The Inverted Spire | Page 2

Ashifili · Mar 6, 2018

Cycle 2: Leviathan

Total Progress: 302/2000
Required Progress: 133/200
Total Supply: 505/655
Total Hunting: 174 = +60 Supply
Temperance's Stealth: 56

Extra Details
@Bradwynne @Portia Ahrens @Destiny Divebird @Iván Carl receive 20 HP damage.

The small creature "Sharkie", consumes 10 Supply and reduces Progress by 5.

~~~

<<Ancient Hai'Draz>>
200/200
Counter Attack Damage: 20 HP
Retreat Cost: 25 HP + 20 Supply OR Sharkie

The party is assailed by an underwater predator, and their air is running out. @Temperance has avoided the creature's notice, however, and may take actions independent of the party. The rest of the party, however, are in a Combat Encounter.

Naturally, conflict is all but impossible to avoid within a dungeon. In the case where an altercation is at hand, there are four actions that each individual party member may take:

Attack - Roll a d100 to inflict damage upon your foe.

Reckless - Roll a 2d100 to inflict damage upon your foe. Double Supply cost.

Protect - Shield an ally from damage by taking it in their place.

Support - Roll a d20 to heal a single person, or to buff three other members of your party.

Taking a combat action consumes 15 Supply, but if the monsters are slain, the party receives extra loot at the end of the adventure. If not all members of the party have posted in the cycle when the monsters have been vaniquished, they may continue on with their regularly scheduled dungeon run afterwards. However, be warned: those who attack monsters will receive HP damage immediately, something that can be mitigated only by the Protect action.

Thus, in situations where the party decides to avoid combat instead, there are two actions they can take:

Rapid Retreat - Receive a certain amount of unhealable damage, and escape the monsters by sprinting away.

Stealthy Retreat - Roll a d100, modified by Stealth. If successful, receive no damage during your escape. If unsuccessful, receive double damage during your escape.

Retreating does not cost Supply, unless otherwise specified. After retreating, adventurers may continue on with their regularly scheduled dungeon run.

Rat · Mar 6, 2018

125 / 125 HP

Others got in the water, began to strip down to their undergarments and essentials, and everyone began to paddle through the water. Temperance seemed to be the only one aware of the concept of chum and kept some distance, moving silent and slow through the waters... which seemed to pay off when something swooped in and began to tear through the party. Normally she'd have stuck around for such a fight- if drowning weren't on the menu... But she had already swum so far and could see hope near the bottom of things. It would be faster for her to swim down there and finish this leg of the journey, than to retreat all the way back up...

Inversely, it was probably wiser for the others to retreat, for now. Who knew? Maybe there was some kinda... weird teleportation crystal to work as a milestone in the dungeon, which she could use to bring the party together and act as a saving point. But surely such things didn't appear in dungeons, right?

She saw @Destiny Divebird flail and go bug eyed and point to the bottom. Message received LOUD and CLEAR. Nodding, Temperance popped open her UI and sent an emote of a crying and bruised animal to the party, then began to swim like... well, like her life depended on it. She pushed hard and fast, putting all of her effort and energy and attention into the act of just making it to the next pocket of air, the next chamber of secrets, the next whatever lay ahead. She ignored the chaos and bloodshed behind her, unaware of the damage Portia and others were taking. She knew that the others could handle that monster. Probably. Maybe. Who cared? In the absolute worst of cases, she was prepared to take a deep breath and stealth all the way back up, and climb out of the dungeon, if the party wiped. After she patched up her own wounds, obviously.

Rogue/Healer. The best of choices.

Progressing (100)
↑ +15 Progress Mod↑
96 and 77
Roll / Tracker

Bradwynne · Mar 6, 2018

81 / 121 HP

Bradwynne continued to hunt for big fishes, as they would need them later for sustenance as they would try to explore this hole. But as they were hunting for food, it had seemed that another creature were also hunting then out. And, as Bradwynne dove into the water for another time to hunt for fish, it suddenly happened.

Bradwynne was searching for a large fish to add to their supplies, when he saw a fin moving towards him. Thinking that it should be a better opportunity, he readied his sword hand as it was hard to do a decent slash while underwater, but the fin moved towards him in a speed that Bradwynne did not expect, and as he saw, it was not a fin after all, more of a claw. It slammed towards his chest, making Bradwynne gasp as a lot of bubbles of air went from his mouth and nose. He then felt something metallic rise from his lungs, and knew what that is. It was blood, that was expelled from his chest which felt as if it was punctured. He then looked at his chest, and he saw that some of his ribs were broken, and he thought one or two had punctured his lungs. If it was one of these nails that slammed on him, he knew he was going to be dead. But still this was bad, Bradwynne thought. He was still underwater, and with this damage on his lungs, he knew that he would not last here. He had to dispatch this threat, as fast as possible, and then try to move fast towards dry land if there was such. Or at least he should stay afloat until he had healed the injury on his lungs.

