, begins to beat at the gate with determination.
"Well... perhaps his persistence is an inspiration to us all," he remarks, fidgeting with his glasses absently.
A Mimikyu is on average, it should be noted, about eight inches tall. Persistence is one way of putting it.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Ise is Trying! toward his party's challenge, Long-Sealed Gate. Resilient! Party shielded from some exhaustion next round!
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Long-Sealed Gate *>=======================
| Type: Entry | Dungeon Ability: Brute | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Mighty walls once surrounded the city of Eluria. The ravages following the
Sorcery Globe's descent left them damaged, but not entirely leveled.
Exploring the city of Eluria means getting past them. Over the tops of the
walls, you can see scattered roofs, though many have holes broken into them,
and there are gaps in what was once a proud city skyline.
You find a gate that leads into the city, and the walls nearby -- while
damaged -- stand strong and tall enough to make it hard to break past.
Before Eluria fell, someone sealed this gate, though; the huge,
steel-reinforced wooden gate was shut and barricaded. To get into the city,
you will need to break your way through... or take a very, very long way
around.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down! and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>=============================== ======================< Results - Eluria Ruins - Round 1 >====================== ========================< CHALLENGE - Long-Sealed Gate >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna Meitner 0 --(20)--> 20 Bad Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 0 --(12)--> 12 Good Power Bracelet Maj Brute Effects: Efficient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(20)--> 20 Worst Ise is Trying! Min Brute Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venetia Vuong 0 --(12)--> 12 Good Simulacrum Sign Maj Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holly 0 --(20)--> 20 Worst Force Bsc Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Luna Meitner 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Conditions: Weaken(2) Effects: Resilient(1) = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner 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.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
The locked gate is certainly a problem. Is it an insurmountable problem? Certainly not with the combined efforts of several drifters.
Holly's attempt to just find a lever is met with success! ... However, sadly, the lever has rusted in place, without anybody around to use it or even maintain and upkeep it.
Ise tries his best, but the pounding of a piece of wood are nothing compared to the shattering power of Eleanor's Power Bracelet and Venetia's Simulacrum Sign. Mighty blows strike in unision and the gates creak, strain, and then.... half of the gate falls apart, sliding down and tilting over to block the other half of the gate from doing the same.
There is just enough of a gap to get through, though, if you want to crawl through the narrow gap afforded by the gate breaking apart. But further attempts to batter it down are likely to end up with someone getting pancaked.
And what do the erstwhile Drifters find, after they've made their passage through?
High on a rooftop, staring silently inwards towards the rest of the kingdom, is a young girl, who can't be any older than 15. She has dark red hair tied back in a loose braid, long, pointed ears, a red tunic, leather leggings, and other assorted pieces of armor. And on her back is a pack, a bow and quiver, and a simple ordinary spear--just a long wooden handle and a simple metal speahead.
And as the drifters come enter she silently turns back to look them over with dark green eyes. Her eyes are narrowed, as she looks them over. She looks Eleanor directly in the eyes for a moment with a cold, stoic expression before turning back and jumping down off the roof.
Who is that girl? What could someone so young be doing in a place like this by herself??
DG: Eleanor Klein has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Tainted Walls *>=======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Parts of Eluria are shifted and altered in strange ways. This section of its
streets has buildings that are mostly leveled, turned into piles of rubble
that spill out into the roads. Your path, here, is blocked by a difficult
section of fallen homes -- creating a barrier that you'll need to jump and
scale across. There are strange, black and violet stains on the walls here.
In places, these even have the texture of ice... and you can slip down them.
It will take some careful work.
Those familiar with such things may recognize what caused this change:
long-term exposure to powerful Malevolence.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Resilient:_Exhaustion_Down!, Slow:_Agility_Down!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Organization is important," Eleanor agrees with Venetia. She steps back for the moment, and laughs faintly at Holly. "Probably not," she agrees of bashing, and of course she'll talk to herself. But Doctor Uzuki is with them, and....
"Oh, he's so cute when he's doing his best," Eleanor effuses about Ise. But it goes badly. Eleanor, on the other side, sighs. "Sorry about that," she says, looking around. "But we made it! That's what's important. We'll just go the long way around leaving."
A pause, as she turns--and there is a girl of fifteen. Red hair and green eyes...
"...?" Eleanor wonders. "Does she know me?" she wonders. "Do any of you know her?"
"...Let's follow. I have a feeling about this."
And as they go on, the streets ahead have more leveled buildings, fallen homes and hopes. And there are strange stains on the walls...
"There was Malevolence here," Eleanor comments. "...I'll scout the path ahead. Follow me!"
She steps forwad and in the next breath is a beautiful owl, flapping her wings forward and rushing over the rooftops.
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Rauru's Flight toward her party's challenge, The Tainted Walls. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Venetia's manifested battling Simulacrum strikes blows -- but Venetia doesn't focus and so the blowos themselves aren't focused. "Eh?" she says. Then: "Ah," as she sees the Mimikyu.
It's creepy, Venetia thinks, but she has the grace to not say. Dr. Uzuki is a scholar and a man of medicine, even if Venetia is not quite certain where exactly he studied -- somewhere in Ignas, probably. Either way, Venetia knows that the simulacrum takes a lot out of her and so she opts to crawl - LIKE A SNAKE - into the place itself.
And as they rise, she dusts herself off. And she glances upwards to see -- the redhaired young woman.
She leaps away.
"Maybe she wants to see the owl thing," Venetia tells Eleanor with an air of sourness. But then there's news -- Malevolence was in here?
"... How?" Venetia says, face scrunching up. Then she grunts because Eleanor did in fact do 'the owl thing.' She invokes some kind of relatively subtle spell, tells Holly and Citan, "She does this," and after that, Venetia --
Super jumps?
It's long and graceful, the kind of thing you'd expect to need wires to accomplish if you saw it one of those fanciful stage plays.
