Complete Private Solvale The Lizard That Rolls

Fiora Di Angelo

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Solvale.
Evermore Woods.
Evening...



Directions from the Hanrift's townsfolk and Elias had taken them straight into the swampy woods of Evermore. More than one huntsman warned them along the way of the dangers lurking inside and the 'Lizard That Rolls'. The name alone had Fiora laughing from the bottom of her stomach as they ventured onwards through brownish waters and jade grassblades alike.

"You know, we can take a detour in there if you feel like." She replied, adjusting the edge of her cloak around her neck; It has been a while since she worn the Steel Plate Ronja had hammered for her long ago, yet what would be a knight without her set?

Fiora tried to answer a question she predicted Ronja might have in her head at the moment. It was hard not to when the forests were paved with forgotten architecture, many statues and walls left to rot, monuments from an ancient civilization once great... Or perhaps just mundane and eroded fragments of the past.

The tracks had led them all the way to the entrance of a temple, deprecated and sunken, like a whale's bones for tourists to explore. Large footprints that could be or not from their prey, and yet as Fiora tried to follow them they all but led away from the temple, her instincts urging her for them to follow.

Another glance to the magia had her wondering how long until Ronja would log off. As soon as their hunt was over? Maybe a little more..?

"Okay maybe I am the one who wants a detour..." She smiled, one hand stashing away the rolled-up map on her belt while the other pushed a few locks back on place, as a curtain for her missing eye.. "We both have enhanced Investigation Mode, so we won't miss out any clues from our Rolling Scaly if we happen on them, I bet." She reassured. And if the night were to fall, well, they would just camp and keep eachother safe as usual.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 
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Ronja Bubblyfoot

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The magia couldn't put into words how funny it was to be told, as if it sounded menacing at all, that the 'rolling lizard' was around and it was dangerous. Ronja, by no means, however, thought it was a good idea to simply underestimate the beast. After all, Elias asked for their help for a reason, and they needed to take it as seriously as possible.

Ronja peeked at @Fiora Di Angelo as she offered the chance for a detour, making Ronja narrow her eyes momentarily as she glanced around, only for the truth behind that question to be revealed right away, bringing out a faint chuckle from the magia.

"Why do you ask if Ronja wants something when it is just you wanting to do it?" She tilted her head, eyes closing in as she leaned away and smiled. "Ronja would love a detour though. It isn't like the 'Rolling Scaly', as you say, will stand still in a single spot." It wouldn't be rolling around if it was.

"So no matter what detour we take, we will probably have the same chance of finding it."

Her smile then grew as she looked around, approaching one of the ruins and resting a hand over it. "Besides... It would be a shame to not appreciate this beauty... Such a wonderful place, it looks so... Fantastic. It is different from Vintergard. This actually feels like an adventure." Ronja turned to look at Fiora.

"An adventure with you, on top of that."
 

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Her heart leaped as Ronja begun to chuckle, staring puzzled back to her lover and awaiting an answer, one that came back to slap her on the face with logic. "Well I-" Close to shortfusing, Fiora blinked, her turn to squint at the flaw in that accussation.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here curious of every ruin they stumble on." She folded her arms, smiling back to the oh-so smug magia. "But it's true, 'Rolling Stones' can't go far anyways. I just hope the temple's not it's nest, it would be sad to have it wrecked in a fight." She shrugged, tagging along once Ronja begun to touch everything that caught her attention.

The one fragment of debris they stopped by had her bending over to Ronja's height, were she could appreciate the metal like it were a piece of art in a gallery. From this angle it almost looked like an upside down torso. But the smoothness and lack of muscle definition just didn't seem like it belonged to a humanoid statue and rather to some other form of decoration.

Her ear flickered, turning her head to Ronja as her faint smile grew a little bigger. "Not really much to see in Vintergard or Zalra, so I'd say anything beats these two. Next time though, we should both go to Hylands, the views over there are something out of this world." She then reached out with her right index, gently booping Ronja on the nose. "Daily reminder for Ronja to get us some footage from these ruins. Photo Photo~" Her expression softening to strike a handsome look for these green camera lens, predicting Ronja to be taking a picture at any moment now

Circling around the 'torso' like remnants gave her a better idea of what they were dealing with. Narrowing her eye let her notice the cylinder at the top was actually a head, based on the features that were somewhat human, but still too primitive to be considered a giant magia.

"Hey check this out." She leaned a few steps to the left, giving space for Ronja to see it for herself. Even as nature had taken root on the vessel, with grass and flowers alike sprouting from it's cracks and moss hanging on it's 'head', the huge gap half-buried on the earth seemed like an empty socket where one could drop a power source into. "Kinda looks like the grandfather of your Aidlings."

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

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Ronja turned to look at @Fiora Di Angelo, smiling as she pointed out a turth. "And you aren't, Ronja is very curious and interested about them." The magia pressed her hand against the structure, almost as if she was framing her hand on it before letting it go, brushing her fingers on it as her hands went down and back to her side.

"Ronja is sure that if it comes to that, we can try to lure it outside. She isn't sure how feasible it would be, but... Yeah." She scratched her nape. "Ronja will avoid using too much destructive force." Ronja reassured, promising to not use all of her arsenal against the creature, at the very least. It wasn't like she needed, anyway, having someone as reliable as Fiora next to her.

Her eyes followed Fiora, and then the strange torso that was there for them to analyze... And so Ronja did, approaching it and watching it closely, until Fiora spoke about visiting other places. "Hylands sounds wonderful. She still remembers when we got our Uene's Blessing." Ronja sighed in nostalgia, reminding the four of them together, something that she wished that would return at some point.