Bradwynne, his face still wincing from the pain on his chest, faced the creature that had hit him. By its features and form, Bradwynne surmised that it was a kind of a water dragon that he had seen on concept arts. Its body, as sleek as a shark, seemed like it had adapted with its surroundings, the body parts that should seem to not fit for water travel had been finned and streamlined from various mutations and evolutions that it had experienced. This should be a terrible foe, and could be considered to be the apex predator of this lake. And so Bradwynne, endeavoring to finish it, sought the perfect spot to at least distract it with pain so that he could move to the surface and breathe much better, and also to engage it there to have a much greater leverage. Seeking the spot just under the gills at its neck, Bradwynne mustered the greatest slash that he could swing on that spot, but as he was still suffering from the pain on his chest, he only managed to deal a shallow gash on that area. Hoping that he had distracted the water dragon enough, he then ascended to the surface to breathe much better and to cough out that blood from his mouth. In this situation he should fight better than when he would be underwater.

Attacking
↑ +23 mod, Attacking ↑
18
Roll / Tracker

Iván Carl · Mar 6, 2018

98 / 118 HP

Iván gritted his teeth, furious at himself for failing to plan ahead to avoid such an attack. What was happening to him? It was as if he was out of the game. Of course something would get attracted to all that blood in the water. The Rangers did tell them that no one had explored this part of the forest yet, and although the Rangers said something about monsters having stayed away from this place, that shouldn’t have been as convincing as the first point. Unexplored should always mean dangerous. They shouldn’t have been hunting willy nilly, without considering the repercussions of attracting a dangerous beast.

But it was too late for that. They had attracted it now, the manta-dragon fusion predator that Iván would’ve found pretty cool if it wasn’t trying to rip them to shreds. Okay, so he still found it cool. What wasn’t cool was the pain he felt when the damned beast cut him deeply against the cheek. He felt himself panic for a bit, losing oxygen as a result, but he was able to steer himself sane when he saw the damage it had inflicted to the others.
Fueled by rage, mostly at himself for having failed the others, Iván swiped his hand in one direction and brought up his panel of illusion magic spells. From there, he chose a phantasm spell that would cause illusory pain on the beast as it struck its psyche. An eye for an eye, or in this case, Portia’s ear for an ear. Iván focused his hand, which was wearing his spell ring, towards the beast, channeling his energy that soon sprung forward like a mess of pink before it took the shape of his own being albeit of pure illusory energy in the shade of bright pink. The illusory Iván appeared to scream a battle cry before charging towards the beast.

If it succeeded, their predator would be hit by pure phantasmic magic. Iván’s magic should leave it vulnerable, if not even crippled. It was something Alphabet Chocolate, his mentor when it came to illusion magic had taught him, the theory of which anyway. This world is his. He can choose what to make of it. In this moment, he chose death.

Attacking (100)
↑ +13 Attack Mod ↑
73
Roll / Tracker

Portia Ahrens · Mar 6, 2018

96 / 116 HP

Portia moved one moment too late.

The once aquamarine hue of the depths in which she so willingly dove now stained with the blood of her fellows announced how they had all been so foolish to think their actions as a whole were the right thing to do. Their supplies would run short, and so the risk could be easily justified by said statement, but none of them were able to predict what would happen once the predators became prey themselves. More than anything, her own blood was thrown into the mix by the swift creature that preyed upon the clueless group of adventurers, claiming her own ear as a taunting reward for itself. In response, the woman fought back the urge not to open her mouth and gasp in pain, all attempts at doing so failing before they could be given a chance.

Nice job, her inner voice scowled as the white-haired girl gritted her teeth, only to leave her jaw aching from how hard she clenched it in a futile attempt to ease the pain felt by the missing ear. Close combat was off-limits. The water would slow down her otherwise agile movements, leaving enough room for the beast to take another one of her body parts or draw more blood than what it already had, and so she brought her palm menu up with a pained expression plastered across her features.

