DUNGEON ♛ GISELA TOWERS

[boardmaster]

GISELA TOWERS
20 MAY (VALLARIA) 2016

High in the skies, the howling winds tangled around the Gisela Towers make it difficult to hear anything. The monolithic structures believed to exist only in legend or harpy memories loom over you. The thick ropes of ivy crawling up the length of each tower is the only sign of life. Every now and then, shadow seems to pass overhead. It might just be a trick of the light.

Instead of the usual suspects, another familiar face comes forward to greet our Heroes: the devil-may-care Lei, captain and commander supreme of the Airy.

Lei Nervous that your commanders ain’t here? Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. So! Here we are at this… thing. Something something tragic romantic tale about a dragon and a phoenix. Anyway, it’s stupid and you don’t gotta know. Ask one of your commanders later or bribe me with a drink. Now for something more important— [ the winds roars loudly, muting lei’s voice. but heroes can watch his hand gestures and actions as he teaches them how to use the grappling hook: aim and shoot the gun. maybe twirl it with a fancy flourish first ] —did you get that? All right, good! I don’t have enough hooks, so you’re gonna have to share. And take good care of them, I want them back! Now get in there and clear it ASAP! I ain’t got all day to fly you all back home!

Basic info on the dungeon can be found here. Dungeon mechanics can be found here. All OOC questions about the event may be directed to the thread below.

ONE ♙
One does not simply walk into the Gisela Towers. The only way in is up the long and weathered staircase that wraps around the structure. However, the thing is riddled with missing steps, weak stones and slippery condensation from the cloud cover, so you’re going to need a little help. Should you attempt to climb the stairs, they will crumble beneath your feet at best and bury you beneath their rubble at worst.

This is where Lei’s newfangled(?) contraptions will come in handy! The pockmarks and small ledges created by weathering in the first tower’s structure could prove useful. There are, of course, a limited number of grappling hooks available, so you’ll have to partner up if you want your party to get anywhere. Parties of four are given two of these guns, while the poor souls with less party members get one.

Gisela’s gale-force winds will knock you around and make it seem like the towers are close to toppling over. However, as you make your way up you’ll see that the towers are actually far from abandoned.

MONSTER ♟ Ocypete
Weak against Lightning	Strong against Wind	Immune to None
Regarded as abominations of the avian world, ocypetes are BIRDS the size of horses, which would be incredibly advantageous if they had wings. The offspring of a human and a harpy, ocypetes have HUMAN ARMS that they use to scale surfaces and strong TALONS that can crush rock. They don’t fly, but they do RIDE THE WIND with the use of their long tail feathers, which possess magical wind properties and are nearly twice as long as they are tall. They would look almost elegant if they didn’t have a tendency to flap their arms while gliding. Legend has it that when the phoenix left the towers, the ocypetes were accidentally left behind because dragons plucked their wing feathers, making them look kind of funny. Now with a few millennia’s worth of abandonment issues on their semi-feathered shoulders, they’ll seek to prevent Heroes from ascending the towers by any means necessary with an odd variation of Airy MARTIAL ARTS. Their TAILFEATHERS may be acquired as loot.

What will Heroes encounter once they finally make it inside? More broken staircases, more monsters, even stronger winds blowing in from cracks in the walls and the foot of the tower (which is open to the air), and no floor whatsoever. Gisela’s Towers are hollow! The only footing to be found is on small ledges: some similar to those outside the tower, some that look more artificial; and intact sections of the stairs winding around the walls. You’ll need magic or some ingenuity to stay on your toes—literally! If you lose your grip or footing, it’s a several thousand foot drop back to Gresser. The quickest way down… and the deadliest.


TWO ♙
The treacherous and exhausting climb brings you to a more sturdy area that looks a little less like a wrecking ball just passed through and more like some kind of hive. Blocking your way are dozens of sturdy-looking nests suspended like particularly ugly balls of twine from the walls. These are home to the insectoid Aellos. Tearing the nests apart for loot is only a good idea if you want angry swarms after you.

MONSTER ♟ Aello
Weak against Fire, Lightning	Strong against None	Immune to Wind
Aellos resemble large eagles more than the DRAGONFLIES they’re supposed to be. Mature Aellos can fly, but the flightless and fuzzier larvae are just as formidable. They can HYPNOTIZE with their dozen kaleidoscope-like eyes, rendering targets IMMOBILE but still aware of their surroundings. In order to free them, a fellow Hero must gaze deeply into their eyes for at least 15 seconds. These monsters are also able to SPIT a gelatin-like substance that will stick Heroes to any and every surface and also each other. FIRE will reduce its stickiness. The larvae use hit-and-run tactics: they hunker down in their nests, peek over the edge and launch gobs of spit. The flying aello like to drop their SPIT BOMBS from above and occasionally also release a POWDER that ruins visibility and makes you sneeze. Feeling adventurous? Why don’t you give the spit a lick? It’s actually totally EDIBLE, tastes like jello, and is filled with mana. Just be sure to heat it up so you don’t get your mouth stuck shut. Their GELATIN SPIT and INSECT PARTS may be acquired as loot.