"Oh, of course." She held her head, tapping a finger on the temple of her head and making her eyes click twice. "Photo, photo~" Ronja giggled, keeping her eyes activated as she looked around, and then zooming in on the structures and decorations. After the call out, Ronja approached, looking at the strange finding of her girlfriend, tilting her head. "Hmmm? Curious, is it a tech?" Ronja shrugged, turning to look at Fiora with a mild frown. "Maybe a golem? It looks a bit crude, but..." After a hum, she nodded, determined and looking at the elf.

"Love, lend Ronja your muscles." She said, approaching the head, and taking a hold of it, positioning herself to prepare to release her rocket boots, to try and gain some impulse on her pull whenever Fiora was ready.
 

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"Let's get to the bottom of that curiosity." She replied, as casual as she is enthusiastic about it, even if she knew there couldn't be much left in ruins like these that others haven't noticed before. A half-empty glass philosophy, but the brunette expert in technology could probably spot something regular folk can't.

Fiora chuckled as Ronja promised to avoid dropping nukes on a poor rolling boye. "Hey, so long as we get the job done I won't complain. Although between us both, you are the one with the railgun." She winked, practically reminded of the firepower a mere sling had in the magia's hands-- Last time they were lucky to be deep within a cavern, even if the spectacle of seeing it fired again makes her blood rush.

Her ear flickered, gasping as the words 'Uene's blessing' refreshed her memory of that day. "Oooh right! We actually did go to Hylands, hm... Well, that's but a bit of Hylands, we still got plenty to see." She retorted with a smile. Surprise saved! "Perhaps I can take you were I found that moon crystal stuff. If they came in handy, then we sure can try and fetch more." There weren't exactly many memories to cheer from that quest, even if her voice didn't falter. Save for the payment.

She blinked twice just as Ronja's 'Photo Photo Mode' activated, her attention almost immediately falling on what Ronja soon commented to be a golem, yet the assessment lacked evidence concrete enough not to make Fiora hum outloud, "Maybe? I don't see any runes here so I doubt it's a magical golem." Leaning from side to side to find any gap or button they could press, if this really -was- a magitech golem in the first place.

The request almost came with a question, answered just as Ronja reached out to grab the head of the golem, an 'ooooh' of acknowledgement following up from the elf. "I can see what you thinkin' now." Her voice struggling as Fiora pushed herself up the torso and onto a squatting position, trying to clasp the head with a firm as a grip as possible.

"Alright, ready? One, two, three!" With the countdown followed her groans as she begun to apply pressure from her end, taking only a few seconds for them to hear how metal begun to bent and crush under their efforts, until finally...

PSSSHZZ! And the head lifted as more than one set of wires were cut off in the process. The lack of sparks would confirm a lack of power, unsurprisingly so. "Well, how does it look? Is it a golem?" Peeking into it didn't bring much input to her at least.

There was an internal exoskeleton just as solid as the outerframe, yet many pieces of tech weres imply buried within or shattered, proving the design was either flawed or something impacted it from within. However, Ronja could notice the 'core' being that of a squared box. The glass on the front of it was shattered entirely, yet the inside makes it seem like a liquid was contained, judging by the faded blue stains.

It all seems beyond repair, at least using the same specifications given it's obsolete and bulkier design, yet it's efficiency is hard to question as practically most of the outer layer of the now-confirmed-golem were at least 60% intact...

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

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"Ronja may be the one with a railgun, but Ronja also knows she shouldn't be shooting that thing around... Besides, it costs a lot of energy. So it is a last resort deal... Or a finisher." Ronja explained, handwaving the chance of using that resource she had right off the bat.

Ronja smiled when @Fiora Di Angelo remembered the events, but upon the mention of the moonstones, she pondered as she tilted her head. "These were certainly very different moonstones. Ronja still needs to properly study them... They aren't akin to the Power Stones though." She gave her first insight of those stones, even if she probably had already spoke of it before.

Waiting for the countdown, Ronja erupted her rocket boots, which added to Fiora's strength, got the job concluded fairly quick. When they were done pulling the strange structure out of where it was stuck.

Letting out a sigh, Ronja recovered her breath and a bit of her energy when her jet boots were finally deactivated again, and she leaned in to look at the 'thing' closer, briefly analyzing what they had at their disposal. "Looks like one, Ronja is certain... Just not the typical one you would see with runes and the sorts." She frowned looking at the more 'technological' aspects of it, and reaching to the 'core', she traced a finger on its inside, getting some of the blue stain on the tip of her index, and casting a firm gaze on it, allowing her alchemy and magitech to do the analysis for her.

They didn't manage to keep as much integrity as she wanted, but it was better than nothing.

"Ronja is just concerned there may be more than this one... Or perhaps something smaller, but dangerous if we are caught off guard. You know, just like in Vintergard." She recalled.
 

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Rather than to pull the 'It was a joke' card, Fiora simply listened as Ronja explained the why's behind her railgun. "It won't be necessary so long as we play smart. And you are the smartest of the two so... Good luck!" A hearty chuckle escaped from her mouth as she dropped the joke's punchline. More likely a reality, given whose the muscle and whose the brains in this duo.

The reveal on the properties of these moon crystals was certainly disappointing for Fiora given the amount of effort and resources gone to get them. "I hope they are more than mere trinkets and baubles. The furries on the Hylands made them sound like a huge deal." She added. So far they have been a huge pain in the ass rather than a deal. Just to get a few of these they had to go through hordes of furballs and a band of quirky birds.

As they pulled the head off from the Golem and Ronja begun to analyze the substance within the core, it would glow brighter, akin to how magic tends to when analized. Images of a crystal begun to show up, incapable of identifying them by name but by properties instead. It's minerals and organical properties made it seem as if it were alive rather than a mere formation of the earth, and the fact it had been turned into a liquid seemed to indicate alchemy was, indeed, in play here-

Notice


WARNING. 45% CONTAMINATION RATE DETECTED, ANALYSIS INCOMPLETE.