There is no accompanying sound effect. But one might imagine.
DG: Venetia Vuong has contributed a risky Agility Action toward her party's challenge, The Tainted Walls.
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holy spots as familiar figure as she sits on the leaver, waiting for the others. "Found one." She offers cheerfully, in that hint of a tone suggesting she's annoyed with it.
That she hits it with a blob of enchanted ink as she leaves probably tells the full story.
Muttermutter.
Holly holds a hand up and says, "I've met her. She's convinced she's invincible!" She waves to Luna at that and calls out, "Hi Luna." Her voice carries and she was a wee bit blunt there, but she also might have said as much last time too. It's already babysitting duty in her mind, what's one more? She doesn't voice that part.
She does give Citan a curious look. "Dunno you though. Hi there." There's a friendly enough wave at least!
There's a pause as a thought catches up. "I dunno if she knows you. Do you know her?" She calls out, little gap between answer and new question.
Eleanor offers to scout ahead. She starts to protest, being a small flying nuisance. Then suddenly she's an owl and Holly's darted for cover, lobbing a half-aimed spell into the sky that pops loudly and splashes a bunch of water over.. well. Nothing. She was trying to scare the bird.
Then her brain catches up to her instinct and she calls out, "A LITTLE WARNING PLEASE!" sounding a bit annoyed.
A thumbs up is held out to Venetia's comment from her hiding place, "Thanks." with only a hint of something still a bit annoyed.. or catching her breath there.
Still, there's a dangerous path ahead and the fairy darts ahead of the rest, conjuring up some magic about herself. Trying to use it to poke and prod at things carefully. Each one that she determines is.. 'safe' gets splatted with normal-ish ink.
DG: Holly has used her Tool Strange Wind toward her party's challenge, The Tainted Walls. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Citan Uzuki," he says to Holly. "I am here at Eleanor's request." Some things it might do to have a, er, talented country doctor take a look at. Especially a country doctor who is well-versed in the politics of two worlds and counting.
Ise does his best. But there's just not much that an 8-inch Pokemon armed with a stick can do against a gate. ...Well, probably.
There's just enough of a gap when all is said and done to get through. Ise, regarding the situation that transpires before and around him, chirps cheerfully, "Mi!" and toddles on ahead ahead through the gap that is more than big enough for him.
"The vigor of youth, perhaps," Citan remarks of his Pokemon. "Well, it appears that the only way forward is through that gap. Shall we?"
For an man in his mid-30s, he doesn't seem to struggle at all with negotiating through the tight space. Emerging on the other side, he takes a moment to look around them and soon spots Ise. But Eleanor appears to have seen something else. Turning in that direction as well, his gaze meets for but a moment a young lady. How old would she be? 14? No more than 15 or even 16, he'd estimate.
And then she's gone.
"...Hmm. I cannot say that we have met before," he muses, glancing between Eleanor and Venetia and Holly, "and yet..."
But he shakes his head. They'll learn little standing around here. "It appears we shall need to negotiate this to proceed. Those markings are familiar, though. Is that not-- Ah, I see," he says, glancing first one way then the other as Eleanor turns into an owl and Venetia opts to leap up in a way that would put a martial artist to shame. Holly, meanwhile, has her own talents in this space. Tapping his foot for a moment as he consides the fallen buildings, Citan frowns thoughtfully before withdrawing a Spiran sphere from his person. "Now, let me see if this might suffice," he says, using the sphere to conjure platforms of ice which he uses to try to rapidly ascend the wall, taking care to skirt the corrupted sections.
The slipperiness of the ice, perhaps strangely, doesn't really seem to cause him any trouble at all.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, The Tainted Walls. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
The mysterious girl--who is very quickly named by Holly--is crouched just on the other side of the building she dropped down from, scanning the treacherous sequence of leaps and jumps that will be required to make her way through.
Or is she, perhaps, waiting for them?
That doesn't seem likely.
"There is Malevolence here," corrects Luna, without looking back to the others. Her voice has a rough edge to it, low and without much emotion to it. "It will not be cleansed so easily from this place." Oh, and the 15 year old girl in the ruined kingdom by herself knows what Malevolence is.
Cool.
She doesn't turn her head back to look at Holly for her comment of being invincible, but there is a soft snort.
Nor does she seem to take notice of Eleanor saying she'll scout ahead--and there is the barest of glances spared for the transformation into an owl. For her part, though, she slips a vial of thin orange liquid from a pouch on the side of her leg, pops the top off with a thumb, and downs it. MAgic flows through her, and she charges forward with suddenly enhanced speed, making fast, long leaps and strides as she navigates the dangerous path.
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Pegasus Draught toward her party's challenge, The Tainted Walls. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Tainted Walls *>=======================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Parts of Eluria are shifted and altered in strange ways. This section of its
streets has buildings that are mostly leveled, turned into piles of rubble
that spill out into the roads. Your path, here, is blocked by a difficult
section of fallen homes -- creating a barrier that you'll need to jump and
scale across. There are strange, black and violet stains on the walls here.
In places, these even have the texture of ice... and you can slip down them.
It will take some careful work.
Those familiar with such things may recognize what caused this change:
long-term exposure to powerful Malevolence.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Slow:_Agility_Down!, and Weaken:_Brute_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
======================< Results - Eluria Ruins - Round 2 >======================
=======================< CHALLENGE - The Tainted Walls >========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 20 --(0)--> 20 Best
Pegasus Draught Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein 12 --(0)--> 12 Best
Rauru's Flight Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki 20 --(0)--> 20 Best
Macalania Sphere Maj Agility Effects: Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Venetia Vuong 12 --(6)--> 18 Bad
Rush Bsc Agility Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holly 20 --(0)--> 20 Best
Strange Wind Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Inefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 15 --(20)--> 35 Pass
Conditions: Slow(2) and Weaken(1)
Effects: Cleanse
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner 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> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Yes," Eleanor explains of Citan. "I wanted his expertise. He's not with ARMS, but I consider him trustworthy." A ause. The vigor of youth... Hmm.
