[Eventually, when your characters will have made it 1/3rd of the way in, they will come to a huge chamber. The chamber seems very messy, filled with a lot of random stone rumble. The sides of the chamber are lined with stone statues of various mythical creatures. When the characters are halfway through the room, the statue of the Gorgon at the end of the room will come alive. She will attack your characters mercilessly. She can be injured but her HP seem almost endless, and your physical and magical attack just don't seem to be doing the trick. And worst of all, looking in her eyes will make a character slowly turn to stone. That explains all the smashed rubble in the room. Good luck. It might be smarter to regroup behind some of the smashed rubble for a moment and reflect on what to do.]
[Tifa's been through caves like these before, though most of them in colder climates where dragons tend to hang around. The fact that they haven't come across anything more dangerous than a bat so far, and the thought of dragons, makes her very suspicious of this sudden open space. She slows, looking around in the dimness.]
[Even as Rin says it, hand on his hip and sword out while resting on his shoulder, he knows that chances were high there really was something in there. That was the nature of the game, after all.
He had stopped walking, just for a minute, to let his ears listening for sounds deeper in the cave that others might be missing, but for the moment it was silent as a damn tomb. Save for their footsteps, of course.]
[And Faris was behind them. Well tried to be behind them.
Something shiny caught his attention for a moment or two. Just broken bits of glass. Maybe a mirror?]
...huh? [Whoops. Should be paying attention.] Suppose there should be someone who put this collection in place hanging around. Maybe we have to rearrange for 'em.
[Toeing at a broken foot of a gargoyle]
Someone likes their legends. Needs some plants to liven up the place.
[A lot of these pieces look like broken bits of statues, and although some of them look like they could be monsters she's fought, none stand out to her. As they near the center of the room, she can see the far end more clearly, where one statue seems to stand in tact--
Not a statue. With one more step, it springs to life. It's not her first instinct, but Tifa quickly draws her sword and prepares to meet the monster's attack.]
Gonna take more than plants to make this place lively. Pretty sure the Garden of Amahara wouldn't even make it nice...
[Rin's grumbling, mildly irritated musings are more or less interrupted when the statue that seems as still as the rest suddenly comes to life. And while Rin normally would have been right there with Tifa ready to charge in, he's actually learning to think during this damned curse.
And even he knows swords don't do well against stone.]
[Hey, a sword is what she has to defend herself so that's what she's going to use. Besides, RPG-logic means stone things can still be vulnerable to normal weapons.
Just not boss stones, apparently. Seeing Faris's shield deflected so easily, Tifa decides holding her ground is a bad idea and dodges out of the way of the creature's initial charge. She glances about the rubble nearby in search of something useful.]
Either of you know any legends about rock monsters?
[Except this stone thing doesn't look normal. Rin has a weird sense about the thing, not that he can pin down what since it's obviously not demon nor reacting to any of his left-over senses that didn't get squashed with the curse.]
Not a damn thing. But I don't think we're gonna get anywhere attackin' this thing head on.
[A surprisingly astute observation from him.
Unfortunately it comes right as that damn thing is getting closer and ready to attack.]
[Racking his memories for anything that looked like the now moving figure as his shield returned via RPG magic. ]
The only thing coming to mind is Medusa. [Well golems too, but they are giant boulders.] Where I'm from, it's rumored she can cast paralysis. Not sure if it's true here.
[And don't have to tell Faris twice about moving. He was a pirate and all, loves, he has to look out for number one. But he will use some hp to try Head Shot to give the others a moment to get hidden.]
Che. Think if we hold still, it'll think we're one of these statues? [Ducking behind a siren statue.]
You mean the stone bitch with the snakes in her hair?
[How eloquent, Rin. He dares to poke his head around the other side of another statue he managed to get behind, but it lasts only a second before he returns to pressing his back against it.
Well, this was going wonderfully.]
If she looks at us we're gonna turn to stone. Not how I wanna spend the rest of my week. Any ideas?
Well she is female. There are statues around. And I think her hair seemed a bit like tubes or snakes. Hold on. Their were pieces of glass lying around. Maybe I can get a better look.
[Without actually looking. Faris was pushing and nudging around the rubble around the mermaid.]
Would it be too much to hope she'll stick to her end of the cave? [And ouch. Found a piece of mirror.]
