Neon Forest
"No." Kothar presses a hand against the glass, getting a feel for how sturdy it seems.
Not that it matters much, because next he reels back and lets loose a haymaker like a giant's, hopefully smashing a hole clean through the glass so they can extract the key from inside.
He's like a scaly Alexander the Great when it comes to puzzles.
Outside: Grass touch place
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
The glass sphere shatters and the neon blue liquid comes pouring out, resulting in Khannie giving a yelp of surprise as she back-peddles away. Thankfully the goop isn't toxic or acidic or radioactive or anything. It just smells kind of gross.
It goes cascading down the side of the wall and splashes all over the break room floor, painting everything neon blue.
"I don't think that's how you're supposed to do it," Khannie points out.
What's the fun of puzzles if you're just going to break the puzzles?
Regardless! Kothar can now reach into the chamber and grab the key. As he's doing so alarms begin sounding as whatever that liquid was supposed to be doing is no longer being carried out by it. Considering the grinding sounds coming from the machinery it might have served as some kind of lubrication, among other things.
The glass sphere shatters and the neon blue liquid comes pouring out, resulting in Khannie giving a yelp of surprise as she back-peddles away. Thankfully the goop isn't toxic or acidic or radioactive or anything. It just smells kind of gross.
It goes cascading down the side of the wall and splashes all over the break room floor, painting everything neon blue.
"I don't think that's how you're supposed to do it," Khannie points out.
What's the fun of puzzles if you're just going to break the puzzles?
Regardless! Kothar can now reach into the chamber and grab the key. As he's doing so alarms begin sounding as whatever that liquid was supposed to be doing is no longer being carried out by it. Considering the grinding sounds coming from the machinery it might have served as some kind of lubrication, among other things.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2771
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Neon Forest
Kothar shrugs. "Quicker this way. Also stops machine." He is, of course, splattered with blue gunk, but it's fine. He can take a bath later. Getting it out of his clothes might be more difficult, but clothes are replaceable. "Where is lock for key?" he holds up the key as if staring at it will make a lock appear.
Kothar shrugs. "Quicker this way. Also stops machine." He is, of course, splattered with blue gunk, but it's fine. He can take a bath later. Getting it out of his clothes might be more difficult, but clothes are replaceable. "Where is lock for key?" he holds up the key as if staring at it will make a lock appear.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
"Oh, well... I'm technically retired, I guess." Miranda shrugs, continuing to tap away at the wall, one little bit at a time. "This we're doing now? The whole special ops thing? It used to be my day job. But when we came to the Nexus, it sort of... just stopped mattering. At least for us. The fight goes on, sure, but... without a way to get back into it, we're sort of left to our own devices. It's nice to be able to shake off a little rust, though. Her highness seems to be a pretty good cause to me, so if I can help her in any way, I'm glad to." She shrugs and dusts the rubble into her Hotbox before continuing. "But when I'm not doing that, I volunteer up at GLoG. General duties, for the most part. A little upkeep here, some paperwork there, and of course, looking after the little ones... and the not-so-little ones." She chuckles. "There's a big guy there that seems to be kind of attached to me. Looks a bit like an albino gorilla. Could probably crush me like a grape, but he's a big softie, really." Miranda grunts and tears a respectable chunk of the wall free, smashing it to pieces before resuming carving out little bits. "...I was actually looking into the paperwork. For, um... adoption. Before we left."
A brief bit of awkward silence ensues.
"...I haven't signed anything yet. I don't think I could have come if I did. But... the guy needs someone. Something a bit more than a babysitter, you know?'
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Tower of Oujet]
"Okay Anika, we've got one more floor to-" Saint Lazarus blinks when she returns from her puzzle-solving. She was gone for like five seconds, wasn't she? Five seconds, not two weeks, right? How the heck did the bear figure out how to hit the golems so hard they caught fire? How is that even possible, did they have some sort of magical coolant that ignites when exposed to open air or something? She shakes her head and leans against a wall, waiting for the elf to wrap up her business here so they can continue to the next floor. Anika looks to have this well in hand; she doesn't need any help disposing of those magical machines.
► SHOW SPOILER
"You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
-Daniel H. Wilson
-
Shadowcaller
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2878
- Joined: Aug 02, 2022 6:29 am
- Location: Sweden
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Hog Heaven]Murkus wrote: ↑Dec 27, 2022 6:26 pm [Hog Heaven]
"Why do I get the sense you're up to some mischief?" Tsumi says, narrowing her eyes. She folds her scarred, wiry arms. "It doesn't sound like very much of a date. We'll have to set some ground rules. And I hope you have more of a plan than a few rounds, hm?" Tsumi beams fiercely. "I tend to get pretty hungry after a fair bout."
"Mischief? Me?" Dena makes a dismissive gesture. "Wouldn't even dream of it." The gorgon shows Tsumi the most innocent of confident grins.
"But yeah, there's already some underlying rules in fact. Couldn't let you use those guns on my friends now could it?" She now gestures towards the oni's muscular arm. "So no, the intention isn't to brawl. You only get points if you hit them on the armored parts, see? Gotta protect our pretty faces after all. But somewhere in the middle we could actually all have dinner together and be all date-like."
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
"I know. You want to retrieve a power core. And we're here to stop you. Will you do it willingly?" Wenomir places his hand on the hilt of his sword.
[Welmet]
Hiep continues her assault against the rooster's head, kicking and punching it. Keeping it off-balance is better than nothing. Someone else seems to be fighting the damn thing as well.
"I know. You want to retrieve a power core. And we're here to stop you. Will you do it willingly?" Wenomir places his hand on the hilt of his sword.
