Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete

[Alectai]

Tactics is hard in a written game.

 

[SoaringHawk218]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X]Plan Doors and Corners
-[X]Secondary Objectives
--[X]Recover as many dragonstones as possible
-[X]Strategy
--[X]Advance towards the room where the sounds are coming from (left)
---[X]Assuming it's an enemy group, defeat them
---[X]Recover the dragonstones in the room
----[X]If there are two in the room, split up with the same teams as before to recover them
--[X]Going clockwise, advance room-by-room following the same procedure as above
--[X]Ryza's combat strategy of favoring White Magic and Dragon Transformation conditions remain the same as last time

"Respect the wishes of those who came before. Should they wish to continue to aid you even after departing for My side, then take up their stones in times of need, before replacing them upon their shrines once the need has past.
Should they wish, however, to rest in peace, then leave them to their slumber, for they have lived long and deserve their final, eternal sleep."
A Mother's Wisdom: Words from the First Mother


Swallowing, you force yourself not to shrink back behind your friends: when it comes to magic, your White magic and innate resistance is the best defense. You should be the one protecting them. "Alright, let's go," you say. "I don't think there'd be more than one or two Stone shrines in each of the other rooms; we go in, grab them so the lich can't eat them, then move on. If we have to split up, we do, but otherwise we stick together."

Kelton grimaces. "Yeah, don't want that thing getting the jump on anyone without our priestess around, huh?" he says, ruffling your hair soothingly.

"I'm not sure it would go for anyone else," Axton says. "From the beginning, it has been completely focused on Mistress Ryza. Even after being wounded by the rest of us, it barely spared a glance for anyone else." You wince; you'd noticed that, but it was still terrifying to consider.

Filling through the short corridor between the two rooms, you brace yourself for what's to come. The lich will have probably twisted the lingering essence of more of your ancestors into those wraiths: hopefully it hadn't had time to get a lot of them together…

The next tomb-chamber of the Crypts was much like the first, if somewhat smaller. Like before, countless sarcophagi were scattered around the room, seemingly at random but with an underlying pattern. Thankfully, there's no sign of the lich near the Stone Shrine siting near the back wall, its flickering purple-yellow glowing pitifully in the darkness.

As you start to lead the way towards it, a faint chill makes you stop. "Wait…" you whisper, brightening the ball of White magic in your palm until it throws the room into relief.

For a moment, it seems that there's nothing there, but as you take another step forwards, some of the shadows start to move.

"Wraiths!" Lancel calls as six of the beasts unfold from behind coffins and start making their way towards you, their red eyes opening and glinting coolly.

Spoiler: Combat 1: Round 1

US: [Ryza: (4s + 4as)] [Kelton (4s+rerolls)] [Claire (4s+rerolls+1df)] [Belle: 5s+rerolls] [Axton (2s)] [Lancel: (2s)] [Sir Octavio (6s)] [Support (2s + 1s)] = (30s+4as+ 1df)

THEM: (2,2,3,4,4,5) = 20

(1, 8, 1, 6,) (5>10, 8, 7, 7,) (5>2, 5>8, 7, 6>7,) (10, 7, 10, 2>3, 9) (2, 6,) (1, 8,) (5, 3, 1, 4, 5, 8,) (3, 7, 4)

15+4=19

8, 1, 4, 8, 8, 4, 9, 4, 5, 10, 4, 7, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 8, 4, 6

2-1=1

Win by more than 6: Defeat all wraiths and acquire stone quickly.

As the wraiths approach, you step back a little to let Kelton and Claire, who are nearest, move to cover you. You can destroy them, you know you can, but you need to be able to focus to do it quickly. Light begins to gather around Mother's Hymn, which is thankfully cool again, as you focus on the biggest and most dangerous looking wraith.

The monsters, meanwhile, seem not to have learned from the previous battle. Maybe they're not smart enough to learn? Or maybe these are completely different creatures and who knows what they're doing. They advance in a ragged line, their shadowy arms shifting to become claws. Swallowing, you send a jet of light towards the biggest wraith. Just like the ones before it, it vanishes nearly instantly, as does one of the smaller ones that was too close.

Meanwhile, the other four swarm over the tombs towards you. Thankfully, Kelton and Claire are still in front of you, and unlike the wraiths they have learned from the previous fights. Rather than overly focus on defending themselves, they simply use the longer range of their lances to strike at the wraiths as they approach. The two larger, more dangerous ones disperse as the weapons jab through their "heads," banishing them. The remaining two are able to close the range enough to try and strike, but the simplicity of their advance has allowed your friends to predict where they'll attack from, and so their shields are in place in plenty of time. As they push the shadowy monsters back, one is shot by Lancel, while the other is struck down by Sir Octavio.

