Heroica RPG - Quest #138: Fade To Black

[Endgame]

During their bickering, the party realizes that the fog here was visibly clearer than other areas of Moone... Why?

Skrall pushed his way next to Karie, "Please pay no mind to the squabbling, we're here to help, Mam. Good to see some remnants of civilization still survive."

"Good to see some people are holding onto their wits too, unlike some of your travelling companions... Nevertheless, you're welcome in Yukumo. I'm Lucy. You?

Hate to tell you, but Yukumo never had many shops to begin with. We're a tourist town, and our claim to fame? Our hot springs. Because of that, most of it is dedicated to catering to visitors, while the citizens here usually go to Mermont or Algon for shopping. And... There's nothing really left of Algon anymore."

Eyes downcast, Lucy pauses and continues.

"So yeah. We have a pantry, but due to the food shortages now that Vorpalis conquered Mermont, and all of the people pouring in from Algon, we're only rationing out food to citizens of Yukumo or Algon. Sorry. We have a bunch of new vending machines some scientist guy installed just recently for tourists - he's there at the Hot Springs, tinkering with something. Want me to walk you there?"

[Lind Whisperer]

Warlen walked right up and slapped Lind in the face.

"I think I speak for all of us when I tell you to SHUT UP!"

Lind turned slowly, and looked Warlen squarely in the eyes.

"Don't slap me."

During their bickering, the party realizes that the fog here was visibly clearer than other areas of Moone... Why?

"Good to see some people are holding onto their wits too, unlike some of your travelling companions... Nevertheless, you're welcome in Yukumo. I'm Lucy. You?

"Pleasure to meet you.

I'm Flynn...Lind...I'm the guy that drives everyone else crazy. Traditionally, I'm called "Shut Up," but I preferentially go by Lind. Call me whatever..."

Hate to tell you, but Yukumo never had many shops to begin with. We're a tourist town, and our claim to fame? Our hot springs. Because of that, most of it is dedicated to catering to visitors, while the citizens here usually go to Mermont or Algon for shopping. And... There's nothing really left of Algon anymore."

"Hey, nothing wrong with hot springs."

Eyes downcast, Lucy pauses and continues.

"So yeah. We have a pantry, but due to the food shortages now that Vorpalis conquered Mermont, and all of the people pouring in from Algon, we're only rationing out food to citizens of Yukumo or Algon. Sorry.

"Is there any place you can donate to the pantry?"

We have a bunch of new vending machines some scientist guy installed just recently for tourists - he's there at the Hot Springs, tinkering with something. Want me to walk you there?"

"A-ha! Yes, I believe we would, thank you very kindly!"

Vending machines, must remember to check out the vending machines...

[Waterbrick Down]

Skrall attempted to physically separate Lind and Warlen, "I thought I'd have to be dealin' with Jinnipher and ya, not the two of you. Now can ya behave yerselves for just five minutes?"

The ogre turned back to Lucy, "Pleasure to meet ya. My name is Skrall and this is my party, Warlen, Jinnipher, Karie, and... well Flynn has done a fine job of introducin' himself. The hot springs sound absolutely delightful. Tell me, how has your community managed to stay relatively untouched by the great wyrm?"

[Lind Whisperer]

Skrall attempted to physically separate Lind and Warlen, "I thought I'd have to be dealin' with Jinnipher and ya, not the two of you. Now can ya behave yerselves for just five minutes?"

Lind frowned and turned away from Warlen. "...Yes sir."

The ogre turned back to Lucy, "Pleasure to meet ya. My name is Skrall and this is my party, Warlen, Jinnipher, Karie, and... well Flynn has done a fine job of introducin' himself. The hot springs sound absolutely delightful. Tell me, how has your community managed to stay relatively untouched by the great wyrm?"

"Excellent question..." Lind furtively took in the surroundings, looking for anything that seemed the least bit peculiar. Edited July 25, 2015 by Lind Whisperer

[Endgame]

"Glad to see the one without a screw loose is leading the gang. Mostly because the upper class that lived here, the ones loyal to Faust, left as soon as he dropped in. The ones here... We're not exactly loyalitsts, but we don't suppport Vorpalis either. We're just a town of scared people, and I don't think Vorpalis really wants to touch us. He seems more intent on wiping away Faust and his followers then really harming "innocents."

Just... Just, please, try to move here as fast as you can. I'm not sure if you've tangled with the dragon yet, but we don't want him here."