It would go that far, however, as time must have let other organisms settle into the core and let the sample go wrong. However, should Ronja look around, she would notice this same liquid splashed across the grass and the walls of the temple in minuscule quantities, as per her analysis pointed out. Including a trail that went all around and inside, with no clear start or end.

Holding the head on her shoulder, Fiora paid close attention at the core, tilting herself a bit to the side in order to try and glance at it from Ronja's side... Even if she couldn't really catch anything important about it, not without Ronja once she elaborated further, "I wonder... Maybe the people from Hanrift didn't pay mind to them since Magitech is kind of alien to them? They probably thought they were weird statues." She theorized, not holding much trust in it given the chances.

As Ronja expressed her concerns, Fiora gave her a modest, acknowledging smile. "Our guard's up this time around. If something shows up, we'll deal with it." Her hand reached out to rub her lover's back with one tender stroke. "Besides, if we found a working golem we could get you a better look at how they work." She said, a hint of excitement overflowing on her voice as she begun to toy around with the golem's rusty ol' head instead.

"Well.. This over here looks like a big chip." Fiora flipped it from side to side, and it's only on the area where one could find a 'brain' that chips and wires were still plugged, closest to a memory drive as it could be, and perhaps one of the most heavily fortified parts. A flaw in design of course, even if that drive proved to be intact. "Eh, I doubt they designed these to store information like magias. What say if we circle around the ruins then check inside?"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

Ronja Bubblyfoot

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Ronja rested her hands on her waist, tilting her head as she looked at @Fiora Di Angelo. "Are you trying to put all the work on Ronja, Fiora?" She shook her head playfully, shrugging and parting her gaze back to their discovery. "Trinkets or not, they do seem to have some use. Ronja just needs to figure out what... And worst case scenario... It would do a good accessory." Considering how troublesome it was for Fiora to get those moonstones, Ronja didn't want to waste a single one of them.

"Hmm..." Ronja's eyes narrowed at the information she carefully picked up, casting a few glances at the trail, and pursing her lips as the crystals came into play. Her clean hand slipped into her pockets, and pulling out an Aidling, she pressed it to activate it, and the small propelling construct flied around, with a small appendage popping out, having a tiny cotton ball on its tip as it went around, brushing it against the stained surface, and then even back at Ronja's stained finger.

Retracting the cotton into its body, the Aidling brimmed, with the slits it had glowing with a faint blue while the propel retracted, and the small spherical construct fell to Ronja's hand.

"Apparently the source of this... Blue thing is a liquified crystal. Ronja could swear it would be a recipe with... Huh... Maybe some herbs and oil?" She frowned. "But apparently this isn't the typical potato powered trinket you find in a school's science fair, but instead, they picked up something solid, and melted into something liquid... Which uh... Maybe in this case, may be a crystal."

Ronja could only hope her explanations made any sense. She had some alchemical knowledge, which helped her. But it was far from being extremely reliable.

"Maybe our best chance is to follow a trail... Even if this trail is a bit chaotic." She turned to look at the sprinkles of blue around the grass, which made her sigh and shrug. "Well, time to be the Hänsel und Gretel of this story."
 

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A wink from the elf almost confirmed Ronja's suspicions. "It's alright, we have an aidling to take care of it for us I bet. 'Brainlings' or something." She jested, rising her gaze to meet the magia's as she mentioned an use for these crystals as accessories. "Maybe they absorb light well enough to make an eye out of? I don't trust my hands for something that delicate." Even with the lessons on Magitech she got from her lover, an eye would require incredible precision on it's craft to avoid any harm or side-effects to come.

Fiora jumped down from the golem's torso, dusting off her hands as she peered curiously at the Aidling scrapping off something from the walls, awaiting for a proper explanation that, once it came, made her eye widen a little as the mystery begun to thicken enough to be more than a mere pest-control quest.

"It would need a lot of heat and pressure to turn something like a gemstone or crystal into a liquid. Probably someone with enough experience on it too." She hummed, tagging along once they begun their little game of cat & mouse with this trail they picked. "I can't see the trail as you do, but the magic seems to be both recent and old all at once..." Caution present in her tone as Fiora focused on their surroundings, if only to avoid being caught from behind by a rogue golem, or their rolling lizard friend.

The exterior of the temple held no clues compared to within. Plenty of visibility opened up to the overtaken ruins as nature followed it's course and claimed the marble and stone for itself once again. A broken, feminine statue stands tall, almost as tall as the rooftop would be were there any present, sunlight being their one and only natural source of light. The inside of it was spacious, but no bigger than a chapel would be, with most of it's furniture either stolen or removed entirely as nothing but scraps of wood and dust remained, with fallen pillars as the cause- It was a miracle it still held itself together.

The epicenter of the temple had a small gap for which light could poke through right, standing right infront of where the statue would be, alongside many visceral cracks scattered across the foundations of the temple and the floor itself alike.

"Can't be a dead end, can it..?" Lifting one of the pillars proved fruitless. No buried golems, nothing, it's almost as if every form of proof had gone stale, and the trail itself became a coat of paint on the statue and it's broken edges. The sporadic presence of these cyan blue stains, so imperceptible to the naked eye, were enough proof that the golem moved, or was forced to move. "This is all a little too suspicious, don't you think? Science and faith tend to mix as well as oil and water..." While it could be different from Terrasphere, Lander reactions towards the

On the other hand, the stains from Ronja's trail would highlight a sigil on one of the fallen pillars. The rune seemed to be incomplete, and impossible to translate without the rest of them, with this one in particular translated as 'Earth'.

Within the temple

The trail's gone stale. Roll a Knowledge Check as you continue to explore the strange Golem's Temple.




