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

[penitents]

[ Sasuke pulls his mask up from where it hangs around his neck. If it is a fire breather, it's likely that the magic of his mask will do little, but at the very least he can use it as a distraction of it comes to it. It'll protect his eyes, either way. The jewels that dangle from it glint in the bright light, swaying as the dragon roars again. ]

There's only one way to find out.

[acknowledges]

[They have to find a new rhythm here, but even that isn't a far cry from their old one. Their abilities have changed, that's all, and Naruto has felt useless too many times in his life to feel daunted by it now.

Sakura and Sasuke are able to use their mana on the offensive, so the best he can do is make sure they have the time, space, and energy to do it in the first place. If they can get rid of even one of those heads right away, their odds can't go anywhere but up.]

Being a distraction suits me just fine.

[penitents]

Don't let your guard down.

[ It might seem unnecessary to say, but Sasuke knows Naruto is used to being extremely resilient. Some of that might have to do with the clan he hails from, but a huge portion of it, Sasuke is sure, came from the Kyuubi— and that fox isn't with him here. ]

Sakura.

[ He unsheathes his chokuto and starts forward. They're the two with blades that can really do some damage— what they need to do is behead this thing, and fast. ]

[mitotic]

Right.

[ He doesn't even have to elaborate. She knows what he's planning without him having to say it. A little of that is years of familiarity, but it's also just common sense. Bring the dragon down, fast.

She could almost feel sorry for it, if the legends are to be believed. Then again, if they are, the situation here is of his own making, and Sakura wasn't sent here to sort out the marital troubles of mythical creatures.

Sakura takes off too, making a hard right towards the dragon's left flank. She has a tight grip on her axe, ready to bring it down at a moment's notice. ]

[acknowledges]

[He's yards ahead of them, cloak streaming out from his back as the dragon's heads round on him. The reality is that he isn't fast enough to outrun them all, and once his teammates get close enough, once they're able to land a blow- he won't be able to keep the whole of its attention.]

Oi oi oi don't forget about me here! [He stands absolutely no chance at hitting the thing himself, and as a puff of fire blows his hair back from his face, it takes all of his energy just to keep out of harms way.] That one was too wide! It's like you're not even trying to get me!

[penitents]

[ Naruto does the trick, as he usually does. They may be beginners in this world, but they've had years to hammer out their teamwork. Naruto may be behind them in years, but even back then, coming back to Team Seven had been like putting on a familiar, old coat.

While Naruto draws the fire away, Sasuke veers close to Sakura. The dragon doesn't swivel around until they're too close— close enough that when Sasuke lunges up first, it barely has enough time to rear it's head back from the slice of his blade.

It's all but a feint, though. That massive axe is coming up right behind him. ]

[mitotic]

[ It whistles through the air as Sakura brings it down, right on target. The dragon's hide is tough though, and Sakura's arms not as monstrously strong as she can make them: the magic of the blade deals a devastating, crippling blow, severing the spine and several arteries, but not enough to decapitate it completely.

It sure pisses the dragon right off, though. The creature roars in pain, and Sakura barely has enough time to shout ] DUCK! [ as it lashes out with its claws at them. She almost doesn't dodge the razor-sharp talon quick enough. ]

[acknowledges]

Sakura-chan! [Her shout makes the air freeze in his lungs. He won't be able to keep the dragon's attention forever, especially if they're the ones doing the worst of the damage. It's natural to look at what's hurting you, he wouldn't need combat experience to know that.

The swipe of its claws cuts close enough that at a distance, Naruto can't be sure she'd dodged it at all. With two of three heads turning on his teammates Naruto is pure impulse. He pushes his weight up against the wall, willing himself to run up the cave's surface enough to get a jumping off point- and jump he does. He kicks off with enough force to propel himself through the air, knees tucked to his chest and arms out until, at the last moment, he connects with one of the dragon's heads and grabs on tight.

In his defense, he did say he was going to be a distraction.]

parkour!!

[penitents]

[ The dragon is tough but Sakura's weapon isn't legendary only in name. It slices skin and cracks through the spine, arteries blown open and Sasuke ducks, swinging his chokuto up and wide. She might have been clipped by the swipe if Sasuke didn't slash over her head, deflecting the claws and skidding backwards just slightly— enough to miss the worst of the rain of blood. It splashes across his face and across his front, and while Sasuke would like to finish the job Sakura started, there's no time.

The dragon rears up, and grotesquely the weight of the head against the momentum of the body rends the third head from it's threadbare grip on the rest of the neck. ]

“It hurts… it burns…”

[ Sasuke reaches for Sakura, but even as he connects with her his head is turning to look for the third member of their party— in time to spot him hanging for dear life to the face of one of the heads of the dragon as it gives a massive beat of it's wings, preparing to lift off. ]

Naruto!

[mitotic]

[ She's bleeding, though she hardly notices for the adrenaline. It's not deep, and it could have been much worse, especially with her Byakugo as useless as it is, but it still trickles down her forearm to her knuckles. She closes her other hand around it without thinking, putting pressure on the wound. Sasuke reaches for her, and she shakes her head. ]

I'm fine. [ Sakura's more preoccupied with what the dragon's doing; and she notices their teammate's predicament at roughly the same time Sasuke does.

Not good. Not good. If the dragon manages to throw him off in midair... ]

Naruto, JUMP!

[acknowledges]

[He feels the dragon lift off, but he'd also expecting that reaction. It's a fight at first, for leverage, but he hauls himself forward and finds purchase. Naruto's knees clamp down, weight pitched forward to minimize his wind resistance and keep himself from being thrown by the sudden shift in altitude. In the second after the dragon roars he can hear his teammates shouting for him, he can hear Sakura telling him to jump. It'll be too dangerous now- he can't be sure where he'll land or if the dragon won't whip right back around and blast fire at him- but he's also not about to sacrifice the chance to land a blow.

The first short knife is plunged through his own hand- pinning Naruto to the side of the dragon's face in order to keep himself balance- and the second is wedged into the beast's eye. The shriek that follows is deafening, and it guarantees a swift, if faltering, descent some short distance away from his allies.]

[penitents]

[ There's no time to waste. Naruto doesn't leap clear but he brings that dragon down, and while Sasuke can't tell from here exactly what he did, since he can still see the bright color of his cloak on the dragon's body, he knows Naruto is far from safe. The only problem is that they've fallen onto an outcropping that isn't possible to jump to, not from here.

Sasuke turns quickly back to Sakura. ]

The grappling hook.

[mitotic]

I know!

[ They have the same thought when the dragon goes down, and the words are barely out before she's running back to retrieve the grappling hook. She can't wield this axe and hold onto it at the same time, but it's becoming clear that she's going to have to figure out a way to have it handy. Sasuke has now lived with one arm longer than he lived with two, and it doesn't slow him down, but there remains the simple fact that he's limited to one weapon at a time.

There's no time to think about it, or even to discuss it, because the dragon could take off again any second. Flying on instinct, Sakura reaches out to grab Sasuke as she takes aim with the other. ]

Hang on.

[ And then she fires. ]