"I don't think she knows about the owl thing," Eleanor says dubiously to Venetia. She is aware that so many of her friends find it strange...
"I don't think I know her," Eleanor answers Holly. And to Citan, "I see. Yes..."
Then she's an owl.
"Oh," Eleanor answers Holly, "Sorry! When I glow and set my arms down I'm going to use my shapeshifting abilities! That's the cue. You can also tell if you read the Ley signature of my spell in progress!"
"Do you understand?"
> No
Yes
When she lands on the other side, she turns to watch the others. She has the way of seeing Venetia jump. It is long and graceful, yes, but the place she lands starts to give way, requiring her to jump again very carefully to get out without tripping. ...it's minor, though; she can probably do it just fine.
Holly's ink marks a safe path, with her strange inks and conjured wind. While Citan travels on his own icy path, Luna instead leaps along, following no one else with her own magic until they all reach the end.
"Is Malevolence then," Eleanor agrees. "Hello," she says. "My name is Eleanor Klein. We're with ARMS. It would be nicer to travel together in such a dangerous place, wouldn't it?" She smiles.
DG: Venetia Vuong has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Fallen Knights *>========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Eluria once boasted several proud orders of knights. Individuals sworn to
uphold their kingdom; individuals who, at least in theory, subscribed to
ideas of honor and belief. Sadly, though, the fall of Eluria caused these
orders to collapse. Some knights fled, but some fled from their oaths and
their beliefs.
Some of them are here, in the very city that they once swore to protect.
They have turned to banditry. A group of them see you; they still wear their
Symbology-enhanced armor, and carry swords, shields, and axes. When they see
you, they start forward silently, but with grim determination.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
"Ah! A tense change," Venetia says as Luna corrects Eleanor. She also lands wrong and pitches forwards to land on her face in the background as Eleanor provides an introductory statement about when you can tell her transformation cues. You might call it a toot oriole, if you're nasty.
But of course, she is an owl.
Venetia is not an owl and after faceplanting the ground begins to give way. She scrabbles for a moment before doing another L E A P upwards and landing with a glance back towards the others. Aha: Ice and ... being able to fly. Just so.
"Do you have any idea where the Malevolence is -"
"THE FOE!"
"AT LAST, THE FOE!"
"REVENGE!"
"FORTH, KNIGHTS. NONE WHO COME HERE CAN BEAR GOOD CAUSE! IN THE NAME OF OUR FALLEN"
Venetia looks over as this knightly bellowing takes place. "Well," she observes, "that's not good, that armor looks rough to punch through. I don't suppose any of you have any weapons other than our pitiful daggers and pitchforks?" Venetia asks, as she pulls out a gun.
"That's sarcasm, incidentally," Venetia calls towards Luna.
"NO PITY! NO REMORSE! NO FEA"
That last one came from one of the charging knights who just got shot in the torso three times by Venetia. This was mostly stunning, except that one of the bullets hit one of the joints in the armor. Venetia grins at him.
"Some fear," Venetia corrects.
(Thank Dinoginos, Venetia thinks. If I fell over in front of Dr. Uzuki again I'd want to jump into a ditch.)
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool The Gun Will Solve The Combat Challenge And Its Associates toward her party's challenge, Fallen Knights. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly's response to the snort is a bit of a laugh herself as she takes back to the air. Floating along easily enough, seeming more or less pleased with herself. "Just don't get into too much trouble!"
Citan being a font of information, but also a 'country doctor' gets a wry look from Holly. "Ah. I'm Holly. A librarian." Which is equally underselling things. It's fine.
The explanation from Eleanor is met with a, "It's not that you can, it's that you did and then you.. wait." She pauses. "Don't do that. They're quiet enough to be spooky like cats are." She mutters a little more. It's not really embarrassment when an owl IS both spooky silent and capable of carrying you off easily!
> Holly is absolutely mashing the O button while looking at something to the side.
Holly doesn't quite catch that Venetia's responding to.. other things. "Why the hell would I punch anything?" Seeming actually bewildered.
That she decided to bundle a bunch of negative energy, lots and lots of it and use it to funnel a big blob of curse ink, which then roils and rumbles before spraying out in a fan pattern towards the knights, spreading whatever misery she's imbued it with to them not-withstanding.
It's only when she turns to look at the.. well former knights at least that it occurs to her, especially with the gunshot. "Oh."
Incidentally, "You okay by the way? I guess I could have made the path clearer." Maybe some face saving for her?
DG: Holly has used her Tool Withering Curses toward her party's challenge, Fallen Knights. Embolden! Party Combat boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Holly, it is good to meet you. I do not think I have had the opportunity to meet a fairy before," he says to her.
"It is strange," Citan says, once they emerge on the other side of the barrier. "It is not normal to witness Malevolence in Filgaia outside of active Domains, as I understand it. For whatever reason, it cannot 'naturally' gain a toehold on Filgaia without being meaningfully cultivated. So the rumors about Eluria were true..."
He pauses there by the fallen buildings for a moment in thought as Ise emerges deep from within the wreckage. Being eight inches tall means that you never have to go over when you can probably squeeze through. Probably.
Here, again, is their mystery girl to remark on that very fact, to which Citan remarks, "You are not a native of Eluria, correct?"
But there is shouting, and that may cause trouble when it comes to having a conversation, particularly when the source of the shouting is a bunch of Elurian knights.
Venetia straight-up shoots one. She shoots one three times.
"...Well, I suppose there is no reasoning with them," Citan remarks, not so much as batting an eye at her display. He did spend most of his formative years around the likes of Jessie, after all.
"Ise, if you would?"
