Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 194: Ominous Prelude
Date: 2:11:11 PM, May 6th; 11:12:41 AM, May 7th, 2005.
VG gets out the Cook Book and starts reading it... hmm... better try the Fried Eggs again to get into the spirit of things. He puts one Star Egg into the pot, and prays.
Metal Man (GM): Okay then, you no longer have to roll for them, as your roll is higher than the DC. Consider the Fried Egg 'Mastered', and you can generate as many as you have Star Eggs.
VG earned that one.
Metal Man (GM): Okay. +1 to egg experience, and you gain 1 cooking EXP.
VG makes a successful Fried Egg. Back into the spirit of things, he attempts to make a Power Bar. He puts in a Calcium, Carbos, and 5 Weapon Energy Capsules.
Metal Man (GM): You succeed at that one, too. +2 to cooking EXP, +1 bonus to next time you do that recipe as usual.
VG tries to make a second one... last chance at it, and it will empty some more item slots. He is successful. He wonders what to try next... he does recall Julian mentioning something about pancakes... He checks the book... hmm... worth a shot. He gets the pot extra clean for this attempt. He puts in a Guardian Acorn, some Maple Syrup, and a Blue Potion. Now let's see if it can be done.
Metal Man (GM): Hmmm... You create a delicious.... Rubber nose. Completely useless.
VG tosses the rubber nose in the trashcan.
Metal Man (GM): ...This rubber nose is extremely bouncy. It ricochets around the kitchen like flubber.
VG: "Gah!" *He tries to catch it.*
Metal Man (GM): You grab it.
VG: "Hyper little one, aren't you?" *He already threw this in the trash... so he's not going to keep it. Instead, he gently places it in the bottom of the trash bin to prevent bouncing. He will THEN try the pancake mix again.*
Metal Man (GM): ...Those pancakes are too hard to make! You make another rubber nose.
VG can't believe this... he needs more cooking EXP it looks like. He will store THIS rubber nose in inventory.
Metal Man (GM): VG has obtained: Rubber nose Use: ...It bounces, I guess.
VG will find a use for it. He decides to make another Fried Egg... just to be sure he can't goof up the cooking process. *Star Egg in the pot:*
Metal Man (GM): ...You manage to goof this up. You create... a fire on your head!
VG has his hat on fire... again! He goes to the sink and puts cold water all over it.
Metal Man (GM): Apparently lighting the burners with your nose was a bad idea. The hat eventually goes back to normal. However, the egg was burnt to bits.
VG: .oO(Twist Ed, you really have some... well, strange ways to know what these make) *He will try the Fried Egg again before going for a new thing. He gets it right this time.*
Metal Man (GM): This time, it works. +1 cooking EXP, +1 bonus to making those eggs.
VG cleans the pot again... hmm... .oO(...why not? This brew could be good...) *He gets out a Grunty Cube of Doom, Poison Cube, and Metal Cola. Goal: some Poison Brew.*
Metal Man (GM): You just barely succeed in making the most toxic liquid you've ever seen.
Poison Brew: One drink kills most; can be thrown to make a mist which attempts to poison, confuse, blind, and paralyze all enemies (They must take DC 15 STR checks every round) for the rest of the battle.
Metal Man (GM): +3 cooking EXP, +1 bonus to making Poison Brews.
VG did it... but man, that was tough! He is at 14 Cooking EXP, BTW.
Metal Man (GM): One extra thing with the brew. It's stored in the Metal Cola can. Thus, it looks completely normal.... Until drunk. With the carbonation and everything.
VG makes a mark on the can that is still out so as to remind him that this is the Poison Brew. He will go for it again... if for nothing else, just to open some more item slots.
Metal Man (GM): ...A poisonous cloud billows from the now melting pan, and a fire starts as well as a biohazard alarm.
VG: "Not this again..."
SIMBER: "Toxic substance detected in the kitchen."
Metal Man (GM): ...The entire kitchen is sprayed with foam, including VG. Then it's washed away by some sort of water jets.
VG: "My fault on that SIMBER: I'm trying to master how t--" *Covered in foam.*
Metal Man (GM): Leaving VG a bit foamy and wet. The pot is now a half-melted wreck.
SIMBER: "Spill has been cleaned up."
VG: "...thanks SIMBER." *He puts that pot in the "bad pot" section, and gets out a new pot.*
Julian Sawyer: *Would be sitting in R&R while this is going on, watchin' some TV, when he hears the alarm* "...Maybe I should go check on Veeg... Make sure he doesn't kill us all..." *Gets up and heads for the kitchen.*
VG will go for the Pancakes one more time... again, might as well open item slots...
