the island of dancing animals {{ m1 Call to Arms

[imaginarymods]

CALL TO ARMS: SIGNUPS

“Isn’t there a future you’d like to fight for?”

THE STORY SO FAR

It's been a few months on the lovely archipelago of Baisla, and finally you've all figured out why you're here.

After your underwater explorations into the Mirror Maze and the Caverns of Memory, you've found a way to the island blocked off by thorns and deduced the location of Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island — the Grand Relic which Angus McDonald used, and which created the pocket dimension of Baisla. Through a wish that the Universe itself answered — a wish for one last chance to make things right — you've all been kept safe in this dimension, the magic of your worlds and bonds used to patch the holes in the Weave caused by the destruction of the Wellspring of Magic. And while the Universe (or Greg, as he's introduced himself) stitched the Weave back together with the magic inside of you all, you've been collecting the pieces that will help you right the wrongs which could have led to the downfall of this world.

Lucretia has been unwell for some time, weary from bearing the burden of the self-imposed duty of collecting the Grand Relics and stopping the Hunger. But the Hunger preys on those who have given up and resigned themselves to apathy and dissatisfaction with their world. Many veteran Reclaimers encountered this kind of misery in the Cult of Shadows, spirits essentially stuck in bodiless limbo due to the destruction of their home thousands of years ago. They began to see the Hunger as their salvation — and by acting through stolen bodies, they became agents of the Hunger, so desperate to join it that they became vessels of its dark energy.

One by one, they took down Lucretia's closest friends, the Hunger's greatest obstacle in consuming this world. Standing on her own after all that, Lucretia grew more despairing and isolated with every day. Prior to bringing the Reclaimers to this universe, she had a run-in with the Cult herself. In the conflict, her ever-present white oak staff was cursed. And through the cracks in her tired spirit, the dark energy of the Hunger slowly made its way into her soul.

Lucretia, after a series of many bad decisions made under the misery-inducing influence of the Hunger, is caught in the deepest throes of the Hunger's curse. She's at risk of being consumed by it, and if she is, it's game over. The Hunger can use the mysterious source of power within the Relics she's been collecting — collecting, not destroying, as some of you have discovered — and consume this entire universe with Lucretia as the epicenter of collapse. Time progresses differently in this pocket dimension, and Greg has stretched it to give you as much time as he can to sort everything out. But there's only so much time to stretch, and it's running out.

Which leads us to the current mess. With the power from two broken Relics, a new Relic was born from the Relic that had yet to be reclaimed as of Candlenights. Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island, one of Angus's beloved books, holds the power that was needed to wish a whole new chance into existence. And now it's hidden beneath the Cursed Zone, where there was little risk of someone stumbling across it before you all were ready. It's past the Gilded Wall, which has acted as a firewall to keep the Cursed contained.

And then there are the Cursed themselves: beings which aren't literally zombies, but what got spit out when Greg referenced your worlds and touched on too many pieces that had been consumed by the Hunger. Like an error spat out after trying to load corrupted data. Madame Director can't help you with any of this the way she often does, either; she's shut up in a spiky black opal fortress in the middle of Mount Reticulus, the volcano on the island that's been blocked by the thorn barrier.

To say the least of the Hunger, which is still waiting for you outside of the safety of Baisla. But the strength of your hearts — the magic, love, and bonds contained within them — seems to be the key. As many of you have learned, bonds don't break just because you forget. They don't break because someone is gone. And they certainly don't break because of the Hunger.

It's going to be tough. But you'll all find a way. You're going to be amazing.

WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO

After Greg makes sure you're all caught up on the story so far, there are a few points of interest, as far as the problems you all need to tackle on Baisla. The first is the mysterious heart-shaped island which houses Mount Reticulus, the volcano that Lucretia has sealed herself and many unfortunate Bureau of Balance employees in.