Picture the scene now. One of the knights, a healthy corn-fed man of about 6'1" in height and heavily armored to boot. Ise is, again, eight inches tall and weighs about a pound and a half soaking wet.
Who will win?
"Kyuuuu!" Ise squeaks. His battle cry! A dark power rises around Ise, surging for the young knight.
>Ise used Astonish!
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a risky Combat Action toward his party's challenge, Fallen Knights.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Luna lands from her last jump in a neat, effortless crouch as the last of the alchemy-induced magic fades. She stands to her full height--she is only 5'4" but her bearing is of someone who is much, much taller, even though she has to look up, slightly, to meet Eleanor's gaze at her own 5'6".
Eleanor introduces herself. "I know who the Lady Klein is." She looks away--no, she is not looking away from Eleanor, she is looking to the challenges ahead. "Luna Meitner." Without turning her head, her eyes slide back to Eleanor. Travelling together in such a dangerous place... "I suppose I can lend you my knowledge of this place." There's not a smile or any levity in her voice, just a serious statement of fact.
She's been this way before, after all.
Holly says not to get into too much trouble. "Pay heed to your own safety first."
She glances to Citan Uzuki next. "No." is the simple answer she gives. She doesn't clarify more.
Venetia's question is interrupted by the arrival of several fallen knights. Her eyes narrow as she watches them, impassively. She's... studying them, actually, given the intent expression on her face, the way her eyes dart around to take note of symbology on the armor, weapons, potential weak spots...
Venetia calls out her sarcasm, and Luna glances back toher. "I gathered."
And of course Venetia just straight up shoots at one of them. "I suppose there is no need for restraint." She reaches behind her, takes her spear in hand, and slides one foot forward until she is in a stance, spear at the ready.
And then she launches herself forward, taking a great leap up as she slashes at one from the air, uses the momentum of her turn to bring her spear down on another before setting foot on the ground again. She uses that long reach to her advantage, darting back and forth, striking with reach.
It is a textbook perfect form, if such a thing were ever truly written down, but one that may be unfamiliar to most observers.
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Perfectly Ordinary Spear toward her party's challenge, Fallen Knights.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Ah, it's nice to be known!" Eleanor says, brightly despite Luna's cold approach. "We would appreciate it," she says. She then glances to Citan. Clearly not from Eluria, to recogize Aquvy nobility.
Holly has to hear Eleanor's explanation a few times, unfortunately.
That aside, "Don't worry. I've never eaten a fairy," she says seriously. "It would be quite rude to my friend Gida." That is, the Great Fairy of Magic in Aquvy. Who is incredibly reclusive and does not usually have mortal(?) friends.
Eleanor... does not comment on Venetia's fall. It would be rude.
Besides, by the time she can, there are knights who charge onward. At them. "Oh, dear," Eleanor says, looking them over. "I don't suppose we can talk about this--"
NO PITY! NO REMORSE! NO FEA
Eleanor presses her lips together to avoid a gallows laugh. It would be unkind.
She cannot wait for Ise to strike, though she looks with large eyes to see him striding forwrd against the knight. It concerns her!
But she pauses all the same, when she sees Luna's spearwork. it is textbook--but the textbook is...
She doesn't call attention to it immediately. Instead, she pulls her firearm, and starts shootin bullets that have the force and sound of the Earth element, each one slamming into the target like a heavy stone and bursting apart into shards where it hits, to slow and delay the enemy while the others take them down.
"That's a Gerudo style," she comments aloud when she has the chance. "It's very distinctive."
DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fallen Knights.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Fallen Knights *>========================
| Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Combat | Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
Eluria once boasted several proud orders of knights. Individuals sworn to
uphold their kingdom; individuals who, at least in theory, subscribed to
ideas of honor and belief. Sadly, though, the fall of Eluria caused these
orders to collapse. Some knights fled, but some fled from their oaths and
their beliefs.
Some of them are here, in the very city that they once swore to protect.
They have turned to banditry. A group of them see you; they still wear their
Symbology-enhanced armor, and carry swords, shields, and axes. When they see
you, they start forward silently, but with grim determination.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Embolden:_Combat_Up! and Exhaust:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>=============================== ======================< Results - Eluria Ruins - Round 3 >====================== =========================< CHALLENGE - Fallen Knights >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna Meitner 20 --(5)--> 25 Best Perfectly Ordinary Spear Maj Combat Effects: Efficient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 12 --(5)--> 17 Best Fight Bsc Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 20 --(5)--> 25 Best Fight Bsc Combat Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venetia Vuong 18 --(5)--> 23 Best The Gun Will Solve The Combat Min Combat Effects: Embolden Challenge And Its Associates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holly 20 --(5)--> 25 Best Withering Curses Min Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Luna Meitner 35 --(20)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Embolden(1) = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner 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> Venetia Vuong has posed.
KNIGHT 1 is shot and seems to be at somewhat sixes and sevens regarding it. Another knight surges forwards even as he runs face-first into the curse ink and is suffering, abruptly, from piles, the ague, armor heaviness, mylagia, and an aggravated case of pouty puss.
He screams. Venetia shoots him twice and then holsters her gun. Some backscatter here keeps the other knights at bay, which means that one of them is confronted by Ise.
"What deviltry is this?" bellows Knight #3.
> ISE USES ASTONISH
> MORALE CRASH
Knight #3 shrieks and surges off to the side, having comprehensively failed his Battle-Shock roll. Venetia lets out a rolling chortle even as Luna lands amongst them, setting most of the other knights to desperate smashes backwards. Knight #4 gets shot in the leg and lets out a mighty "YEARGH!"
Knight #5 grabs him and pulls out; Knight #1 staggers away. It seems that their armor, Symbologically reinforced as it may be, mostly means that they were able to survive this terrifying onslaught, though it probably helped that Ise just used Astonish instead of, I don't know, Soul-Taker or whatever it is Mimikyu knows. I assume they take souls. ((ed.: fact check this))
After this, Venetia exhales. "So much for that."