The staircases at this altitude are in better shape than the ones you have—or haven’t—been using. That doesn’t mean they’re any less dangerous. Not only do the Aellos chase you down here; traps are hidden in the steps as well. Some may act like quicksand, trapping an unwary Hero halfway into the stone. Others are enchanted with wind spells that can toss you up in the air, the long way back down to the ground, or blow your skirt upward. There might even be some that provoke the pesky bugs even more!

This floor has flowers and trees creeping their way in from the outside and covering every inch of the place, including treacherous weaknesses in the path. Behind these overgrown plants is a mural depicting a sensual dance between a dragon and a harpy. In order to advance, at least two Heroes will have to mimic the dance painted on the walls to open the door.


THREE ♙
A barrier prevents you from progressing any further. Magic, physical attacks or sheer willpower will do nothing. To dissolve it, you must create a concoction from the random ingredients available on the table and splash it on the barrier. There is no set recipe, so trial and error and a little creativity will be your friends! Along with your trusty party Bishop, of course. (You did bring one, didn’t you?) Those not well-versed in alchemy may end up with potions that explode upon completion, splashing party members standing too close with a variety of strange side effects ranging from mild body horror to a bad case of halitosis. The unfortunate effects seem to differ from Hero to Hero, and they last for a few minutes to a couple of hours.

Once your party crosses the barrier, you will find yourselves outside. The skies are darkening, but you’re still able to discern another tower wrapped in the clouds. A bridge once connected the two structures, but most of it is missing. Use those grappling hooks!

Upon entering the second tower, a marble floor at odds with everything from the last tower will greet you. Lift your head and you’ll find that the rest of the tower is also hollow all the way up; those heights allow room for fountains and waterfalls. It’s a suitable area to replenish mana and rest. Parched throats can be quenched with the sparkling water all around you, but approach any waterfalls and they will start moving in a very unwaterlike way.

MONSTER ♟ Celaeno
Weak against Lightning	Strong against Fire, Earth	Immune to Water
Possessed by pride and cursed by the phoenix’s wrath, these dragons are nothing like the ones you encountered before. Celaeno resemble huge snakes made of water and possess ENCHANTED SCALES that float through their bodies and render them extremely RESISTANT to both magical and physical attacks. You will have to find WEAK POINTS in their protective aura. Hopefully you have a Knight or Bishop on your team to find those weaknesses as soon as possible! Each dragon’s weak points differ. Fortunately, all Celaenos go down easily once you find that soft spot. They use their long, slender tails like WATER WHIPS to knock down or douse their targets; the force of a tail may equal that of a fire hose at full blast! The only time it sheds its armor is to shapeshift into a WATER PRISON that can trap one or more enemies. Try not to attack it while a Hero is trapped inside; it will hurt your friend as well! Use STATUS EFFECTS to confuse or distract them so the prison loses shape. Their ENCHANTED SCALES, SMALL GEMS, and DRAGON WATER may be acquired as loot.

Without any stairs in sight, the way up lies in those dragons. After their defeat, their magical scales can be put together to form a boat that can ride the waterfalls upwards to the top floors.


FOUR ♙
The skies continue to change once you reach the top. Black clouds begin to close in, stray bits of land that have broken off from the main island hover nearby, and a sudden torrent of powerful mana may disorient your party. A storm is approaching.

Just as the first chunk of hail falls from the sky, a mighty roar reverberates through the darkness. Something very large lands on the walls of the tower and causes a tremor that whittles chunks from the tower and actually rolls the clouds back; is that the toll of thunder, or just more roaring?

Finally, an impressive three-headed dragon emerges from below. Once it has perched itself on the tower, one head speaks in a rumbling growl.