The sand of the beach here is black, but it's flecked with iridescent specks of color — red, green, blue, yellow — which glimmer when the light hits them just right. The volcano itself looks rather craggy and dull in comparison, save for the veins of the same opalescent black that streak its exterior. Though the veins look like gemstone at first glance, the blackness is more like that of a void, and the streaks of color within shift slowly and eerily. The atmosphere on this island is heavy and gloomy. Not debilitatingly so, but it's noticeable, especially when entering the volcano.

The interior of Mount Reticulus is accessible through a hole near the base of the mountain, left by a large vein of that strange black substance. It's unexplored terrain, but upon entering, it's immediately obvious that the inside has been carved up, as if someone has shaped a natural cave into a castle. The magnificent black opal structures are ridden with thorns, and circular white eyes (iconic to the Hunger) watch from the high black "ceilings" of this strange fortress.

Occasionally, there are severe glitches in the terrain, but they quickly right themselves before they can become a threat. There are also exposed pools of lava — likely not in every room, but it is a danger you'll have to contend with. And it's hot. More than hot enough to cause damage if you're not equipped properly. Stand in silence within the volcano long enough, and you may swear that you can hear unintelligible whispers around you, so quiet that it's easy to convince yourself that you're imagining them. It's like they're coming from the walls themselves, or the polished black opal structures that allow you to traverse this place.

Strangely, the thorns inside of Mount Reticulus aren't as sturdy as those which blocked your access to this island. Maybe it's a metaphor? They're still fairly tough, but they can be damaged or broken with the right attack and adequate force. Which is good, since they will end up blocking your way sometimes.

Once someone has successfully navigated a path through this volcanic palace, deep within is a circular room. Which is strangely empty except for the ridiculous amount of shifting, creaking thorns that pierce into it with no rhyme or reason. There's a large, twisted, humanoid figure made of thorns in the middle of this room. This monstrous being may not be immediately recognizable as Lucretia, but at the center of its black opal thorns, Lucretia's body can be seen overcome by the darkness of the curse she's under.

Lucretia's form isn't the only visible form among the thorns; peeking out in certain areas are the faces of the Seekers, Regulators, and Reclaimers that were trapped with Lucretia on that last fateful day of Candlenights. Among them are a lot of familiar faces previously unaccounted for: Davenport, Johann, Lucas, Carey, Killian, Leon, and Avi, the travel bubble technician. Most of them, as well as those you recognize as some of your fellow Reclaimers, seem to be completely out cold.

Meanwhile, the Relic is hiding in a chamber of the Caverns of Memory which is beneath the northern segment of the mainland — right underneath the Cursed Zone. The only way into that chamber is through an underwater tunnel, accessible through a murky pool in the remains of the dead forest. A cursory examination of the pool reveals that the underwater tunnel is quite dark — the crystal coral within it has died and no longer glows. There don't appear to be signs of life within the tunnel itself, so it seems that you won't be hassled by any creepy critters on the way down. Obviously the path to the Relic Chamber is a damp one, but with the proper path actions or help from friends (and the benefit of no monsters in your way) it might even be a breeze.

The Relic Chamber at the end of the tunnel is a small cavern, crammed floor to ceiling with crystal coral with barely enough room to move around it. The coral itself is strange — glitchy and constantly in transition from one color to another. It gives off the glow of a screen at maximum brightness. There also seem to be forms that move in the shadows of the room at the edges of your vision — long and thin, moving gently. They look like they might be limbs, but it's hard to tell. They didn't seem to want to be seen through the crack by which this room was discovered.

One thing is for sure, however. Even just looking into this room makes you feel awful. Every part of you grows heavier with despair the longer you look at the chamber full of coral, as though something in you knows that you are staring at something incredibly, cosmically dangerous. Something wrong.

In the middle of a twist of coral that seems to be growing around it, perhaps even holding it in place, is a book — Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island, the new Grand Relic you've all been looking for. It's thick and well-worn, and the title on its spine is just barely visible between the grappling coral. Physically speaking, there doesn't seem to be much stopping you from grabbing it aside from the coral.

