Duty Session 604: Shrine of the Dragon King
Far from any Root Town, nestled deep in the misty ravines in the southern reaches of the Palace Lands, there is rumored to sleep an ancient altar sacred to the divine spirit, Longwang. Unfortunately, without any local adventurers to cull their numbers, the shrine has been all but overrun by monstrous apes. Now running rampant, the mad monkeys need to be put down to restore some semblance of holiness to the shrine. Perhaps Longwang will award a blessing to those who fight to cleanse this sacred space? But even if he does not, the high-level monsters in the area are sure to drop some pretty substantial loot!
Difficulty: Moderate
Rec Party: 3+
Rewards: 2
World Rewards: Reduce the danger near Seeker's Landing.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
It's a brisk, chill day-- not at all in keeping with the lovely spring greenery that now seems so far behind. The approach to the shrine began with a mist that only increased, making the team scout for a shrine in fog. It's oddly warm, instead of chill, giving the feeling of both being damp... and being damp by cause of something's breath.
The shrine itself looks... peaceful. Ordinary, even. It's old, and the weathered stones show chinks in the structure on surfaces the local flora has yet to claim.
"What /is/ it about enchantresses and dragons?" Lauren claims, the stylish imp accessorized for clean fights and, barring that, clearly using magic to avoid pesky things like "terrain" or "dirt".
The shrine itself looks... peaceful. Ordinary, even. It's old, and the weathered stones show chinks in the structure on surfaces the local flora has yet to claim.
"What /is/ it about enchantresses and dragons?" Lauren claims, the stylish imp accessorized for clean fights and, barring that, clearly using magic to avoid pesky things like "terrain" or "dirt".
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Despite the fact that Syx seems incapable of wearing a shirt, the cool weather doesn't seem to bother him at all. The Salamander had gotten word from the Hunters Guild someone was looking to take on a challenge in the Palace Lands. With the hostile forces out of the way, seemed like a good chance to get some good will for the Yamato adventurers.
And also Syx was still on the desperate lookout for something he could inter-breed with his grunties to make them better. This place has a ton of hybrid animals, maybe they have some sort of flying pig..
And also Syx was still on the desperate lookout for something he could inter-breed with his grunties to make them better. This place has a ton of hybrid animals, maybe they have some sort of flying pig..
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang approaches the structure with Lauren and the others, but shrugs about enchantresses and dragons. For a loremaster, she's amazingly weak at Lore, often having things go past her completely. She's had ample opportunity in game to study, its true, but she's put her efforts into training instead. She is supplementing this training by helping people to complete dutes, and this is one of them, it seems, so here she is, quiet, though distracted seems more like it at the moment.
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek walks with the party along to the shrine. He seems to be content to check on his equipment, "We should be able to manage this place well enough. Anyway, I have potions for status if anyone needs them," he says.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Into the ists our intrepid heroes go! This path is barely a path, and indicates that this shrine doesn't even have secret followers keeping the old rites alive. "Hey, I'm Lauren," She tells Yeowang, Syx, and Merek. "I think I've seen you around! Has anyone else noticed that... like... this doesn't seem to be a shrine for worship? I wonder if it ever was."
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
And then the monkeys hit. And they hit hard, fast, and filthy! Because they are monkeys.
"Monkeys?!" Lauren shrieks, dodging a ball of... let us say "projectile matter". "No one said anything about monkeys!"
"Monkeys?!" Lauren shrieks, dodging a ball of... let us say "projectile matter". "No one said anything about monkeys!"
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek does not manage to do well with dodging, though he is mostly kind of protected by his party. He nods a bit while he will let them guide him through, taking up behind all of the ones doing a lot better with the path that's on.
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang says to Lauren, "I've been to a place like this before, Proph found it before the Palace Landers turned on us. It had also been abandoned. I think there were several places like this that their players never had a chance to explore. The Palace Lands Landers are less interested in exploration than our Landers, I think."
The onset of monkeys throwing things requires agility as we follow the path that Syx has revealed along the path more or less forward.
The onset of monkeys throwing things requires agility as we follow the path that Syx has revealed along the path more or less forward.