All in all, the whole fight took about six seconds.

"Gotta love dumb enemies," Kelton says cheerfully. "Now, let's go get the stone so we can move on."

"Already did it," Belle says, seemingly reappearing from behind one of the larger sarcophagi, holding the corrupted dragonstone in her hands. Thankfully, she's being careful and not waving it around or squeezing it too hard. You don't know if you can save those stones, but you want to be able to try!

Meanwhile, the thief was continuing. "We should move on. If we can find that big monster before it gets out of its bubble, we can get read to shank it the moment it comes out. Might prevent it from running away again." You're not quite sure if that's the case, but any possibility of ending this before anyone or anything you care about is put at more risk is a good thing.

"Alright," you say. "I think… I think it's in the next room, over there. It feels cold."

"Everything will be fine, Mistress Ryza," Sir Octavio says. "We've defeated these monsters at every turn, we shall do so again." You can't help but smile a bit at his confidence. It doesn't even feel misplaced; you have been beating these monsters pretty well. Sure, the lich was kind of scary when it got on top of you, but your White magic had been enough to keep it back until your friends could drive it away.

Just a little more, and your ancestors could rest in peace again.

As the group makes their way into the next room, you instantly spot the lich, standing in front of another Stone Shrine. It's recovered somewhat from the clobbering Claire gave it: its skull is at least in one piece now, and the rib you'd burned was mostly fixed. However, there are still clear marks of battle. One of its eyes is still gone, and its fingers have only partially regenerated.

Glaring your way, the lich hisses as it gestures with its free hand, the other still locked in a death-grip around the crumbling dragonstone in the shrine. Flashes of dark lightning jolt from its partially-reformed finger bones, and ten wraiths soon form from the lingering essence of the restless dead. The monsters form up, turn towards you and your friends, and advance with malice blazing in their glowing red eyes.

Spoiler: Combat 2: Round 1

US: [Ryza: (4s + 4as)] [Kelton (4s+rerolls)] [Claire (4s+rerolls+1df)] [Belle: 5s+rerolls] [Axton (2s)] [Lancel: (2s)] [Sir Octavio (6s)] [Support (2s + 1s)] = (30s+4as+ 1df)

THEM: Wraiths: (3,3,4,4,4,4,5,5,5,5) = 42

(9, 6, 7, 10,) (1>4, 7, 10, 8,) (8, 1>1, 2>1, 9,) (5>10, 6>7, 2>1, 4>4, 10) (5, 1,) (4, 3,) (6, 1, 6, 8, 9, 9,) (3, 7, 9)

16+4=20

4, 1, 8, 4, 2, 2, 8, 9, 7, 8, 5, 10, 10, 9, 8, 6, 2, 7, 4, 5, 1, 9, 8, 8, 7, 2, 10, 3, 3, 3, 1, 9, 3, 6, 3, 10, 6, 2, 2, 10, 8, 4

9-1=8

Win by more than 6: Defeat all wraiths, organize formation for fighting lich

Once again, you fall back to let the humans cover you, silently thanking the Mother that the Lich hadn't thought to simply hold its minions back and try to overwhelm you with one big wave. Still, outnumbered by nearly half-again, you and the others are going to have to go all out.

Rather than try to focus your White magic into specific blasts, you decide to try a new tactic. These wraiths are just so weak to the light that surely it would be better to just try to hit as many of them as you could all at once. Weaving the magic together, you push it out safely past Claire and Kelton before letting it loose, sending a wave of light flashing throughout the room.

Unfortunately, it seems that you'd miscalculated. These wraiths seem stronger and more put-together than the previous ones, so while two shudder and disintegrate, the rest press on even as their forms start to waver. Quickly refocusing, you're able to tag one of the bigger ones, banishing it from existence before your friends move up to keep the remaining seven from swarming you.

Lancel and Axton both put an arrow into the face of one of the more put-together ones, causing it to disperse. Then, they both draw daggers and go for another of the weaker ones on the edge, one that has already started wavering. It takes their short blades a few swipes, but other than a minor scratch on Lancel's arm that you'll be able to deal with in a second once this is over, they're fine.

Meanwhile, Sir Octavio and Belle flank to the other side, where the three surviving stronger ones are located. For a moment, you're worried that they're going to be overwhelmed, but it seems that the wraiths are nearly as focused on you as their lich master. Belle, smaller and less shiny, is a half-step behind Sir Octavio. One wraith moves to engage him while the other two dart past, their claws bared as their burning eyes fix on you. Belle, however, silently moves up to slit one's "throat" before jumping the other from behind. It doesn't even have time to react as she slams her blade into the back of its head, banishing it just as it's starting to raise its claws to strike at you. You lower your White magic shield just in time to watch it vanish, revealing Belle behind it and allowing her to give you a wink.