Metal Man (GM): You gain another rubber nose.
VG didn't burn himself this time... he puts it in inventory again.
Julian Sawyer: *Enters kitchen* "How's the cookin' going, Veeg?"
VG tries something different... he gets out a Super Plush Bear and a whole role of Duct Tape. "It's... well, been interesting so far." *He puts the two items in the pot, and goes for it.*
Julian Sawyer: "...What are you gonna make now?"
Metal Man (GM): Julian: You'd see VG sticking a whole roll of duct tape, wrapping a Super Plush Bear in it, and... sticking it in a pot?
VG: "Hopefully, a stronger plush bear."
Julian Sawyer: "...And how is a pot going to help this?"
Metal Man (GM): Ultimate Plush Bear is created. Ultimate Plush Bear: 3/4 the damage you take is dealt to this bear. After taking 150% damage, it is ripped apart.
VG: "...like so."
Metal Man (GM): You gain 2 cooking EXP and +1 to making Ultimate Plush Bears. Oh. Make that +2. Because you got a crit.
Julian Sawyer: "Nifty. How are those pancakes coming?"
VG: "I ran out of ingredients... they are definitely difficult to make."
Julian Sawyer: "Dang... What'd you make instead?"
VG takes out... a rubber nose.
Julian Sawyer: "...A nose? How many did you make?"
VG: "It's an innocent little thing with a lot of bounce. I made three... one went in the trash can, and I've kept the other two."
Metal Man (GM): There's one sitting in the garbage can. You could take it out if you wanted. Maybe even try to cook with it.
Julian Sawyer: "Three noses?! How did you get noses from pancakes?"
VG: "Not all of them came from the pancakes."
Julian Sawyer: *Takes the nose out of the trash can and looks it over.*
VG: "Any time I make mistakes, either I get these noses, or something else strange happens. Umm... I'd be careful about touching it..."
Metal Man (GM): It's made of soft rubber.
Julian Sawyer: "You try cooking them? Y'know, to get like a coating or something."
VG: "Hmm... haven't tried that yet. But... should I cook them alone, or with something else?"
Julian Sawyer: "I'd cook one alone."
VG: "...might as well."
Julian Sawyer: "Then try combining."
VG puts in a Rubber Nose, and does the usual preparation thing.
Metal Man (GM): *EXPLODE* The entire kitchen is blasted with pancake gloop.
Julian Sawyer: "HOLY-" *Gloop'd.*
VG gets glooped as well.
Metal Man (GM): A small poof of smoke comes out of the pan where the nose used to be.
VG eventually gets the mess cleaned up.
Metal Man (GM): It tastes good, but the gloop isn't much more than tasty.
Julian Sawyer: "...Try adding vanilla."
VG: "Very funny. Anyway... here is an idea I just thought of." *He takes out a Metal Cola and a Rust Promoter.* "One thing made of metal... one thing that stops metal. Think it will be good?"
Julian Sawyer: *Gets behind a table, just in case* "Go for it"
VG will mix those two together, hoping to make something unique. It worked with the Multi-vitamin and the Chaos Fluid... let's hope it works here.
Metal Man (GM): You create: The already-existing item, Robot Spray! +1 cooking EXP, +1 to creating Robot Spray.
VG: "You can come out Julian." *He attempts to make more Chaos Fluid now... he's done this before. One Molecular pill and one Ice Block enter the pot. He doesn't think this worked...*
Metal Man (GM): The mixture turns into the fluid... however, a bizarre mistake has done something terrible!
Julian Sawyer: *Good thing he stayed behind the table.*
Metal Man (GM): It leaps out of the pan... and forms into Chaos, the water creature! Chaos looks around, confused as to why it appeared in a kitchen.
VG: "...Hello?"
Metal Man (GM): It looks towards VG curiously.
Julian Sawyer: "Throw it back in the pot!"
VG: "Did... I make you?"
Metal Man (GM): It then turns to Julian... and punches the table he's hiding behind into tiny bits with its stretchy goop arms.
VG: .oO(...Julian, there are some things you don't say.)
Metal Man (GM): It shakes its head at VG.
VG: "How did I summon you then?"
Julian Sawyer: "Augh!"
Metal Man (GM): It then... looks at VG weirdly, and points at... his chaos emerald.
VG gets it out... but still holds onto it tightly.
Metal Man (GM): It's glowing....
Julian Sawyer: *Gets behind another table.*
VG: "This?"
Metal Man (GM): It nods, looking at the emerald carefully.
VG: "...is this really yours?"
Metal Man (GM): It nods again, then points at the sky outside.