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Syx has had to deal with his share of monkeys, both in the game and back in the real world, don't ask. He's learned that them throwing things only gets progressively worse if you give them something to throw at.
Syx has opted to take away their ability to see what they're hitting, as he leaps up to one of the branches with the monkeys, "Hey guys, stop being rude. It's mean and hurtful." And then he slams his fist into the branch, sending up a massive flash of light that illuminates the forest and enables the team to see the path, as well as making the monkeys aim much, much worse.
Syx has opted to take away their ability to see what they're hitting, as he leaps up to one of the branches with the monkeys, "Hey guys, stop being rude. It's mean and hurtful." And then he slams his fist into the branch, sending up a massive flash of light that illuminates the forest and enables the team to see the path, as well as making the monkeys aim much, much worse.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Quick to dodge the monkeys and their... projectiles, Lauren hurries along with the rest of the group while the chittering madness dies quietly behind them. Nevertheless, Syx provokes quiet laughter from Lauren.
The mist returns, this time obscuring all but the statue over an intersection. "Where's Hekate when you need her?" Lauren mumbles. "Of course it's a maze."
When Yeowang speaks, Lauren is quick to listen. She taps a lip while her eyes focus intently. "Ah," she says. "So... you think we aren't trespassing so much as just discovering?"
The mist returns, this time obscuring all but the statue over an intersection. "Where's Hekate when you need her?" Lauren mumbles. "Of course it's a maze."
When Yeowang speaks, Lauren is quick to listen. She taps a lip while her eyes focus intently. "Ah," she says. "So... you think we aren't trespassing so much as just discovering?"
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek looks around a bit, while he nods to the party and seems to consider their options with them. "I think if we go that way, we could find a little more of the path," he says, then he begins walking that way, before following Syx.
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang says to Lauren, "I imagine this is game conent that the Palace Lands players simply never got a chance to explore. It's almost certainly intended to be explored, at least by the game designers. The Landers may have a different opinion, but given their attitudes toward us, I am not uncomfortable disregarding their opinions on this."
The maze is, alas, a maze, and far too overgrown for her tracking ability to help find her way through. Her class says hunter, but it's not in her mindset, and she will follow along as best she can if someone else seems to have a way.
The maze is, alas, a maze, and far too overgrown for her tracking ability to help find her way through. Her class says hunter, but it's not in her mindset, and she will follow along as best she can if someone else seems to have a way.
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Syx has decided that the best way forward is forward, and so he moves up to one of the walls, gives it a good, HARD look, and then hauls back and superkicks it to open up a path, "C'mon folks." He motions for people to follow him on through the path he has decided to open.
He only tends to do this when they reach a dead end, but it DOES seem to be getting them through to the other side.
He only tends to do this when they reach a dead end, but it DOES seem to be getting them through to the other side.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Lauren is at an utter loss when it comes to tracking, or divination, or cartography. Nevertheless, there she is, trying and failing to get much information out of a reflective surface.
The laughter is unsettling. It could be from any direction, or none at all... including "up", which is where Lauren looks first. Monkeys, after all.
When she spots it, it's all Lauren can do not to scream. She claps a hand over her mouth at the abomination. Stitched eyes, stitched limbs, and mouths held closed with worms.
Thankfully, there isn't time to react to the gruesome beasts. They're slinging elemental magic to defend that crystal orb like a dead man fighting god.
The laughter is unsettling. It could be from any direction, or none at all... including "up", which is where Lauren looks first. Monkeys, after all.
When she spots it, it's all Lauren can do not to scream. She claps a hand over her mouth at the abomination. Stitched eyes, stitched limbs, and mouths held closed with worms.
Thankfully, there isn't time to react to the gruesome beasts. They're slinging elemental magic to defend that crystal orb like a dead man fighting god.
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
We're all playing a dangerous game, where our actions can have serious consequences, and Yeowang knows that. But she's used to dangerous games, having fought with more than pixels on the line before she ever logged onto the game. So if some monkeys want to throw elemental magic at us, she will return the attack, playing their dangerous game, and winning. She doesn't like to lose, and she's not going to start here.