"Aren't you glad you kept me around?" she asks casually as Sir Octavio finishes dealing with the wraith he's facing, flourishing his sword slightly as it disperses.

You smile. "I've always been glad to have you around, Belle," you say, glancing over to see how Claire and Kelton are doing.

The two soldiers, thankfully, didn't have too hard of a job. Of the two wraiths that try to overwhelm them, each soldier carefully but firmly drives a lance through their chests. As with others of their kind, this blow does not instantly disperse the dark monster, but it does slow them down. As the creatures drive themselves down the wooden shafts, their claws outreached and scratching, the soldiers raise their shields. However, rather than trying to block the claws, they instead us the edges (or the point, in Claire's case) to smash the wraith's intangible skulls. The monsters shudder before vanishing, leaving only dark stain-marks on the lances.

A moment of silence falls over the hall. Once again, weakened and disrupted by your White magic, the wraiths proved to be an insufficient barrier to really threaten or even slow you down. Stepping forwards, you look to the lich.

"Let's spread out a little, so we can catch any wraiths that show up while they're forming," you say. "Kelton, Claire, would you stay close to me?"

"Of course, Mistress Ryza," Claire says.

Having a moment to think, you take the second to huff. "Just Ryza," you say. "You're my friend, you don't have to be so-"

You're distracted, however, by the flash of hate that spikes through the magic in the air. Flinching, you turn to look at the enemy you'd almost forgotten about. "Die…" the lich grinds out, its jaw reforming as it clenches its fist around the dragonstone.

Your heart stops as the stone crumbles away, dark lightning gathering around the burned stumps of the lich's fingers before flowing up and through the limbs. The sudden rush of power seems to be a spell that struck both ways; you can hear the faint cracks of bone under stress, and one of the partially-regenerated fingers falls off. However, you can sense as the magic around the lich rises up dangerously: it's getting ready to fight again!

As the barrier falls, the lich snarls and advances, bolts of magic spearing out towards several of the remaining tombs. Several show up too close to you or your human friends, and are disposed of before they can fully form. However, there are four that rose from coffins too close to the lich to contest, and these four gather around their master and approach in tandem with it, their shadow claws bared.

Spoiler: Combat 3: Round 1

US: [Ryza: (4s +1s -1s + 3as)] [Kelton (4s-1s rerolls)] [Claire (4s-1s rerolls+1df)] [Belle: 5s-1s rerolls] [Axton (2s-1s )] [Lancel: (2s-1s)] [Sir Octavio (6s-1s)] [Support (2s + 1s)] = (24s+3as+ 1df)

THEM: Lich: (11s-1s) =10s + Wraiths (3s,3s,3s,5s) = 14s == 24s

(7, 6, 5, 1,) (3>1, 8, 1>10,) (1>2, 9, 7,) (7, 10, 2>3, 4>2,) (9,) (7,) (6, 2, 4, 7, 8) (6, 1, 2)

11+3=14

2, 9, 3, 7, 1, 4, 7, 10, 3, 9, 9, 3, 2, 7, 3, 5, 9, 5, 5, 4, 7, 9, 10, 10

12-1=11

Win by 3-4: Destroy 1d4 Wraiths (4), Lich fully engages Ryza

As the lich approaches, arrows from Axton and Lancel clattering off its blackened bones, Kelton and Claire move to try and block it. You force yourself not to cry out for them to fall back: the last time they tried to stop it they both got knocked down without a thought, and if the lich has learned its lesson it might not let them get back up again.

However, as you watch the wraiths move, you nice that they seem not only more solid, but they also track your allies more aggressively. The lich must be giving them orders. As the edges of the evil miasma the lich exudes starts to gather, as lightning begins to crackle around its palms, you realize that your soldier friends are going to have to hold it off themselves, at least for a little while. If the wraiths are allowed to actually fight, they'll be a serious risk. The lich is too, of course, but you can destroy the wraiths far faster than you can destroy the lich.

Kelton glances over his shoulder. "Don't worry about us! Get rid of the little guys, we'll keep the stupid skeleton busy!" he says, grinning bravely.

You hesitate for a fraction of a second, nearly gagging on the mist, but you don't have time to think of a better plan. Swallowing, you turn towards the first wraiths, which are moving towards Axton and Lancel with murder in their eyes even as they pelt it with arrows.

You quickly wrap yourself in White magic as a bolt of evil lightning from the lich jolts past Kelton and Claire to strike you. You wince as a flash of cold engulfs your shoulder, but your shield takes the worst of the blow and your innate resistance deals with the rest. The good news was that the lich hadn't decided to target that on your magically-squishier allies, its gaze still locked furiously on you. You wonder if some of the manakete's draconic nature was leaking through into the monster: this sort of hyper-focus is one of the risks you'd read about in letting your dragon run rampant without supervision.