It danced along her skin, the bright colored weaving of magic collecting in a familiar feeling along her spine, softly trailing its path over to her dominant hand, which she used to write the incantation spell in the waves. Any other day, and with a bit more of practice, she reckoned she might even be able to cast spells without the need to write them before and make use of them with the sheer power of her will. But for today, it would have to suffice. The other hand gripped the side of her head which had taken the most damage, closing her left eye as well in order not to allow more blood than necessary to coat her vision and interrupt her focus.

As the words stopped flowing from her fingers, the incantation came to an end. No sooner had she finished working, around the female's arm began to form tendrils of soft cerulean light, and as she snapped her hand forward in the direction in which her foe stood, the magical energy would shoot in the very same direction, aiming to hit the beast with a blast of her arcane spell.

Attacking (100)
↑ +15 Attack Mod ↑
58
Roll / Tracker

Destiny Divebird · Mar 6, 2018

098 / 118 HP

While the carcasses disappeared, the trails of blood from the bolt-wounds remained, dissipating in dark whorls like ink into the aquamarine liquid around them. Good—it’d draw in more, smaller fish to feast on the innards, more easy prey to net and bag for their supply kit. It was the fatal mistake of a woodsman, not a gamer, that lulled Destiny into such disturbingly false security. This wasn’t her home territory. This wasn’t her area of expertise.

Hell, fortune was not in their favor.

Sharkie back in hand and the party now preparing their descent, the strikes came from the darkness without warning. One—two—three razor-quick slices to her lower back just below the protective leather harness. The blood of the hunter joined that of her prey in the water, leaking steadily from the trio of fresh wounds. What the hell?!

She didn’t need to see what it was that had torn through her skin like a blade through wet paper, though her eyes locked on the sleek monstrosity all the same, mouth twisting in a grimace. All Destiny needed to know was that if they didn’t get out of there soon, they would drown, and it didn’t help that she still had a damn animal with lungs the size of kidney beans in tow.

Kicking her bare feet, throwing the equivalent of an underwater tantrum to try and get the others’ attention, Destiny gritted her teeth tightly as she realized it was no use. She looked back desperately to see Temperance was already gone, only a trail of bubbles left in the healer’s wake. Well, one less to worry about.

Crossbow cocked and loaded, Destiny floated and struggled, trying to angle herself into a good position should the blue-eyed beast turn on her again. She let out an involuntary curse in a burst of precious oxygen as she saw Bradwynne’s sword slice across the draconic serpent’s neck. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Her finger tensed on the trigger, aware it was hopeless, as illusions rushed the creature and she saw Portia preparing a spell, a stream of dark blood trailing from the left side of her head. We’re running out of time—

...They did it.

Holy hell, they did it.

There was no time to waste feeling relieved. Destiny looked down at the green, shimmering light below them, pulsing and enticing. Air? Probably not. But magic? Sure hope so. She beckoned the others, swimming closer and snatching onto @Iván Carl and @Portia Ahrens hands to pull them along. Nobody’s gettin’ left behind. She wasn’t sure if she was still holding a living animal or just another scrap of meat at this point, but she shoved Sharkie back at @Bradwynne , pointing urgently again down at the light. Sorry, blondie, you’re the strongest swimmer. Her lungs burned. She dove.

The Rangers had given them one job.
Make it back alive…

Progressing (100)
46 & 81
Roll / Tracker

Ashifili · Mar 6, 2018

The Inverted Spire

It had not expected such ferocity from its quarry, from foolish apes that trespassed upon its domain without regard for how ill suited their bodies were for the venture. @Bradwynne ’s slash, slowed as it was by water resistance, hardly grazed the beast, a shallow cut over marbled flesh that it mocked as it retaliated. Spinning about, the Ancient Hai’Draz bared its fangs as the muscles of its body coiled, ready to lash out once more. Weak limbed beasts, incapable of even hunting bloodlessly within this realm! It will su-

And then, an impossible pain rendered its body immobile, instincts flaring off at the invisible agony. Water or not water, magical abilities were rarely impeded by the environment around it, and a clear tremor shook through the aquatic predator’s form as @Iván Carl ’s phantasmal killer invaded its very mind. For a moment, it wrestled with a foe that only it could see, bubbles of air swarming around it as it tossed and churned, biting and clawing at the strange ‘fifth’ adventurer that seemed impervious to tooth and claw.