THE NITTY-GRITTY

Those of you familiar with the Balance RPG format of the CTA will recognize some things about this process! However, some things have been changed up, so read on to get a rundown of those details.

For each CTA directive, there will be a Core Team with a maximum number of characters, which is given in the brief for each CTA assignment. The Core Team will be RNGed from the pool of sign-ups if the number of sign-ups exceeds the maximum number given for the Core Team. Other characters who have signed up for the CTA who are not RNGed for the Core Team are relegated to Supporting Roles for that CTA.

The Core Team is similar to the CTA teams as they were implemented in the original Balance RPG. The Core Team will be responsible for formulating the majority of the plan and for submitting it to the threads below before the given deadline. They're the front lines of each CTA assignment, and will be the ones most affected by the obstacles and challenges of each CTA! For example, if a CTA involves combat, a Barbarian on the Core Team may say they will stay at the ready with Danger Sense, and then use Rage and Call the Hunt to share Rage with the rest of the Core Team if it seems that a fight is inevitable.

The size of the Core Teams are limited for the ease of everyone involved. On the player side, smaller numbers are easier to coordinate, and on the navigator side, it helps us ensure that we can keep track of all characters and variables involved in a plan, so that things go as smoothly as possible in rolling!

What is new for Imaginary Island are the Supporting Roles. Characters in Supporting Roles will act as backup to the Core Team. Their contributions are intended to fill specific niches and act as constants. Basically, they take on One Job, and they keep doing that job to the best of their ability regardless of what variables the Core Team throws in. For example, if a Cleric is acting in a Supporting Role for a CTA team, their contribution might be that they are hanging back at a safe distance and focusing on healing the Core Team when they get injured. Or, if a character has access to a magitech beast, they may send it along with the Core Team of a CTA. Because Supporting Roles have less randomness involved, they are less likely to need to roll for success in doing the job they've chosen — when you can focus all your attention on doing one thing, it makes sense that you'll probably succeed at doing it!

Supporting Roles are less flexible in their actions and reactions than the Core Team, but they can provide much-needed modifiers and failsafes to increase the chances of success in a CTA! As navigators, we wanted to increase the opportunities to get characters involved in CTAs. Obviously, there are logistical difficulties in implementing greater numbers of characters in something like this, so we're limited in what we can realistically offer. But above all, we want to encourage engagement, teamwork, and creativity. So we're very excited to see the jobs you all come up with for characters in Supporting Roles, and we're eager to reward good teamwork and creative contributions!

Because of this system, barring extenuating circumstances, everyone who signs up for a CTA will be included in that CTA. Therefore, we ask that each character only signs up for one CTA. This also includes Wildcard Contributions, which we will get into below. You may do either a CTA or a Wildcard Contribution, but not both. This is true of both the Core Team and the Supporting Roles of a CTA. If you wish, you may sign up for a CTA in a Supporting Role capacity. If you do, your character will not be included in the RNG pool for the Core Team. You are welcome to state your intended contribution upfront if you choose to go this route!

As a note, if you have a magical or special item that you'd like to lend out, you do not need to sign up for a CTA to do that. Feel free to coordinate item lending with each other OOCly; just be sure that this info is included in your plan write-up!

Another new addition to the CTA format for Imaginary Island are Wildcard Contributions. Wildcard Contributions are actions that may be taken around the mission setting which are unrelated to specific CTA assignments, but which may improve the overall situation or impact the outcome of the mission. For example, if one of the CTAs was for a battle being fought outside of a town, you could say that your character's Wildcard Contribution is patrolling the border of the town to fend off any advancing enemies that the CTA team fails to stop. Or, if you have connections at the Roswell Center, you may offer to ask their healers to help the CTA teams as your Wildcard Contribution.