BOSS ♟ Tianya the Thrice-Scorned
Weak against Lightning	Strong against None	Immune to Wind, Fire
“Did that phoenix send you?! Tell her she cannot return! Not even over my dead body!” Unsurprisingly, Tianya ─the dragon once wed to the phoenix─ is more than just a legend. He lowers his heads and another loud, guttural cry fills the skies. For now, he remains STATIONARY at the top of the tower. All three heads attempt to SWALLOW a Hero whole if they get too close. Should you go on the offensive, you may be able to chop off at least one head before he’s pissed off enough to move. The fallen head writhes in agony as it moans: “It hurts… it burns…” At this point, Tianya takes flight. The strong GUSTS from those wings can launch a Hero right off the tower. Use your grappling hook(s) to play floating island hopscotch: evade devastating dive attacks and run from the MANA BEAMS shot from his mouths. “You’ll never understand! I never wanted her!” As you travel from island to island trying to get close enough to deal some real damage, Tianya hides in the CLOUDS to launch ambush attacks. Eventually, a PHOENIX descends from the heavens in a burst of fiery light. However, it’s not the phoenix of legend; it’s actually one of Tianya’s spells, and it will burn away most of your mana if any of its flames make contact. MANA EXCHANGE may be the only way to continue this battle... Once Tianya is down to one head, he will immediately rise higher into the sky. “My last words are for her and her alone.” After Tianya is defeated, the storm clears; Enprise’s twin suns shine once more. That precious DUNGEON CORE floats down, blanketed by a SINGLE LARGE FEATHER, golden and shining in the light. “It’s warm… She was always warm…” A SCORNED DRAGON HEART and a MYSTICAL PHOENIX FEATHER may be acquired as loot.

As soon as both core and feather touch the tower, an ominous rumbling and shaking begins. The Gisela Towers are falling apart and it’s now a race to escape before you’re buried under the rubble.

And don’t forget the grappling hook(s); Lei wants them back.


FIVE ♙
All that’s left of the Gisela Towers is rubble. The dungeon has been conquered, the island reclaimed, and the ruins of the old regime can now become the foundations for something new: the site of the harpies’ homecoming after hundreds of years.

LOCATION ♟ Gisela

An ancient sky island that has existed since time immemorial. What enables Gisela to RIDE THE CLOUDS may be an even greater mystery than the mechanisms powering the Airy. The island appears most frequently above Gresser, though its extraordinary altitude makes it DIFFICULT TO LOCATE. The landscape of Gisela is overgrown with JEWEL-GREEN FORESTS, crisscrossed with gorges and dotted with networks of small caverns. But its crowning glory is the THIN GLEAMING WATERFALLS that flow from its edges and into the sky beyond. The water is embraced by RAINBOWS and condenses into CLOUDS when Gisela is high enough, lending to its unusual weather patterns. Although the island initially seems largely uninhabited apart from the Gisela Towers, there is a SEALED OFF AREA that, when viewed from the air, looks suspiciously like LUSH, TILLED FIELDS. Should you ask Lei about this, he will only give you an unusually stern warning against disturbing it. Looks like you’ve solved the mystery behind the pai tiles. Now that the menacing Towers have been demolished, a variety of animal life — usually airborne — will begin to appear on the island. Some of them you’ve never seen before! The fall of the Towers also uncovered the existence of HOT SPRINGS below; newspapers speculate wildly about the source, but most agree that it must have something to do with the renewed vows between phoenix and dragon. The few structures already in place on the island have been speedily converted into BAZAARS manned by Airy harpies. Most specialize in legal alchemical gimmicks, but there’s always another side to these things. Everyone’s here to soak in the breeze, and by that we do mean everyone. In response to the tourism boom, NEW AEROPORTS have also opened in both Gisela and Gresser to provide reliable transportation between the two locations.

Comments

[seventhgen]

[Aigis, too, can tell that her mana reserves are at nearly critical levels. It's a little different from her, given that she doesn't feel 'tired,' in the way that the other two do. But it's not the best of sensations all the same. She glances at where Jae-ha and Vietnam are sitting.] I can check this while the two of you rest. Perhaps there is something in here worth our time?

[flirtations]

What kind of coins are they? The same currency we use, or something that can give us a clue about the history behind this place? [ Gingerly, he takes the pouch from Vietnam, looking curiously inside. It's hard to say what use these things might have, perhaps alchemical, but when it came to something like coins, he's interested in the engravings. He leans further against Vietnam, sighing in relief when her calming aura seeps into him.

Jae-ha looks at up Aigis, concerned. ] Wait, Aigis-chan... don't you need to rest too? We can go together, once we're feeling more up to it.

[hoasen]

I'm not entirely sure, Jae-ha. [Which means they probably are historical. Something that has been here for a long time, until they entered. She feels herself relaxing as his side presses to hers, and she loosens herself up a bit just to absorb more mana.]

Jae-ha is right, Aigis! You've been working hard as well.

[seventhgen]

It's all right. [She smiles at them.] Being a machine, I do not need to sleep like you do. My only requirement is time, so that I may replenish my mana levels. You may rest, and I will stand watch.