[JimBee]

Jinnipher crossed her arms. "That's great that you've been lucky with the dragon and all, I just wish I could see more of my own kind in ther own continent." She looked at the ground. "Unless they were all killed..."

"We don't have time to sightsee, but let's see if we can't find that scientist."

[Endgame]

"Donating to the pantry isn't an option, but if you want to head through the Commoner's Quarter after, I'm sure some poor soul would accept a bite to eat."

Jinnipher crossed her arms. "That's great that you've been lucky with the dragon and all, I just wish I could see more of my own kind in ther own continent." She looked at the ground. "Unless they were all killed..."

"We don't have time to sightsee, but let's see if we can't find that scientist."

"Moon elves just... aren't that plentiful anymore. Most are in Mermont, I think, or have already fled or been killed..."

Lucy grimly leads the party to the hotsprings. Fog clouds the heroes eyes as they approach the location...

It wasn't as serene as Eschaton, but it was certainly an attraction worth visiting.

The water was steamy and inviting, pouring out from stone pyramids craved from a rock wall. Tiny geysers spray out, creating tiny rainbows as light passes through. A small pebble beach led into the waters. On a sunny day or a moonlit night, the water would be beautiful, but he effect was quite dampened by the foggy weather and dreary sky...

"Yukumo's pride and joy. We have other, smaller hot springs for... more "romantic" purposes."

Meanwhile, a man in front of the vending machines was furiously working on some sort of odd device.

"Work, damn you!..."

[Lind Whisperer]

"Donating to the pantry isn't an option, but if you want to head through the Commoner's Quarter after, I'm sure some poor soul would accept a bite to eat."

"Probably a better idea - I'm not sure how long this Barnacle stuff is good for..."

It wasn't as serene as Eschaton, but it was certainly an attraction worth visiting.

"I thought this was a job, not a paid vacation," said Lind, looking towards the beautiful sight with appreciation.

The water was steamy and inviting, pouring out from stone pyramids craved from a rock wall. Tiny geysers spray out, creating tiny rainbows as light passes through. A small pebble beach led into the waters. On a sunny day or a moonlit night, the water would be beautiful, but he effect was quite dampened by the foggy weather and dreary sky...

"Yukumo's pride and joy. We have other, smaller hot springs for... more "romantic" purposes."

"Yeah, we won't be needing those..."

Meanwhile, a man in front of the vending machines was furiously working on some sort of odd device.

"Work, damn you!..."

"What's the machine for?" While waiting for the man to answer, Lind examined the vending machines.

[Kintobor]

Karie shakes her head at the sight of "vending machines" in disgust, looking paranoid.

"I'm sorry, but you're not getting me to buy anything from those... things."

Karie turns to the pools, only to stare at nothingness in shock. She looked away, feeling increasing uncomfortable.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Kintobor

[Waterbrick Down]

"Ya alright there?"

[Endgame]

"You look... disturbed."

"Yeah, we won't be needing those...""What's the machine for?" While waiting for the man to answer, Lind examined the vending machines.

"...Do I know you? Anyway, it's meant to disperse the fog..."

Lind checks the vending machines.

Grand Potion (Restores 25 health to the target.) Costs 10 gold. *8 in stock!*

Grand Tonic (Restores 15 ether to the target.) Costs 30 gold. *8 in stock!*

Remedy (Removes all negative effects from the target.) Costs 10 gold. *8 in stock!*

Edited July 26, 2015 by Endgame

[Kintobor]

"Ya alright there?"

"You look... disturbed."

Karie jumps at the sound of both men's voices.

"Sheesh, can you two not try and spook me? I'm fine... perfectly fine. Just thought I saw something in the water." Karie mumbles, turning her attention back to the waters for a moment before turning back to the party.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Kintobor

[Endgame]

Karie jumps at the sound of both men's voices.

"Sheesh, can you two not try and spook me? I'm fine... perfectly fine. Just thought I saw something in the water." Karie mumbles, turning her attention back to the waters for a moment before turning back to the party.

"More Octoraiders?"

[Lind Whisperer]

"...Do I know you? Anyway, it's meant to disperse the fog..."

"No, I'm afraid we've never met." Lind held out his hand. "L-Flynn Flisperer, e...Assassin, and representative of Heroica. Although, perhaps, not the very best one...

Mind if I take a look at the machine? I took Basics of Mechanic Hacking back in the Forest..."