Expertise Check
1d100 (73) + 25 = 98

Knowledge | Fiora Di Angelo | Lizard That Rolls



@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

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Ronja paused for a moment, pensive regarding the aspect of Fiora's eye... Or rather, lack of it. "Ronja... Is working on it. She probably won't need a moonstone for that, but it could be worth a shot. She does have other plans though, a biomagitechnological one... Just like Ronja's." Her eyes clicked twice, looking at @Fiora Di Angelo for a moment, holding back an expression of guilt before turning her attention back at the golem once again.

She nodded to her girlfriend's remarks, pondering about it as she continued her analysis on the local.

"Ronja may be able to turn crystals into liquid... But that would include using magic. Maybe they could just do that? Such a thing wouldn't be as easily accessible to Landers though, Ronja supposes. They don't have the convenience we have of an UI." Which made the situation even more impressive, regardless of magic or not.

As they ventured deeper into the temple, Ronja only grew more and more impressive at the whole situation. Their attempt to find a lizard was slowly turning into an exploration worth of the Whistles. "Maybe in our modern world. But here? Ronja isn't sure. Szofrit sounded... Strangely religious about everything. Even in our past religion funded some science, as long as it didn't conflict with their belief." She explained, turning to look at the trail that lead to a pillar, one that the magia followed and narrowed her gaze to it. "The golem loved to take a stroll around here, it seems." She continued to follow the trail, finally reaching the destination and leaning in, rubbing her chin while her eyes zoomed in.

"Runes..?" Ronja muttered, glancing at Fiora, and then back at it. "Alone too. Where are the others, Ronja wonders..?" She tapped her foot, clapping her hands twice and making three pairs of Aidlings escape from her pouches and pockets.

"If you find any other rune, warn Ronja and Fiora." She ordered, allowing the small constructs to fly away before looking at Fiora with crossing arms. "It is suspicious, Ronja admits. Maybe we should even look for some secret passages? Hmm... Such a strange place..."

Rolls


Expertise Check
1d100 (71) + 75 = 146
Knowledge | Ronja Bubblyfoot | The Lizard that Rolls

 

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"Sounds like something your workshop elf can help you with." She replied, gently nudging Ronja with her elbow, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. "I'd be a good time to find out if we can mix another race with magia parts. Without outright replacing them like the Assimilation process." An idea she could only get behind given the person she's asking it of. The price was null in comparison to anything else Terrasphere could offer her.

A frown set on her face once Ronja's assessment came to a conclusion, her eye tracking over to the faint, dark blue they were following, then back to the magia. "There's enough magic in this world, I don't doubt for a second Landers may have some. But perhaps they used something else to channel magic into it..?" There were traces of mana present in the air, thicker around the golem and now within the temple too. Yet it all seemed too on the nose to be the their only clue, leaving her with a taste of dissatisfaction.

"We are yet to confirm if magia are involved in this." Her voice struggled as Fiora pressed her hands onto the statue and begun to push, the tension on her muscles not as bad as she expected as the solid stone was pushed a few meters forth, only for disappointment to await at no secret entrances being beneath it. "Robots follow their programming like religion, don't they? Szofrit was no different, only hers got an overdose of Dissonance." She couldn't help her skepticism. With all they have both faced together, Dissonance has never once made a lick of sense. So why would a faulty computer be any different?

The mention of runes had her turn instantly back to her girlfriend, stepping right behind her to get a better look at the pillar itself, the carving, and then back to the magia. "I can't read this... It's not only incomplete, it's not a symbol I know of." Visible shock portrayed on her tone and face alike as she tried to flick the little bits of dust, in search of a missing fragment, only to end at the same mental dead end. "Maybe our friend was guarding something and kept circling around here?" Her eye followed the Aidlings as they begun to take onto the scenery, hardly hiding her smirk at all as these robo-servants went their way to scan the temple at a better pace they ever could.

"Well the classic 'beneath the statue' secret passage ain't there. Can't fault Landers for disregarding these as some ancient ruins." Genuinely impressive, as even the golem fooled her for a second to be just some random statue. It's a good thing Ronja was around to pull the rug and open up this mystery for them to solve, even if this still left them with one big lizard to chase afterwards.

"It almost made me forget we are supposed to catch up a lizard." A surge of joy had her smile, as despite the little progress in their little investigation, the greenette couldn't deny this was much more fun than just punching a hole through their problems as usual.

Yet soon the games would come to an end as the Aidlings would feedback their report after several minutes, as more of these runes begun to show up:

- Upon a plate engraved onto the statue
- Within the very center of the temple.
- Beneath the sides of the pillar they first analyzed.
- Across the fallen remnants of the ceiling.

Yet when put together, the random string of letters didn't seem to hold any semblance of a sentence. Not even a word would come up, with only 'Earth' being translated from the very first rune. Yet by piecing together the string of words together, Ronja would get something far more logical before her eyes.

'RWFydGgtU2Vla2VyIHJlcXVlc3RpbmcgYWNjZXNzIHRvIHByb3RvY29sIHNhbHZhdGlvbg=='

They weren't runes trying to write off a sentence-- It was a command, and given the lack of a terminal to niput it, it had to be the sort only a Magia could ever solve, given no other race could possibly speak a console command like that without stuttering or missing a letter.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

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Ronja nodded in understanding to Fiora's points, crossing her arms, mostly intrigued about the hints they received that helped to have no answers, but 'helped' to create even more questions.

"Certainly we can't blame them. Especially if they didn't have as many tools as we did to do the search we are doing." She muttered, watching every piece being put together, and looking at Fiora as her own girlfriend showed some confusion regarding the runes... But eventually, something made a very mild sense.