[flirtations]

But--

[ He doesn't like the idea of falling asleep here, quite honestly, but he could easily do so. ]

Your mana also replenishes faster with contact, doesn't it? [ He's not letting the issue go, Aigis, come cuddle!!!

Although, that might sound like an odd proposition coming from him (he is, if nothing else, a self-aware pervert, okay), so he looks to Vietnam for help. ]

[hoasen]

[Don't worry, Jae-ha, she got you. Seeing that glance, she knows exactly what he's trying to ask. If she could give a thumbs up, she would.

Rather, she continues from where he left off.]

If you wish to keep watch since you need no sleep, then come rest with us and replenish mana at the same time. Two birds with one stone, no?

[seventhgen]

W-well yes, that's... [Aigis fidgets for a moment. Is that really okay?] Um, if you're certain, then I think it would be optimal, but... ah, my body is quite hard and would not be comfortable to rest on, I think. If you don't mind that...

[flirtations]

[ Yesss Viet has his back! He's glad. He'd hate for Aigis to wander off alone and without mana while they selfishly rejuvenated themselves. ]

We don't mind! Besides, I bet you're plenty comfortable. [ Sure, Aigis was metal, but this was something you did for friends, no matter whether they be flesh or metal. Having them close and helping them was the greatest comfort of all. ]

[hoasen]

[MENTALLY HIGHFIVES JAE-HA, they're in this together. Besides, it really is unfair for Aigis to just sit around. She's been working hard using that grappling hook too.]

I believe so too! It is not a problem at all. [To them, Aigis is more than just a robot, after all. She's their friend. So she waves her hand to beckon Aigis over.]

[seventhgen]

[She's visibly fretting, not sure if this is really all right. Surely they'll be uncomfortable and have trouble resting well?] If you're sure, then... I suppose I can join you while I keep watch. Um, I can just... sit in the middle there? Is that the optimal positioning? [She says, as she crouches.]

[flirtations]

[ Jae-ha can tell that Aigis is shy, or rather, insecure about her ability to provide physical comfort, and that makes his heart ache, similar in the way that it did when she told him of her desire to wear slippers. These are both simple, understated things that humans took for granted, and he wonders what else she longs for. Who else, perhaps. He smiles lazily, still tired despite the small amount of mana they’ve already shared. ]

Yes, that sounds good. Since you don’t sleep, we can lean against you while we rest. [ He’s slept against tree trunks before, and against the hard cold floor of a prison. Aigis’ shoulder was not only more comfortable, but in her presence, he felt safe, and even a little loved. Perhaps it was the tricks that the mana signatures played on them, but whatever it was, he wants her here. He rests her head against Aigis’ shoulder once she lowers herself to the ground, almost immediately letting his heavy eyes close. ]

[hoasen]

[Vietnam nods in agreement. She doesn't know Aigis that well yet, just from what Minato told her. However she can tell that from what Aigis is saying, she's lived more as a robot despite looking as human as possible.

There are still many things to learn.

Vietnam shuffles a bit to allow Aigis to sit down next to them.]

Between us is different the best place. [Then she can watch the both of them! But also Vietnam wants to prove that it doesn't matter what kind of body Aigis has. They will both rest against her, like any friend (should they be willing). And so she lets her head sit on Aigis' shoulder, shutting her eyes and letting them share their mana. Her own feels like the calm currents of a river on a nice day, now that she is much more relaxed.]

[seventhgen]

[Okay. She's sitting between them, Vietnam on one shoulder and Jae-ha on the other. They're both using her like she's a pillow, resting on her body made of hard ceramic and steel. This is... odd. It's different. It's surprisingly intimate. And yet they don't seem to be complaining?

Aigis keeps quiet, because she doesn't know what to say. Is she feeling embarrassed...? Is that the emotion?

Robots can blush, yes. But the mana feels nice.]

[flirtations]

Between us... Aigis sandwich...

[ Comes the sleepy rambling on his end. If there's ever been a part of the dungeon that he's felt safe in, it's here, next to his teammates, enjoying the moment of peace and the calm feeling of their mana washing over him. Both instill a feeling of being protected; so much so that he finds himself slowly but surely giving into his exhaustion.

He closes his eyes, and soon, actually falls into a gentle slumber. ]

[hoasen]

[Aigis sandwich?! Well he's not wrong, so she starts to drift too, and even she starts looking a lot more softer now as she rests against Aigis, with Jae-ha on the robot friend's other side. The mana that flows between them, it's comforting feeling.

As tired as they are, she does feel like this is one of the more relaxing naps she's ever taken.]

[seventhgen]

[And Aigis kept watch, trying to not feel self-conscious but actually feeling kind of comforted after all.

The end?]