Karie jumps at the sound of both men's voices.

"Sheesh, can you two not try and spook me? I'm fine... perfectly fine. Just thought I saw something in the water." Karie mumbles, turning her attention back to the waters for a moment before turning back to the party.

"In that case we stay back from the water. Every time someone says they "saw something in the water", sooner or later a giant tentacle breaks the surface and starts trying to drag you away from the secret Dwarven door...yeah, different story."

[Waterbrick Down]

OoC: What time is it currently in quest? From my understanding we woke up in the morning, headed to the cathedral and then popped over to where we're at currently.

Skrall tipped his hat to Karie, "No intention of frightenin' ya, ya just seemed a little off. Any idea what ya saw?" The ogre turned to the scientist. "Disperse the fog ya say? But for what purpose? From my understandin' the dragon seems to be leaving this community alone."

[Endgame]

QM Note: I have to go for about 2-3 hours, so you'll get a proper update then, but it is currently morning (approx. 6-7 AM), overcast skies, with a 33% of precipitation.

[Lind Whisperer]

QM Note: I have to go for about 2-3 hours, so you'll get a proper update then, but it is currently morning (approx. 6-7 AM), overcast skies, with a 33% of precipitation.

OoC: So...we got up at 3 A.M.?

[JimBee]

"Moon elves just... aren't that plentiful anymore. Most are in Mermont, I think, or have already fled or been killed..."

"I knew we were limited, but you're saying the worm killed more of them? I haven't seen a single familiar face since we got here... damn..."

Jinnipher looked around at the machinery cautiously before entering. She tiptoed around the floor to face the scientist. "You must be Sputnik. Listen, King Faust has given us orders to find you and to stop this dragon. Your machine seems to dissipate the fog, and we'll probably need that to stop him. So, can you help us or not?"

[Kintobor]

"In that case we stay back from the water. Every time someone says they "saw something in the water", sooner or later a giant tentacle breaks the surface and starts trying to drag you away from the secret Dwarven door...yeah, different story."

Karie casts a disapproving glance at Lind.

"It was nothing, just... a trick of the light, that's all."

[Lind Whisperer]

"I knew we were limited, but you're saying the worm killed more of them? I haven't seen a single familiar face since we got here... damn..."

Lind would have patted her on the back, but decided that perhaps that this might not be the best time for it. "We'll get 'im. This Moone isn't going into penumbra."

Karie casts a disapproving glance at Lind.

"It was nothing, just... a trick of the light, that's all."

"Why, why, oh why, does everyone keep saying things that people always say in stories immediately before a monster jumps out?!?"

[Kintobor]

"Why, why, oh why, does everyone keep saying things that people always say in stories immediately before a monster jumps out?!?"

"Maybe because you read too many stories." Karie remarks in a bored tone. She turns back and continues to look at a particular spot near one of the rocks.

[Endgame]

QM Note: You fell asleep at around midnight, and woke up roughly six hours later.

Mind if I take a look at the machine? I took Basics of Mechanic Hacking back in the Forest..."

"Hope you've brushed up on the next year or two's advancements, because things have changed pretty radically."

And indeed, Lind could recognize very little of the complicated device... He would be unable to help repairing the main unit.

OoC: What time is it currently in quest? From my understanding we woke up in the morning, headed to the cathedral and then popped over to where we're at currently.

Skrall tipped his hat to Karie, "No intention of frightenin' ya, ya just seemed a little off. Any idea what ya saw?" The ogre turned to the scientist. "Disperse the fog ya say? But for what purpose? From my understandin' the dragon seems to be leaving this community alone."

"I'm not doing this for Yukumo."

"Yeah, real nice, thanks. Let us get torn apart by the dragon."

"N-no, that isn't... Look, I'm not even from Yukumo. I'm doing this for all of Moone. I'm not exactly too thrilled with Faust's rule - supposedly he's been Moone's one and only king, since the start - but I don't like seeing innocents die. So when Vorpalis conquered Mermont and started razing the farmlands, I ran from my forest workshop and ran here... And I noticed that the fog here was thinner, a lot thinner. And I think it's because of the steam from the hot spring, it kind of pushes Vorpalis's fog away, or waters it down, maybe. I can't fully tell. So, using a little metalwork and alchemy, I made a machine that sends out clouds of remedial steam, to counteract the fog. I call it Puffy.