Careful of getting nicked. There are pieces all over the place. Don't see her any where near me from the reflection.
[Tifa might be close enough to get a peek.] Maybe we can push one of these large statues on her?
[Tifa uses her drawn blade to try to catch a look at the monster... which is in fact very close. And the flash of light from the reflection seems to catch its attention as it comes crashing into the remains of the statue she's hiding behind, causing more of it to crumble. Not the best hiding place anymore.
She bolts from it, headed for a more sturdy-looking piece of cover.]
Looked like snakes to me. I don't think she likes being looked at either.
[The hit actually takes out a good chunk of Rin's statue with flying debris, the head breaking off and going tumbling away. Luckily he ducks down low enough to avoid getting hit himself, but he's pretty much stuck on the ground now until he can find a safe moment to find somewhere else to hide.]
Yeah I got that... I got the strength to get a statue down but I'm gonna need an openin'.
× If your characters manage to defeat the Gorgon, they will be able to explore the cave further. 2/3rds of the way in, they will come to a very strange sight indeed. There is a door ahead, but it is locked and no matter what your characters do, they cannot open it. As they struggle with the door, a strange creature suddenly appears at their side. It's a manticore, and she'll offer to help them open the door. If they accept, suddenly they'll find themselves transported to a new place.
Standing on a safe ledge, overlooking a very deep, a fast flowing current, they can see a switch on the other side. Connecting this side and that, there seems to be a very narrow pathway. The pathway itself veers oddly, and seems to be rigged with several very obvious traps (gaps in the path, a low beam over it, a very slow hammer that swings across, use your imagination). The manticore will tell your characters that all they have to do to pass through the door is pull the lever on the other side. And to get to that lever, one of them will have to pass over her deadly walkway. (note, for any flying characters, they will notice that their flight does not work in this room) Once one character is selected, she will guide them to the pathway, but when they take their first steps on it, she'll suddenly strike them with her scorpion's tail. The strike won't physically injure the character, or even hurt very much, but one thing will suddenly become very very clear: they are utterly blind. And with that the Manticore will cackle and disappear with a final, 'maybe if you are lucky, there is some anti-venom on the other side too'. Hopefully you can depend on your friends to guide you to the other side.
The moment the character steps onto the path way, a strange barrier will be formed between them and the other characters. The blinded character can come back to the side of the other characters, but the other characters cannot come to their side. It seems they are the one that will have to do this task. Conventional healing for blinded eyes does not seem to work. Your only chance is that anti-venom on the other side. And if they do manage to make it to that end, pulling the lever will put them back in front of the now opened door.
× Eventually, the party will come to the very last room. A very giant room for a very, very giant sleeping dragon. It seems the gem you were send to find is there, right between the paws of the sleeping beast. Is one of you brave enough to sneak in close and grab the gem? Alternatively, should the dragon awaken, are you brave enough to be the distraction so your buddy can get what you were coming for? Hopefully your bravery will hold.
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First Trial
no subject
I feel like something should be here...
no subject
[Even as Rin says it, hand on his hip and sword out while resting on his shoulder, he knows that chances were high there really was something in there. That was the nature of the game, after all.
He had stopped walking, just for a minute, to let his ears listening for sounds deeper in the cave that others might be missing, but for the moment it was silent as a damn tomb. Save for their footsteps, of course.]
No choice but forward, though. C'mon...
no subject
Something shiny caught his attention for a moment or two. Just broken bits of glass. Maybe a mirror?]
...huh? [Whoops. Should be paying attention.] Suppose there should be someone who put this collection in place hanging around. Maybe we have to rearrange for 'em.
[Toeing at a broken foot of a gargoyle]
Someone likes their legends. Needs some plants to liven up the place.
no subject
[A lot of these pieces look like broken bits of statues, and although some of them look like they could be monsters she's fought, none stand out to her. As they near the center of the room, she can see the far end more clearly, where one statue seems to stand in tact--
Not a statue. With one more step, it springs to life. It's not her first instinct, but Tifa quickly draws her sword and prepares to meet the monster's attack.]
no subject
[Rin's grumbling, mildly irritated musings are more or less interrupted when the statue that seems as still as the rest suddenly comes to life. And while Rin normally would have been right there with Tifa ready to charge in, he's actually learning to think during this damned curse.
