Duty Session 591: Fireball Solves Everything

Scattered throughout the forests of Eastal, a number of structures which are believed to have been used for religious rituals in honor to The Burning Goddess lie abandoned. It is said that some of them still contain Igneous Stones, specially crafted rocks used to stabilize and control flames. The secret of their manufacture has been lost to time, and scholars all over Yamato are willing to pay well for some samples to study in the hope to re-discover how they were made. As usual, the encountered challenges will require a variety of skills and ability to be overcome, but due to the special attunement of these structures with the element of Fire, the cooldown time for flame-related Artes is reduced dramatically, thus making this mission a favorite of people who specialize in this style of combat.

A Lander from the Hunter's Guild is awaiting the adventurers at the end of a beaten path, where vegetation begins to reclaim a long forsaken area. After a bow to the assembled Adventurers, the Lander briefs them on their mission: "There are a number of abandoned temple-like structures dedicated to The Burning Goddess throughout the forests of the Eastal Free League. It is believed that at the heart of each of them lies a brazier carrying special Igneous Stones, rumored to be particularly apt at stabilizing flames. They are in high demand, and the Hunter's Guild offers rewards to anyone who can bring a few back." He hands the team a map to the nearest structure, and a map of the structure itself. "Good luck, noble Adventurers."

Strangely enough, Nyanta moves through the quest in a very transactional manner. If this were an old-school RPG, one might think he were mashing the B button impatiently to move the text along so that he can get to the fun part. This is very much the opposite of traditional Nyanta, who always savored the journey rather than the end point.

In fact, today's Nyanta looks QUITE different than the Dandy Cat that ETO knows and loves. His fur looks a bit ragged, as if he hadn't cleaned himself in a day or so, and his ear seems to be twitching as if a fly were buzzing around his head (there isn't one). Further, his customary "Too Cool for Being Rude" smile and half-lidded eyes have been replaced with a very tired visage and crazed eyes.

When the party is finally away from the Lander, Nyanta mutters to himself, "I thought he would never shut up, nya..." WHO IS THIS IMPURRSTER!?!?! SUS!! SUS!!!

    Burning Goddesses?
    Precious Stnes?
    It goes without saying that Lauren, the artificer imp, would have found this irresistibly alluring offer. She listens to the speech with her hands carefully folded... all the better to hide her twitching fingers. "Right?" She says, turning to Nyanta with shared impatience. "I get it, abandoned temples, treasure, goddesses, fire traps. I just want pretty things. I'm Lauren. You good to go?"

    Merek is coming to assist with the people that are on the duty, and he takes his time to pull his dark attire about him. He looks from the hood, and nods to Lauren and Nyanta, "I like looking for mineral."

Nyanta gives a polite bow to Lauren, though the ear twitching makes it feel somewhat off, "It is a purrleasure to meet you, Lauren. My name is Nyanta, nya. I certainly am ready to go, nya. We have places to be, fish to fry, nya..."

He then nods to Merek, "I am here for something to power my grill, nya. A little heat will really spice things up, nya." He gives a wink to his party members. Was that a pun? Was that on purrpose?

The party finds a one-story circular structure built out of stone. Run down, smothered by plants and moss, it takes the Adventurers some time before they can free the main door from the vines. Still in place after all this time, wards made of wood and colored strings protect the place against trespassers. If someone could read their ancient script, or knew the enchantment which gives them their power, they could probably understand how to best deal with them. Knowing the exact rules which regulate their activation and removal could also hint at the proper defusing procedure. For the impatient, burning them all down at once is also an option.

Nyanta frowns, "Purrplexing. We have barely started, and already a barrier, nya. Thoughts, my companions, nya?"

    Merek is impatient, and he chooses the option that involves the use of fire. "You know what, I think that I don't like puzzles and ancient manuscript when it keeps me away from the target. And as cool as that is, well..." He lights all the things up in flame and nods.

Lauren is an enchantress, and takes a moment to read the literal writing on the wall... only to find that it ends at the burned entrance. "Well," She says, not one to overcomplicate things.

Nyanta is just as impatient as Merek. He uses a Wave Art to ignite his sword and burn away most of the barrier. With a poke from Lauren on the right rune, what remains of the door opens slowly. "Mischief managed, nya."

The Adventurers enter the building, and it does not take them long to discover a trap door leading down a musty stairwell. Torches flicker; long shadows are cast against the walls built out of uneven stones as the party descends a long flight of stairs. At the bottom lies a massive oaken door riddled with padlocks. The more roguish types can try and pick the locks, while Accessory Forgers can try and tamper with the hinges. Maybe those adept in the art of woodworking can find a way to cut through the wood? Of course, a well placed fireball can always burn the door down.