Where was it? Where was the blood?

It realized too late that it should have prioritized what could bleed.

For by the time the illusionist’s great magic trick ended, melting like dew in the morning sun, @Portia Ahrens ’s spell was complete. Arcane light weaved into a tapestry of spellwork, cerulean dominance bursting out of her fingertips, striking the side of the beast with the force of a ballista. Before the Hai’Draz could even feel it, it was torn into two even halves, sanguine ichor staining the waters further, drawing in greater predators to encircle and feast.

As @Destiny Divebird dragged her companions away, one last look confirmed it: the foe that they had slain in the aquamarine depths was only one of many. Greater shadows emerged, a host of ravaging beasts, a collection of beautiful nightmares.

~

On their last breath, the four adventurers reached the verdant mirage that they had spotted, pushing through with the last of their collective strength. In one moment, they were swimming.

And then, in the next, they were falling.

Cool, spring air rushed past them, bringing about floral scents as the group of adventurers tumbled downwards, droplets of water torn off their bodies before they collectively fell onto the canopy below. Tree branches and boughs cracked beneath their weight, aggravating injury and being fairly unpleasant altogether, but their descent was slowed as well, and by the time the water logged quartet fell ass and/or face first onto the lush grass beneath, they were slowed enough that it wasn’t fatal.

Just uncomfortable.

In Bradwynne’s muscled arms, Sharkie shuddered, before vomiting out all the water and bile it had swallowed during the last leg of their fun, great, exciting aquatic journey. Others too were simultaneously coughing and sucking in delicious oxygen, the group taking a few moments to recuperate and take in their surroundings.

For some strange reason, they were all definitely within a forest. Above them, the aquamarine pool they had been swimming in had dissolved into a blue sky, white light pouring down and illuminating the verdant trench. The vegetation around, while familiar, were odd in some strange ways as well, and silence still reigned eternal in the dungeon. The shadows of swallows flitted overhead soundlessly, while the air, cool as it was, was windless. Brightly colored mushrooms littered the forest floor, and the trees themselves spiraled into odd shapes, bearing both evergreen needles and coniferous leaves. Thick vines coiled around some of them, while others held spikes not dissimilar to the thorns of a rose.

On rare occasions, there were cairns as well, white piles with odd scratches on them. Moss and the degradation of age had weathered them into the incomprehensible, but they were guideposts and landmarks, at the very least.

…well, guideposts they may be, but the voice of their rogue-healer, who had gone far ahead of them, was what arrested their attention. It took mere minutes for the quartet to meet with @Temperance , but unfortunately, it was their arrival that dealt the ‘damage’.

Whereas Bradwynne, Portia, Destiny, Ivan, and Sharkie had the benefit of landing on a canopy of largely coniferous leaves, the roguish healer had tumbled into a rather sticky situation, her water soaked, basically nude form entangled in the thick vines of a tall tree

Yup. Definitely pretty awkward.

…

Eventually, though, Temperance was freed, and the party was reunited, ready to discuss how they were to progress in the next leg of their journey. As they did, however, Sharkie, having fed enough to move once more, jumped out of Brad’s manly embrace. The small creature’s nose twitched rapidly as it bounded in energetic circles, before it raced up the vine-infused tree that had bound Temperance a couple minutes ago.

A squeak could be heard, and then the snapping of something, before the small creature returned with a vibrant, cylindrical berry the size of its own head in tow. Bounding back onto the grass once more, Sharkie began chewing at its new prize, looking very pleased with itself.

A sweet smell was released as the berry split.

Perhaps they should try some foraging as well?

OOC
@Bradwynne @Temperance @Destiny Divebird @Portia Ahrens @Iván Carl

Minimum of 100 words and maximum of 500 words. Posts with less or more will be ignored.

1 post per character per cycle, with DM posts resetting the cycle at 4PM PST, daily.

All dice must be rolled in this thread.

If you want to do some extra communication between party members, do so here.

Some fanservice for y'all~
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Ashifili · Mar 6, 2018

Cycle 3: Persephone

Total Progress: 612/2000
Required Progress: 200/200 [CLEARED]
Total Supply: 350/655

Extra Details
@Portia Ahrens @Iván Carl receive 20 HP damage.

@Bradwynne receives 20 HP damage, but this has already been accounted for in his last post.

The small creature "Sharkie", consumes 10 Supply and reduces Progress by 5.