"Is that... Runia?" Ronja frowned, crossing her arms. If that was the case, Ronja would be surprised. What was it doing right there? "She does wonder though, what does RWFydGgtU2Vla2VyIHJlcXVlc3RpbmcgYWNjZXNzIHRvIHByb3RvY29sIHNhbHZhdGlvbg== actually mean?" She rubbed her chin, shaking her head and turning to @Fiora Di Angelo.

"This may be a command, but Ronja has no idea what it is for. It could activate a golem, it could unlock a passage, it could trigger an atomic bomb. It could be anything. So Ronja may need to study it a bit longer, but could meet a dead end." Ronja explained, resting her hands on her waist. "Or she could try to activate it, and trigger a dead end. This time in the more... literal sense of the word." She shook her head, resting a hand on her head as she turned to look at the string of words.

Regardless of the case, Ronja would try and continue to speak it outloud, hoping her Machine Translation would give her a hint, or that her Magitech would lend a better insight to whatever that puzzle in front of them was.
 

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Even with this many tools, the struggle was real enough to make it hit home how impossible this task would be for a Lander. "Got something?" Her eye went from the rune over to Ronja as they seemed to get an actual clue on what this was, a rised brow soon turned into plural, followed by her mouth opening a little once she begun to... Rap? Her brain needed a reboot just to process what was said.

There was no coherency on any of it, even as she recalls Runia was a language strictly from the Magia, and thus, brand new in comparison to all the rest of the races. It didn't make any of what the brunette just spill any better though.

"For a second I thought you started to glitch." Fiora sighed off, rubbing her temples as an amused smile begun to show up. "Well, dead end or actual dead end, I doubt we just triggered a nuclear launch or we would be pasta by now, and not the tasty sort." She added, turning her head from side to side in an attempt to find any changes in the temple, yet the silence didn't hint at nothing, with only some rattling noise beneath the ground.

Yet the more Ronja begun to speak that long string of Runia, the more the ground begun to quake. The strange center of the temple begun to split in two on a small circle, opening and closing repeatedly after a few of it's attempts jammed and once Ronja continued to brute force it with her voice, the mechanism eventually failing and ending up stuck half open.

And the whole time she opted for keeping quiet until Ronja was done for, a grin plastered all over Fiora's face as she watched the poor trapdoor finally meet it's end by the magia's voice.

"Seems like you hit the jackpot. Good thing it wasn't the nuclear bomb one." Closing the distance with the newfound entrance, Fiora squatted down and nestled her hands on each corner of the trap door to pry it open, a crunching noise from within proving that it's mechanisms were either rusty or simply beyond serviceable. Peeking down didn't seem to show anything but stone and debris, some of them tiles and others polished to take the shape of a staircase. "Well it probably was a bunch of spiraling stairs. But it's not like it will be a problem for us." Reassurance present on her voice, focusing instead on her UI as she pulled it up and, soon after, a rope begun to materialize infront of her all bundled up.

With a look of approval on her face, Fiora turned back to Ronja once she made a knot all over the large pillar and gave it a testing tug to make sure it was heavy enough to stay put. "Honestly? That was amazing, love~. That's got to be a sixth sense for magia influence." Sincerely impressed despite the joking tone she delivered that with. The accuracy Ronja had, or her instincts just screaming 'magia', paid off quite handsomely. "You really did all the brain work afterall, eh?~" She added, playfully winking back at her girlfriend.

Giving one last glance over to the caverns beneath, the dampness implied the water wouldn't end there despite being knee high at best, and the calmness on it revealed the artificial stone tiles beneath, man-made (or magia-made in this case), with a row of stalagmites growing from the water's surface all around these same tiles and the broken remnants of a spiraling staircase.

Adjusting her worn cloak, Fiora took a hold of the rope and dropped it down beneath the hole. "Tanks first." And so she begun to climb down, the rope soon proving to not be enough and forcing her to drop a small height to reach the ground.

evgeniy-musienko-temple.jpg


What they had in front of them seemed like an antique temple, befit of the ruins above the temple. The earth had given an opening for the sunlight to come through. It was hard to say just how this cave came to be, yet soemthing about it seemed to be artificial as much as the pathway that lead up to the temple, only cemented by passage of time to become what it is today. A blend of nature and humanity. Animal bones were scattered on the sides, and some even on the road itself.

A chill ran down her spine, her face turning severe as she watched the temple at the distance, but most importantly their surroundings. It was all a bit too quiet here too. On the other hand, among bones and stalagmites remained about four golems, all standing still and completely inactive, some covered with leaves and others even with moss. Far more intact compared to the one they met, and yet just as scattered, with about three of them placed all over the open area leading to the temple.

And across the walls, the waterfall and the rocks? More of these cyan blue stains Ronja picked up on, aswell as a pair of golems with crystals forming from it's metal shells and piercing through with ease.

"Huh, so we finally found our friends. Think we are about to disturb their nap time?"

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

Ronja Bubblyfoot

❮ Steel Reaver ❯
M
NG+
Messages
717
Gold
7,115
Mastery
4,545
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Chanlye
When everything started opening and moving with the command words being spoken, Ronja tried to keep a safe distance from all the mechanism and triggering until things actually calmed down enough for her to consider the situation safe enough.

"Maybe Ronja was glitching. Or at least she made something else glitch." She shrugged. The new entrance made Ronja curious, leaning in and tilting her head as she waited patiently for its opening, and then, looking at @Fiora Di Angelo when she was already preparing some ropes, ready to go down the hole that would open the path to a new area. "Thank you, dear. But Ronja is very sure this was all... A very happy coincidence." She nodded. "It was an attempt, however-"

As the elf offered to go first, Ronja smiled. "Ronja's hero." The magia giggled, waiting for her turn to hold onto the rope and slowly slide down through it.