VG knows that Knuckles guards the Master Emerald... but the Chaos Emeralds... he has no clue. He looks outside... wondering what he's supposed to see.
Metal Man (GM): You'd see the sky... nothing else. And some clouds, yeah. Chaos then makes a 'Give me' gesture at the emerald.
VG will give the emerald to Chaos. "Here you go."
Metal Man (GM): Chaos takes the emerald... it goes into his body, and then suddenly his right arm bulges out... it has some sort of 'bone' in it now, featuring that chaos emerald mounted in it. The emerald begins pulsing, like a radar. Chaos walks off towards Wolfman. Either way, he heads out of the room.
VG: "...I think that's enough for today." (17 Cooking EXP total)
Wolfman would be in R&R.
Julian Sawyer: "...Thik we should follow him?"
Metal Man (GM): Wolfman: You see a watery creature walk in... with two chaos emeralds; one in his right arm, and another in his left arm.
Wolfman: "Can I help you?"
Metal Man (GM): He points at a map, and then at one of the chaos emeralds in his arms.
VG: "You can if you want."
Wolfman wonders what map he is pointing to...
Metal Man (GM): He's pointing to the map of Nintendus.
Wolfman: "...are you the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, like how Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald?"
Julian Sawyer: "I don't trust this guy..." *Heads after Chaos 2*
Metal Man (GM): He nods.
Wolfman: *VG:* *Puts things away, and follows Julian anyway... he doesn't mind Chaos* "Do you need help finding some of the emeralds?"
Metal Man (GM): It nods again, pointing to the map yet again.
Wolfman: "Do you know of any particular landmarks that might have it?"
Metal Man (GM): Chaos appears to think for a moment, then... points towards the desert area.
Wolfman: "The Gerudo Desert..." *He wonders what is special in there... and then remembers...* "...the Holo Tomb?"
Metal Man (GM): Chaos looks around, then points at a sign that says 'To Warp Room'
Wolfman: "...I understand. Let's get you that emerald."
Digifanatic is also in R&R, kinda quiet as usual, but is also wondering when Garrick'll show up to finish that pool game...
Wolfman takes Chaos to the warp room... alone.
Digifanatic: "What's up, Wolf?"
Wolfman (GM): Digi: I'm leaving as you say hi.
Digifanatic: "Dang, missed him."
Metal Man (GM): Chaos then puts his hands up, as if you need not do anything else. Chaos turns into a water puddle, sinks under the door.... And you hear him warp out.
Wolfman takes the traditional warp pipe/tile/ring/whatever.
Julian Sawyer: *Enters R&R* "Digi, did you see a watery blob thing walk through here?"
VG: *Would follow Julian.*
Metal Man (GM): Eh... you try to, but then something else happens.
Digifanatic: "Not really... I'm just kinda minding my own. I saw him walk with Wolf, though."
SIMBER: "You need Metal's permission to use the warp room."
Julian Sawyer: "Which way did they go?"
Wolfman: "SIMBER, remind me later to not need his permission..." *He contacts Metal on the Dex.*
Digifanatic: "They went towards the warp. Overheard something bout the Gerudo Desert and Chaos Emeralds..."
Wolfman: "Metal, I know you are there. I'm needed at the Gerudo Desert to help find a Chaos Emerald for its rightful guardian. Please allow me to warp."
Smash Dex: "Metal is currently out on business. Please wait four to five hours to get your request filed."
Julian Sawyer: "Thanks." *Heads for the warp room.*
Wolfman: .oO(...) *He sends an email to Metal: I'd like to know why I need permission to use the warp room when I used to be the president. I'm not one to use it irresponsibly... unusually. Please respond when you get this.*
Garrick Fy`aar is busy in Oak's lab. Shying away from his weapon designs for the moment, he's opted to work on that item that he gets to make now that he's rank 21 Quester...
Julian Sawyer would be making his way to Oak's lab, having seen on the Dex that Garrick is in there.
Aribar would probably be in the R&R watching TV.
Tetra is sitting by himself in R&R, bummed out after that last mission.
Garrick Fy`aar continues to work on his item, writing down ideas...
Julian Sawyer: *Enters Oak's lab and starts walking over to Garrick* "Hey Garrick, you got a minute-"
Garrick Fy`aar glances up. "...what?"
Julian Sawyer: "Do you still have that Magitek book?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "My Magitek creation book? Yeah, I always have it on me."
Julian Sawyer: "Great. I was wondering if you could upgrade my gloves and boots with that thing."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Hmmm..." *He swivels around in his chair and looks at the items in question...* "...upgrade them with what?"
