Shoot for the Moon (Part Eighteen)
This took me an unreasonably long time to write. But I got there in the end. :whistle:

*

Shoot for the Moon (Part Eighteen)
"I'm not dead yet. I'm not a slave or a commodity to be traded," says Keron. "While I still have a few droplets of strength left, I defy you."

For a few moments, he becomes a storm of blades and cannon fire. Bloodied and battered, Melphior stumbles backwards out of reach, shrieking, "Argh! Why won't you just die already?!"
Stretching out your mind, you reach for Keron's statue. As you connect to what remains of the Elder God, you are almost overwhelmed, dragged under by an onrushing tide. You feel a rush of blood, a veritable flood, from your head down to the tips of your toes. Beyond the battle that rages all around you, in which the Myrmidons are eerily silent while the demons emit bestial howls and agonized moans, you hear the pounding of drums, the blaring of horns and the bellowing of exultant battle hymns. You feel the pounding of gonnes, the clashing of blades and the cracking of bones. And you feel his attention turn to you, just for a moment.

"Distract me not," he tells you, even as he continues his duel with Melphior. Once again, the demon lord is driven back as the elder god becomes something much more than a battered old statue: for a few moments, you see him as the incarnation of violence and slaughter he once was, a huge and horrible shadow that seems impervious to harm, striking and slashing with a hundred serrated blades.

In the seventh round of combat, Keron rolled 10d6 -7 because of the injuries he has sustained so far and got a total of 29. (1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 and -7)

Melphior rolled 10d6-2 and got a total of 28. (1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6 and -2)

"Can you do anything so Hurondus can't recover your body if you're defeated?" you ask. "I'm sure he plans to trap your soul somehow!"

"There's little I can do to prevent him taking the shattered remnants of this statue, if he wants," Keron replies calmly, even as Melphior launches his counterattack, ripping and tearing at him with shadow magic. "But there are many relics of the elder gods all over the world. An abundance of them, in fact. If that was all he needed to trap my soul, he would have done so already."

Great chunks of metal are torn away, leaving his statue as little more than a fractured, broken hulk. Nevertheless, he refuses to surrender. You know that he is the elder god of striving and so he must fight on until the end, until all hope is lost, and even further than that. If he were to do otherwise, he would be betraying himself and everything he ever stood for.

In the eighth round of combat, Keron rolled 10d6-7 and got a total of 28. (1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 and -7)

Melphior rolled 10d6-3 and got a total of 30. (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 and -3)

"Besides, even if this statue is destroyed, I have yet another refuge," says Keron. Despite the grievous wounds his current host body has suffered, he continues to fight with such berserk fury that Melphior is once again forced to retreat. "I'm sure you've heard of the Blood Sword."

You vaguely remember the tale of Gwydur and Gwygaun, which your father told you six or seven years ago, although it seems like a lifetime has passed since then. The Blood Sword was a weapon Sir Gwygaun took from one of his defeated foes, which turned him into a murderous brute who slew his brother and was slain by him in turn.

Horrified, you cry out, "That was you?!"

"Distract me not," Keron chides you for a second time.

"Throughout history, you've set brother against brother and turned heroes into monsters!"

"I gave them strength and glory, if they were worthy of it," he corrects you. "Strength enough to overthrow tyrants, slay terrible beasts and slaughter armies of demons."

You don't see any point in arguing with him. By now, you understand he will always try to cast himself in the best possible light, to portray himself as far nobler and wiser than he really is, despite the fact that many of his actions and decisions have had disastrous consequences. He won't accept any attempt to contradict his glorified self-image, so you might as well not bother. Instead, you turn your attention elsewhere.

In the ninth round of combat, Keron rolled 10d6-8 and got a total of 31. (1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6 and -8)

Melphior rolled 10d6-3 and got a total of 28. (1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6 and -3)

Because your entire conversation with Keron took place telepathically, including your horrified outburst, no one else seems to have noticed or to be paying any attention to you. Hurondus is watching the duel between Keron and Melphior, as avidly as a spectator at a jousting tournament. You drift closer to him, flying as lightly as if you were a winged insect, muttering just loud enough for him to hear: "Disappointing…"

"Yes, it is," he says, seeming irritated by the fact that, despite his many wounds, Keron still seems to be getting the better of Melphior as often as not.

And then you flit away before he has a chance to consider his words or yours, to take notice of you or wonder what's going on.