Knight #5 shouts back distantly, "We'll remember this."
Venetia shouts back in that direction, "GET A JOB!"
> Victory!
DG: Holly has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>=============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Pot Shots *>=========================== | Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information >---------------------------- The section of street you walk through has no small number of ruins. Most of the buildings are some level of intact, though, which makes it hard to find a line of sight on anything nearby. As you walk, though, you catch a glint of light from a three-story boarding house (or, well, what used to be a boarding house). Then, someone inside of it -- a bandit, most likely -- fires at you with a rifle, trying to ward you off. You'll have to outrun their shots! ============================= Dungeon Conditions: ============================= | Embolden:_Combat_Up! and Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure! | = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly bundles up a nice big glob of ink and aims for the retreating guy stating 'He'll remember this' and after a moment, focuses it into a dart and aims for.. well. She's not always a nice fairy.
Afterward, she holds herself up nice and proud. "We're rare here. And by rare, I mean most of my family scarpered off and I have no idea where to." She spreads her arms out. "Did find some cousins in the lost woods though." She does.. not sound upset about any of this. Somewhere on some level it does, but she's mostly holding onto the idea of eventually finding them again.
Which is when she gives Eleanor a funny look. "Where did you find her?" A mixture of recognition, confusion and surprise. Maybe something more. Hard to read on her though.
As for Luna? "Nah. Where's the fun in that? Even if I do know better." Which.. might explain her habits of trying to face down things with a paintbrush.
A shot wizzes past and she assumes something entirely different, "I'M NOT A BIRD OR YOUR LUNCH" starting to turn towards the shot. Then a second shot rigns out and, you know, misses because she's itty bitty and might not have been heard.
She does however use a bit of her innate magic mixed with that misery stuff she usually prefers to try and sling a big spray of ink that direction to blind the guy.
Also you know, she's darting erratically around. "I'll draw his.." she pauses. "I'll try to draw his fire, you get going. I don't think he'll get through. I'm not that rusty!" Even as she slings up a black ink shield, ready to flare up and deflect the bullets!... hopefully.
Still isn't on her list of top five stupid things.
For the others, there is just enough cover, that the option of evasion at least seems a good choice!
DG: Holly has used her Tool Strange Wind toward her party's challenge, Pot Shots. Cleanse! All negative effects will be cleared at the end of the round!
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
BLAM!
"Hah! Are they shooting at us, now? They couldn't hit a barn at this dis"
BLAM
A round slams into the side of Venetia's head and she goes toppling over to the side, eyes going blank as she tumbles through the air and just a moment before she hits the ground --
AT THE APPROACH TO THE GATE
"Alright, this is going to be perilous and full of horrible deadfalls at best, so I'm preparing myself," Venetia states. "Persephone Sign--!"
"Eleanor, Dr. Uzuki?" Venetia offers.
HERE NOW
-- something untwists in the air and Venetia hits the ground with blood in her hair and her mask falling off but does not, in fact, have a major problem of cross-sectional ventilation in the cranial area.
"Some thanks I get," Venetia growls, before she actually scrabbles for a moment on all fours before rearing up on her hind legs and surging forwards, hopefully under the protection of Holly's winds. She may or may not still have that strange leaping++ spell up; but she is not trying to use it just yet.
(There is a brief lull in the shots, of course, because the 'knight' is momentarily questioning his perception of reality.)
DG: Venetia Vuong has contributed a risky Agility Action toward her party's challenge, Pot Shots.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Ise is proud of himself! Look at how well he defeated the knight, his posture seems to suggest as he turns around to Citan and the others, his visible tendrils undulating happily. He attempts to pose winsomly. His garishly-painted unblinking rag head flops over distressingly to the left instead.
"Good work, Ise," Citan says to his Pokemon, again not so much as batting an eye.
"I see," Citan says to Holly, when she speaks of her family. "I am sorry to hear that. I hope that you are able to be reunited." She doesn't seem to be that torn up about it, true, but he has taken the approach of addressing it as politely as he would had she seemed otherwise.
But they don't have a lot of time in which to converse with one another. Someone is taking shots at them from the ruins, which is not great for a number of reasons.
"Miss Vuong!"
Even as the spell takes hold and reality is made to go around the disturbance, he cannot help but call out. "Let us move, I should not care to test their aim a second time!"
He produces again that sphere from an icy land in Spira, and summoning the power in it, conjures ahead of them an icy path. It's slippy, of course--
But that's its real power: can their sniper manage to merk someone who is running and sliding along on ice?
(A bold strategy, but let's see how it works, first.)
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, Pot Shots. Rally!
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Eleanor's bright and cheerful demeanor is not met by Luna. Luna, in fact, seems to possess a complete lack of cheer. But she appreciates her expertise... "Hmm."
But there is a slight turn of her head, just enough to angle her ear towards Eleanor after she says the name 'Gida.' It's subtle, but those paying close enough attention could definitely catch it.
But to the knights--Luna's strikes are deadly and precise, but she seems to choose them carefully (despite her comment about not needing to show restraint.) Eventually, through all of their efforts the knights are driven off. One shouts back they will remember this, and Luna slowly stands upright, spear in one hand braced against her back momentarily.
"If you do, you will not attack us again."
She slides her spear back onto her back properly, into its holster, and turns back to look at Eleanor as she proclaims the style to be Gerudo. There is an slight little tilt of her head as she watches Eleanor for just a moment longer than it should take to respond in a normal, conversational way. "Is it? It is my understanding the Gerudo have not been present in Filgaia for quite some time. Curious, that you should think I am capable of knowing their forms."
'Where's the fun in that?' Luna arches an eyebrow in her direction. "'Fun.'" It is somehow a statement and a question at the same time.