Most of your attention, however, is focused on splitting your magical concentration. A bolt of White light jolts out just as one of the wraiths reaches Axton and Lancel. They had destroyed the other with their arrows, but now they'd been forced to abandoned their bows and draw daggers. The light tears through it, but unlike its unaugmented predecessors this wraith survives, seemingly drawing on the dark miasma to sustain itself.

However, the light does burn a deep hole through it, sending it reeling just as the two yeomen dart forwards, stabbing and jabbing. Axton takes a slash to the shoulder, enough to draw blood, but a moment later the pair overwhelm its healing and wipe it from existence.

You quickly turn your gaze towards Belle and Sir Octavio, who are keeping the other two busy even as you force yourself not to panic when Claire hisses in pain as the lich tries to shove its way past, corrupted magic flickering and flaring around it as it howls at you before casting another full spell on you. Ducking back behind your shield, you weather the storm for a moment before Kelton steps up and drives his spear into the lich, breaking another rib and forcing its attention onto him. Hissing, it glares at him, striking out with a shattered hand coated in magic, which bursts against his shield, forcing him to stumble back. Thankfully, Claire is ready to step up and keep the lich's attention off you.

Focusing, you look back at the remaining two wraiths. Both are clearly drawing on the miasma to sustain themselves, but in turn they've added a few new scratches to Sir Octavio's fancy armor and Belle is holding one of her arms awkwardly. However, neither seems to be too badly injured, so you focus on the enemy trying to hurt Belle and burn it out of existence. The thief throws you a grateful smile before she moves to flank the last wraith, jabbing her blade into its back just as it forces its way past Sir Octavio's sword and scores another blow on his breastplate.

"RYZA!"

You nearly choke as the overwhelming stench of evil bears down on you. Stumbling, you swing your White magic around, Mother's Hymn starting to grow warm in your hand.

The lich had pushed its way past Kelton and Claire, though thank the Mother neither of them look seriously hurt. Their shields are burned and damaged, and both of them are wearing pained expressions, but they're clambering to their feet from where they'd been forced aside.

Meanwhile, the lich itself is lunging towards you, "HUNGRY HUNGRY SO HUNGRY!" it screams as it once again tries to grab you, its burned fingers scratching and scrabbling as you reinforce your shield. Black lightning lashes around you, scoring and burning the stone behind you. Thankfully, none is able to pierce your shield, though you feel uncomfortably cold.

However, the lich is alone, and it's so focused on you that your allies will be able to regroup without being harassed.

You just have to survive long enough for them to come and save you.

Spoiler: Combat 3: Round 2

US: [Ryza: (4s +1s -1s + 1as)] [Kelton (4s-1s rerolls)] [Claire (4s-1s rerolls+1df)] [Belle: 5s-1s rerolls] [Axton (2s-1s )] [Lancel: (2s-1s)] [Sir Octavio (6s-1s)] [Support (2s + 1s)] = (24s+1as+ 1df)

THEM: Lich: (11s-1s) =10s

(5, 9, 3, 3,) (9, 4>10, 7,) (6>5, 2>5, 9,) (10, 6>6, 7, 6>2,) (9,) (8,) (5, 9, 4, 4, 1,) (6, 8, 2)

11+1=12

1, 3, 5, 10, 10, 8, 2, 7, 6, 8

5-1=4

Win by more than 6: Defeat Lich

Your eyes start to water as you stare up at the leering skull on the other side of your White shield. "FEED ME!" it shrieks, smoke starting to rise from its skeletal hands as your magic burns them, corruption and bone alike.

Gritting your teeth, you refocus everything you have on your power, drawing deeply on the determination that you will not leave this thing to continue eating your ancestors' remains! "No!" you snarl back, pushing with your magic and forcing it to stumble back. "Leave me alone! Leave us all alone!"

The lich screams as it gathers a ball of dark lightning in the remnants of its hands before blasting a massive bolt at you. Squeaking, you desperately angle your shield like a ramp, even with elemental superiority you don't want to test if you can block that. The corrupted magic slams into the slanted shield and glances off, smashing into the ceiling. You wince as you hear some rubble fall behind you, but thankfully none of your friends were that far back so there was no risk.

Still, spots swim behind your eye for a moment as it feels like you'd just been dunked in ice-water. However, the lich seems to have been stunned as well, as it simply hisses at you, its eyes blazing furiously.

Before it can recover, both of those eyes are pierced by an arrow shot from behind you, causing it to wail in rage and pain. Axton and Lancel had circled around and used your distraction to line up their shots. Meanwhile, Kelton and Claire had gotten back to their feet and started circling to one of the lich's sides, while Belle and Sir Octavio move to its other side.