Julian Sawyer: "Well, what can you upgrade them with? Items you can buy from G&W's store?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, or anything you might have on you. Badges, items, other weapons..."
Julian Sawyer: "Okay then, I'll be right back..." *Exits the lab and heads to G&W's for a little shopping.*
Garrick Fy`aar shrugs and goes back to his work...
Metal Man (GM): You hear the front door of Quester HQ open.
Knuckles: "Hello? Hello? Anybody here?"
Tetra looks over. "Hi?"
Knuckles: "This must be the headquarters of those Questers I've been hearing all about... certainly looks large. I wonder what they look like... the descriptions I've heard make them seem like monsters!" *Wanders around, having not noticed any Questers yet.*
Garrick Fy`aar looks up, then glances out of the lab at the newcomer. "...can I help you?"
Knuckles: "Hey... you must be one of the Questers. I've come to get some help."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...hey, I remember you. You're that knuckles guy... the one who was protecting that huge chaos emerald."
Knuckles: "It appears I'm more well-known than I thought."
Garrick Fy`aar arches an eyebrow "...you must not remember. Oh well. So, what do you need, slick?"
Knuckles: "You may not know this, but we have several villages on this planet. The Echidna population rebounded from near extinction recently. However, someone or something has been causing a ruckus in one of the largest towns. It's a mystery to us, so that's why we need your help."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Huh, Mewtwo hasn't said anything..."
Knuckles: "Who's Mewtwo?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Our commander type guy..."
Knuckles: "A rather strange name. Unfortunately, I don't have time to sit around and chat. Could you gather up the rest of your friends, so that we can get going?"
Metal Man (GM): He seems impatient.
Julian Sawyer: *Quickly buys a Bomb, Shovel Claw, Jet Booster, Super Sneakers, White Gloves, Earth Emerald, Fire Ruby, Ice Emerald, Lightning Topaz, and some Spiked Shoes; A grand total of: 6933 coins. Julian then returns to Oak's Lab... to find that Garrick has left.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "Oh well. Computer! Round up all the Questers and tell them to get themselves to the foyer. We've got a mission to deal with."
SIMBER: "All Questers, report to Foyer immediately." *Is heard throughout the Stadium*
Tetra gets up and heads to the foyer.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Do you have any other information about this thing?"
Julian Sawyer: "...Well crap."
Aribar: "...Foyer? What's a foyer?" *The elf stands up and wanders around till he sees another Quester, then follows him.*
Knuckles: "More technology..." *He seems disgruntled* "No. We haven't even been able to see it."
Julian Sawyer: *Stuffs all that crap in his back pocket and reports to the foyer.*
Tetra: "Elf guy is following me..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Is it invisible?"
Knuckles: "We don't know! It just keeps on... destroying houses."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...well, we'll find out soon enough. Here we go..." *He nods to the others as they walk in.*
Julian Sawyer: "What's going on this time?"
Knuckles: "Hello. I'm Knuckles. We need your help. There's some sort of mysterious mischief-maker in Kalima village."
Tetra: "Where?"
Knuckles: "...IN THE VILLAGE WITH THE ECHIDNA PEOPLE!"
Aribar: "Eeh... Sorry for following, Tetra... Hrm... Sure, maybe we can help."
Julian Sawyer: "Okay... Where is that on the map?"
Knuckles: "...None of these maps show it anywhere. You'll just have to follow me."
Garrick Fy`aar: "What about payment?"
Julian Sawyer: "Okay then."
Knuckles: "Do I look like a wealthy gambler to you?"
Tetra: "Hey, aren't you that blue guy's friend?"
Knuckles: "Blue guy? Yes, I know Sonic."
Garrick Fy`aar: "No, but--dah, whatever. Let's just get moving."
Knuckles: "Right. Come this way."
Metal Man (GM): Knuckles starts walking down a dirt path in front of the Stadium.
Garrick Fy`aar follows the red Echidna.
Tetra follows uncomfortably close to Knuckles.
Julian Sawyer: *Follows the... dammit, Garrick said it before I could.*
Knuckles: "This may not be the fastest way to travel, but it should be the safest."
Aribar follows Knuckles.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...so, how far IS this village?"
Knuckles: "A couple miles. Why do you want to know? It isn't like your feet will crumble from a little walking."
Tetra: "I don't like walking..."
Knuckles: "..."
Julian Sawyer: "Too bad."
Metal Man (GM): You're all going down this orderly path. You walk by a small suburban area.
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm just worried that there might be another attack before we get there."
Metal Man (GM): Some people gawk at the procession of Questers being led by Knuckles.