She turns her head sharply as the first shot rings out. She could run, certainly, and she even has the potions for it, as the others have witnessed. But there is something else she has, that she feels more like using in the moment. She doesn't even flinch as shots ricochet off the ground around her or whiz right past her ear. She reaches back, unslinging her bow and drawing an arrow from her quiver in a single, easy motion.
Just as smoothly she draws and releases the arrow into the window the shot came from, shattering part of the rest of the pane... and a moment later, those with sensitive hearing can hear a faint hiss as some sort of gas is released from the arrow into the room. She does all this at a moment's notice without moving from her spot.
"That should distract him," she states simply before taking off at a run. She shoots out several more arrows while on the run into other windows as necessary.
Her bow work is just as good as her spear work.
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Perfectly Ordinary Bow toward her party's challenge, Pot Shots. Quicken! Party Agility boosted!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"Oh, I get around," Eleanor says of where she met Gida. "I could show you sometime." She doesn't know Luna; she thinks Gida would not like her to eveal the location of her fountain to--well, even to Citan, probably.
She smiles at Ise. "He's very spooky! You're quite talented, Ise! And cute, too!" She effuses towards the Pokemon, even as he... flags.
It's fine. Eleanor is a wizard.
But Luna... "It is quite curious," Eleanor agrees. "They have emerged in recent years... But not long enough for someone to mster their styles who isn't one of them, I think." She looks thoughtfully at her.
BLAM!
"Oh, dear," Eleanor says as Venetia is shot in the head, frowning in--is that worry, or sympathy, or what? It's hard to tell. She doesn't seem to expect her to die of it in any case, because it's a very mild reaction.
Though she does go for cover rather immediately. "Oh, your mask--" She reaches for it, if Venetia doesn't get it.
EARLIER
"Yes, I'll take one," Eleanor says. "You can never be too careful!" A pause. "Even if seeing it work does give me a little vertigo..."
HERE NOW
The others make their own actions, but Eleanor gives the cues again an turns into an owl, rushing over the cobblestones in utter silence.
Well, almost utter silence. "Now that he's distracted we can run past!"
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Rauru's Flight toward her party's challenge, Pot Shots. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>=============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Pot Shots *>=========================== | Type: Exploration | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information >---------------------------- The section of street you walk through has no small number of ruins. Most of the buildings are some level of intact, though, which makes it hard to find a line of sight on anything nearby. As you walk, though, you catch a glint of light from a three-story boarding house (or, well, what used to be a boarding house). Then, someone inside of it -- a bandit, most likely -- fires at you with a rifle, trying to ward you off. You'll have to outrun their shots! ============================= Dungeon Conditions: ============================= | Cleanse:_All_Effects_Removed!, Injure:_Exhaustion_Up_On_Failure!, and | | Quicken:_Agility_Up! | = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
======================< Results - Eluria Ruins - Round 4 >======================
===========================< CHALLENGE - Pot Shots >============================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna Meitner 25 --(0)--> 25 Best
Perfectly Ordinary Bow Min Agility Effects: Quicken
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein 17 --(0)--> 17 Best
Rauru's Flight Min Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki 25 --(0)--> 25 Best
Macalania Sphere Maj Agility Effects: Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Venetia Vuong 23 --(0)--> 23 Best
Rush Bsc Agility Effects: Risky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holly 25 --(0)--> 25 Best
Strange Wind Min Agility Effects: Cleanse and
Inefficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leader: Luna Meitner 55 --(20)--> 75 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)
Effects: Cleanse and Quicken(1)
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: The party led by Luna Meitner 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> Holly has posed.
Holly's fully in support of a surprising amount of the party's decision to try and reduce the threat in other methods. She keeps glancing back as she slings ink to keep the guy's eyes forward while they do their thing!
Though Venetia goes down and that does cause Holly to twist fully, starting to dart over, realizing as she goes that the woman's fine. "Please tell me you weren't testing the armor the hard way?" There's an attempt at a joke there. Someone she's deemed 'under her protection' actually did worry her. There's a gap in her bravado even!
Mostly.
She did catch Citan's comment though and she turns, using that to distract herself, "I do too. I think they just left because.. uh. Cold." Close enough. Might even be true. Other ideas are out there though.
Luna is as daur as ever and, still she's at least returning fire as well. Holly doesn't even try to nudge, though she does suggest, "Hard shot with that kind of cover. Got any big spells?" She hadn't seen her use any, but hey. You don't learn by not asking too many questions.
"I should probably visit at some point. I think she's over the spring near the Lost Woods right? Had some cousins there."
Incidentally, Eleanor makes it just fine on the run. Turns out the guy is having a significant number of other problems.
With ink in his eyes, he's stumbled back. Stood up and tries to find anything her can wipe things away with. That it burns and seems to carry a myriad of other nasty little spells is drowned out by other problems though.
Like an arrow bouncing off of his chest and releasing some kind of gas. Completely missing Citan doing his best impersonation of Sub Zero and sliding right on past his line of sight.
This is at about the same time Venetia's shots impact. A clear ringing noise as it bounces into that battered armor. Joined with a string of exclamations that weren't particularly polite. He stumbles here and there, then falls out of the window and lands on his back. He's probably not dead. Might wish he was though.
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire *>================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you near Eluria Tower's outskirts, you feel a prickle of a sensation of
dread. Then, it returns: the Malevolent Domain that you may have had some
brushes with on your way through Eluria's ruins. You realize /why/ you have
had brushes with it: it moves. It follows the loud, beating of leathery
wings up high; it comes with the enormous Fell Dragon that has taken to the
skies and come to roost around Eluria Tower.
All is quiet for a moment.
Then, the Fell Dragon /roars/ and it is nearly earth-shattering. The ground
rattles under foot, and the dragon whirls around, and then breathes out a
massive stream of darkness-infused flame that scars the ground. You can't
hope to fight such a thing now.