If you're interested, I rolled for the next few rounds of combat between Keron and Melphior after Elys left:

Round 10
Keron rolled 10d6-8 and got a total of 36. (1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6 and -8)
Melphior rolled 10d6-4 and got a total of 38. (1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6 and -4)

Round 11
Keron rolled 10d6-9 and got a total of 25. (1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 and -9)
Melphior rolled 10d6-4 and got a total of 25. (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6 and -4)

Round 12
Keron rolled 10d6-9 and got a total of 33. (1, 1, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6 and -9)
Melphior rolled 10d6-4 and got a total of 28. (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 and -4)

So yeah… I think it's pretty clear that Melphior's gonna win in the end, but Keron's certainly not making it easy for him.

Retreating to a safe distance away, past the noise and frenetic violence of the ongoing battle, until you're surrounded by so many distractions that it seems impossible that Hurondus could notice your opening a portal, you take a last look around, hoping to see that the Myrmidons are on the verge of victory. Instead, you are dismayed that the opposite appears to be true. Despite the fact that the demons are fighting on two flanks at once, there are so many of them that this seems to make little difference. They so heavily outnumber their enemies that they are able to fight on regardless of any losses they may suffer. The Myrmidons fight with machinelike efficiency, but they are not invulnerable. One by one, they are hacked down or torn to pieces or smashed into the dust, but even as they die they make no more sound than if they were a child's wooden dolls. You see one of their beetle-like vehicles, missing all of the legs on one side, mindlessly shuffling around in a circle. Because it is a machine, you can't be sure if it has a life or soul of its own, so you don't know whether to pity it or not.

Elsewhere, the orcs are fighting valiantly and with consummate skill, defending the 'bullet' and the Night Blades' field headquarters, but they have suffered casualties as well. You see more than one of them lying in a crumpled heap, broken and unmoving, having found the glorious death they sought. They seem less hard-pressed now the demons have other enemies to focus on, but still you wonder how much longer they can hold out.

Deciding not to waste any more time, you teleport into the heart of the prison fortress, where you find the majority of the Night Blades, the elves and the Chosen you brought along on this expedition. They are standing before an enormous silvery-grey door, which appears to be inscribed with many magical runes. You overhear snatches of conversation as you approach:

"Twenty-seven different keys?! You've got to be joking!"

"–find them anyway? I mean… a feather from one of Telthalus's winged cats? Aren't they supposed to be extinct?"

"I've never even heard of some of these things! What is a tintinnabulum anyway?"

"Nymandor must have had a lot of fun designing this puzzle," says Green Flame. "I wish I was having fun."



What will Elys do next?
[] Write in.

There's quite a lot to digest in this latest update, so I'm going to leave it up to you to decide how to proceed.
 
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Nice, nice. Good thing Elys is out of there...

Alrighty! A puzzle door with 27 locks?
... Well, I guess we can't know for sure since we just got here, though. Alright then...

Priorities set, we gotta open this door. And first of all, that means we have to get more info about it.


I propose we ask everyone else what they've figured out thus far.
 
3 x 3 x 3 x 3 Keys

We can't just merge this part of the moon with the dreamworld and dream up the Keys, can we?

Using a symbolic drop of willingly given blood from 9 goblins.
3 who stay awake for the ritual, 3 who fall asleep, 3 entering a trance between awake and asleep.
All calling out to the their dream mother.
With 3 of her children acting through their chosen both to reaffirm her connection to the free waking world and to add part of their power.
 
As you connect to what remains of the Elder God, you are almost overwhelmed, dragged under by an onrushing tide. You feel a rush of blood, a veritable flood, from your head down to the tips of your toes.
An excellent passage, very evocative.

So yeah… I think it's pretty clear that Melphior's gonna win in the end, but Keron's certainly not making it easy for him.
Goodness gracious he is not. Those are some real raw rolls, considering that they're both at 10d6. Say what you will, he is at least good at fighting.

Because it is a machine, you can't be sure if it has a life or soul of its own, so you don't know whether to pity it or not.
A little pity, it's still doing its darndest. And rip all those Myrmidons...

Elsewhere, the orcs are fighting valiantly and with consummate skill, defending the 'bullet' and the Night Blades' field headquarters, but they have suffered casualties as well. You see more than one of them lying in a crumpled heap, broken and unmoving, having found the glorious death they sought.
RIP, and thank you for your service. Few deaths more glorious than in defense of all of Creation.

"Nymandor must have had a lot of fun designing this puzzle," says Green Flame. "I wish I was having fun."
Top 10 funniest Green Flame lines

Priorities set, we gotta open this door. And first of all, that means we have to get more info about it.