The hidden structures were... Intriguing once again. Ronja clenched her feet no the ground as she finally landed, closing her distance to Fiora and half opening her mouth as she watched the golems. "Ronja didn't like what had happened to you last time we fought golems." A hand rested on Fiora's wrist, and Ronja looked up at her with a mild concern.

"Let's try to keep it deactivate. If something does happen, then we can try to deal with it."
 

Fiora Di Angelo

❮ Raging Flame ❯
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Dez




"It may not be some super power you got, but with all the weird stuff we've seen, it's hard to believe in coincidences." She replied. It certainly wasn't common to find some ruins related to magias, but it sure is strange to think they were the first to find it. Eitherway, they couldn't just stop now. Winking back to Ronja, the knightess slid down the rope into the cavern beneath.

Trying to get a feel from the golems at this distance was impossible with how dark the places the golems are scattered around were, just then feeling Ronja's faint touch over her gauntlet, a lite smile on her lips as her concerns reminded them of their last encounter within the mines, which was understandably not the best experience they had dealing with automatons.

"Alright, but the same goes to you, okay?" She replied, reaching out to give the magia's hand a squeeze. "We are dealing with magia, so keep all your firewalls up to date." Furrowed brows betrayed any form of humour in her face as her worries were voiced too.

Fiora soon stepped onto the side and into the shallow waters, hand offered out for Ronja to grasp on and tag along with careful steps meant to circle around and keep as much distance with the golems as they could, aswell as to make sure this was all a quiet endeavour. There were bolts scattered on the waters, and now being closer to the walls revealed the walls were hollowed out, and a set of crossbows were aiming straight at them. As ominous as it seemed, fortunately for them, the mechanisms had ran out of ammunition and the only power they had left were to track movement and turn accordingly, yet the sight alone proved there were defense mechanisms set in motion.

Yet even so, Fiora's grasp tightened just a little, finding it hard not to stress out with weapons pointed against them both, and the prospect of the golems waking up at any moment cutting dry her mood. At least until they could push onwards through the mossy staircase and to the highest vantage point right next to the pitch black entrance.

"Let's not stick around these golems for too long." She sighed, finally letting go of the air she clinged onto for this long. Checking through the small corridor, crystals begun to flicker to life the moment they got close enough, revealing gashes all across the large tunnel, as tall as the two of them combined. Crystal fragments were left all over where some of these wouldn't turn on, leaving gaps in the blue light they produced.



Magia Temple -

Within The Laboratory.

The distinctive industrial design blending with the underground's made it very clear this was more than a mere cave, and certainly more than a mere temple. Watching in awe, Fiora turned over to glance across the corners, where one could find conveyor belts and the large machinery set around the walls that all pointed for this to be a fragment of a laboratory, and yet the debris and cave-ins proved to be the end of it. The dark, however, didn't gave purchase to the rest of the area, consumed by nature just as much as the temple did, with broken screens.

fragments of arms and legs were scattered across the conveyor belts, fragments of the iron golems they had seen before, with what seemed to be welders and arms scattered across to automatize the assembling process.

Tired of squinting, and far more unwilling this time around to step into the dark blindly, Fiora turned to glance back to Ronja. "Well, this looks like the place where the golems came from. So we got the where, but not the why..." And looking about didn't seem to grant her any more insight on the matter. "Hun, can you get us some lights?"

Command: Explore


Roll a Knowledge Check in an attempt to find anything worthwhile from one or two of the things listed. Ronja will roll with advantage, given the nature of the investigation.
  • The golem parts scattered across the conveyor belts.
  • The massive, broken tube tank set against the wall, past the center of the room.
  • The documents scrambled next to an used alchemical equipment.
  • The row of cyan crystals neatly placed on pedestals.
  • The body resting against one of the workshop's tables.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot
 

Ronja Bubblyfoot

❮ Steel Reaver ❯
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Chanlye
The squeeze on her hand and the return of caring and concern brought a weak smile to Ronja's lips again, nodding briefly as she averted her eyes to look at the problems that they could possibly have to face if they weren't so careful.

"Ronja is ready. She won't fall so easily." The hold tightened, especially when Fiora offered to lead the way to the most silent and cautious route deeper into the unexplored underground structures, with the presence of the inactive golems still tingling some subconscious fear inside of the magia. There was the comfort of @Fiora Di Angelo being there, however, just as her beloved was stressed about the idea of weapons aimed at them, so was Ronja, that returned the squeeze with pursing lips.

"Yeah... Ronja would rather if we got done with this quickly."

And so they did, sneaking past a corridor that seemed to be the perfect trail to some answers... Or even more questions that they didn't know that existed yet.

As they dove deeper into it, Ronja's eyes trailed around, trying to have an overview of what they had at first glance before taking action. Before she could make her first move, however, Fiora's words and request caught her attention, and she looked at her with a nod.

"Of course, just a moment." She slid her hand into her pockets, pulling out a cube, gripping it tightly and twisting it, with clicking sounds following as it glew more and more the more Ronja twisted it, eventually being strong enough to bright everything up, albeit with some dim light the further the light went to the room.

"Let's see..." She sighed, approaching the tables, and the equipments, frowning at the body and pursing her lips as she tried to shuffle through the documents, glancing at the alchemical equipment and sighing. "Ronja wonders if this is where they tried to liquify the crystals..? And what is with this body..?" She narrowed her eyes, concerned.

Rolls


Expertise Check
2d100 (Advantage) (76, 10) + 75 = 151
Knowledge | Ronja Bubblyfoot | 1970

  • The documents scrambled next to an used alchemical equipment.
  • The body resting against one of the workshop's tables.