[Welmet]
Hiep continues her assault against the rooster's head, kicking and punching it. Keeping it off-balance is better than nothing. Someone else seems to be fighting the damn thing as well.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2771
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
If Sekhmet was here, she'd probably say something like "aww, that's so sweet," but she's not. "So by 'guy,' you mean kid. We really need to get you back safely." Now, all of a sudden, Charcoal is feeling much guiltier about exposing Miranda to more corruption. Next time Miranda goes to sleep, she plans to slip the artifact back into the protective case.
If Miranda doesn't notice it first...
Of course before that they'll have to finish this conversation.
If Sekhmet was here, she'd probably say something like "aww, that's so sweet," but she's not. "So by 'guy,' you mean kid. We really need to get you back safely." Now, all of a sudden, Charcoal is feeling much guiltier about exposing Miranda to more corruption. Next time Miranda goes to sleep, she plans to slip the artifact back into the protective case.
If Miranda doesn't notice it first...
Of course before that they'll have to finish this conversation.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
"Not like we weren't planning that in the first place." Miranda flashes Charcoal an amused smirk, before turning her attention back to the wall. And then saying something that might surprise Charcoal.
"...How long can you go without feeding, again?" She fidgets uncomfortably. "...I know it's a... well, an awkward subject, but... it'd be good to get you out of here alive, too, wouldn't it? Or, if living isn't quite the problem, then... sane, or whatever, um, doing that succubus thing does with regards to sustaining you." She glances back at Charcoal worriedly. "...So if it's going to be a problem, we'll have to address it appropriately, right? I don't want you to end up... hurt, because I dropped a cave on you."
"Not like we weren't planning that in the first place." Miranda flashes Charcoal an amused smirk, before turning her attention back to the wall. And then saying something that might surprise Charcoal.
"...How long can you go without feeding, again?" She fidgets uncomfortably. "...I know it's a... well, an awkward subject, but... it'd be good to get you out of here alive, too, wouldn't it? Or, if living isn't quite the problem, then... sane, or whatever, um, doing that succubus thing does with regards to sustaining you." She glances back at Charcoal worriedly. "...So if it's going to be a problem, we'll have to address it appropriately, right? I don't want you to end up... hurt, because I dropped a cave on you."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
-
Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
- Posts: 2103
- Joined: Aug 01, 2022 3:59 pm
- Location: Amongst the Folk from the North
- Pronouns: He/Him
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Wellmet
The dryness is good. Well, sort of good. It's dangerous, particularly for the villagers, but fire's kind-of good. She can use fire, although the fact it's drier than it perhaps should be is less good- it suggests that the giant cockerel might be able to influence fire, or heat, which would invalidate most of Harriet's abilities.
For now, the bird's all the way over there and she's here, so she'll gesture imperiously with her disc-mace and sends a blast of radioactive lightning from the centre of the disc. Fire and heat haven't thus far seemed to do much damage; radiation's effects are invisible until it reaches the tipping point, so she's got no data on how effective that is, so it's time to try the other gift of Hyperion.
The dryness is good. Well, sort of good. It's dangerous, particularly for the villagers, but fire's kind-of good. She can use fire, although the fact it's drier than it perhaps should be is less good- it suggests that the giant cockerel might be able to influence fire, or heat, which would invalidate most of Harriet's abilities.
For now, the bird's all the way over there and she's here, so she'll gesture imperiously with her disc-mace and sends a blast of radioactive lightning from the centre of the disc. Fire and heat haven't thus far seemed to do much damage; radiation's effects are invisible until it reaches the tipping point, so she's got no data on how effective that is, so it's time to try the other gift of Hyperion.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Tower of Oujet]
WHAM!
Bear headbutt attack!
That's a new one. Unless Anika tries to head ram things when she's using the Bear Bomb technique? That has always seemed more like a belly-flop but hey we'll just figure this stuff out as we go.
Anika turns out to be carrying sufficient kinetic energy to send the second golem toppling over the stairs and down the central shaft right on top of several encroaching zombies. The golem seems to be damage from her savaging and the fall, but now that it has new targets within reach it's keeping the gross oozy quill zombies occupied while our heroes figure out the next puzzle level!
This was the room that was kind enough to dispense the golems for Anika earlier. Thankfully there aren't any more of them in here, at least none that are functioning. There are four alcoves, one on each side of the room. The golems had climbed out of two of them and the OTHER two appear to have incomplete or broken golems slumped near them. There looks to be some sort of cable or hose that can be extended from the tops of the alcove and clamped onto the central shaft. This looks pretty simple, right?
Given the sounds of fighting from the floors below it would probably be a good idea to hurry.
[Neon Forest]
"Remember that thingy near the altar I pulled out?" Khannie asks, pointing back the way they came. "It had three slots in it for sticking the keys. These bunkers have always got all sorts of dumb puzzles you gotta do before you can get to the important parts."
It really makes zero sense.
It's like someone designed them to be dangerous playgrounds for crazy adventurers.
Why would anyone do that?
Regardless!
She'll begin sliding back down to the floor which is about the time that our heroes will meed a friend.
Imagine a vaguely spider-like floating object about the size of a small car. A body that seems like an incomprehensible tangle of jagged shapes and machinery all jittering and crawling over itself. Far too many spidery legs propel it along, moving the hovering mechanical horror with the slightest touch. Crowning it is a dome-like structure that glows an eye-burning magenta with a pair of black pits drifting around its surface like wandering stars. It makes a strange electronic warbling noise at our heroes and immediately lashes out, grabbing Khannie in with a vice-like arm.
Probably not a great way to start a conflict.
WHAM!
Bear headbutt attack!
That's a new one. Unless Anika tries to head ram things when she's using the Bear Bomb technique? That has always seemed more like a belly-flop but hey we'll just figure this stuff out as we go.