Trying to draw its attention, you refocus the remnants of your White shield into a bolt of light. The lich somehow still manages to swat the blow aside with its own magic, taking only a minor burn to its remaining palm. However, you succeed in your goal of distracting it, allowing your friends to move in to finish it off.

Two lances jab into the remnants of the lich's wings, shattering one bone enough to sever the limb while the other dangles, nearly useless. Meanwhile, Belle sweeps low, slipping her blade into one of the thin hips of the lich, crippling one of its legs. The other leg, meanwhile, has its fibula and tibia shattered by a strong blow from Sir Octavio's sword. Howling, the lich stumbles, begins to fall, but vanishes in a cloud of smoke.
Lich Death Save: 7/10
You start to groan. 'Not again!' you whine mentally as you look around, only to start as the lich actually reappears next to the Stone Shrine it had just drained. What was it doing there?! It'd broken the stone, there was nothing left for it to eat!

As the lich stumbles and falls, you realize that, in the panic of the damage it had been taking, it must have mis-teleported. Sparks of black lightning flicker and spark fitfully about it as it tries to pull itself up on the shattered ledge. Faintly, you can hear it babbling.

"ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts…"

A part of you feels pity for the creature as its wrist shatters, dumping it onto the ground. Had it asked to be this… thing? This twisted, starving beast, trapped in a box for its entire existence? You shake your head: no. No you can't go down that road. It's a monster, and from what you've seen nobody could make peace with monsters. Not humans, not manakete, not even a nation dedicated to peaceful coexistence. Monsters were monsters, monsters were evil, and all that could be done was to destroy them, before they destroyed anyone else.

Gathering a ball of White magic in your hands, you take a few steps forward, aim carefully, and turn the lich's skull to ash with a focused blast. The monster lets out a final, keening cry before it topples to the side, nothing but a pile of empty, desiccated bones.

You slump back against a nearby tomb, hugging Mother's Hymn to your chest as you try to bring your breathing under control. "Is everyone okay?" you say after a moment, turning to look back.

"I'm uninjured, Mistress Ryza," Sir Octavio says bravely, though you see him wince slightly as he shifts his weight.

You're about to channel Healer Clara and tell him off before Belle cuts in. "Got a nasty claw on my arm," she says. "And Clanker here took a few hits to his soft bits, so he needs a heal as well."

As Sir Octavio splutters, Claire nudges Kelton. "Some of those dark magic blasts burned around our shields," she says. "Kelton was being a hero, so he took the worst of it."

Kelton snorts. "You were jumping in front of a fair few of them as well, Claire," he shoots back.

Axton rolls his eyes. "I think we would all do well to take some time to recover," he says. "Mistress Ryza, if you feel up to it, would you heal us?"

"Of course!" you say, hurrying over to Kelton and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're all my friends, and you're down here because you're helping me. Of course I'm going to help you!" As you start picking out injuries and weaving healing White magic through them, you frown. "Do you all want to go back? We've fought pretty hard, and we did most of what I was thinking of trying down here…"

Kelton ruffles your hair. "Come on, don't be like that, kid," he says. "If we leave now, the monsters will be back in a week, and you'll have to go clear them out again when you come back. Let's go slam the door in their face." He winces as Belle walks over and kicks him in the back of the shin. "…After you heal us and we take a rest, of course." The thief nods.

You have to admit, as you all move back to the main room and you go through everyone while they find places to sit and take a moment to have a snack, it'll be nice to have an excuse to spend some time here. While you'd never liked coming down here with your parents to clean and tend to the graves, it's something you can do, even though everything's changed.

Unfortunately, once you finish healing everyone and wander through the remaining rooms to gather the last three corrupted dragonstones, you quickly realize that cleaning this place is beyond your power at this time. Countless tombs have been carved open, their bones rifled through, some even tossed around the room by the lich. Dispirited, you try to put rocks over the most desecrated graves, but in your heart you know it's hopeless. It'll take weeks to clean and re-consecrate this place, if that's even possible after all the terrible things that have happened here.

You can't even fix the stones that the lich had been eating. No matter what you try, the stones are just too corrupted, too drained. In the end, all you can do is put whatever echo of draconic spirit might be trapped within to rest with a tender caress of White magic, which overloads the stones one by one, turning them to dust.

To put it simply… you're not okay after having to do that.

Wandering around the crypts, forcing yourself not to cry and worry your friends, you find yourself standing before the tomb of Gyra-Dregon, the founder of Kepesk-Okar and progenitor of your tribe. Looking up at the crumbling, faded statue standing above the large sarcophagi, you wonder what he'd think of you if he were here. Would he be disappointed that you hadn't been able to do more? Hadn't been able to do… something.

Anything!