~~~

While resting in the verdant forest, Sharkie has discovered a seemingly edible fruit, accessible on the very tops of a vine-entangled tree. If a party member is willing, they may climb up the tree and forage more of those sweet-smelling berries, increasing the party's dwindling Supply. However, failure may cause embarrassment on par with Temperance's own sticky situation.

Roll 2d100, one to see how well you climb up the tree, and another to see how many of those berries you manage to grab. If successful, you will have some amount of berries to consume, which can either be shared with the entire party, or just eaten by a single individual. Decide amongst the group who will eat and who will not.

Only one person may forage. Choose carefully.

Bradwynne · Mar 6, 2018

81 / 121 HP

As he was about to rise to the surface, he then felt a hand grasping on his shorts. He wondered who that was, but his thoughts were interrupted as he was dragged towards some direction. He then saw the critter which he had left on a rock, which by the way was named Sharkie, still meowing, as he had to bring it to the surface whatever it takes, he then grabbed it as he was continued to be dragged. As he was then submerged underwater again, he then saw the water dragon again, split in twain. He wondered what kind of power did that, as he was moving towards the direction he had thought he had seen a green mirage, and then the bluish water tinged with blood became air as he coughed out blood and water.

So they just passed by a fall? Anyway he was falling, and when he saw where he was falling toward, he was surprised.

Before, an underground lake, now an underground forest? Wait, are they in the center of Terrasphere or something?

Bradwynne continued to gather his scattered thoughts as he slammed towards numerous branches as he fell, and finally landed on numerous amount of leaves. Face first.

"Mmmph," he mumbled in pain as an amount of leaves went into his mouth. He spat out the leaves as he coughed violently, blood being splattered on the leaves as they landed on the ground. Damn it, he would be needing healing later. He then wiped off the blood from his mouth and the vomit that the small creature had degurgitated from his arms with a towel he had materialized, before re-equipping all of his clothes. Damn it, he really missed the familiar feeling of the white woolen cloth brushing on his skin and the quite heavy feeling of the platform boots on his feet. He then took some time to examine his surroundings. But instantly the creature struggled off his arms and ran towards the direction of an odd tree before returning with a quite large berry that it picked from there. The berry smelled quite sweet, and as Bradwynne's stomach rumbled, he then decided to grab some berries for himself and the whole party. It was a hard climb, as the tree itself was quite sappy and smelled overwhelmingly sweet, and the vines that should have helped him climb were stuck on his hands, but he managed to reach the top where the berries were quite within reach. He then picked one and transferred it to his mouth, his teeth holding the stalk, but when he managed to reach the second one his boots slipped on the sappy branch and he fell towards Ivan, who happened to be there. His butt landed on the face of Ivan, and as Ivan lost balance, they fell on the ground. Bradwynne felt his tailbone nearly snapping, which for him should be the evidence that Ivan was hard-headed for calling him Haru when he was not. Remembering that, he became quite furious, and decided to do a trick on Ivan. He held the second berry that he had managed to pick before falling down at the face of Ivan, and with his eyes being narrowed into a slit, was trying to insinuate that the berry was poisonous, and he was about to shove the berry into his mouth as if he was torturing the person. But instead, the eyes became wide as the mouth that held the first berry curled into an innocent smile before sipping the berry into his mouth. As he removed the stalk from his mouth with his left hand he felt a very refreshingly sweet taste, and as he swallowed it, he felt as if the pain on his lungs had disappeared. This was a good fruit he thought, as he tossed the berry on his right hand towards Destiny, who seemed to suffer from the huge gashes on her back. He hoped that she would feel better after eating the berry as he did.

Climbs and picks strange berries
58 & 29
Roll / Tracker

Iván Carl · Mar 7, 2018

78 / 118 HP

Got you, you overgrown sardine. Iván smirked, grinning as the beast thrashed around in response to his attack. His grin grew wider when Portia successfully ripped it in two following his phantasmal magic. They didn’t have a lot of time to celebrate, however, as the panic of drowning began setting in. Iván turned around to find Destiny and instinctively grabbed her hand. Along with Portia, he was dragged further down into the abyss. Or was it up? It was hard to figure out with the life-threatening chaos and all. All Iván could do was to follow the others. That and look behind time, which was a bad idea. He witnessed shadows converging, perhaps the beast’s own. They would either go after their party or first sample their friend. Mindless beasts tend to know no allegiance.