 

Fiora Di Angelo

❮ Raging Flame ❯
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NG+
Messages
916
Gold
4,640
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4,015
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Event
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Special
0
Dez




With Ronja's cube as their light source, Fiora turned over towards the pieces of the golems that seemed partially assembled, the faint light coming from beneath a cuirass made her eye squint as she lifted it up, and once turned around to it's back; A crystal, perfectly fit as if a core it were meant to be.

The documents all were written in Runia, and all of them. If it was written by a computer or a magia it was difficult to tell given how perfect the handwriting seemed to be, and how generic, as if someone picked a font from a computer screen as their stylistic choice. They all lacked a date, yet time stamps were given for each set of notes:

They described the process vaguely, going over two different methods to liquify the crystals, through magic or a more natural, modern approach to heat them up, and the requirements that all seemed to be fairly standard, if only neither seemed to bring any success at first, until the last few readable pages present:

12000: Prototype successful. The combination of both separate methods offers a well-rounded solution, yet the longetivity is reduced by 80%. Efficiency compromised-

12100: The crystals's origins produce unnatural resistance to tampering. Zalra's wildlife proposes certain lifeforms can survive within such hazardous environment without suffering the effects of it's ecosystem.

12831: Mutated lifeform permitted this unit to create it's magnum opus. Subject 55 resisted crystalization and became our main extraction vein for a new crystal variant capable of liquid fuel at 100% efficiency. Further analysis proves the equipment present is insufficient.

This unit theorizes the possibility of a pure extraction with a better substance synthesizer. This primitive forms of data storage prove this unit's inefficiency, and thus, predecessors should avoid the mistakes that lead to this one's stranding...

The rest of the pages that could lead to a follow-up seem to be missing.

"I think they were trying to use the crystals at some point instead of turning them liquid." Fiora hummed, leaning over behind her to take a glance at the papers Ronja had been reading over. It was an automatic loss for her, given the language itself was all but gibberish to her. Robot gibberish, to be specific.

The mention of a body sparked her into a wary state right away, as both of them begun to walk over towards the desk. A hand rested over Last Hope's hilt, keeping the sword close should it suddently spring to life.

The closer Ronja got, the easier she would notice this was a Magia, it's chasis seemed to be afflicted by this process of crystalization it spoke of, and most notably so was upon his torso. Further analysis would prove they are the same substances and alchemical elements from their first golem's liquid fuel, only this seemed to have spread akin to a virus. The crystals sprout out violently where his core should be.

The unsettling revelation had her think twice, sharing a glance back to the crystals on display with newfound wariness. "So, found out how to liquify them?" Curious if they had made a break-through at least, given there is a possibility to put some better use than the poor magia here who bit more than he could chew.

Her gaze turned back to the large tank that looked more like a containment cell from an angle. The glass, at least what stands of it, was reinforced, an idea coming up to her as she took a step back to deliver a spartan kick straight against the healthiest looking panel, only to bounce back. "Whatever this is, they clearly made it to keep people out... Or in." She groaned, stretching her leg a little to shake off the discomfort. "Do you think they tried to keep our rolling lizard in? Elias mentioned it was starting to grow crystals all over the place."

Rolls


Expertise Check
1d100 (98) + 25 = 123

Knowledge | Fiora Di Angelo | Rolling Lizard

  • The golem parts scattered across the conveyor belts.
  • The massive, broken tube tank set against the wall, past the center of the room.


 

Ronja Bubblyfoot

❮ Steel Reaver ❯
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Chanlye
Ronja approached the documentation with care, having a first glance at it to make sure it wasn't old enough to be destroyed at first touch. But as she finally managed to shuffle through the pages, her eyes trailed around, and she muttered what she could read using her Machine Translation to translate what she was reading in real time, outloud for @Fiora Di Angelo to listen.

It was easy to make many assumptions with the information found, and Ronja nodded briefly. "Yes... From what it is written here, it seems like they were infecting creatures with Zalrisis to try and harvest a controlled variant of those crystals..." Ronja peeked at Fiora, wondering if she also knew about that disease. That curse Zalra carried with it. Ronja had never seen it with her own eyes, save for some MIT samples.

"In MIT there are some of these crystals. Mostly for research purposes..." Ronja made the documents disappear into her UI, and she approached the other magia with a saddened expression. "This one seemed too ambitious though."

With a lump in her throat, she muttered- "Why did you do this to yourself and to others..?"

But she kept her lamenting short, taking a deep breath and looking to Fiora. "To liquify these crystals, we need the variants that are more susceptible for a melting or fusion process." She explained. "And... Your guess is right. Apparently one of the subjects that managed to resist the Zalrisis, and created a variant that can be processed is stranding... It escaped."

Her lips pursed, and her tone turned rather concerned.

"It seems like our target is more of a victim than anything, and if we can't control it, it may end up spreading Zalrisis, even if it is possibly a weaker version of it. We really need to do something about it."
 

Fiora Di Angelo

❮ Raging Flame ❯
E
NG+
Messages
916
Gold
4,640
Mastery
4,015
Valor
18
Event
0
Special
0
Dez




Disgust unraveled on her face the more she listened to the playback from Ronja's translation. The names all resonated far more than the experiments. Between MIT and this magia, there were clear evidence that Zalrisis wasn't about to get solved so easily, or allow itself to be tampered with either.

"I've been to Zalra once, and that's more times than I want to ever again." She turned back to Ronja, then over to the fallen researcher, giving a quick glance to it's crystalized chest, "He probably didn't think Zalrisis could get to him since he was a magia, and thought he could build a new power source so he made golems that could contain it." It all seemed to point towards this for her, given there aren't much reasons for a magia to toy with zalrisis in the first place. "At least now we know you aren't immune to it either."