I propose we ask everyone else what they've figured out thus far.
Agreed. Maybe we find a way to send the Night Blades back, as an army isn't doing us much good here - a few goblin representatives for their unique perspective should suffice for puzzle solving assistance.

But yeah, we need puzzle deets. Twenty seven... that's 3x3x3, a good solid number for this universe. I would bet dollars to donuts there will be a representative item for each of the elder gods.

We can't just merge this part of the moon with the dreamworld and dream up the Keys, can we? Using a symbolic drop of willingly given blood from 9 goblins. 3 who stay awake for the ritual, 3 who fall asleep, 3 entering a trance between awake and asleep. All calling out to the their dream mother. With 3 of her children acting through their chosen both to reaffirm her connection to the free waking world and to add part of their power.
Well, ninja'd, but that's something to consider - I doubt we'll be able to procure a winged cat feather without cheating a little, at the least.
 
...I think it is pretty safe to say that we're not going to be able to unlock the door, at least not with the keys that Nymandor intended. Especially not on a very short time limit caused by 2 or 3 angry superbosses just outside with an army. Let's just hope this is genuinely a case of fencepost security, and look for ways to cut the gordian knot. Portal around a thing? Blow up athing? Whatever it is we want done by getting keys, let's try just using brute force to do that instead.
 
Keron really is the deity of the protagonists of the shounen above all else, isn't he? Of all the trouble Melphior expected to run into here, I don't think this guy was on the list.

I wonder how we can cheat the system. Can we, for example, name a dish tintinnabulum and give wings to some ordinary cat in Telthalus? Perhaps even if this is not how it should have happened, having the "correct" keys would weaken the seal.
 
No, that would be 81 keys.

3 x 3 x 3 = 27

We can't just merge this part of the moon with the dreamworld and dream up the Keys, can we?

Using a symbolic drop of willingly given blood from 9 goblins.
3 who stay awake for the ritual, 3 who fall asleep, 3 entering a trance between awake and asleep.
All calling out to the their dream mother.
With 3 of her children acting through their chosen both to reaffirm her connection to the free waking world and to add part of their power.
...I think it is pretty safe to say that we're not going to be able to unlock the door, at least not with the keys that Nymandor intended. Especially not on a very short time limit caused by 2 or 3 angry superbosses just outside with an army. Let's just hope this is genuinely a case of fencepost security, and look for ways to cut the gordian knot. Portal around a thing? Blow up athing? Whatever it is we want done by getting keys, let's try just using brute force to do that instead.
I wonder how we can cheat the system. Can we, for example, name a dish tintinnabulum and give wings to some ordinary cat in Telthalus? Perhaps even if this is not how it should have happened, having the "correct" keys would weaken the seal.
I should probably explain the puzzle in more detail before I start answering these questions... but yes, you can probably recreate most of the keys in the Dreaming World.

Of course, you'd need to have people with you who know exactly what those things are supposed to look, sound and feel like... which is why it's lucky you've got the elves with you.

Well, I suppose it's not a very difficult puzzle. But there are a few keys you'll find more difficult to get hold of.

Top 10 funniest Green Flame lines
Thank you. I feel like I've used that one before, but I can't remember where.
 
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Worth noting, I think we should put "find the blood sword before Keron uses it to destabilize world peace" on our long-term goal list. Not that we have world peace, but I imagine, if he is stuck in there, he'd stir things up.
 
Worth noting, I think we should put "find the blood sword before Keron uses it to destabilize world peace" on our long-term goal list. Not that we have world peace, but I imagine, if he is stuck in there, he'd stir things up.
Step 1: Find Bloodblade
Step 2: Acquire Bloodblade
Step 3: Store Bloodblade in this worlds equivalent of the mariana trench.
 
Step 3: Build a second, smaller Space Gonne, for the sole purpose of launching that stupid sword (and any other evil artifacts we happen to find) into deep space, as far from any celestial bodies as possible
 
Shoot for the Moon (Part Nineteen)
Step 3: Store Bloodblade in this worlds equivalent of the mariana trench.
Mishrak: "It's mine now."

Step 3: Build a second, smaller Space Gonne, for the sole purpose of launching that stupid sword (and any other evil artifacts we happen to find) into deep space, as far from any celestial bodies as possible
Alien Spaceman: "It's mine now."

A space Gonne on the dark side of the moon!
Gandalf: "No, the only way to destroy it is to cast it into the fires of Mount Doom, in which it was forged."