As your eyes start to prickle, you run your hand morosely along the stone, feeling the claw-marks beneath your palm, you faintly feel a jolt of static. Shocked out of your misery, you blink and study the tomb. Unlike the others that the lich had attacked, Gyra-Dregon's seemed to have survived mostly intact. It's almost as if the wards survived somehow… but how had they done that without a source of power…

Slowly, you look over the sarcophagi. You hadn't noticed it at first, both due to the dirt and your own pain, but there are faint lines of lightning tracing themselves along the grooves. As you touch one, you feel a faint thrill. There was something here, something different…

As you study the sarcophagi, you finally find a point where the lightning seems to come from. It is also, you notice, the place with the highest concentration of claw marks around it. Tracing a finger around it, you feel as if there's a… pulse. As if you're not alone here.

After a long moment, acting almost on instinct, you take out your dragonstone and gently press it to the convergence point. You feel a surge, a moment of recognition, and with a horrible grinding a portion of the stone coffin slides aside, revealing a glowing light within.

Your breath catches as you stare down at the dragonstone glowing faintly upon its tiny pedestal. Unlike the others in these haunted tombs, this stone still crackled with faint lighting and was, in fact, humming slightly. No hint of corruption or damage marred its beautiful surface. Unblemished, undamaged, unbroken, it must have been Gyra-Dregon's!

As you stare at the stone, your thoughts race. A part of you wants to bring it with you, to keep it safe. Surely it was too dangerous to leave it here: whatever defenses your ancient ancestor had set up, they wouldn't last forever. And even if they did, they'd probably been mostly designed to fight monsters, not any humans that might make their way down here looking to fuel their appetite for magic before you'd figured out a better way. Besides, you know that dragonstones can be carefully and respectfully used to help living manakete. You could do a lot with Gyra-Dregon's help.

However… was this really the right thing to do? He had not left his stone in a shrine; he'd clearly intended for it to stay with his body. To take his stone against his ancient wishes… in any other circumstance, it would be utterly unthinkable. It would be such a horrific breach of trust that even now, after everything that's gone wrong in the world… a part of you just wants to shut the stone back in its tomb, bow to your ancestor, and leave him to rest in peace forevermore.

What do you do?


[] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

Spoiler: Dragonstone Boons

Can be used to transform, though will incur a penalty. Can also be used to grant Advantage on any combat, though afterwards it will require time to recharge.

---

After nearly half an hour of rest time, you and your friends finally leave the crypts. You carefully shut them back up, wedging the doors closed to try and prevent anything else from getting in to further disturb your ancestors' sleep. Then, with the points of interest secured, you make your way towards the stairs down to Below.

As you continue through the winding tunnels, things somehow manage to get even worse. The remains of the halls grow even more claustrophobic, sometimes pressing so tight that you have to go single-file and squeeze through narrow passages.

Worse are the signs of degradation. Several times, you find the remains of revenants, but they've clearly been killed by other monsters. Some are ripped apart by fangs and claws, their dark blood splattered across the walls. Others are pinned to walls by black-silver webbing and are covered in massive, deep punctures marks, always in sets of two.

"What's going on?" you whisper nervously.

Axton sighs. "Monsters are creatures of evil, but they are also animals. Deprived of prey for too long and without outside control, they will start to turn on each other." He pauses to kneel and look at some funny-looking scrape marks on the ground. "If I had to guess, there are some baels and doogs around. It's possible that the revenants aren't so much seen as competition as they are convenient ways for the bigger monsters to mark their territory. That or just food."

"Then why haven't we seen any of them further in?" Kelton asks as you shudder at the memory of the bael that chased you as a child. "They've had a thousand years to expand."

The yeoman frowns. "A few reasons come to mind," he says. "One possibility is that the mogall had managed to keep them at bay: they're smart enough to be able to outmaneuver doogs, and baels don't do well against magic." His grimace deepens. "The other possibility is that there's… something else. Something deeper down in the mountain that's keeping all the other monsters in check."

Well that doesn't sound good.

"Hopefully, whatever it is, we can find a way to prevent any more monsters from getting up here," you say. "Come on, we should be almost there…"

Thankfully, it seems that whatever monsters are lurking below your home have somewhere else to be today, as you don't actually run into anything alive. Finally, you find yourself standing at the top of a set of stairs, gazing down into the blackness.

There were doors here, once. Big ones. Disconcertingly, however, they've been torn from their hinges and smashed into countless pieces upon the floor. The dust and dirt of countless decades and centuries of wear and misuse covers everything in a dark film. Worse, as you look down to the edges of your darkvision, you see that the once straight, perfect walls have been turned into little more than a rough tunnel by claw-marks, cave-ins, and other damage.

"I'm guessing these runes won't work very well, Mistress Ryza?" Sir Octavio says grimly.