Wildcard Contributions are similar to Supporting Roles in that they are intended to fill a specific niche by doing one job. The difference is that they are more independent actions and aren't related to any particular CTA assignment. (If you wanted to take an action that benefits one specific CTA, we would ask that you sign up for a Supporting Role for that particular CTA instead.) Each character may submit a maximum of 2 Wildcard Contributions, and if you submit two, they must not be tasks that would conflict with each other. So if you're busy helping to treat the injured at the Roswell Center, you cannot also help the wildlife in the Foggy Forest.

You don't necessarily need to have a goal in mind for your Wildcard Contributions! Would your character simply be trying to keep the children and civilians of Baisla calm while all of the chaos is going on? Would they be recording observations of the events in a certain place? Let us know! As stated, we want to reward engagement and take character action into account wherever possible, so we're happy to find some creative ways to incorporate Wildcard Contributions into the ultimate outcome of the mission. Your characters' actions matter to the Baislans and they matter to us too!

Now, what about plan submission? In the brief for each CTA, we have provided information that is known to the characters about the challenges they will be facing, as well as hints for other threats they may face but which have not been ICly confirmed prior to the CTA. All information provided in the brief is information that can be reasonably gleaned by the characters from an IC perspective!

When it comes time to submit a plan, a member of the Core Team will reply to the appropriate thread with an in-depth explanation of what characters will be doing to overcome those challenges and progress through the CTA. Path actions, teamwork, and contingency plans will all be vital to building a solid plan for success! Contributions from the CTA's Support Roles should be included in the plan write-up, as well, to ensure that your navigators can find all the information we need in one place. Here is a good example of a CTA plan submission, provided by one of our navigators! You don't need to adhere to this exact format, but we hope it gives you all a good idea of what we're generally looking for.

If something unexpected occurs during the CTA, such as the death of a teammate which has not been accounted for in the plan, the navigators may give you the opportunity to reply with a reaction or revised plan before proceeding with the final results — similar to a more standard RNG thread, though with less play-by-play and back-and-forth. We will be doing our best to balance expediency and responsiveness for the CTAs, so that we can proceed in a timely fashion while still accounting for player action and spontaneity where possible.

You all have quite a few NPCs that are ready to assist you with this mission, too! As was stated in RNG and NPC threads, a few characters may expect to receive "favors" from Animalian NPCs in the CTA (or later, if they do not come into play during the CTA portion.) These characters are: Church, Sayori, and Sans, who may receive a favor from KV; Honoka, who may receive a favor from Niely; and Christine and Rose, who may receive a favor from Lola. If these NPCs are requested for a CTA by characters they owe favors to, they will gladly help as directed, and you are free to include them in your plan submissions!

Non-Animalian NPCs may make an appearance to assist as well. Particularly Lup and Taako, finally freed from the magical Umbrella they became trapped in after their run-ins with the Cult of Shadows. And currently both stuck in the same lich body, which is an issue they're sort of hoping to resolve after this whole island shebang is dealt with? Plus, with the help of the jellyfish in the Caverns of Memory, some of you have seen things that indicate Lup and Taako weren't the only victims of the Cult's plot, as far as Lucretia's friends go. Maybe they're hanging around somewhere too...

Feel free to use this post as a plotting post to discuss plans with each other and brainstorm for this part of the mission! Please direct questions related to the CTAs here, and see the appropriate threads for each CTA to sign up: Clear a Path Through the Volcano, Retrieve Lucretia, Clear the Cursed Zone, Reclaim the Relic. Offer Wildcard Contributions here!



NAVIGATION ⯈



code bases by tricklet

Comments

[unrecovered]

Definitely McCree - always a good idea to make sure your designated scout can See Things.

[imaginarymods]

Noted!

[imaginarymods]

As a note, we’d like to apologize for the long wait and thank you for your patience. We will be making a conscious effort to get responses out to all of you during the finale at a much more reasonable pace.