Anika turns out to be carrying sufficient kinetic energy to send the second golem toppling over the stairs and down the central shaft right on top of several encroaching zombies. The golem seems to be damage from her savaging and the fall, but now that it has new targets within reach it's keeping the gross oozy quill zombies occupied while our heroes figure out the next puzzle level!
This was the room that was kind enough to dispense the golems for Anika earlier. Thankfully there aren't any more of them in here, at least none that are functioning. There are four alcoves, one on each side of the room. The golems had climbed out of two of them and the OTHER two appear to have incomplete or broken golems slumped near them. There looks to be some sort of cable or hose that can be extended from the tops of the alcove and clamped onto the central shaft. This looks pretty simple, right?
Given the sounds of fighting from the floors below it would probably be a good idea to hurry.
[Neon Forest]
"Remember that thingy near the altar I pulled out?" Khannie asks, pointing back the way they came. "It had three slots in it for sticking the keys. These bunkers have always got all sorts of dumb puzzles you gotta do before you can get to the important parts."
It really makes zero sense.
It's like someone designed them to be dangerous playgrounds for crazy adventurers.
Why would anyone do that?
Regardless!
She'll begin sliding back down to the floor which is about the time that our heroes will meed a friend.
Imagine a vaguely spider-like floating object about the size of a small car. A body that seems like an incomprehensible tangle of jagged shapes and machinery all jittering and crawling over itself. Far too many spidery legs propel it along, moving the hovering mechanical horror with the slightest touch. Crowning it is a dome-like structure that glows an eye-burning magenta with a pair of black pits drifting around its surface like wandering stars. It makes a strange electronic warbling noise at our heroes and immediately lashes out, grabbing Khannie in with a vice-like arm.
Probably not a great way to start a conflict.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Welmet]
Since Hiep proves too agile to shake off where she can just use a surface to bounce right back, the rooster decides to go somewhere where there is no such thing. While she clings on, hammering its head, it spreads its wings and leaps, meaning to take flight.
That's when lightning strikes it, throwing off its timing. Its legs freeze mid jump and its wings fail to strike with enough force to make it soar. So just at it seems it might clear the treetops, it falls back down with a mighty crash. Its wings sweep over the felled trees and its head hits the ground as it flounders about.
Since Hiep proves too agile to shake off where she can just use a surface to bounce right back, the rooster decides to go somewhere where there is no such thing. While she clings on, hammering its head, it spreads its wings and leaps, meaning to take flight.
That's when lightning strikes it, throwing off its timing. Its legs freeze mid jump and its wings fail to strike with enough force to make it soar. So just at it seems it might clear the treetops, it falls back down with a mighty crash. Its wings sweep over the felled trees and its head hits the ground as it flounders about.
-
Thursday Violist
- Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
- Posts: 660
- Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
"I've heard hunters do it before," Seraphina says. "Most campers I've just seen use rocks or tree carvings to mark the path, though." If there is something to be said about the ribbon these people used, though, it's that the ribbon material is very reflective in direct light. Got a bunch of flashlights? Should be easy to spot in this foggy, perpetual twilight.
...
While they're on that thought, Seraphina grabs the bag of ribbons. That way, they can ensure they're not going in circles if they ever start to suspect they're getting lost again. The treed-up zombies sure won't need it.
Seraphina does admit, that it does look rather weird. Seeing an illusion of herself looks weird. For various reasons, including the fact that she hasn't really looked at a mirror in quite a while, but also because it recalls that one machine that created a virtual reality from a vampire book whose main character just happened to look exactly like her.
Looking at that illusion's pretty creepy, just seeing both of us still there," she comments, whispering in case speaking too loud would break the illusion.
Speaking of breaking the illusion, when the phantom illusion breaks, the slime makes a pretty reasonable assumption (in its opinion): the person just expired from its wounds. That's why it vanished. So its best chance to encounter more prey is to just continue in the direction it was facing when it expired. Because obviously it was headed towards safety and camp.
Seraphina's glad that Khannie is pretty strong, to do the sled pulling. Seraphina would've been a bit slower.
She's also glad that she added the padding to the sled (not because it's hard, but to keep the half-orc's head up and away from the water in the parts they have to step in.
If they head off in the direction they saw a ribbon, then....!
Upon getting close to it, there's thick black marker on the ribbon. Two parallel lines. (Plus, if they followed an orange ribbon, a quick description of what weird phenomenon is in that direction and the distance to it. No such description for the yellow ribbon marker, just a number in the 50s.)
At there, Seraphina shines a flashlight around, looking for the next ribbon. There is one, far off in the distance, and the reflectiveness of the material comes in handy when trying to spot it. The parallel lines must've meant just follow a straight line, since it's in a straight line from the path they've been taking. "Would be really convenient to have a map," she comments, remembering the last time the two of them were lost in a forest.
Nothing appears to be following them, as they go. The next ribbon is the same color, same markings...(Yellow's number is one number smaller)
Time passes.
Suddenly, off in the distance, there's a tiger's roar. It sounds more savage than a lion's roar but also doesn't carry as intimidatingly at this distance. The tiger isn't back towards the camp, either. Rather, perpendicular to the path they've been taking.
At first, though, it seems like it doesn't mean anything relevant to them.
But, twenty minutes later, Khannie will notice that the sweet scent from the lurking splasher is back, following the same trail as them. Seems it hasn't had time to adjust its location to account for wind, yet.
\
"I've heard hunters do it before," Seraphina says. "Most campers I've just seen use rocks or tree carvings to mark the path, though." If there is something to be said about the ribbon these people used, though, it's that the ribbon material is very reflective in direct light. Got a bunch of flashlights? Should be easy to spot in this foggy, perpetual twilight.
...