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek looks to the crystal, and then to the place to defend. He nods a bit, while he begins to use his fire magic with Syx when all the others seem to be using the other needed magic.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Magic coalesces around Lauren, and the summoner lifts her hands as the local mist gathers around her arms. Chanting under her breath, she moves one hand before pushing both forward, the spell released, the magic dispersing like the fog.
Fog that coalesces into steeds of ice and mist, their ethereal forms fading in and out of existence. As they charge towards the monkeys, their reveal is given: horses that explode into shards of ice, sharp as glass, carried on the momentum of the spectral steeds and driving towards them like a thousand blades.
Here, however, the situatin is a bit different. With the orbs gathered, they have to figure out where t place them within diagrams and runes.
Fog that coalesces into steeds of ice and mist, their ethereal forms fading in and out of existence. As they charge towards the monkeys, their reveal is given: horses that explode into shards of ice, sharp as glass, carried on the momentum of the spectral steeds and driving towards them like a thousand blades.
Here, however, the situatin is a bit different. With the orbs gathered, they have to figure out where t place them within diagrams and runes.
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang feels pretty good after the fight. She's never at her best against the magical and metaphorical parts of the game, which alternately confuse and annoy her. It's not that she's bad at puzzles, and she can do a crossword as well as anyone, but the game seems sometimes to require some sort of background level of nerdery that she doesn't possess at all, and she can only look at the diagrams in confusion.
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Oh boy more monkeys! This time Syx decides to take the fight to them, as he leaps towards them, blocking a pair of fire and ice spells that come his way with his body as fire engulfs him. He lands among the monkeys, and grabs hold of one of them, hauling it off of its perch and through the air, before slamming it into the ground with a massive explosion of flame blasting out after the impact.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Failing that, our heroes find themselves having placed the orbs-- correct or otherwise-- and are now staring down into the depths of a staircase.
The descent is long, deep, and dark. It opens into a cave that sparkles even in the darkness. A Jade plinth, its loveliness almost outweighted by
"What the hell is that stench?" Lauren gags, pressing a hand to her nose. "It's like a manure factory with fruit and a guy's college dorm," She says, staring about herself.
Perhaps this was the insult that causes the great white ape to leap forward, bellowing his fury.
The descent is long, deep, and dark. It opens into a cave that sparkles even in the darkness. A Jade plinth, its loveliness almost outweighted by
"What the hell is that stench?" Lauren gags, pressing a hand to her nose. "It's like a manure factory with fruit and a guy's college dorm," She says, staring about herself.
Perhaps this was the insult that causes the great white ape to leap forward, bellowing his fury.
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek isn't all that great with finding out which is which, so he goes along with the party, into whatever ones they choose to go in. He does nod a little bit, "There's a lot of places to try exploring with."
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang wrinkles her nose at the stench as well, but there's this Great Monkey Sage to fight, so she will fight him. She avoids its attacks by being quiet, stealthy not in the ninja way, but the way a scout avoids detection, moving smoothly, flowing with the terrain, then striking when its attention is focused elsewhere. Yeowang has apparently made a study of this, or at least has done it before, she comes at it as one who has practiced considerably.
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Syx is, for his part, trying to do battle with the massive albino ape in hand to hand combat. It does not go as well as Syx would have liked for it to go, as he does seem to be on the losing side of several of the exchanges, but at least seems to be holding the ape's attention at least well enough for the others to lay into it.
Lauren
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
"What. The." Lauren's words are caught in between the blood splatter that the corpse of the great ape makes-- a hacking noise, blood pooling down its mouth and sides. And then its cheeks tear open, revealing the swirling mass of centipedes, like Oogy-Boogey come undone.
Yeowang
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Yeowang is, alas, not happy with this monster. She's not good with crawly things in general, and this thing is ... very nasty. She does her best, but it's hard to hit a thing hard enough to hurt it when you can't make yourself touch it.
Merek
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Merek takes his time and fights with the party against that monster. When they manage to eventually make a win, the man nods a little bit, then thinks about that for a moment.
Syx
Plot Room 2
Plot Room 2
Syx's strikes are a bit sloppy, clearly he's distracted by something, but never the less the battle does play out in our heroes favor, and they are able to clense the shrine. Afterwards, he finds the odd, orb sitting on the altar, picking one up and turning it over in his hand, "Neat."