It’s a good thing the boys came prepared, because the path they traverse on their way to Lucretia’s stronghold is unlike what they’ve faced before. They face no danger of toxic fumes thanks to the gas masks made with Tinkerer’s Tools; unfortunately, they are left without time to use Create Bomb and Know your Enemy. (DC 10: +1 INT; critical failure) McCree’s Bardic Inspiration adds +2 where it would help a roll succeed. McCree faces no fear of the heat with the Infernal Armor he received from Mia, and Wash’s beaten armor and trader’s outfit around his neck adds a +2 to his heat resistance. Church’s robotic body keeps him safer from the heat longer, adding a +2 to his heat resistance— but that protection will decrease over time. The real Advantage comes from Rickle Axager’s guide, which McCree’s got equipped. He also brings +4 to scouting rolls between Natural Explorer and his Black Ops experience, and Church has cashed in a favor from KV: a magitech light reconnaissance vehicle warthog to aid them in their endeavor.

The first obstacle McCree scouts (autopass; +2 to overcoming obstacle) are the gigantic black-opal thorns blocking their way through. Curling in from the outside, they cross in front of the Volcano’s only open path just a few yards in. Wash’s fireball (DC 12: 2+2=4) glances off a particularly hardened portion of the thorns, bouncing against the wall near the trio and nearly singing them. After trying his knife, Wash finds the blade a bit more effective (DC 11: 8+2=10) but the darn thing just doesn’t seem big enough. Rather than cutting through, it just leaves a gash, and Wash quickly switches to using his sword to deepen the crack (DC 10: 9+2=11). It works, shattering through the thorny vine, and Wash continues with his axe-like hacking at a fair rate until they’re all cracked through.

As well prepared for battle as they are, the boys likely aren’t ready to see Barry waiting past the thorny obstruction (should they recall him, that is.) Though it isn’t quite Barry at all; simply a glitching, half-downloaded version of his form.

McCree is the first to notice him (DC 12: ADV; 9 8+4=12), scouting ahead of the other two men and finding the flickering copy of Barry emerging out from the path itself. Unfortunately for him, the Barry copy is quite sentient and notices McCree just as quickly (DC 12 to avoid notice: critical failure), allowing a free shot right at him. McCree takes moderate damage as the Barry copy lashes out with a spiraling streak of necromantic magic, a tendril that swats McCree right across his chest like a snapping whip and throws him back a few feet. In this time, Wash has the chance to aggress their bejeansed attacker with his Pistol Whip-Shot, striking the aberration and causing it to spew showers of pixels so black it’s as though light is disappearing altogether when the team looks at them. The Barry copy swipes his hand in an arc and that pixellated blood shoots out in clusters of sharp spikes, striking at the team’s armor. Though they move to avoid it, the spikes are quick, scuffing their armor and leaving McCree and Wash with minor slashes.

Still the lumbering copy of Barry shuffles forward, but not before Church is able to strike it with Magic Missile. As the haze clears from the sparks of magic, the team can see the aberration’s Barry face has been swiped away by the blow, leaving only a glowing skull image artifacted like a large-but-badly-compressed JPEG. McCree’s Spectral Protectors swoop in before the not-Barry can make another move, and while it’s distracted McCree fires upon it as well. With a stab from the tusks of the team’s magitech warthog protector, the Barry construct finally dissolves into those black pixels and then those black pixels disappear in a blink. A little worn but not defeated, the team continues on. (Wash’s contribution: 15+12=27; Church’s contribution: 5+10=16; McCree’s contribution: 2+7=9; 27+16+9+6 misc buffs=58 out of a possible 95)

They pass through the toxic fumes that follow with ease thanks to their gas masks, taking the time to consume potions and heal up a bit. They need it; up ahead McCree spies these strange, circular glowing eyes on the walls and knows instinctively they’re bad news. (DC 16: 18+4=22) Who could blame him? They look as though they’re hand drawn in bright glowing white JPEG lines, and keep flickering as though glitched. They bat their terrible little eyelashes, gazes darting around the stony chamber the boys have to pass through.