While they're on that thought, Seraphina grabs the bag of ribbons. That way, they can ensure they're not going in circles if they ever start to suspect they're getting lost again. The treed-up zombies sure won't need it.
Seraphina does admit, that it does look rather weird. Seeing an illusion of herself looks weird. For various reasons, including the fact that she hasn't really looked at a mirror in quite a while, but also because it recalls that one machine that created a virtual reality from a vampire book whose main character just happened to look exactly like her.
Looking at that illusion's pretty creepy, just seeing both of us still there," she comments, whispering in case speaking too loud would break the illusion.
Speaking of breaking the illusion, when the phantom illusion breaks, the slime makes a pretty reasonable assumption (in its opinion): the person just expired from its wounds. That's why it vanished. So its best chance to encounter more prey is to just continue in the direction it was facing when it expired. Because obviously it was headed towards safety and camp.
Seraphina's glad that Khannie is pretty strong, to do the sled pulling. Seraphina would've been a bit slower.
She's also glad that she added the padding to the sled (not because it's hard, but to keep the half-orc's head up and away from the water in the parts they have to step in.
If they head off in the direction they saw a ribbon, then....!
Upon getting close to it, there's thick black marker on the ribbon. Two parallel lines. (Plus, if they followed an orange ribbon, a quick description of what weird phenomenon is in that direction and the distance to it. No such description for the yellow ribbon marker, just a number in the 50s.)
At there, Seraphina shines a flashlight around, looking for the next ribbon. There is one, far off in the distance, and the reflectiveness of the material comes in handy when trying to spot it. The parallel lines must've meant just follow a straight line, since it's in a straight line from the path they've been taking. "Would be really convenient to have a map," she comments, remembering the last time the two of them were lost in a forest.
Nothing appears to be following them, as they go. The next ribbon is the same color, same markings...(Yellow's number is one number smaller)
Time passes.
Suddenly, off in the distance, there's a tiger's roar. It sounds more savage than a lion's roar but also doesn't carry as intimidatingly at this distance. The tiger isn't back towards the camp, either. Rather, perpendicular to the path they've been taking.
At first, though, it seems like it doesn't mean anything relevant to them.
But, twenty minutes later, Khannie will notice that the sweet scent from the lurking splasher is back, following the same trail as them. Seems it hasn't had time to adjust its location to account for wind, yet.
\
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dysphotic Swamp]
Okay great, the slime monster is really dumb and not chasing them anymore. That's definitely a plus.
"Oh, I've never gone hunting before. I think the dad of some of the kids from Glog does that," Khannie muses as they very quietly and whisperingly make their escape. "Yeah it's kind of weird but hopefully it does its job. If the thing that's trying to watch us and hide gets tricked then we might be able to lose it."
That's the main goal of the illusion, to throw the smarter mysterious splashy thing off their trail.
Also to distract the goop monster but it doesn't sound like that's going to be necessary.
So!
Away they go.
With Khannie dragging the unconscious lady.
It's been a while since Khannie has been out of her human disguise for so long. She really doesn't like doing that if she can avoid it. But to pull of her really big, really fancy illusions she can't waste any of her focus maintaining the human disguise. That, and having her zoroark nose and ears right now is important. The human disguise muddles her senses and she needs to be aware of what's going on. Especially since this swamp is apparently full of zombie slimes and splashy floral death monsters maybe.
So yeah.
Walking.
Khannie has done lots of walking with Seraphina before in a situation weirdly similar to this one so that isn't too unfamiliar. Mostly she's quiet. Because she's listening. But then she asks a question, because she remembers some things about last time and also because of Inari's and Keiko and a chat at her school's library. "What's praying to gods for?"
But then a tiger roars!
Wow that's really got Khannie's ears perking up! And just to make things even more spooky there's-! Well. Something else that is really creepy looking but it isn't obvious since Khannie is still wearing clothes that covers it up. But! Her hair does get a bit more wispy and ghosty looking. When it's clear that nothing is going to immediately pounce on them she begins walking again.
For a while.
Like.
Twenty minutes or so.
When she notices the lurking splasher smell again.
"Heck the not-frog is still out there," she says, bearing her teeth in the rough direction of the splasher. One ear begins swiveling toward it while the other kinda pans back and forth a little. She's trying to get a feel for how far away it sounds like it is, assuming it's making splashy noises.
Okay great, the slime monster is really dumb and not chasing them anymore. That's definitely a plus.
"Oh, I've never gone hunting before. I think the dad of some of the kids from Glog does that," Khannie muses as they very quietly and whisperingly make their escape. "Yeah it's kind of weird but hopefully it does its job. If the thing that's trying to watch us and hide gets tricked then we might be able to lose it."
That's the main goal of the illusion, to throw the smarter mysterious splashy thing off their trail.
Also to distract the goop monster but it doesn't sound like that's going to be necessary.
So!
Away they go.
With Khannie dragging the unconscious lady.
It's been a while since Khannie has been out of her human disguise for so long. She really doesn't like doing that if she can avoid it. But to pull of her really big, really fancy illusions she can't waste any of her focus maintaining the human disguise. That, and having her zoroark nose and ears right now is important. The human disguise muddles her senses and she needs to be aware of what's going on. Especially since this swamp is apparently full of zombie slimes and splashy floral death monsters maybe.
So yeah.
Walking.
Khannie has done lots of walking with Seraphina before in a situation weirdly similar to this one so that isn't too unfamiliar. Mostly she's quiet. Because she's listening. But then she asks a question, because she remembers some things about last time and also because of Inari's and Keiko and a chat at her school's library. "What's praying to gods for?"
But then a tiger roars!
Wow that's really got Khannie's ears perking up! And just to make things even more spooky there's-! Well. Something else that is really creepy looking but it isn't obvious since Khannie is still wearing clothes that covers it up. But! Her hair does get a bit more wispy and ghosty looking. When it's clear that nothing is going to immediately pounce on them she begins walking again.