Instead, you must run!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, and |
| Slow:_Agility_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Sliding right along, with Ise slipping along after, Citan is blithely unaware* of the multi-pronged assault on their sniper behind him. Perhaps it's just as well, he wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop them anyway (and to be fair, who would?).
(*Doubtful.)
Eventually the ice peters out. They have come upon the still-standing tower at the center of Eluria looms over the surrounding ruins of the city.
"This is... the heart of the Domain," Citan utters, well-aware of the aura that hangs heavy in the air before them. He's stopped in his tracks, still in this moment as he searches for--
Something like that, apparently. The wingbeat announces its approach long before it comes into view, but there's no missing it when it does. Here is a Fell Dragon, the final state a Seraph afflicted with Malevolence might attain. It has been using the Tower as its roost.
And when it roars, the very earth trembles.
"Ise, to me!" Citan calls out, stooping for but the second it takes Ise to ascend his arm and climb to perch firmly on his shoulder.
He stands and wheels about in the moment after, and in so doing, is missed by the gout of flame the comes after. "Run! Do not stay here!" he shouts, putting everything he has into the dash that follows.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a risky Agility Action toward his party's challenge, Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Luna glances to Eleanor. "You are correct. I did not learn it from the recently awakened Gerudo. I honed my skills in a land far distant before arriving here."
But moments later she is firing back at someone in cover, which Luna comments on. "That is why I used an arrow with a gas capsule. I do not use magic--unless you would include alchemy." Which is something Holly has seen her do, before.
But they stop the bandit firing at them, in the end. Which eventually leaves them free to attend to other matters. Like approaching close to the tower to find... the Fell Dragon. Luna does not look surprised to see it--though her gaze turns steelier as she makes note of its presence.
"That is why the Malevolence is still active," she comments. Not in a 'I am just discovering this now' way, but in a 'I knew the punchline already' way.
And yet she chose to come back a second time? By herself?
(If a certain Hellion were here she would be able to note a spike of fear and uncertainty at even her second sighting of the dragon, though she does little to show it. But perhaps that is why she came alone, so that others would not be a liability.)
Her hands clench at her side as the Fell Dragon definitely takes notice of them, blasts out a gout of flame that would be enough to make her envious, if she were vulnerable to that sort of thing. And then her hand slips down to her side pouch as she pulls out another of those vials of orange liquid. She downs it, and then with alchemically enhanced speed she takes off with the speed of the wind, weaving through the streets, vaulting nimbly over obstacles, and doing her est to keep ahead of those flames.
DG: Luna Meitner has used her Tool Pegasus Draught toward her party's challenge, Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
"Nor would I, Doctor!" Venetia huffs back at Citan. "Serpentine!"
The stone? No! She means run back and forth a little so it's harder to aim for you!
And then they move deeper - into something thicker.
"Oh for the love of small baby ducks," Venetia says with the air of a Cuss. "This place is inhabited by malevolence now, is it? Somehow here, this deep, spontaneously arising despite the Sorcery Globe's arrival, what, what was it, Eleanor, two years before we heard a whisper of Malevolence from our dear friends up on the Vacation Forest Moon?"
Venetia reaches over to give Eleanor's arm a squeeze. To her, quietly, she says, "It's alright."
Venetia then slowly realizes that her mask has fallen off.
Venetia looks around at the others. She looks... completely fine. Reasonably appealing if not exactly gorgeous, albeit with a near complete absence of any kind of eye related makeup, although in the rough world of a drifter's life, you often don't have time to create perfect smoky eye before sallying into a dungeon.
"None of you saw this," Venetia states clearly. "But we don't have time!!"
Venetia's grip goes down to Eleanor's wrist. To guide her. Perhaps, if necessary, to drag her. Perhaps, if TRULY necessary, to carry her -- though, for once in her life, Venetia would certainly hope she could turn into an owl if it comes to that.
(Owls are more Holly-sized. Sorry, Holly. Just keep an eye out; give a hoot; don't land on the forest floor at night.)
DG: Venetia Vuong has contributed a risky Agility Action toward her party's challenge, Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"I'll definitely take you to her next time we're in the area," Eleanor says to Holly of the fairy. She smiles at her.
She does not smile at Luna in the next moment. "Is that so?" Eleanor wonders of Luna. A Gerudo style, and not learned by the ones newly awakened. That's... more than curious. Her demeanor doesn't help. But Eleanor is still pleasant to her, dspite all that. "Well, your skills are quite impressive, wherever you got them."
But Citan names it: they reach the heart of the Domain. As he calls Ise, Eleanor freezes, wobbling on her feet. "Aah--" The darkness seeks to overwhelm her. Once, it was ordinary, but this much makes her eyelashes flutter and consciousness threaten to leave her. Until Venetia reaches over--
"...Thank you," she murmurs back, as the flames nearly erupt beside her. "--I have your mask!" she says as the flames come again.
Eleanor nods to Venetia, and for the first few steps, she lets herself be guided, until with running and exertion she becomes steady. "I'm going to change," she warns her--
And she does, golden light shimmering into her owl form once again. It does come to that, and she's going to go as fast as she can.
"We all must hurry!"
DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Rauru's Flight toward her party's challenge, Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire. Stalwart! Party shielded from some Exhaustion this round!
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire *>================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you near Eluria Tower's outskirts, you feel a prickle of a sensation of
dread. Then, it returns: the Malevolent Domain that you may have had some
brushes with on your way through Eluria's ruins. You realize /why/ you have
had brushes with it: it moves. It follows the loud, beating of leathery
wings up high; it comes with the enormous Fell Dragon that has taken to the
skies and come to roost around Eluria Tower.
All is quiet for a moment.
Then, the Fell Dragon /roars/ and it is nearly earth-shattering. The ground
rattles under foot, and the dragon whirls around, and then breathes out a
massive stream of darkness-infused flame that scars the ground. You can't
hope to fight such a thing now.