*

Shoot for the Moon (Part Nineteen)
Deciding not to waste any more time, you teleport into the heart of the prison fortress, where you find the majority of the Night Blades, the elves and the Chosen you brought along on this expedition. They are standing before an enormous silvery-grey door, which appears to be inscribed with many magical runes. You overhear snatches of conversation as you approach:

"Twenty-seven different keys?! You've got to be joking!"

"–find them anyway? I mean… a feather from one of Telthalus's winged cats? Aren't they supposed to be extinct?"

"I've never even heard of some of these things! What is a tintinnabulum anyway?"

"Nymandor must have had a lot of fun designing this puzzle," says Green Flame. "I wish I was having fun."
You continue listening to your friends and allies discussing the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell. Apparently, the twenty-seven magical locks are divided into sets of three, which are themed around the nine Elder Gods. In tribute to Rynn the sea god, it demands a rare pearl, the shell of a giant crab and a tintinnabulum fit for one of his temples. For Vlakoroth the beast lord, you must produce a dinosaur tooth, a unicorn horn and a fragment of the spear that was used to slay the dread Oudagorgon. For Telthalus, a human thigh bone, a phoenix eggshell and a feather from a now-extinct species of winged cat. And so on.

Before you can suggest that facsimiles of all of these objects could be conjured from the Dreaming World, you overhear that someone else has already made that suggestion. The Night Blades seem to think it can be done. In fact, they seem quite gleeful at the prospect of merging this place with the Dreaming World, like Melphior's cultists attempted to do in Tyrepheum, turning a tool used by one of their greatest enemies into their means of achieving victory.

However, there is a problem with that plan, as Bellona explains: "The last and most important key is a sample of Nymandor's own blood. Evidently, he didn't want anyone to be able to open the door without defeating him first."

"Why can't we dream up some of that as well?" asks Wranolf, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"Without knowing its exact properties, I very much doubt we could manufacture an acceptable substitute," says Belle. "In order to copy it, we'd need a sample of it. And if we already had a sample of it, we wouldn't need to copy it."

"So we're stuck here?" Yasaj frustratedly kicks up some of the dust beneath her feet. "No way through the door?"

"Zora Alishanda knew Nymandor. He was the one who imprisoned her in this place," says Dakendar Lugat, speaking for the Night Blades. "There must be a version of him somewhere in the Dreaming World. A nightmare, perhaps. We'll summon him to this place, make him bleed and use his spilled blood to open the door."

Samaya heaves a sigh of relief. Considering that she doesn't actually need to breathe except to speak, it is a somewhat exaggerated expression of emotion. "Good idea. I thought I was going to have to…" She pauses, frowns and says, "I should probably tell you, just in case it becomes necessary: those of the Elder Gods who made their own elves… ah, did so for multiple reasons. For example, they hoped to plant the seeds of their own rebirth. Therefore, it is possible that you could… uh, use a ritual to resurrect Nymandor in my body. And then you could take some of his blood and open the gate."

"That would kill you and utterly destroy your soul," says Nerya with a disapproving frown. "An unnecessary sacrifice."

"I think we'll save that for Plan C or D," says Drukhalion with a grim smile. "I have a suggestion of my own. My great-great-great grandfather was Belektambu, a god of the southlands, who is either the son of Nymandor or one of his favoured lieutenants who took over his role as god of gateways after his disappearance. I could summon him here and I'm sure he could open the final lock, if we'd already opened all the others. It's not certain to work, but it's got to be a better idea than sacrificing a valued comrade for no reason, don't you think?"

You stare at Drukhalion in surprise. This is the first time you've heard him say more than a few words. Also, you were unaware that he had such an illustrious heritage; you knew he was the son of Nyssa and a Falahvarzi warlord, but other gods as well?

"Just how many gods are you related to?" asks Yasaj, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Most royal families claim descent from at least one god," says Drukhalion. "Sometimes it's true and sometimes not."

"So it might not be true that you're descended from Belektambu?" you ask.

He hesitates. "I… ah, I'm fairly sure it's true. And even if it isn't, it shouldn't be too difficult to summon him here. No doubt he'll want to be part of this."

"But he may not agree to help us," Nerya points out. "Almost certainly, he will have an agenda of his own. He may demand payment."

"I've never heard of Belektambu before," you admit. "Why is that?"

"He is one of the most important gods in Tsotchewan and Ekaiziyo and other nations of the far southlands. And you'll find a few of his worshippers in most of the larger port cities around the world," Drukhalion informs you. "But he has made no attempt to expand his area of influence beyond that."

You wonder why, but don't bother to ask. Right now, you have more important concerns.