For a while.
Like.
Twenty minutes or so.
When she notices the lurking splasher smell again.
"Heck the not-frog is still out there," she says, bearing her teeth in the rough direction of the splasher. One ear begins swiveling toward it while the other kinda pans back and forth a little. She's trying to get a feel for how far away it sounds like it is, assuming it's making splashy noises.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2771
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
"Day or so from now. Then a couple weeks after that." They won't be here that long, but the first deadline is fast approaching. "I really shouldn't make you do that. There has to be some way we can speed up the digging."
Neon Forest
They start heading back but the a monster appears!
Kothar acts quickly. His axe rises, then falls in a smooth motion, cleaving a flaming arc towards and hopefully through the limb holding Khannie. His shield moves into place to block an attack he expects to come from the next nearest limb.
"Day or so from now. Then a couple weeks after that." They won't be here that long, but the first deadline is fast approaching. "I really shouldn't make you do that. There has to be some way we can speed up the digging."
Neon Forest
They start heading back but the a monster appears!
Kothar acts quickly. His axe rises, then falls in a smooth motion, cleaving a flaming arc towards and hopefully through the limb holding Khannie. His shield moves into place to block an attack he expects to come from the next nearest limb.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
"Don't worry about that. I want to."
Miranda winces as soon as the words are out of her mouth. Poor choice of phrasing on her part. "I mean, I want you to be healthy. You're not making me do anything. I'd be feeding you because I don't want you to starve. But..." She looks back at the wall. "...You're right. We should make sure it doesn't have to come to that. But if I could think of a faster way to dig, we'd be using it already." She taps irritably at the wall, scraping out another small layer of rock. "Unless you wanted to risk explosives again. But those would have limited effectiveness here and are more likely to cause another cave-in than they are to meaningfully expand the tunnel in any way."
"Don't worry about that. I want to."
Miranda winces as soon as the words are out of her mouth. Poor choice of phrasing on her part. "I mean, I want you to be healthy. You're not making me do anything. I'd be feeding you because I don't want you to starve. But..." She looks back at the wall. "...You're right. We should make sure it doesn't have to come to that. But if I could think of a faster way to dig, we'd be using it already." She taps irritably at the wall, scraping out another small layer of rock. "Unless you wanted to risk explosives again. But those would have limited effectiveness here and are more likely to cause another cave-in than they are to meaningfully expand the tunnel in any way."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
The spider golem is kind enough to blase Khannie with a close range burst of bright magenta plasma, which just so happens to hurt enough that it breaks her concentration on her disguise, the illusion burning away like a paper costume touched by a torch. It does a pretty good job of taking the brunt of the attack, though!
And leaves the zoroark below VERY displeased. Also a little scorched.
With a snarl her claws ignite with ghostly black flames as she digs them into the limb holding her, the licking fire causing the wood to stiffen and freeze.
Then Kothar brings his axe down on it, shattering it into a shower of splinters!
Khannie is dropped, allowing her to regain her footing and ready herself for an attack this time around. Getting blindsided really isn't ever any fun.
The golem, meanwhile, lashes out with one of its limbs like Kothar was expecting. A second limb, however, strikes low and aims to grab him by the ankle and slap him into the ground a few times. Not one to be a slouch, the two black holes on the golem's face begin orbiting each other faster and faster! And upon merging they fire a deadly particle beam at Khannie!
The spider golem is kind enough to blase Khannie with a close range burst of bright magenta plasma, which just so happens to hurt enough that it breaks her concentration on her disguise, the illusion burning away like a paper costume touched by a torch. It does a pretty good job of taking the brunt of the attack, though!
And leaves the zoroark below VERY displeased. Also a little scorched.
With a snarl her claws ignite with ghostly black flames as she digs them into the limb holding her, the licking fire causing the wood to stiffen and freeze.
Then Kothar brings his axe down on it, shattering it into a shower of splinters!
Khannie is dropped, allowing her to regain her footing and ready herself for an attack this time around. Getting blindsided really isn't ever any fun.
The golem, meanwhile, lashes out with one of its limbs like Kothar was expecting. A second limb, however, strikes low and aims to grab him by the ankle and slap him into the ground a few times. Not one to be a slouch, the two black holes on the golem's face begin orbiting each other faster and faster! And upon merging they fire a deadly particle beam at Khannie!
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Rebonack wrote: ↑Dec 29, 2022 3:48 pm [Tower of Oujet]
WHAM!
Bear headbutt attack!
That's a new one. Unless Anika tries to head ram things when she's using the Bear Bomb technique? That has always seemed more like a belly-flop but hey we'll just figure this stuff out as we go.
Anika turns out to be carrying sufficient kinetic energy to send the second golem toppling over the stairs and down the central shaft right on top of several encroaching zombies. The golem seems to be damage from her savaging and the fall, but now that it has new targets within reach it's keeping the gross oozy quill zombies occupied while our heroes figure out the next puzzle level!
This was the room that was kind enough to dispense the golems for Anika earlier. Thankfully there aren't any more of them in here, at least none that are functioning. There are four alcoves, one on each side of the room. The golems had climbed out of two of them and the OTHER two appear to have incomplete or broken golems slumped near them. There looks to be some sort of cable or hose that can be extended from the tops of the alcove and clamped onto the central shaft. This looks pretty simple, right?
Given the sounds of fighting from the floors below it would probably be a good idea to hurry.