Nyanta looks irritated. You are pretty sure he is the imposter, and you should all vote him out of the air lock, "ANOTHER door, nya? My patience wears thin, nya..."

    Merek walks up to the next room with Lauren and Nyanta, and it looks like there is another puzzle to solve to get into it. "You know what, I'm going to do what I did in the other room." He uses fire magic on the door to light it with flame, "Well, that should handle it, if you guys can assist."

Lauren does not, it must be said, succeed /at all/ in her attempt to pick a window. Instead, she nearly stabs herself.

Nyanta also attempts the same thing he did before... With less than desired results. His impatience causes him to set, purrhaps, TOO MUCH on fire, and the party must flee the room quickly while taking a substantial amount of fire damage. After they have fled the room, and his party members look to Nyanta for answers, he just sticks his tongue out to the side and playfully wraps his skull with a fist as if he were jokingly punishing himself, "Tee Hee, nya?"

As the Adventurers bring their light sources into the next room, a blood-chilling sight meets them: the walls and ceiling are covered in dire bats. They seem to be asleep, and that is a good thing: they are far too numerous to fight, so the adventurers' best bet is to sneak past them, possibly shrouded in a spell of Darkness. Or, you know, wipe the whole lot out with fire.

Nyanta notes the myriad bats on the ceiling and whispers to his companions, "Purrhaps discretion is the better option for this challenge, nya..."

Lauren is, at her heart of hearts, an imp. She knows how to get through this, and together, she works with the team to see them through.

    Merek looks as Nyanta will be working to avoid all of the bats. Then he instead will try to use fire to get through that.

And while Lauren is an Imp, Nyanta is, at his heart of hearts, a cat. A cat on the prowl would not make a sound in a field of bells. Merek, instead, attempts to light some of the bats on fire. This does not go well for him this time, as they gnaw on his head a little, but luckily, most of the bats just want to go back to sleep. This results in minimal HP damage for Merek.

The Adventurers reach what, according to the map from the Hunters' Guild, is the antechamber to the inner sanctum. The smell of mildew is overpowering, the floor is littered with puddles, and the silence is broken onl by the occasional drip of water. If, that is, we don't count the screech from the tangle of monster vines which has taken root in this room: vegetal tendrils attempt to grab at the Adventurers, too many for mere physical beating and slashing. The stench makes it hard to fight, so some aeration could come in handy. Perhaps one could concoct an impromptu weedkiller, or someone familiar with plants might be able to identify some weak spot of this species. Given the level of humidity in this room, fire looks like an unlikely solution, but that is certainly not going to stop some Adventurers from trying.

Now, as we have established, Nyanta is STILL a cat. Powerful scents are not his friend, and plants are a cat's natural enemy. "Nyaaaaaaa..." He says in a frustrated snarl.

    Merek walks along and comes to the next room with Nyanta. He looks to the place, and to all the different plants, while he thinks about it. "I am good with the magic alchemy. I would like to use fire again," he says, then he begins to swing his fists at the plants, covered in flame and using that to defeat the things that stand in their way.

Lauren is an artificer, not an alchemist, but isn't fire one of the fundamental elements? And doesn't it cleanse, or something? Indifferent to the symbology but highly interested in the enchantment of purpose, Lauren slings a fireball.

Nyanta clears the stench out of the room, Lauren prepares and hefts a makeshift maltov at the plant monster, and Merek pummels the plant to death with Fists of Fire!!!! The poor vineling didn't know what hit it: literaly, since it didn't have eyes. The party advances onward into the next room...

The Adventurers' torches are the only source of light for this room. The brazier in the middle is unattended, a large number of Igneous Stones just lying there! As soon as the stones are removed, the walls rumble, and dust and rocks begin to fall from the ceiling. As the cliche demands, the structure starts to collapse! Adventurers need to rush back to the surface without being squished by the falling rocks, or killed by any monster that might still be lingering!

Nyanta laughs as he is hit with a wave of nostalgia as he begins to flee, "Ah, this brings me back, nya. One time, back in my DTP days, there was this statuette, and Souji-kun picked it up, and then the boulder started rolling after us, nya..."

    Merek looks to the things that need to fight along their way out from the place. He swings about and uses flame. They eventually make the way to exit. "Well, that went well."

Lauren is happy to just barely escape, life intact, and then nods in line with Merek. 'It was," she says, rubbing shadows from her fingertips.

The party rushes through the whole building, past the dire bat room, up the floor, dodging or blocking any menace that might be remaining, possibly fireballing anything that might be left. Once outside, they slump on the floor and catch their breath, possibly admiring the stones they have managed to snatch: enough Igneous Stones to allow Adventurers to possibly pocket one and still meet the mission's quota with the rest.

Nyanta, who had been hit by quite a few falling rocks on the way out, is rather dazed. "Well, at least we got what we came for, nya?"