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phantasmemes2018-07-12 11:56 pm
phantasmods) wrote in phantasmemes2018-07-12 11:56 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE 005
Hello and welcome to the fifth test drive for Phantasmal Rift!
Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.
Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.
This time, the Test Drive takes place in Incendia - a less-ruined-than-expected city that has been abandoned for over a century, due to the magical effects of the Fissure (unstable reality region) that have made it impossible to live in. What effects are these, you ask?
Well...
BY DAY
By day, the city is lovely, if oddly empty. The sun shines down, and magical lights along the sidewalk - the equivalent of power lines - flow energy throughout the city. It's possible to think that the little sparks you sometimes see at the corner of your vision are related. After all, there's a great deal of magic in the air...
But in spite of this, the city lies abandoned, for no immediately apparent reason. You might have found yourself in a wide-open shipping yard, where large metal containers levitate about, moving without any help or oversight from human hands. Be careful; these containers changing positions make it easy to get lost for quite a long time, since few of them have much in the way of identifying traits over than color. Didn't you already pass that arrangement of two red ones on top of a blue one before...?
Or perhaps you're in the massive park in the center of town, with its blatantly magical fountain (a half-dome of water just hanging in the air) and the tents of an abandoned festival. Two stages and a long line of street food booths stand empty - surely no one will mind if you use them for something, right?
Or perhaps you're just suddenly on the streets, among stalled-out taxis and cars that go nowhere and lack the familiar smell of gasoline. There's apartments and shops all around, with little gardens spilling out over balconies... Maybe if you go knock on some doors, you'll find people.
Wherever it is you are, surely there's got to be someone around who can tell you what's going on, right...?
BY DUSK
As night falls, rather than dropping the way you might expect, the temperature begins to rise. And then the sparks in the edges of your vision are very much more than simply at the edges of your vision. They catch first on the plants, the papers stuck to the now-lit magical streetlights, the trash cans... And then, increasingly so, on the buildings proper, the shops, the skyscrapers, the cars in the street.
Within half an hour, an inferno is starting to build, and it's clear that there's not going to be anywhere above ground safe from it. But fortunately, there's safety beneath the level of the streets - if you can make your way fast enough to an underground station.
BY NIGHT
In the remains of these subway tunnels, lit mostly by the dim glow of magical energy lines, you're at least safe from the inferno above. Unlike the aboveground parts of the city, however, the tunnels are in an obvious state of disrepair, with broken concrete, rot, and mildew. The stations might have once been clean, but they quite transparently are not now, and the tunnels themselves are as bad or worse.
Thankfully, no trains run anymore, so you're not at risk of being run down on the broken tracks. There's also not any full-on collapses blocking the way, and the tunnels seem well-enough made that there's probably not risk of a cave-in.
Less pleasantly, you aren't the only thing taking shelter in the tunnels from the firestorm above. And the magic of that flame has touched the feral dogs that rove the tunnels, turning them into barking, howling creatures of as much flame as flesh themselves. And then there's the occasional patch of mold, mildew, and slime in the darkest parts of the tunnels, where even the magical circuits have gone out, that moves to douse any light that comes near it...
Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.
Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.
This time, the Test Drive takes place in Incendia - a less-ruined-than-expected city that has been abandoned for over a century, due to the magical effects of the Fissure (unstable reality region) that have made it impossible to live in. What effects are these, you ask?
Well...
BY DAY
By day, the city is lovely, if oddly empty. The sun shines down, and magical lights along the sidewalk - the equivalent of power lines - flow energy throughout the city. It's possible to think that the little sparks you sometimes see at the corner of your vision are related. After all, there's a great deal of magic in the air...
But in spite of this, the city lies abandoned, for no immediately apparent reason. You might have found yourself in a wide-open shipping yard, where large metal containers levitate about, moving without any help or oversight from human hands. Be careful; these containers changing positions make it easy to get lost for quite a long time, since few of them have much in the way of identifying traits over than color. Didn't you already pass that arrangement of two red ones on top of a blue one before...?
Or perhaps you're in the massive park in the center of town, with its blatantly magical fountain (a half-dome of water just hanging in the air) and the tents of an abandoned festival. Two stages and a long line of street food booths stand empty - surely no one will mind if you use them for something, right?
Or perhaps you're just suddenly on the streets, among stalled-out taxis and cars that go nowhere and lack the familiar smell of gasoline. There's apartments and shops all around, with little gardens spilling out over balconies... Maybe if you go knock on some doors, you'll find people.
Wherever it is you are, surely there's got to be someone around who can tell you what's going on, right...?
BY DUSK
As night falls, rather than dropping the way you might expect, the temperature begins to rise. And then the sparks in the edges of your vision are very much more than simply at the edges of your vision. They catch first on the plants, the papers stuck to the now-lit magical streetlights, the trash cans... And then, increasingly so, on the buildings proper, the shops, the skyscrapers, the cars in the street.
Within half an hour, an inferno is starting to build, and it's clear that there's not going to be anywhere above ground safe from it. But fortunately, there's safety beneath the level of the streets - if you can make your way fast enough to an underground station.
BY NIGHT
In the remains of these subway tunnels, lit mostly by the dim glow of magical energy lines, you're at least safe from the inferno above. Unlike the aboveground parts of the city, however, the tunnels are in an obvious state of disrepair, with broken concrete, rot, and mildew. The stations might have once been clean, but they quite transparently are not now, and the tunnels themselves are as bad or worse.