[Tower of Oujet]Magtok wrote: ↑Dec 28, 2022 8:20 pm [Tower of Oujet]
"Okay Anika, we've got one more floor to-" Saint Lazarus blinks when she returns from her puzzle-solving. She was gone for like five seconds, wasn't she? Five seconds, not two weeks, right? How the heck did the bear figure out how to hit the golems so hard they caught fire? How is that even possible, did they have some sort of magical coolant that ignites when exposed to open air or something? She shakes her head and leans against a wall, waiting for the elf to wrap up her business here so they can continue to the next floor. Anika looks to have this well in hand; she doesn't need any help disposing of those magical machines.
Anika is a bear of many techniques. Most of them involving beating people up.
But once the golems are busy fighting the undead her brain suddenly had to switch to not-fight mode.
So since she can't fight then she should go onward-
Except they can't since there was no way forward.
Crap.
Uh...
If not forward then... upwards?
Since it was a tower and all.
And lo' and behold, ropes!
Really weird ropes, but they would do.
Not that she was planning to use them of course but Laz could.
She changes back into her humanoid shape and gestures up at the top of the alcove. "That way!"
Anika will then turn into a falcon and fly upwards as to empathize her own point. She was still planning to descend should those zombos get at Laz while she was climbing.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Welmet]
Each time she gasped and found no breath, a human child died, and thus, she lived.
“Survival is acceptance,” she said.
The rooster's crash finally causes Hiep to lose her grip and she falls off its head, rolling on the ground. It looks painful, but she seems to... bounce right back. A strange and dogged acceptance of whatever comes. She looks about until her eyes settle on Harriet.
"You got a plan of some kind?"
Each time she gasped and found no breath, a human child died, and thus, she lived.
“Survival is acceptance,” she said.
The rooster's crash finally causes Hiep to lose her grip and she falls off its head, rolling on the ground. It looks painful, but she seems to... bounce right back. A strange and dogged acceptance of whatever comes. She looks about until her eyes settle on Harriet.
"You got a plan of some kind?"
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Gold
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
Zeeland moves to grab TARBot, hoist the robot over his shoulder and turn back towards his firetruck.
Simultaneously, he responds to Wenomir. "Oh shit, you're after these things too? Well, this one's mine, so you're SOL today. Go home."
Zeeland moves to grab TARBot, hoist the robot over his shoulder and turn back towards his firetruck.
Simultaneously, he responds to Wenomir. "Oh shit, you're after these things too? Well, this one's mine, so you're SOL today. Go home."
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
Wenomir draws his sword and points it at Zeeland.
"No, we're here to stop you from taking them. Drop it and surrender."
Wenomir draws his sword and points it at Zeeland.
"No, we're here to stop you from taking them. Drop it and surrender."
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Gold
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Junkyard]
Zeeland actually stops at this, turning once again to look at Wenomir. He doesn't immediately drop TARBot, though.
"You're shitting me, right? You don't even want the cores, you're just here to fuck up all the fun?"
Zeeland shrugs and briefly gestures to the badge on his helmet before beginning to move towards his ladder truck again, turning his head forwards but keeping Wenomir in his peripheral vision.
"You don't get to tell me jack shit, anyways. I'm a fireman, which commands a little more authority than whatever you're supposed to be. So quit playing with your sword and put it back in your pants, o-kay?"
Zeeland actually stops at this, turning once again to look at Wenomir. He doesn't immediately drop TARBot, though.
"You're shitting me, right? You don't even want the cores, you're just here to fuck up all the fun?"
Zeeland shrugs and briefly gestures to the badge on his helmet before beginning to move towards his ladder truck again, turning his head forwards but keeping Wenomir in his peripheral vision.
"You don't get to tell me jack shit, anyways. I'm a fireman, which commands a little more authority than whatever you're supposed to be. So quit playing with your sword and put it back in your pants, o-kay?"
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bc56
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
"Let's not use bombs," Charcoal agrees, "You don't have drills? Or picks? Chisels? Anything that could break up the rocks?" Anything other than chemicals. Charcoal's smelled and touched enough of those for a lifetime.
Neon Forest
That's a lot happening at once. Kothar easily blocks the first grab, then rolls backwards away from the second.
That's all simple enough, but it leaves him out of position to defend Khannie easily. As he sees the eyes (?) charging up for an attack, he lunges to shove the girl out of the path of the beam, most likely taking the hit himself.
"Let's not use bombs," Charcoal agrees, "You don't have drills? Or picks? Chisels? Anything that could break up the rocks?" Anything other than chemicals. Charcoal's smelled and touched enough of those for a lifetime.
Neon Forest
That's a lot happening at once. Kothar easily blocks the first grab, then rolls backwards away from the second.
That's all simple enough, but it leaves him out of position to defend Khannie easily. As he sees the eyes (?) charging up for an attack, he lunges to shove the girl out of the path of the beam, most likely taking the hit himself.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]
Miranda holds up her chisel and shakes her head. "At this point, what you see is what we've got." She says matter-of-factly. "And this, plus the vinegar, is pretty much the best I can do. At least, so far as I know. This would be a really great time to pull out a succubus power I didn't know existed or something. Otherwise..." She gives Charcoal an embarrassed smile. "...All things considered, feeding wouldn't be the worst thing, right? I mean, if you have to eat, you have to eat. And it's not like you'd go out of your way to make it unpleasant, am I right?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Welmet
"It mostly involves not dying!" Harriet didn't plan to fight this giant rooster; she's improvising as she goes. It's not working too well so far, though she's not completely out of options, just running low on safe ones.
The Chosen raises her disc mace once more and blasts another bolt of radioactive lightning at the gigantic bird, since that one seemed to actually do something. The air around Harriet gets warmer, and the clicking of her PipBoy grows yet louder and more insistent, the Geiger counter built into it detecting the rads she's always giving off rising ever higher.
"It mostly involves not dying!" Harriet didn't plan to fight this giant rooster; she's improvising as she goes. It's not working too well so far, though she's not completely out of options, just running low on safe ones.