Guy: "Look! It's the Questers!"
Guy2: "They're gonna blow everything up! Ahhhhhh!!!" *Flees.*
Aribar: "...We've developed such a charming reputation."
Julian Sawyer: "...Jebus, are we THAT infamous?"
Girl: "Why are they being led around by that red fuzzball?"
Tetra stands beside Garrick and says to him, "Do Questers really have that bad of a reputation?"
Knuckles: "That's MISTER fuzz ball to you, girl!"
Girl: "Ahhhhhh!!!!" *Flees.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "Well, we... erm... we've done a lot of damage in our past missions. Not intentionally. It just... happens."
Guy3: "Well, at least they saved us from Smithy."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, there you go. At least ONE guy is on our side. Thanks, mister."
Guy3: "...Uhhh... uhhh... yeah!"
Garrick Fy`aar looks to Tetra again.
Tetra: "The Questers didn't even exist when I... disappeared."
Knuckles: "I've already had to navigate through this area populated with maniacs. What is it with them and their irrational fear of you guys?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Truth be told, I'm kinda fed up with the way things work. We've done some big work, but we're given mixed reactions to our presence. If Mario or Link was with us, the place would be going nuts for them. They wouldn't even notice us."
Tetra: "You just need to do some PR. Help people out more. Like Superman."
Knuckles: "I feel the same way. Everybody says Sonic is the good one. People are too busy telling me that I'm too gullible. ...This isn't a ploy to trick me into giving Dr. Eggman the Master Emerald, is it?"
Tetra: "You recruited us, you numbskull! How could we be tricking you!?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Calm down, guy..."
Knuckles: "...Trust me... I've been tricked in stranger ways before."
Garrick Fy`aar glances to Knuckles "We aren't here to trick you. Top priority is to save lives."
Knuckles: "Well, you'll probably like this job, then. Since the destruction of houses inevitably winds up injuring and killing innocent bystanders... ...Though I wouldn't mind if a house exploded on THESE people."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Then we'll find the thing that's doing this and beat it, blast it, burn it, and bash it to a bloody pulp."
Guy: "Look at me! I'm snapping a picture!" *Snap.*
Guy2: "Ahhhhh! We're all gonna dieeeeee!!!"
Guy3: "No we're not."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...they might not like us, and they might have little faith, but they ARE people."
Tetra: "Anyway, like I was saying. The Questers need to take on some simple PR missions. Like saving kittens from trees and stopping bank robberies. That'll help our reputation!"
Knuckles: "Ungrateful people who ignore us."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Then why not help rebuild after we take down this thing?" *He looks to Knuckles* "I'm sure you could use an extra group of workers rebuilding the homes that have been destroyed."
Knuckles: "...Sure. Now then, all we have to do is... oh no! Look at that!"
Metal Man (GM): You've wandered outside of the suburbs, and are now looking at... the path ahead, which is blocked by a landslide.
Tetra looks to see what Knuckles is talking about.
Knuckles: "Something or someone is on to us. This is a warning."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...great."
Tetra: "Or MAYBE it just rained a lot and washed the mountainside out."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Well, warning or not, we've got to keep going. You know another route, Knuckles?"
Knuckles: "I live in these parts. I know this isn't right. Look up there."
Garrick Fy`aar glances up.
Metal Man (GM): Knuckles points to a smouldering area... apparently damaged by a bomb.
Tetra: "Ah."
Knuckles: "Well, a landslide isn't much of a problem for me. Let me clear the way." *Knuckles punches and digs at the landslide until a clear path is made through it.*
Tetra: "If they wanted to stop us they could just attack us now."
Knuckles: "But the enemy is usually more sneaky and subtle... especially around me."
Tetra: "Ah."
Knuckles: "They count on being unable to defeat me in a direct confrontation, so they play dirty."
Metal Man (GM): *Bad pun.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "...that was a bit corny."
Metal Man (GM): So, you walk through the cleared landslide.
Garrick Fy`aar keeps walking, shaking his head.
Tetra laughs a phony laugh at Knuckles' pun.
Aribar: "I don't know why, but I'm just getting bad feelings from this task already..."
Metal Man (GM): Up ahead... you're now on one side of a deep canyon. There's a bridge across it... well, there used to be. Now you have a smouldering explosion-destroyed wreck.
Tetra: "Great..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...bombs..."
Knuckles: "Just great! They blew up the only way in! I knew making the village extremely hard to get to would backfire some day..."
Tetra: "Can anyone here fly?"
Aribar squints and tries to estimate the distance across the canyon.
Metal Man (GM): You estimate 40 feet.