McCree attempts to warn his companions from his own hiding place, but when he speaks the eyes dart to him. And then Church and Wash make a noise, and every eye turns to Wash. Finally they show their power, light gathering in tiny little orbs before each eye and then striking in one simultaneous beam right through Wash’s armor. (CRITICAL FAILURE on combat contribution roll)

To make matters worse, the shadows around them begin to move, forming into tendrils that whip and reach for them. But this team is ready to fight. As McCree defends the team with the help of his Spectral Protectors and his well-fired gunshots, Church brings Wash back from the brink using the power of Beyond the Grave. McCree sustains injuries fending off the assault, but Church’s spell works— with Church’s help, McCree and Church’s rad gun skills dispatch the last of the eyes and dissolve the shadowy limbs. (Wash: 1; Church: 18+14=32; McCree: 11+7=18; 1+32+18+9 misc buffs=59/100)

Worn but persistent, the team carries on. The path seems to be forgiving for a while, uninhabited for a few meter stretch. As they continue they’re hit only by a painless wave of magic that muffles their senses for a moment as it passes over them, which they don’t recognize and weren’t prepared for. Wash and McCree shake themselves of the haze (DC 6: 5+2 Bardic Inspo=7 for Wash, 7 for McCree), but somehow the magic finds its way into Church’s circuitry. (3) He suffers a madness; a powerful delusion that the heat in the volcano really actually isn’t as bad as it seems, and boy does he make his feelings on the matter known to his teammates. (Loses +2 heat resistance modifier) But even as Church spews his nonsense, the path remains clear enough that the team is able to heal; Wash catches his Second Wind, McCree Inspires them with a little ditty, and the whole team takes a potion each.

They make quick work of the difficult terrain that follows, relaying the information to the Lucretia-nabbing team as they traverse into a deeper, hotter patch of the volcano’s raging heat. McCree’s armor proves trusty in this location (DC 12 to resist heat: autopass), but Church’s delusions send him a bit closer to the lava than necessary. (9, -2 to his next combat roll) His circuits start to overheat as his systems struggle against the intensity; luckily, Wash (12+2=14) pushes Church along before the effects get too… permanent.

As the tunnel’s mouth widens for a measure, McCree notices more of those strange, black tendrils stretching from the volcanic cave’s walls. (DC 14: ADV, 5 16+4=20) They’re just as lightless as the pixels that poured out of the Barry construct, wildly grasping and wiggling about as if reaching for anything they can grasp at. The team takes the strange tendrils down fairly quickly, but not without taking mild damage. (Wash: 9+10=19; Church: 17+9=26; McCree: 6+7=13; 19+26+13+6 misc buffs=64/92)

The path clears again and another magical wave of despair tries to wash over them (DC 10: Wash: 9+2 Bardic Inspo=11, McCree: 15, Church: NATURAL 20) but the three of them get so caught up in some dumb conversation that not one of them feels a thing. Very suddenly, Church even gets over his delusion. Zip! Gone. It even seems to re-regulate his temperature sensors, getting his circuitry back to normal. (+2 heat resistance restored)

Unfortunately despite their good humor, they’re still quite haggard from their injuries. Only two of them are able to consume potions; Wash and Church restore health, but still remain moderately injured.

Ahead pools of lava block their path, but chunks of hardened magma float in the muck as platforms to navigate— and if that weren’t enough, black opal stalactites keep dropping from what seems like an impossibly high ceiling and into the lava around the team. McCree is able to jump the platforms easily in his lighter-profile armor (DC 13: 18+5=23), unaffected by the heat. Church manages some pretty cool jumps (DC 13: 4+3=7), but one of the platforms he chooses to jump to dips far too close to the lava on his side. As he hurries to a more secure ledge, he’s struck by one of those stalactites in his arm, shearing into his metal coat. Wash has more luck getting across the lava (DC 13: 14+5=19), but as he joins McCree on the other side of the pool he staggers, weakened by the growing heat (DC 12: 5+2=7), but Church makes it over on Wash’s heels despite his injuries. He doesn’t take damage from the heat at all (DC 12: NATURAL 20) and claps Wash on the shoulder as he passes, perhaps to keep his own balance; whatever the reason, it knocks something loose in Wash’s armor and gets a burst from the cooling system, bringing Wash some much needed relief.