The Chosen raises her disc mace once more and blasts another bolt of radioactive lightning at the gigantic bird, since that one seemed to actually do something. The air around Harriet gets warmer, and the clicking of her PipBoy grows yet louder and more insistent, the Geiger counter built into it detecting the rads she's always giving off rising ever higher.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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Thursday Violist
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Dyaphotic Swamp]
Seraphina had opened her mouth to give an answer, but...
Tiger roar.
Fairly distracting.
She keeps quiet in case Khannie needs quiet to search for a tiger attack. Tigers are quite a bit different from mountain lions, after all. Not as easily scared away by people talking.
She also looks around and tries to not confuse Khannie's spooky ghost magic with swamp-dwelling will-o-th'-wisps or something like that.
Once it's clear they are maybe(?) safe from lions, tigers, or bears, she waits another minute and (during their twenty minute reprieve) gives her answer, while shining the borrowed flashlight out ahead for the next tree marking.
"Well. Um, okay. So think of someone you trust and respect." Seraphina pauses, to give her time to imagine it (and to give them both time to check for surprise tigers). "You probably care about their opinion, yeah? And you want to tell them what's going on in your life, too."
Seraphina avoids stepping on a particularly high root.
"So...yeah. it's like that. Except instead of someone you see all the time, it's a god. That's how I see it, anyway. I'm sure other people think of it differently."
Once Khannie points out that their stalker is here again, Seraphina looks back there. Soon, even though she doesn't have superpowered fox senses like someone else present, she eventually hears the splashing and squishing and cracking that happens when something is a little careless in walking through a swamp. Over fifty yards away and approaching.
But,
From the tiger direction, there's a low rumbling growl.
Immediately afterwards, the splashy stalker grows quieter and moves more slowly. It's quiet and far enough that Seraphina and ger regular human hearing can't pick out its sounds anymore.
But Khannie, with her foxy ears, could track it. The splashy stalker starts circling again, as it moves in.
Well, it's clear that the stalker has some connection to the distant tiger.
Seraphina had opened her mouth to give an answer, but...
Tiger roar.
Fairly distracting.
She keeps quiet in case Khannie needs quiet to search for a tiger attack. Tigers are quite a bit different from mountain lions, after all. Not as easily scared away by people talking.
She also looks around and tries to not confuse Khannie's spooky ghost magic with swamp-dwelling will-o-th'-wisps or something like that.
Once it's clear they are maybe(?) safe from lions, tigers, or bears, she waits another minute and (during their twenty minute reprieve) gives her answer, while shining the borrowed flashlight out ahead for the next tree marking.
"Well. Um, okay. So think of someone you trust and respect." Seraphina pauses, to give her time to imagine it (and to give them both time to check for surprise tigers). "You probably care about their opinion, yeah? And you want to tell them what's going on in your life, too."
Seraphina avoids stepping on a particularly high root.
"So...yeah. it's like that. Except instead of someone you see all the time, it's a god. That's how I see it, anyway. I'm sure other people think of it differently."
Once Khannie points out that their stalker is here again, Seraphina looks back there. Soon, even though she doesn't have superpowered fox senses like someone else present, she eventually hears the splashing and squishing and cracking that happens when something is a little careless in walking through a swamp. Over fifty yards away and approaching.
But,
From the tiger direction, there's a low rumbling growl.
Immediately afterwards, the splashy stalker grows quieter and moves more slowly. It's quiet and far enough that Seraphina and ger regular human hearing can't pick out its sounds anymore.
But Khannie, with her foxy ears, could track it. The splashy stalker starts circling again, as it moves in.
Well, it's clear that the stalker has some connection to the distant tiger.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
That's one of the big troubles with boss monsters. They tend to get way too many actions to help make up for the fact they've got all these pesky heroes smacking them around!
Kothar does a pretty good job of nimbly dancing out of the way of the golem's flailing limbs. But then he does something Khannie definitely wasn't surprising, her attention on the golem as it was. As soon as she saw those hole things spinning faster and faster, her ghostly fur starting to stand on end as the charge built up in the air, she was ready. She wasn't sure exactly what it was this thing would do BUT she was pretty sure when it would appear and that it wasn't very nice considering both of those radiation-ringed pits are pointed at her.
She could dive to the side. Or maybe leave part of her body insubstantial or something.
What she wasn't expecting was to get tackled by Kothar.
That knocks her off balance, getting an irate animal noise out of her as she hops and staggers a few steps before dropping to all fours to maintain her footing.
As for Kothar, if he gets blasted by the radiation beam it won't cause any visibly obvious damage to him. But it WILL feel like pretty much the worst sunburn ever. The attack is mostly meant to incapacitate via sheer blinding pain.
Another limb strikes like a viper to snag Khannie again, but this time the Zoroark vanishes in a swirl of oily darkness before reappearing in like manner right up in the golem's face. With a snarl she plows her fist into it, clocking it in the side of its dome-like head with a bone-rattling sucker punch.
[Dyaphotic Swamp]
No surprise tigers.
At least none that Khannie can see. Or hear. Or smell.
If a surprise tiger DID try to surprise them it would probably get surprised itself! After all Seraphina took down a robot dinosaur skeleton or something? And Khannie has definitely faced things at least as dangerous as tigers before.
But still.
No surprise tigers.
For now.
"I see Keiko at the temple all the time, though," Khannie says, still very puzzled by this whole thing. "How do you know they're there if you never see 'em?"
Of course, Khannie had known her dad existed before she ever saw him.
But that was obviously different since everyone has a dad.
Then more pressing things happen.
Like circling and stalking and splashing and slightly less distant tiger noises. "Gunna do a thing, cover your ears," Khannie warns shortly before doing the thing in question.