"Unless the price he demands is impossible to pay, it's likely to be worth it," says Dakendar. "If our mother goddess is freed, she'll be in a position to handsomely reward those who've aided her."

"Three options," says Samaya. "Which should we try first?"

"Either of the ones that don't involve killing you," says Nerya, glaring at her.

Samaya anxiously moistens her lips. "Melphior is allied with… an archmage. An old enemy of mine. He's the one who killed my brothers and sisters and sold me into slavery. Right now, he's here on the moon. It will be difficult to defeat him. In fact, he may be even more dangerous than Melphior. But I'm sure Zora Alishanda would be more than a match for him, especially with all of you beside her, so…" She grimaces. Her voice takes on a tone of steely determination. "I would gladly sacrifice myself – my very existence – if it meant the destruction of him and all his works."

"We may need to discuss getting you some counselling," says Belle. "For now, though… what shall we do?"



Which option should they choose?
[] Summon the dream version of Nymandor. Injure him, take his blood and use it to open the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell.
OR
[] Resurrect Nymandor in Samaya's body. Injure him, take his blood and use it to open the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell.
OR
[] Open all of the locks except the last one (which requires Nymandor's blood to open). Summon Belektambu and ask him to open it for you.
OR
[] Do something else (write in).

I think I've explained the pros and cons of each option in the text, but please feel free to ask if there's something you'd like me to clarify.
 
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[X] Summon the dream version of Nymandor. Injure him, take his blood and use it to open the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell.

We're going to be using dream magic for the other stuff anyway, so why not try this first?
 
[X] Summon the dream version of Nymandor. Injure him, take his blood and use it to open the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell.
 
Interesting stuff, gonna move with the herd on this one
[X] Summon the dream version of Nymandor. Injure him, take his blood and use it to open the door to Zora Alishanda's prison cell.
 
"Zora Alishanda knew Nymandor. He was the one who imprisoned her in this place," says Dakendar Lugat, speaking for the Night Blades. "There must be a version of him somewhere in the Dreaming World. A nightmare, perhaps. We'll summon him to this place, make him bleed and use his spilled blood to open the door."
I like this idea, but I feel like Nymandor might oppose us rather than assist us in a manner that would use up a lot of time.

"Either of the ones that don't involve killing you," says Nerya, glaring at her.

Samaya anxiously moistens her lips.
"Okay now hear me out, here's why killing me is a good idea"
"We may need to discuss getting you some counselling," says Belle. "For now, though… what shall we do?"
Oh definitely, she has a magic spell in her head that makes her less traumatized over time and she's still like this - she needs somethin'

[x] Open all of the locks except the last one (which requires Nymandor's blood to open). Summon Belektambu and ask him to open it for you.

This can be done coterminously with the dream magic, and doesn't run the risk of Nymandor getting in our way - it does involve an unknown actor, but we're more likely to gain an ally than an enemy, where I feel like Nymandor might more likely earn us an enemy than an ally.
 
[X] Try just brute forcing our way through the locks first, before we try any long and complicated plans

Seriously, at this point, these locks are so hard to open legitimately that the only reason I can think of for Nymandor to even make them in the first place is to trick his enemies into outsmarting themselves trying to complete impossible tasks. What would we do if he didn't bother to put the locks there, and just stuck a big magically reinforced solid wall in front of us? Just pretend he did that.
 
I like this idea, but I feel like Nymandor might oppose us rather than assist us in a manner that would use up a lot of time.
I think Nymandor being hostile is taken for granted.
Summon Nymandor nightmare and apply violence from 5 Chosen (and a bunch of nightblades, and whatever Zora adds to the "hurt her enemy to free her" effort, like goblins from her afterlife that are good at dream fighting and willing to help so their goddess is freed rather than killed).

For the Seabased things we could also ask Mishrak for help with dreaming it up if it is faster. (Analogue for any other friendly gods with domain overlap with the old gods)
 
Seriously, at this point, these locks are so hard to open legitimately that the only reason I can think of for Nymandor to even make them in the first place is to trick his enemies into outsmarting themselves trying to complete impossible tasks. What would we do if he didn't bother to put the locks there, and just stuck a big magically reinforced solid wall in front of us? Just pretend he did that.
The reason there are so many locks is to delay anyone trying to rescue Zora Alishanda. It was meant to slow things down for long enough that Nymandor would be able to come along and fight off the would-be rescuer. Except now Nymandor is missing, presumed dead.

Of course, Nymandor himself wouldn't need to bother with the locks. He could open the door with ease, if he ever wanted to. Belektambu might be able to do it as well.
 
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