Knuckles: "It's not too far for me to glide, but I can't carry anyone."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...what do you think, Ari?"
Aribar: "...It'd be a stretch for any of us to try and jump across. I think we should either find another way across or find a higher point of elevation. That is, find a higher point so we could get more distance from jumping and such."
Tetra: "So we can break our legs on the landing. Outstanding idea."
Knuckles: "Well, you guys catch up to me later. I have to get back before anything goes wrong."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Oh, calm down..."
Metal Man (GM): Knuckles leaps across the gap and runs off.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Ari, you can teleport, can't you?"
Aribar: "Yes, but only about a third of the distance required to get across... I think the canyon walls are forty feet apart."
Garrick Fy`aar: "What we need..."
Metal Man (GM): There seems to be no other route, besides climbing down the canyon. There's some trees nearby, but not close to the canyon. There's also some large boulders.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...hmmmm... I wonder..." *He looks at the trees...* "...why not use these for a bridge?"
Tetra: "I guess that'll work... Anyone have a saw?"
Aribar: "Hrm..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Ari, can you slice it with your sword?"
Aribar: "...It would take forever trying to chop down a tree with a short sword, however, blasting it down with lightning..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I guess that'll work... but you'd have to do it right here..." *He points at the bottom of the tree, opposite of the cannon side.*
Tetra: "Wait!"
Aribar: "Yeah?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Get it angled downward so it falls ac--what?"
Tetra: "These trees are a ways from the canyon. What if they fall into the canyon instead of across it?"
Aribar: "Hrm..."
Garrick Fy`aar: *how far are they from the cannon?*
Tetra: "We'll have to knock one down... then carry it... This is a problem."
Aribar takes out his Dex. "Dex, do you know the nearest crossing point of the canyon besides this one?"
Tetra: "I have an idea."
Smash Dex: "This canyon cannot be crossed anywhere else."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Shoot."
Tetra: "We could push trees and boulders into the canyon, to fill it up enough to make a bridge that way!"
Garrick Fy`aar: "I don't think there's enough."
Metal Man (GM): You'd notice a small creek at the bottom of the canyon.
Tetra: "We wouldn't fill the entire canyon, just enough to make sort of a dam."
Aribar: "...I've another idea."
Metal Man (GM): A good 3000 feet deep.
Aribar starts backing up... Roughly twenty feet back.
Tetra: "Maybe if we put a tree on a boulder... stood on one end... and dropped a boulder on the other end. We could catapult across."
Aribar then gets a running start towards the end of canyon and leaps towards the other side...
Metal Man (GM): Roll it, yes. Do you have any other jumps? You can't double-jump.
Aribar waits until he starts his decent and tries to Magic Teleport in an upward-diagonal direction for 15 more feet.
Metal Man (GM): You leap 14 feet out... then go 15 more feet... Roughly 21 feet away from crossing.
Aribar would then try to repeat the act again.
Metal Man (GM): You do it again, but 6 feet is is still in the way.
Aribar tries a final Magic Teleport.
Metal Man (GM): You get across... only because you used plenty of MP.
Tetra: "Great job, now what about us?!"
Aribar: "Don't you love magic? ... Oh... Forgot about you guys."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I could make it, I'm sure... But I don't know about you, Tetra."
Metal Man (GM): According to calculations, you would need to use it four times to warp each of them over.
Tetra: "I need some way of flying." >_<
Aribar: "Ummmm... Try jumping it and I'll attempt to Magic Teleport you guys over!"
Metal Man (GM): For a total of eight uses ..Or you could do that.
Tetra: "Not very..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...how much do you weigh?"
Tetra: "I don't know. I haven't weighed myself in forever..."
Metal Man (GM): Garrick will get a -6 to his jump roll if he tries it while carrying Tetra.
Aribar: .oO(I should charge 'em for this...) "...Transportation!" *The elf casts Magic Teleportation on Tetra four times to get the Artificer over to his side.*
Metal Man (GM): Done.
Tetra is suddenly on the other side. "Um... thanks."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...whoa, okay. I'll just try to jump it, Ari. Save you some power."
Aribar: "No problem! Okay, Garrick."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Warp me if I can't make it." *He gets a good distance back, switching into his armor to give his STR a boost, then takes off and leaps...*
Metal Man (GM): Gonna need another jump.
Garrick Fy`aar immediately draws his M150 as he is in mid air, firing a few dumdum blasts to propel him further...
Metal Man (GM): ...Well, luck doesn't pan out for you.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...ARI!"
Metal Man (GM): You fly, face-first, into the wall. 10 damage.