Once again a wave of despair tries to pass over the team as they advance, but our hardened heroes pay the ill feelings no mind (DC 13: Wash: 12+2 Bardic Inspo=14, McCree: 16, Church: 16), especially as three more pixelated constructs form on the path ahead of them. McCree scouts them first, spying a beefy human man, a beautifully shaped elf, and a big-bearded dwarf— or at least glowing-eyed reconstructions of them. (DC 12: ADV, 18 NATURAL 20; confers ADV to combat contributions) They are exactly the same forms from the memory files Greg showed the Reclaimers; the human Magnus, the elf Taako (the very one in the umbrella, in fact!), and the dwarf Merle.

He reports back to Wash and Church, and they’re able to plan their means of attack this time. They work together to form the initial strike at all three constructs at once; then, keeping in mind the strengths of their opponents’ archetypes, McCree faces the Merle construct and its own tentacle-like thorns, Wash the speedy, necromantic-bolt-firing Taako construct, and both leave Church to grapple against the hulk of a shadowy Magnus construct.

As the six face off, another wave of despair hits, this time striking our heroes unaware. With Taako and Magnus having backed the space soldiers into a corner, it only adds to their problems when Wash doubles over with confusion (DC 16: 4). But the Magnus construct strikes Church just as the wave hits, distracting him from the negativity that threatens his circuits (DC 16: NATURAL 20) and pushing him back into Wash. Though the move certainly throws both of them off, it also knocks the sneaking madness right out of Wash (along with his consciousness for all of a few seconds).

McCree isn’t so lucky to have his teammates nearby when that dark energy hits them; it overwhelms him (DC 16: 11) and nearly costs him his balance, opening him up to a spiny swat of the Merle construct’s thorns. When he comes to his senses he cannot remember why on earth he’s here, who he’s facing, or why he’s on this team with two strange soldiers he doesn’t recognize. He does know that he and those soldiers are being attacked, however, and doesn’t hesitate to dispatch the Merle construct. (ADV; Wash: 15+14=29; Church: 14+7=21; McCree: 18+7=25; 29+21+25+5 misc buffs=80/93)

When he’s finished he joins Wash and Church, still unsure of who they are but aware of a few other things; the three of them are each quite gravely hurt, they are in the middle of a volcano, and following these two may be his only way out. They continue down the path, but McCree doesn’t scout ahead this time, since he’s forgotten his objective.

The other two aren’t given the opportunity to notice, as their final obstacle requires no scouting. The path widens into the largest chamber they’ve seen so far, perhaps a mile and a half wide on all sides, with a large magma pool in the middle. Thorns stretch out from the higher walls of the volcano, supporting a large black opal sphere. The path through the center of the chamber extends and rises to meet this sphere, but a bramble of the thorns blocks the way.

It seems simple enough. Wash casts Fireball and the fireball strikes the thorns just as planned. What doesn’t go quite as planned is how that fireball strikes the shockingly bright colored cracks in the black opal thorns, causing them to react as a trap. Each of the thorns shatters into multiple pieces, sending shards ricocheting against the surrounding walls. If that wasn’t enough, parts of the fireball refract and magnify off those thorns, returning the blow of the spell onto the trio. (DC 12: critical failure)

As Wash loses consciousness along with McCree and Church, he relays one more message to the awaiting team; they’ve made it, and they’re waiting. He submits the information they’ve gathered and slips away, exhausted, waiting for their rescue.

Congratulations team, you’ve succeeded… if narrowly. You have not died, but may need to take more recovery time after the mission. Your contributions aid the Lucretia Rescue team and inform the Reclamation team.

More information will be coming in the CTA log!