Thankfully, no trains run anymore, so you're not at risk of being run down on the broken tracks. There's also not any full-on collapses blocking the way, and the tunnels seem well-enough made that there's probably not risk of a cave-in.
Less pleasantly, you aren't the only thing taking shelter in the tunnels from the firestorm above. And the magic of that flame has touched the feral dogs that rove the tunnels, turning them into barking, howling creatures of as much flame as flesh themselves. And then there's the occasional patch of mold, mildew, and slime in the darkest parts of the tunnels, where even the magical circuits have gone out, that moves to douse any light that comes near it...
no subject
[He blinks at the little dialogue box with curiosity.]
Yeah, sure!
>YES
[Now a part of her party, Ruto might notice that Astolfo wasn't entirely alone to begin with.]
What did that do?
no subject
Well, it allows us to keep track of each other a bit better, and it provides a passive boost to certain abilities. But for our current purposes, it helps to designate you as an ally rather than a potential target where my magic is concerned...
[Ruto narrows her eyes again, draws her book with a snap, and flares her right hand toward the centermost firedog.]
Tri-Disaster! Bane! Painflare!
[A flare of tri-colored lights lashes out to strike the firedog, and then smoke and magic billow out further to spread the disease magics to the rest of the enemies, followed by a flare of light that strikes them all as well. She follows it up with a few quick snap of Ruin II spells as she waits for the cooldown to come back around, and then casts Bane one more time before her aethertrail attunement is complete, and she reaches inside herself for that deep well of Bahamut's influence on her own aether.]
Dreadwyrm Trance!
[For a moment an image of a fiercesome dragon's head blazes above her, and power surges through her veins. She can only hope that her erstwhile party member is managing to keep up and deal with his own collection of the enemies. A cycle of fast Ruin IIIs, and then it all comes to a peak.]
DEATHFLARE!
[And then a while-hot laser spears down from nowhere to blast the last several firedogs to nothingness.]
no subject
Whoah!
[He had been...far too distracted to deal with his own share of the hounds, but an idea strikes him as they start to take prominence in his attention again.]
So teaming up with you means we can't hurt each other right?
[He sheathes his sword, and reaches for the horn at his belt.]
no subject
She tilts her head at him, already pulling up another Aetherflow just in case, and then nods.]
Indeed. It helps identify ally from enemy.
1/2
Alright. You might want to take a step back. Or cover your ears.
Let’s go, La Black Luna!
[He holds the small hunting horn up, and it begins to glow. Under the cover of light, the horn begins to snake around him, transforming into a much larger instrument.
With a deep intake of breath, he presses his lips to the mouthpiece, and begins to blow.]
2/2
The very force of the sound is enough to bring an end to the dogs closest to him, daze those further away, and utterly terrify those listening from a distance.
One blast is all he needs, and he quickly turns to catch Ruto’s expression.]
no subject
And oh, but what a sound it is! Ruto's eyes go wide in shock, and she's glad as hell that they're in-party as she watches the dogs fall. When the noise fades away her jaw sags slightly as her hands come down, and the fur on her tail has poofed to all-new levels of epic floofiness.]
...well.
[It's...about the best she can manage, still utterly startled by that display. At least the very few surviving dogs are running for it now.]
no subject
How was that?
[As if he needs to ask.]
no subject
[Ruto's eyes are still wide as Astolfo puts the horn away, and she turns to him and blinks a few more times before grinning widely in delight.]
...that was amazing!
[Cue inaudible victory theme!]
no subject
[He takes a bow, glad that someone seems to appreciate La Black Luna.]
slides in here
Are you alright? I heard the horn, I'm coming now -
[ - It's your sensible half, Astolfo, who may or may not have some concerns due to sudden nooting.]
no subject
Still, she's still on an adrenaline high from the successful fight and the awesome noot, and so the Miqo'te is practically bouncing in place as she gathers her combat chocobo and her Carbuncle back to her side with an absent wave of her hand.]
no subject
[He sounds a little sheepish. He forgot that tunnels would echo.]
There's no danger, really.
no subject
[He has no idea yet that it's a party of three at the moment.]
no subject
Don't worry, we're good! We cleared the last of this pack of those fire dogs. If you need help wherever you are, though, we can always come to you?
[Have a perky and totally unknown lady's voice!]
no subject
[He looks to Ruto, a little startled.]
no subject
I'm perfectly capable of handling myself,
miss, don't concern yourself on my account.
no subject
[Hmm, that was a concern that she hadn't thought about. The paladin hadn't seemed to entirely now how a party worked, and so maybe the chat wasn't as common as she'd assumed.]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude if this was supposed to be private!
no subject
Well, it's not like we've said anything that needed to be kept private, so don't worry about it.
[Not like he has high standards of what should be.]
no subject
In any case, hello! My name is Izunia, I hope Astolfo hasn't damaged your hearing irreparably with that horn of his.
no subject
And hi! I'm Ruto, and while it was loud, being in-party helps prevent friendly damage. Or else I might have lasered him along with the dogs before he used that horn, and I didn't want to do that...
[There's a flash of fang in the grin that she gives Astolfo there.]
no subject
[As if he ever worried about it in the first place.]
no subject
[He's not going to test this for elemancy.]
If you've driven off that pack, then I think it about time to return to camp. I'm falling asleep on my feet.
no subject
[At the news of an actual camp, Ruto perks up. Yes, someplace to actually rest!]
I'd appreciate a chance to rest too - it's definitely been a day.