You don't even bother looking at them. "No, there's just too much damage," you say glumly. "Even if I knew how to make new ones, it would take weeks and weeks, and that's without the fact that there'd be monsters attacking all the time." You shiver, glancing back down the broken stairs. Is it just you, or do you… sense… something down there. Something awful? "I don't know what to do…"

Kelton frowns. "Would it be possible to just collapse the tunnel?" he asks. "It doesn't look super stable."

You blink before looking up. "Would that work?" you ask. You don't know much about architecture: it had never interested you when you were little, so you don't even have half-remembered lessons to fall back on.

The humans all look around. "It's not impossible, Mistress Ryza," Axton says. "The tunnel is already somewhat unstable; it wouldn't take that much more to bring a section down." He grimaces. "The harder part would be only bringing down a little bit of the tunnel: if we aren't careful we'll collapse half the mountain."

"It wouldn't get that bad," Lancel says, stepping forwards and holding up his torch to get a closer look at one of the walls. "Father worked with stone, back before he and Mother were conscripted by the Sentinel. I don't remember everything he tried to teach me, but I'm pretty sure I see a few points we can work with." He points, and you peer at the wall to see if you can see what he's spotted. However, other than a few cracks you can't see how it's different than anyplace else. However, you push that out of your mind: surely Lancel knows what he's doing.

"I've never done stonework," Belle says. "But I'm guessing whatever sorcery you're gonna pull off will be loud. We'll have to split some people to play guard dog in case any of the monsters come to rain on the party." She grimaces. "Will probably have to put some on the front and some on the back: we know there are at least revenants up here, and I'm gettin' all kinds of bad vibes from down there."

Good, it's not just you.

Sir Octavio looks at the wall Lancel's pointing to, frowning. "It's possible…" he says slowly. "I will admit I'm no expert in fortifications and masonry, but it strikes me that it would be an exceptionally dangerous and time-consuming endeavor, especially if it's to be done without crushing us all." He glances down at you. "This is likely not what you want to hear, Mistress Ryza, but it might be best if we withdraw. This expedition has already been successful, and your wards seem to be holding the monsters at bay. It might be best to simply leave this level be." You frown, and the cavalier raises a gauntleted hand. "I will, of course, do everything in my power to aid you. This is your home, and you have done Legerius and my lady a favor that cannot be repaid. It is just that Lady Sypha would be devastated if something were to happen to you, and even if valor and magic can hold off the monsters, it won't do much good against tons of rock if the collapse goes wrong."

You stare down into the darkness as you think. You want to protect your home from these monsters, you really do, but Sir Octavio is right that it'll probably be dangerous. What to do… what to do…


[] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

[] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
-[] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
-[] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.

 

[JAGwin]

they simply use the longer range of their lance to strike

Click to shrink...

"lances"

It doesn't even feel misplaces

Click to shrink...

"misplaced"

the rib you'd burned was mostly in fixed

Click to shrink...

Redundant word.

As the barrier fails

Click to shrink...

"falls"?

your ancestor's remains

Click to shrink...

If this is supposed to be plural, then it should be "ancestors's"

your ancestor's sleep

Click to shrink...

See above.

you make towards the stairs down to Below.

Click to shrink...

"make your way towards"?

even if valor and magic can hold of the monsters

Click to shrink...

"off"

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire

Tempted to have Belle stand guard with Axton and Octavio, because I don't like the idea of only having two people guarding the corridors, but I also don't like the idea of having only one person work on bringing down the tunnel. Regardless, I think Ryza should watch the stairs, because I strongly suspect that's where the biggest threat will be coming from.

 

[TaliesinSkye]

What about Dragon-form strength to help collapse the tunnel?

 

[Fish & Chips]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…
[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire

 

[Cubbyhb1]

Axton and Lancel are so good.

 

[Herofox]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

 

[Hestia&theCourt]

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

As far as I'm concerned, taking the dragonstone would be rather akin to digging up a grave and stealing their organs.

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

I hate leaving this open to let monsters wander through at will, but we're really not well set up for this right now. Better to come back later with a team designed to collapse it safely.

 

[Alcor]

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire

I'd be okay with moving the stone to where Ryza was sealed under the logic that it's the safest spot in the mountain until we move in for good and can be reasonably sure it's safe back in the tomb but the spirit of the vote appears to be taking it with us permanently and based on the snippets we've gotten that doesn't feel IC to me.

As for the tunnel, this is the last push to hopefully seal off the mountain from further incursions so definitely want to go for it. That division of labor seems fine to me as well. If anything, I'd be inclined to think it was the Lich who has been keeping the monsters from spreading further than anything deeper but since everyone in the team is getting a bad feeling I'm guessing that's not it.