Garrick Fy`aar: "..." *SLAM* "...owww..." *He quickly tries to grab the edge.*
Aribar: "...Magic Teleport!" *The elf transports Garrick up and over the cliff's edge to safe ground.*
Tetra: "Are you okay, guy?"
Metal Man (GM): Garrick is transported safely.
Tetra: "That sounded like it hurt."
Metal Man (GM): Though his face looks like it got steamrolled.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...I'll live. Come on, let's motor."
Aribar: "Well, that was almost painless..." *Looks about for Knuckles while heading down the path.*
Garrick Fy`aar holsters his gun, sending his armor back away and returning to his normal clothes as he shakes his head to rid himself of the cobwebs and moving onward.
Metal Man (GM): INT checks, everybody. Okay... three silhouettes appear above each of you ...Garrick dives out of the way, while Tetra and Aribar are pounced on by Red Tektites! 20 damage to Tetra and Aribar.
Aribar: "Gaaah!"
Tetra: "Ow..."
Garrick Fy`aar rolls and draws, switching into his armor and drawing the M150
Aribar: "Magic Barrage!" *The elf fires a Magic Missile at each Tektites for 36% damage each.*
Julian Sawyer: *On the other side of the canyon* "...HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME?!"
Tetra stops and nudges Ari. "Did we forget someone back at the canyon?"
Aribar: "Uhh... I guess so."
Garrick Fy`aar unloads a series of regular shots at the one Ari hit He decides he'd much rather his all of them with one blast from his STAT each...
Metal Man (GM): You hit each of them. However, they don't get any status effects.
Smash Dex: "Tektite's skin is too tough to pierce with darts."
Metal Man (GM): Even the crit can't pierce their skin. Only deal damage. All but that 14 hit.
Garrick Fy`aar: *30 dmg on the first and the third, 20 on the second.*
Tetra fires a barrage of photon shots at Tektite 1.
Metal Man (GM): All hit. Then you get a single miss from the crit miss. Because that one still rolled high enough to 'hit.' The Tektite is barely alive...
Tetra fires another barrage to finish the thing off.
Metal Man (GM): All hit. One crit. *DEATH* It goes splat. The other two attack Garrick and Aribar, respectively.
Tetra: "Ew... I got Tektite juice on my shirt!"
Metal Man (GM): 20 damage if it hits.
Garrick Fy`aar gets hit.
Aribar quickly unsheaths Moonlight and blocks the blow, countering the bug that attacked him with two swift strikes!
Metal Man (GM): Stabity Stabity. Nope. These things appear to have poisonous blood.
Garrick Fy`aar draws the M150, wanting to finish this, and riddles the number 2 one with regular armor piercing shots...
Metal Man (GM): All but 1 hits. *KER-SPLAT!* methinks.
Garrick Fy`aar fires his last remaining shots into the final one.
Metal Man (GM): The crit miss, though, actually causes something bad. You accidentally hit Aribar in the head with that shot for 2x damage. Meanwhile, the Tektite you hit is dead.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...er... whoops. Sorry, Ari."
Metal Man (GM): All Tektites blastinated. 100 EXP and 500 coins to you guys.
Garrick Fy`aar holsters his M150, rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously...
Tetra: "Victory dance!" *does a moonwalk*
Metal Man (GM): Julian: You there?
Garrick Fy`aar looks down at the Tektites... "...alright, I think I might know what's going on now..."
Aribar: "Gah!"
Julian Sawyer: "HEY!"
Tetra: "Should we go back and get the Captain Crunch lover?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "He should have jumped with us."
Aribar mumbles and grumbles... The elf downs a Green Potion and teleports Julian over...
Julian Sawyer: "Thanks..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Anyway, look at this..."
Aribar: "Yeah, yeah, I'll send you your bill in the mail..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Dex, how far are we from Hyrule territory?"
Aribar walks back over to Garrick. "Yes?"
Smash Dex: "We are in Hyrule now."
Garrick Fy`aar raises his eyebrows.
Tetra: "Why would Hyrulians be blowing up echidnas?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "It's not Hyrulians... But it could very well be someone who has links with the Gorons. Bomb usage on the landslide and the bridge? ...come on, let's get moving."
Tetra: "Of course! The only Hyrulians who have knowledge of explosives are the Gorons!"
Garrick Fy`aar turns and heads onward.
Tetra: "But who then? I thought Gorons were peaceful." *He follows after Garrick.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "Didn't say it was a Goron. I said they have LINKS with the Gorons. Only Gorons know how to use bombs."
Metal Man (GM): Up ahead... you notice the ground is flatter and smoother than usual.