Instead, you must run!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Quicken:_Agility_Up!, |
| Slow:_Agility_Down!, and Stalwart:_Exhaustion_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
There's a dragon flying overhead. Somehow this worries her less than the owl did. Or more if you spend enough time getting to know her. That she's brought up the full swing of her magic and is clearly focusing it defensively is the only real clue there though.
She covers her ears with the roar. She's tiny, it's hurty. Then she throws the whole accumulation of her magic into the air. Obfuscating their movements so they can get out of the way. Doubling it as a shield and absolutely putting herself forward.
She really doesn't want anything to happen to any of them here.
"Alchemy and science are close enough." She calls to Luna, "If you have any more tricks now's the time though." All while filing the information shared somewhere in the back of her head. It's an interesting footnote.
"If you keep moving I'll keep my mouth shut!" Looking back briefly to Venetia as she scrambles away.
"Yeah, definitely. Right after this trip." She sounds a little strained, but hey, she doesn't want to seem worried. It's not about herself.
She's tapped on her other magic though and doesn't want to admit that either.
DG: Holly has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire.
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire *>================
| Type: Final | Dungeon Ability: Agility | Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
As you near Eluria Tower's outskirts, you feel a prickle of a sensation of
dread. Then, it returns: the Malevolent Domain that you may have had some
brushes with on your way through Eluria's ruins. You realize /why/ you have
had brushes with it: it moves. It follows the loud, beating of leathery
wings up high; it comes with the enormous Fell Dragon that has taken to the
skies and come to roost around Eluria Tower.
All is quiet for a moment.
Then, the Fell Dragon /roars/ and it is nearly earth-shattering. The ground
rattles under foot, and the dragon whirls around, and then breathes out a
massive stream of darkness-infused flame that scars the ground. You can't
hope to fight such a thing now.
Instead, you must run!
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up! and Slow:_Agility_Down! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>=============================== ======================< Results - Eluria Ruins - Round 5 >====================== =================< CHALLENGE - Fell Dragon Eizen - Dragonfire >================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna Meitner 25 --(0)--> 25 Good Pegasus Draught Min Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eleanor Klein 17 --(3)--> 20 Bad Rauru's Flight Min Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 25 --(16)--> 41 Bad Rush Bsc Agility Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venetia Vuong 23 --(16)--> 39 Bad Rush Bsc Agility Effects: Risky -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holly 25 --(0)--> 25 Good Rush Bsc Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Luna Meitner 75 --(35)--> 110 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) and Slow(2) Effects: = Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Luna Meitner has successfully explored Eluria Ruins!
===============================<* Eluria Ruins *>===============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Meteorite Fragment *>======================
| Type: Discovery | Dungeon Ability: Conclusion | Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information >----------------------------
You've managed to get near Eluria Tower. As you approach, you can see that
the door to the tower is sealed. It is not the original door, but rather one
made of some highly advanced metal, and aglow with many different Symbols on
it. A large number of gargoyles are flying about nearby, which forbids entry
to it.
But nearby, you discover a small cache; it is a sealed box, with the symbol
of the Elurian royal family on it.
Inside, you find a glimmering ore. There are bright pieces of metal, of
multiple colors, giving it an almost rainbow-like sheen. This is a fragment
of meteorite, suitable for crafting a weapon or armor of unmatched quality.
============================= Dungeon Conditions: =============================
| Hesitate:_Agility_Down!_Wits_Up!, Slow:_Agility_Down!, and |
| Treasure:_Exploration_Up! |
= Digger 2.0 ===================================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
He's more than happy to oblige Venetia on that front. After all, he would like to not get shot.
Approaching the tower would have been bad form in any case: Citan can see from here that there is the sign of Symbology sealing the tower currently occupied by an unhappy Fell Dragon, rendering the attempt moot from the start. It means that they get to have a few extra seconds to turn around and run.
No one gets fried. Some of them might be various forms of winded (the people who are without the wings to fly, specifically) from such a sudden exertion. There's also no sign that the Fell Dragon is following after.
Sitting on a chunk of fallen masonry, Citan catches his breath. "Well... that was certainly..." he starts, only to shake his head.
"Kyu," offers Ise.
"Yes, indeed," Citan agrees.
But their flight was not without an unexpected find.
Holly and Eleanor both would have spotted it on their escape: whether by strength or magic, they would have easily been able to seize the small but surprisingly weighty coffer marked with the emblem of the Elurian royal family. Getting it open will take some doing, but inside...
...rests a single iridescent fragment of a meteorite.
<Pose Tracker> Luna Meitner has posed.
Venetia has some difficulty with her mask, in the wake of her near brush with death. Luna does not look, or at least does not look in that moment. Yet she must have gotten a look of some kind, perhaps in the mad scramble away from the shooter, to say what she says next. "Be sure to secure your mask tightly." Only then does she glance, just the tiniest bit, towards Venetia. "They are troublesome when they slip."
But Eleanor compliments her skills, and Luna looks to her, studying her intently for a moment... then turns to look forward, into the rest of the ruined landscape. A half sound rises up in her throat. Half of a chuckle. But she presses on further before she comments any further.
That the Sage of Light should compliment her skills... is a great irony indeed.
But Holly clarifies her stance on alchemy-- "Then no. Keep moving."
When they finally stop, Kalisa barely looks winded. Must be all that training, oer her potions, or both. She does keep watch, though, looking for signs that the dragon might make a second pass. "It appears we have escaped the Fell Dragon's notice." When she sees the chest that was snagged, she starts removing tools from her pouches.
"Let me see that." No please, no anything. She just gets to work, and a few moments later, it pops open and she sets the box back down on the ground. "I have no need of this," she declares, before standing up.
"That Fell Dragon has terrorized these lands a full seven years. I have little concern that it will expand its territory beyond the walls, but within them... noone can be truly safe."