 

[Herofox]

To be fair, we do know that if given the chance our asshole neighbor noble guy will try to plunder our place.

Least that was my impression of him. That's why I wanna take the stone anyway.

 

[Unearthly Sight]

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

 

[BoundaryPhantasm]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

Leaving the stone is likely very dangerous as there will be others who would steal it for their own uses. Plus we already know there a very unfriendly neighbor that would likely do it.

 

[veekie]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

Its not safe here.

 

[Jiven]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

I don't want to lose access to what is down there. And letting those monsters alive but buried is irresponsible.

 

[tricholysis]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

A little auto-open-function pedestal is a lot of work for something not meant to be accessible in some way.

[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire

 

[Barondoctor]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

Better in respectful hands than those of violators.

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

Bringing some dedicated sappers will give Uhai a new map objective (protect the miners while you murder things!) and let him recycle the same battle areas...also we're still a little thin on the ground here.

 

[Emanyzal]

To be fair, we do know that if given the chance our asshole neighbor noble guy will try to plunder our place.

Least that was my impression of him. That's why I wanna take the stone anyway.

Click to shrink...

It seems pretty unlikely he'll find it, but if he really wants to try I say we leave the tunnel open so he can become monster chow.

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

 

[Miho Chan]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

There are ways this could be in character, several, in fact. I, personally, am voting for this because I believe at this point the defenses aren't enough to keep this Dragonstone safe, and if Gyra-Dregon is as important as being a founder of Ryza's family implies, I would rather not risk it going into any hands but ours or safely sealed away. As for the in character reason, Ryza is lonely. To note, she's missing her fellow Manaketes, and this might make her feel closer to them.

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

Again, this makes sense to me. Collapsing the tunnels also might rob of us of a base later on, after we clear the monster infestation.

 

[FireOfDoom32]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

 

[GreatWyrmGold]

What about Dragon-form strength to help collapse the tunnel?

Click to shrink...

Seems a bit tricky to do with both the precision to only bring down a little bit of the mountain and the distance needed to bring down a bit of the mountain Ryza isn't under. Maybe if Ryza had Lancel's (vague) experience with stonework, but she doesn't.
Plus, I...kinda just don't want to collapse the tunnel, and accept that Ryza's home will never again be as great as it was in her youth. If we leave the tunnels standing and clear them properly, then Ryza can one day restore it. Maybe not in the lifetime of her human friends, but...eventually.


[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.
-[X] Maybe later, if there is need. But not now, in case you come across something worth desecrating Dyra-Dreagon's grave for.
[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

 

[Cute Princess]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

 

[Dragonmaster150]

[X] Take the stone. You can't leave it here, you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to it because you assumed it'd be safe here. Besides, everything you've heard of Gyra-Dregon says that he'd want to help his decedents in their time of greatest need. Surely his spirit and the Mother would understand…

[X] Leave the tunnel and go back upstairs. As much as you want to prevent the monsters from coming back, Sir Octavio's right, it's not worth the risk.

As someone who has studied Archaeology, I can confirm that if we don't take Gyra-Dregon's stone, then someone will. The magical defenses just are not enough to protect it any more, the least we can do is keep it safe until we can restore the tombs to their proper glory. As for collapsing the tunnel, it's too much risk for too little reward. The monsters are dangerous yes, but we can always clear them out again later and I'd rather we have the option to come back and take care of whatever is hiding down there rather than just sealing it away only for it to pop up when we least expect, or want it too. Not to mention, we really don't need to deal with the possibility of accidentally collapsing the entire mountainhome.

 

[ImperatorV]

Not sure about the tunnel, but...

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

Let's respect the old dragon. If someone else steals the stone, that's their sin. We don't have to make it Ryza's.

 

[shydylan46]

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire

 

[Axel Fones]

[X] You can't. You just can't. It's too wrong, too invasive, too disrespectful to plunder his tomb like this. No matter your need, no matter your own fears, if you did this you'd be no better than the humans. Leave him to his rest. You will not despoil the last untouched tomb in these crypts.

[X] Attempt to collapse the tunnel. You want your home to be safe, and it's not going to be so long as this tunnel into the depths of the mountain is open. It gives you the heebie-jeebies.
-[X] Who will work to collapse the tunnel. The more people working on it, the faster the process will go, but they will be more vulnerable to attack.
--[X] Lancel, Belle
-[X] Who will defend the corridors behind you. While you haven't seen any revenants recently doesn't mean they don't exist, and there might be some of the doogs or even a bael hanging around.
--[X] Axton, Octavio
-[X] Who will defend the stairs leading up. Everyone has a bit of a bad feeling when they look down there, but other than some scratch marks that Axton believes came from doog claws there doesn't seem to be any tangible threat.
--[X] Ryza, Kelton, Claire