What? Iván felt air, not water, against his face when they finally broke through, reaching the salvation they sought. It wasn’t much of a salvation, as they immediately fell down, through air, tree branches, and whatever else was there, all of it punishing their already bruised bodies with each contact, but it was still better than ending up as food for the fishes. Thankfully, there was grass to catch them. Or was it grass?

Iván groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and onto his butt. He shook his head, instinctively, trying to make sense of his bearings, only to feel the sting that was the deep cut on his cheek. As soon as he could, Iván put a hand on his cut. He fumbled to grab something from his own supplies. It looked like a screwdriver from the real world but it wasn’t. It was actually something Iván cooked up in Lightning Ironworks. He put the sharp, metallic end near the end of the cut before heaving a sigh. This is going to hurt…

Iván turned the portable machine on and it started whirring. Along with the noise came the strange, bluish, refreshing light, or was it some sort of liquid, that was sprayed all over Iván’s cut. In a matter of minutes, seconds even, the cut was healed. Iván himself felt quite refreshed. He made a mental note to himself as a reminder to thank Tetsu and Emerath for helping him develop the thingamajig.

“Uhh, what’s Haru doing up in the tree?”

Ow! Iván screamed in his head as another patch of grass fell on his face. Wait, grass falling from the sky? Iván wondered as something seemed to lift the patch of grass from his face, only to see Haru's face, his eyes narrowed at him. The overdressed illusionist turned his attention from his old friend to what he was holding in his hand, zero clue on what the intent was. His eyes grew wide when Haru ingested the berry, a little jealous that he wasn't the one eating someone. But that soon dissipated when he realized that berry could be poisoned. Iván started to laugh to himself, "Hehehe."

Recovery (70), Progressing (30)
↑ +10 Recovery Mod ↑
29
Roll / Tracker

Destiny Divebird · Mar 7, 2018

098 / 118 HP

This was really goddamn bizarre.

Everything. Hell, she’d thought she was dead when they hit that green light and fell outta the clouds like someone had pushed them out too soon while skydiving. Free-fall. Branches lashing her injured back, limbs snapping under her weight as she and the others tumbled through the forest canopy, still-soaking from their ocean adventure. Finding Temperance strung up in vines like somethin’ out of a fetish film, the slippery trees with their intermingled leaves and needles, lil’ Sharkie not only still breathing but apparently now fetching fresh fruit for them to munch on…

Arright. Arright. She just… needed to get everyone back on track. Back on the trail. They were out of hot water, sure, but they still weren’t out of the woods. She tried to clear the stars in her eyes by playing rock-paper-scissors with Ivan, but that fool Bradwynne crashing out of the top of a tree put a halt to that real fast. “Mm. Find anything up there?” the black-haired woman asked, rubbing the back of her head. She winced as the motion stretched her still-open wounds, sending a physical wave of pain down her body. Destiny clamped her jaw shut, closing her eyes and forcing herself to take only shallow breaths. Hoo. Hang in there, Des.

Her Hunter’s eye tracked a small, incoming projectile and her hand leaped out to catch it, plucking the small red fruit Brad had thrown her out of the air. She winced in pain again, then glanced over at the small, furry white animal. The critter had already devoured the berry it had found, looking perfectly sated. Hm. No tellin’ what this is, but if the animals know it’s safe, it’s probably not toxic. Besides—she’d rather check it for poison herself than have someone else do the dirty work. Some kinda guide she’d be...

Her first tiny bite—only a taste at the tip of her tongue, testing for bitterness as the body’s tried-and-true method of indicating toxins—was incredibly sweet and flavorful. Like strawberry, and somethin' else she couldn't put her finger on. Her mouth watered immediately and Destiny found herself biting into the rest, juice flowing down the corners of her mouth as she slurped it up. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, swallowing. “Not bad, Sharkie,” she said. Maybe we won’t have to eat you after all...