Fiora sighed, as another thing to the list of 'incurable deadly diseases' gets ticked in her mind. She took a few steps closer to Ronja as she explained what they needed to do, a concerned expression voiced her quiet protest to the idea, partially at least. "Maybe with disposable Aidlings we could try to make it work, so to avoid any risk of infection in the process." She suggested; So long as Ronja didn't make direct contact with these crystals against her core, she should be able to de-attach her limbs before the disease can kill her, so at least they could make some insurance against it.

"Hm. Maybe we can capture it and drag it back to Zalra. We just need transport big enough for it, and some way to keep it under a leash." Just the way Ronja spoke of this beast made it clear that killing it wasn't going to be the first thing they resort to. They only needed to find the scaly roller itself in the first place.

Something that wouldn't take much longer as a deep rumble followed from behind them, where the light shines and reflects over a surface that almost feels like water, an impossible illusion for their eyes that begun to 'move' in their direction, the desk on it's path violently flying across the room as the transparent silhouette lunged towards @Ronja Bubblyfoot, it's crystalline scales finally showing up as it's camouflage begun to fall apart to reveal the long snout and rows of teeth, like a predator that had been waiting for it's opportunity this whole time.

It struck swiftly, aiming for the one familiar prey with relentless fury on it's gaze...


The Lizard That Rolls

Plague of Hanrift


❰ 1000 / 1000 ❱
❰ 3000 / 3000 ❱

Taunt DC: 80
Every cycle, the Lizard will use two of these abilities:
  • Snap-Snap: Lunges at a target with it's large jaws and chomps them with it's incredible bite force, dealing 3d20 Damage. Roll a DC 75 Reflex/Fortitude Save To halve the damage and avoid ending up Restrained (Body + Legs effects) in it's mouth. Every turn that the target doesn't manage to free themselves up they will receive an extra 3d20 Damage.
  • Crystal Breath: Showers three targets with crystalized fumes, turning everything on it's path into crystals. It causes 70 Damage to three targets and applies one stack of Petrification. When this action is played, players can either use a Bonus Action to completely dodge Crystal Breath, or use it to grant their next attack Advantage aswell as double the damage rolled as they strike the crystal cluster within it's mouth.
  • The Death Roll: Grappling a target with it's mouth, the Lizard does it's signature move and begins to violently roll around with their prey, causing 8d20 Damage to the person targetted and causing one stack of Bleed. The Death Roll can only happen when a target is Vulnerable, and will prioritize said person unless Taunted.
  • Thrash: Using it's sharp claws, the Lizard swipes at a target, causing 20 Damage and applying one stack of Bleed.
  • Scaley Tail: The Lizard spins around and smacks everything with it's tail, sending sharp rocks, objects or even using the tail itself as a blunt weapon to deal 40 Damage. This attack can strike beyond melee range.
  • Body Check: Slams it's full weight against the target for 30 Damage, pushing them away in the process and knocking them Prone.
Passives:
  • Thick Body: Physical Masteries (Except Piercing Weapons/Ranged Weapons) deal half their HP damage. SP Damage is unaffected.
  • Exhaustion: At 50% SP, players can disable one of it's actions. At 0%, players can choose to remove another of it's actions.

Cycle 0 Mechanics


3d20 (7 + 9 + 12) = 28
Snap-Snap Damage
Snap-Snap Used on @Ronja Bubblyfoot.

Objective:
  • Stop The Lizard That Rolls through any means.
  • Reposition (?)
 
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Ronja Bubblyfoot

❮ Steel Reaver ❯
M
NG+
Messages
717
Gold
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4,545
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Event
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0
Chanlye
186 / 200

-28 -14 HP from Snap-Snap (Saved)
Vulnerable


Ronja's eyes opened wider at @Fiora Di Angelo's revelation. But it was only fair, her girlfriend did her own things and adventured by herself a lot of times, and by the time Ronja had met her, she apparently was already a seasoned adventurer. "Yes... Ronja is far from immune from it. But she already expected that, Magias... Are a bit more about biomagitechnology than mechanics, after all."

It was strange, to be something artificially organic. Ronja couldn't lie that her body felt much more different in Terrasphere than in real life, and it wasn't taking into account the lethargy and the lack of strength in her muscles.

"Perhaps... But it is also a matter of how worth it is." Ronja said, looking at her beloved, crossing her arms and pondering about the suggestion.

"It would be nice, but for starters, let's focus on finding it. And if it proves to be too hard to handle it, we won't have other choice if not."

Before her words could be finished, the rumble disrupted her attention, and as she turned to face the source of the sound, a wide jaw was suddenly approaching her. Ronja didn't flinch despite the startle, and on instinct, she materialized her weapon on her hand, thrusting it forward-

She gasped, with wide open eyes as she saw the throat of the creature that had its jaw wide open, only not fully closing because of the giant wrench that forced it to stay open, serving as a propping tool tha allowed the magia to escape from its attack as it struggled to get rid of the wrench. "Ah-! Fiora!" She called with a shaky voice, approaching her girlfriend and staring at the ferocious beast with pursing lips.

Her hand reached for the gauntlets of her beloved, infusing it with a glowing mana that echoed to the elf itself, boosting her raw strength.

Rolls


Save
1d100 (88) + 50 + 15 = 153 (Success)
Reflex | Ronja Bubblyfoot | Lizard

(BA) Coodinate
Both you and an @Fiora Di Angelo gain 25 to attacks, heals, or buffs.
Summon | Ronja Bubblyfoot

Power Buff
2d100 (85 + 25) + [75] + 25 + 25 + 25 + 25 + 15 + 25 = 325 / 3
+109 extra damage to @Fiora Di Angelo for 3 attacks
You are Vulnerable.
Magitech | Ronja Bubblyfoot | Lizard



Build Sheet
Magitech Signature

Knowledge Signature
Reflex Signature
 
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