Julian Sawyer: "Doesn't Link use bombs? It could easily be a Hyrulian too."
Garrick Fy`aar: "He does."
Tetra: "Or a sorcerer with explosive magic. It could even be someone foreign to this land."
Aribar: "Maybe it's that... Uhh... What are they called? The UND? They had a Zora with them..."
Tetra: "I suppose we'll find out soon enough."
Garrick Fy`aar: "That's a possibility as well..."
Tetra: "But the UND are good. They wouldn't go blowing up houses."
Julian Sawyer: "Whatever, we'll find out anyway. Let's move on."
Metal Man (GM): Everybody: SPD checks. Okay. everybody done rolling? Okay, then. Everybody leaps off after the click of a pressure plate, before Tetra. A flame trap deals 10 damage to Tetra. Then runs out of fuel.
Julian Sawyer: "..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...well, what do you know?"
Tetra coughs out ash. "Okay, that sucked..."
Julian Sawyer: "How did that get there?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Maybe Tetra has become the fire trap magnet now. I don't have to worry!"
Tetra examines the trap.
Metal Man (GM): Just a plate. When stepped on, it makes a spark over pressurized fuel. Which then creates the required burning.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...we need to keep moving, however. Come on." *He continues on, hoping to get to this village soon...*
Tetra: "That's odd. Does this look like Hyrulian technology to you guys?"
Aribar starts becoming alert while continuing on. "No it doesn't..."
Tetra ignores the trap for now and continues, being extra cautious.
Metal Man (GM): You continue on... and you reach a large, stone gate, guarded by two Echidna warriors with spears.
Tetra: "Hi. We're with that echidna guy that hangs out with the blue guy."
Julian Sawyer: "Well, we're here..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...ahem... we're the Questers. Sorry for the delay, someone really didn't want us to get here."
Warrior1: "The Questers? You can only enter if you tell us the name of the... 'Red Guy.'"
Aribar: "...Knuckles I believe."
Warrior2: "Good. The Red Guy could have also been Eggman."
Julian Sawyer: "Yeah, that guy."
Warrior1: "Eggman?"
Tetra: "No, the knuckle guy."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Knuckles."
Tetra: "Yeah."
Warrior2: "...Just enter before we get any more confused."
Garrick Fy`aar: "The name of the Echidna who hired us to help you is Knuckles."
Metal Man (GM): They open the gates.
Garrick Fy`aar moves inside, rolling his eyes.
Metal Man (GM): Inside... is a large village of entirely Echidnas. They live in thatched-roof-huts. There's a single stone building... some sort of cathedral.
Tetra: "I wonder where knuckle guy is."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm guessing there."
Metal Man (GM): Several of the people there take one look at you and continue what they're doing.
Aribar: "Hrm..."
Garrick Fy`aar heads for that cathedral.
Aribar: "Let's try the big building I guess." *He follows Garrick.*
Tetra: "Might as well." *follows as well*
Julian Sawyer: *Moves along towards the building.*
Metal Man (GM): You see a few huts that have been exploded. They have black craters, and several Echidnas are building new huts in their place. You pass by a large water fountain. Finally, you reach the open cathedral.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...it's a nice little place, isn't it?"
Metal Man (GM): It has stain-glass windows depicting the emeralds. Knuckles is talking to an elder in there... when he sees you.
Knuckles: "About time you got here... another building exploded."
Elder: "A plague sent by the heavens! Lightning!"
Tetra: "Yeah. We got attacked on the way."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...anyone hurt?"
Tetra: "Lightning exploded the house?"
Aribar: "...How exactly did it explode?"
Knuckles: "Three people dead. One injured."
Elder: "A lightning bolt hit the house, causing it to explode!"
Tetra nudges Garrick. "So much for your Goron relation theory."
Elder: "It came... sideways, which is odd. Most lightning comes from the sky."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Ari, Tetra, go talk with the injured guy."
Julian Sawyer: "So we got a wizard on our hands..."
Tetra: "Okay. Um... where is the injured person now?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "Julian, come with me. Knuckles, take us to the recently destroyed building."
Knuckles: "The injured person is this way. Follow me."
Metal Man (GM): Knuckles walks out of the cathedral.
Tetra follows Knuckles.
Garrick Fy`aar follows.
Julian Sawyer: *Heads after Knuxs.*
Aribar follows as well.
Metal Man (GM): You all reach a smouldering hut, right next to a forest. A single, male, orange Echidna is being treated for burns.
Echidna: "Ugh... the fury of the heavens is punishing us!"
Garrick Fy`aar moves over to the hut, glancing around the ruins of it...