She makes an illusion of a sound.
An illusion of that awful roaring scream she makes when she's doing regular (and terrifying) zoroark noises. The wailing shriek sounds from more or less where Khannie thinks the splashing thing is and happens to be loud enough to leave someone's ear's ringing in pain. Hopefully it's noisy enough and scary enough to get whatever the thing that's following them to reconsider.
That's one of the big troubles with boss monsters. They tend to get way too many actions to help make up for the fact they've got all these pesky heroes smacking them around!
Kothar does a pretty good job of nimbly dancing out of the way of the golem's flailing limbs. But then he does something Khannie definitely wasn't surprising, her attention on the golem as it was. As soon as she saw those hole things spinning faster and faster, her ghostly fur starting to stand on end as the charge built up in the air, she was ready. She wasn't sure exactly what it was this thing would do BUT she was pretty sure when it would appear and that it wasn't very nice considering both of those radiation-ringed pits are pointed at her.
She could dive to the side. Or maybe leave part of her body insubstantial or something.
What she wasn't expecting was to get tackled by Kothar.
That knocks her off balance, getting an irate animal noise out of her as she hops and staggers a few steps before dropping to all fours to maintain her footing.
As for Kothar, if he gets blasted by the radiation beam it won't cause any visibly obvious damage to him. But it WILL feel like pretty much the worst sunburn ever. The attack is mostly meant to incapacitate via sheer blinding pain.
Another limb strikes like a viper to snag Khannie again, but this time the Zoroark vanishes in a swirl of oily darkness before reappearing in like manner right up in the golem's face. With a snarl she plows her fist into it, clocking it in the side of its dome-like head with a bone-rattling sucker punch.
[Dyaphotic Swamp]
No surprise tigers.
At least none that Khannie can see. Or hear. Or smell.
If a surprise tiger DID try to surprise them it would probably get surprised itself! After all Seraphina took down a robot dinosaur skeleton or something? And Khannie has definitely faced things at least as dangerous as tigers before.
But still.
No surprise tigers.
For now.
"I see Keiko at the temple all the time, though," Khannie says, still very puzzled by this whole thing. "How do you know they're there if you never see 'em?"
Of course, Khannie had known her dad existed before she ever saw him.
But that was obviously different since everyone has a dad.
Then more pressing things happen.
Like circling and stalking and splashing and slightly less distant tiger noises. "Gunna do a thing, cover your ears," Khannie warns shortly before doing the thing in question.
She makes an illusion of a sound.
An illusion of that awful roaring scream she makes when she's doing regular (and terrifying) zoroark noises. The wailing shriek sounds from more or less where Khannie thinks the splashing thing is and happens to be loud enough to leave someone's ear's ringing in pain. Hopefully it's noisy enough and scary enough to get whatever the thing that's following them to reconsider.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
The Triple BKeeper wrote: ↑Dec 18, 2022 3:31 pm The Triple B
Anri gives an odd look and blinks, rapidly shrinking into a foot-tall pixie. She drops to the counter, staring aaaaaaall the way up at Lydia.
"Ok yeah wow I definitely don't think I like being this small. I'll hurt my neck." she says, though it may be difficult to hear her.
Given Lydia's inhuman nature, hearing her is no problem. The matter more at hand is the look that Lydia was given her. Like she was shiny, a treasure. Something...tasty. The woman kneels down and reaches out to poke at Anri's stomach gently. "If it hurts to look up, Tinkerbell, you can always fly up to be level with someone's face. It would sure be handy to get in and out of places that you wouldn't otherwise be able to. Or stay sneaky up in a set of rafters. Stuff like that." Her tone is initially teasing, but at the very least she was being gentle. "There are a lot of benefits to being able to shrink down like that. Most people and things will just look over you without paying attention I would imagine."
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Welmet]
The first strike of lightning was a surprise. This second one, not so much. Lightning washes over the beast and small electric arcs leap from its feathers to ground, causing small fires all around as the rooster pulls itself back together.
It sluggishly turns around, takes a few unsteady steps towards the women and... vomits, a gush of blackened blood, the stench of decay and iron filling the air. Where the blood hits the ground, wood immediately chars and begins to smoke, moss and lichen shrivel and melt away, and the soil becomes poisoned as the foul liquid seeps through.
The first strike of lightning was a surprise. This second one, not so much. Lightning washes over the beast and small electric arcs leap from its feathers to ground, causing small fires all around as the rooster pulls itself back together.
It sluggishly turns around, takes a few unsteady steps towards the women and... vomits, a gush of blackened blood, the stench of decay and iron filling the air. Where the blood hits the ground, wood immediately chars and begins to smoke, moss and lichen shrivel and melt away, and the soil becomes poisoned as the foul liquid seeps through.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
The Triple BWolfbane wrote: ↑Jan 02, 2023 4:50 pm The Triple B
Given Lydia's inhuman nature, hearing her is no problem. The matter more at hand is the look that Lydia was given her. Like she was shiny, a treasure. Something...tasty. The woman kneels down and reaches out to poke at Anri's stomach gently. "If it hurts to look up, Tinkerbell, you can always fly up to be level with someone's face. It would sure be handy to get in and out of places that you wouldn't otherwise be able to. Or stay sneaky up in a set of rafters. Stuff like that." Her tone is initially teasing, but at the very least she was being gentle. "There are a lot of benefits to being able to shrink down like that. Most people and things will just look over you without paying attention I would imagine."
”I don’t know how to fly, though.” Anri responds. She hops off the counter and swells back into her usual mostly-human form.
”It’s definitely useful to know I can do it. I admit most of my shapes are kind of glaring and obvious. Comes with being a fan of orange. But I think I like being human sized or bigger.”