She bent down to pick the little creature up again. Her entire body felt warm, the injury which had pained her so much before now just a warning tingle in her lower back. “Hell, I'll take another one of those things if you see any.” That said, she raised her thumb and forefinger in the ol’ one-two and triggered Investigation Mode. “I’m gonna check for any game-trails we can follow, or more fruit trees. I’ll holler if there’s trouble, promise. Nobody run off, hear? I'm not goin' too far.”

Scouting (70) Progress (30)
+10 Scout Mod
84
Roll / Tracker

Rat · Mar 7, 2018

125 / 125 HP

She made it to the green haze and... began to fall, immediately. Watching the onrushing world come up to meet her face, she prepared for the worst and was ready to try to roll and mitigate harm. Thankfully, some vines caught her. Thanklessly, she was very stuck and tangled in them... Pity she'd skipped out on all those rope-binding classes her ex had encouraged. Or, you know... didn't have a knife? That too, as an afterthought.

She began to try and free herself, aware that a spider or leopard or something might come along any moment and make mince meat of her. And a hungry predator did arrive, in the form of her party... below, staring up, taking in the view. Ah well... it was only a game avatar. A slightly emaciated, very lean and athletic one, which no longer had to struggle in the vines after somebody cut her loose.

Landing on the ground, Temperance immediately began to re-equip her gear in her UI, then tossed a few messages in the chat with the party while people figured out their next move. It seemed people wanted to gather resources and prepare for the next step. She shrugged and began to mill about, looking for... anything worthwhile, really. Who knew what kind of treasures they might be passing? While others hunted and gathered, she looked for anything valuable or unnatural, like an opening in a tree that might go into another area of the dungeon, or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Scouting (100)
↑ +0 Scouting Mod↑
49
Roll / Tracker

Portia Ahrens · Mar 7, 2018

76 / 116 HP

Her eyes widened in shock as the horrible creature went down with the little spell she had just cast, fixing her gaze on her hands as if she could still feel the source of the powerful magic coursing through her veins even when the incantation had long finished. And, stuck in her amazing state of mind, there was but a single detail floating in the water that caught her eye. Out of the corner of her vision, she spied her own ear drifting away in the lake, making the white-haired girl's face set in utter horror as she swam towards it and picked it up. No sooner had she wrapped her hand around it, Destiny soon moved in closer, taking her wrist and dragging her along to safety.

Portia parted her lips, a few couple of words ready at the tip of her tongue before realization struck that she was not yet out of the water. Panic followed suit, and she braced herself for the worst before an entirely different sensation struck. She could... Breathe again, well, she was gasping for air more than anything. Her thoughts drifted from one to another as the group fell into the unknown land, earning more than the woman's simple interest this time, but her confusion too.

While the others chose to take care of their individual matters, be it mending their wounds or exploring for what the spoiled critter wanted, she found a spot on the ground to sit on. She clenched her fist and opened it back again, equipping her armor now that the water wasn't a factor for concern anymore, and then she proceeded to tear the fabric of her dress apart. Not enough to marvel anyone with a sight they were not meant to see since she had a pair of pants on as well, but only to make bandages out of the fabric. Portia wrapped them around her head, covering the spot where her missing ear would've been had it not been taken from her by the water monster. Secretly proud of herself even when the blood of the wound soon tainted the cloth, she made her way to @Destiny Divebird, giving the woman a light tap on her shoulder.

''Can I come with you?'' In preparation for whatever reaction the girl would offer to her question, she gave a shrug of her shoulders and another sympathetic smile. Her assumption about Destiny's behavior in being the most level-headed hadn't been wrong. Not entirely, at least. ''If I wasn't curious enough when we started to swim, I certainly am now... And I could use the distraction,'' she admitted as her hand lifted to point at the little group that currently stood behind her, immediately leaving it to fall back at her side once Destiny picked up the gesture and what it implied.

She just wanted to know what the hell they signed up for.

Progressing (70) Scouting (30)
↑ +5 Progress Mod ↑
13
Roll / Tracker

Ashifili · Mar 7, 2018

The Inverted Spire

In the relative tranquility of their new environment, the adventurers found themselves a moment of respite, slowing down their travels and having a small meal as some of them tended to wounds while others ventured ahead, seeking safer paths as they scouted out the territory.