And it worked. 'Til the first adventurers came here, took it, and got killed down the line. A search party went out where the lightning struck, and sure enough... The found the bodies of the first group, and a crushed up Puffy. They brought it back to me, and I've been working on repairing it since. It got dinged up bad.

I'm almost done - If I can pawn some grunt work off on you, though, just to speed up the process, that would be great."

Fixing Puffy:

-The panel is an eight by eight grid, with sixteen black tiles lying outside of it. Eight horizontal black tiles, eight vertical. The white tile doesn't do anything.

-Each black tile contains a fuse of a primary color. We're going by primary colors of pigments, not light, so it's gonna be red, blue, or yellow.

-The remaining fuses here are secondary colors.

-Secondary colors on the grid are created when two primary colors from the black tiles intersect. Imagine each black tile on the top draws an imaginary line down, and the ones on the left an imaginary line to the right. Where these two lines intersect is where the corresponding fuse is.

-Purple fuses are created from blue and red.

-Orange fuses are created from red and yellow.

-Green fuses are created from from blue and yellow.

-Using the remaining fuses on the grey tiles, you must deduce the colors of all the fuses on the black tiles.

-Don't forget that the fuses on the black tiles are only primary colors. No exceptions.

"Easy enough, right? If you complete this, I should have the main unti up and running pretty soon... We can combine our efforts and get this thing running again."

"Question. About... What this "Puffy" does. I get that it disperses the fog. But say someone is already under the fog's affects. Will it cure them?"

"...I honestly can't say."

"Hm. Well, we better get to work."

[JimBee]

OOC: I'm not sure I understand. You want us to tell you what primary colors are supposed to line the eight black tiles on the left and eight on the top, right? You might've made a mistake by posting the solution...

Jinnipher inspected the device, as if she knew anything about such technology. "Looks fine to me, kiddo. Maybe it just needs a kickstart." She gave a good kick to the contraption with the bottom of her boot.

[Lind Whisperer]

"I'm not doing this for Yukumo."

"Yeah, real nice, thanks. Let us get torn apart by the dragon."

"N-no, that isn't... Look, I'm not even from Yukumo. I'm doing this for all of Moone. I'm not exactly too thrilled with Faust's rule - supposedly he's been Moone's one and only king, since the start - but I don't like seeing innocents die. So when Vorpalis conquered Mermont and started razing the farmlands, I ran from my forest workshop and ran here... And I noticed that the fog here was thinner, a lot thinner. And I think it's because of the steam from the hot spring, it kind of pushes Vorpalis's fog away, or waters it down, maybe. I can't fully tell. So, using a little metalwork and alchemy, I made a machine that sends out clouds of remedial steam, to counteract the fog. I call it Puffy.

"The problem with that, is that sooner or later you're going to dry up the hot springs, by boiling them faster than they should...But, then again, we're going to kill the dragon so it's a mute issue."

And it worked. 'Til the first adventurers came here, took it, and got killed down the line. A search party went out where the lightning struck, and sure enough... The found the bodies of the first group, and a crushed up Puffy. They brought it back to me, and I've been working on repairing it since. It got dinged up bad.

"Two questions: A, There were previous adventurers? and B, Where did they find them...?"

I'm almost done - If I can pawn some grunt work off on you, though, just to speed up the process, that would be great."

"Sounds like fun."

Jinnipher inspected the device, as if she knew anything about such technology. "Looks fine to me, kiddo. Maybe it just needs a kickstart." She gave a good kick to the contraption with the bottom of her boot.

"Hey! Be careful of that!"

[Endgame]

"I'm not using the hotpsring water, its just the same principle."

"We've known there was another group since the beginning."

"On the outskirts of Mermont. Vorpalis must've placed a bounty on their heads or something; hopefully the same doesn't happen to you."

OOC: I'm not sure I understand. You want us to tell you what primary colors are supposed to line the eight black tiles on the left and eight on the top, right? You might've made a mistake by posting the solution...

QM Note: ...I'm an idiot. This is why you don't QM on three hours of sleep, folks. I'm not going to punish you for my mistake, so we're gonna move this along. If anyone wants to actually solve a puzzle, just PM me and I'll remix the colors so you can actually solve something.

The contraption bursts to life and, and true to its name, puffs out a cloud of remedial smoke.

"That... Shouldn't have... Worked... Uh, anyway. Thanks for the "percussive maitenance." Puffy is good to go."