And even he knows swords don't do well against stone.]
Hey, wait!
no subject
[The moment the sword was drawn Faris halted in his sentence. Pulling out his own sword and shield before using shield throw on the creature.
Which didn't do anything really. The creature didn't even seem to flinch.]
Careful, poppet.
[Some sort of super stone. This wasn't really possible.]
no subject
Just not boss stones, apparently. Seeing Faris's shield deflected so easily, Tifa decides holding her ground is a bad idea and dodges out of the way of the creature's initial charge. She glances about the rubble nearby in search of something useful.]
Either of you know any legends about rock monsters?
no subject
Not a damn thing. But I don't think we're gonna get anywhere attackin' this thing head on.
[A surprisingly astute observation from him.
Unfortunately it comes right as that damn thing is getting closer and ready to attack.]
... we might wanna move.
no subject
The only thing coming to mind is Medusa. [Well golems too, but they are giant boulders.] Where I'm from, it's rumored she can cast paralysis. Not sure if it's true here.
[And don't have to tell Faris twice about moving. He was a pirate and all, loves, he has to look out for number one. But he will use some hp to try Head Shot to give the others a moment to get hidden.]
Che. Think if we hold still, it'll think we're one of these statues? [Ducking behind a siren statue.]
no subject
Or petrification? [She hasn't heard of a "Medusa," but there are monsters enough back home with the ability to turn things to stone.]
I'm thinking if we hold still we might wind up being one of these statues.
no subject
[How eloquent, Rin. He dares to poke his head around the other side of another statue he managed to get behind, but it lasts only a second before he returns to pressing his back against it.
Well, this was going wonderfully.]
If she looks at us we're gonna turn to stone. Not how I wanna spend the rest of my week. Any ideas?
no subject
[Without actually looking. Faris was pushing and nudging around the rubble around the mermaid.]
Would it be too much to hope she'll stick to her end of the cave? [And ouch. Found a piece of mirror.]
Careful of getting nicked. There are pieces all over the place. Don't see her any where near me from the reflection.
[Tifa might be close enough to get a peek.] Maybe we can push one of these large statues on her?
no subject
She bolts from it, headed for a more sturdy-looking piece of cover.]
Looked like snakes to me. I don't think she likes being looked at either.
no subject
[The hit actually takes out a good chunk of Rin's statue with flying debris, the head breaking off and going tumbling away. Luckily he ducks down low enough to avoid getting hit himself, but he's pretty much stuck on the ground now until he can find a safe moment to find somewhere else to hide.]
Yeah I got that... I got the strength to get a statue down but I'm gonna need an openin'.
Second Trial
× If your characters manage to defeat the Gorgon, they will be able to explore the cave further. 2/3rds of the way in, they will come to a very strange sight indeed. There is a door ahead, but it is locked and no matter what your characters do, they cannot open it. As they struggle with the door, a strange creature suddenly appears at their side. It's a manticore, and she'll offer to help them open the door. If they accept, suddenly they'll find themselves transported to a new place.
Standing on a safe ledge, overlooking a very deep, a fast flowing current, they can see a switch on the other side. Connecting this side and that, there seems to be a very narrow pathway. The pathway itself veers oddly, and seems to be rigged with several very obvious traps (gaps in the path, a low beam over it, a very slow hammer that swings across, use your imagination). The manticore will tell your characters that all they have to do to pass through the door is pull the lever on the other side. And to get to that lever, one of them will have to pass over her deadly walkway. (note, for any flying characters, they will notice that their flight does not work in this room) Once one character is selected, she will guide them to the pathway, but when they take their first steps on it, she'll suddenly strike them with her scorpion's tail. The strike won't physically injure the character, or even hurt very much, but one thing will suddenly become very very clear: they are utterly blind. And with that the Manticore will cackle and disappear with a final, 'maybe if you are lucky, there is some anti-venom on the other side too'. Hopefully you can depend on your friends to guide you to the other side.
The moment the character steps onto the path way, a strange barrier will be formed between them and the other characters. The blinded character can come back to the side of the other characters, but the other characters cannot come to their side. It seems they are the one that will have to do this task. Conventional healing for blinded eyes does not seem to work. Your only chance is that anti-venom on the other side. And if they do manage to make it to that end, pulling the lever will put them back in front of the now opened door.
Third Trial