Despite being a forest, the downwards trajectory of the terrain was obvious after a certain point. Gentle as it may be, @Portia Ahrens and @Destiny Divebird found themselves travelling downwards with each new step down the curious game trails. To the eyes of a trained Hunter, the mere presence of these trails were odd. No wildlife, other than those strange birds up above, could be seen, after all, and as far as Destiny was capable of perceiving, there were no clear tracks either. Perhaps the residents of this stratum were all birds. Perhaps there were no residents in this stratum. Theories bounced off meaninglessly, while the trees around them began to change color the further down they went, until the leaves became a dazzling display of violets and pinks, as if mimicking cherry blossoms.

Here, the grass and fungi gave way to more piles of stone, sitting solemnly at the base of the trees. The air was crisper here as well, a curious coldness suffusing the area enough that the two adventurers’ breaths became white. Eventually, the ground beneath them became paved with white stone, arranged in a circular fashion, a plaza stretching out before them. Amethyst trees ringed the area, while the concentration of stone piles became most frequent here. Past this area, nature dissolved completely into a dreary gravel slope, and within this final bastion of vegetation?

By gods, it was only getting colder.

~~~

Lagging behind the trailblazers, @Temperance concerned herself more with the stone mounds in the vicinity. Damaged as they were by age, the inscriptions upon them were more or less unreadable even upon closer inspection. It was looking like a bust, really, when the Healer Rogue spotted an oddity amongst one of the structures. A spark of magic, a blue light radiating from one particular scratch. Something she could examine further. Something she could investigate more closely. But something…

A jolt of pain wracked through her head, as if someone had driven a nail into her cranium.

…that may be better off left alone.

The illuminated scratch pulsated gently, slowly, turning white as sunshine.

Does she proceed? Or does she retreat?

OOC
@Bradwynne @Temperance @Destiny Divebird @Portia Ahrens @Iván Carl

Minimum of 100 words and maximum of 500 words. Posts with less or more will be ignored.

1 post per character per cycle, with DM posts resetting the cycle at 4PM PST, daily.

All dice must be rolled in this thread.

If you want to do some extra communication between party members, do so here.

And thus, it begins.
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Ashifili · Mar 7, 2018

Cycle 4: Temptes

Total Progress: 657/2000
Total Supply: 310/655
Total Scouting: 121

Extra Details
@Iván Carl heals himself by 6 HP.

@Bradwynne @Destiny Divebird ate the berries and recovered 15 HP. Party Supply was increased by 40.

@Temperance loses 10 HP.

The small creature "Sharkie", reduces Progress by 5.

~~~

Before the party is a stony plaza, the final stretch of vegetation before they start descending down the gravel slope. The temperature here has dropped dramatically, causing waterlogged clothing to begin stiffening, freezing over. But it's a peaceful place as well, beautiful with its faux cherry blossoms and white sunlight. Perhaps they could camp here, building a fire to dry their clothing and rest up fully before they continued on? Or maybe, owing to their dwindling supplies, they should press on instead, lest they stop and lose all motivation for continuing. Time was always a concern, after all, and who knew what fresh horror would come if they overstayed their welcome?

Rest - The entire party regains 20 HP. Progress may not be assigned a value higher than 30. The Supply cost of actions is halved.

Continue - The entire party loses 20 HP due to the cold conditions. Recovery may not be assigned a value higher than 30. Progress rolls gain a +15 modifier.

This is a group decision.

~~~

The combined efforts of Portia and Destiny's scouting has illuminated three possible methods of scaling down the gravel slope, which may be discussed during their Rest, or followed immediately if they Continue:

Switchbacks - A relatively safe trail down, but time consuming, as it requires one to zigzag down the slope in a single file. Out in the open, however, they would be exposed.

Ledges - Somewhat more dangerous, but to the west, the slope gives way to rock ledges, where they could scale down by jumping downwards from one ledge to another, as if descending from a giant's staircase. A slip may prove dangerous.

Ride - If they were to fashion rudimentary sleds out of the bark of the trees nearby, they could slid straight down the slope. Extraordinarily dangerous, but they would make it down in a fraction of the time that others would. And...it sounds fun?

This is a group decision.

~~~

Temperance has stumbled upon a cairn, a pile of stone, that glows with a small amount of magic. At the cost of either 30 HP or 15 Supply, she may attempt to decipher the framework of this magical footprint. The Culminative DC for this magical investigation is 150, and in this cycle, she may repeatedly pay the cost of 30 HP or 15 Supply to roll further.