Michel Bollinger (
userunfriendly) wrote in
altimit2023-08-16 01:11 am
[ closed ]
Who ❄ Michel, various
What ❄ memshare and assorted overflow
When ❄ ~August
Where ❄ Lumina Cloth carnival
Content Warnings ❄ child abuse and violence, captivity, torture, gore, pet death, transphobia, misogyny, TBA. Specific warnings in headers.
[ Plotting post here! ]
What ❄ memshare and assorted overflow
When ❄ ~August
Where ❄ Lumina Cloth carnival
Content Warnings ❄ child abuse and violence, captivity, torture, gore, pet death, transphobia, misogyny, TBA. Specific warnings in headers.
[ Plotting post here! ]

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[Is there any way to check for the sturdiness of the bridge? Otherwise, once again Sinclair's trusty walking stick - the lance - is coming out to help them check for any holes]
I can use my lance. I'll go first.
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The Dragonbein Range is an area that has been carved out of the bones of a dragon that has long since passed. The two will find themselves along a stone walkway that looks like it served as a military keep, high up in the mountains and marked by various checkpoints. With time wearing everything away, it’s impossible to tell if these were once military checkpoints of some sort or if they were simply for supplies and rest. Below, the air is thick with mist, making it impossible to see the ground.
Long pointed bones decorate the stone path through the mountains, serving as a reminder of its supposed origins. In various spots, the bones have been chipped at or cracked away, either by battle or by age. ]
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[ Looks like there's no reason not to proceed here just yet... since the path seems sturdy enough, Michel will fall into step alongside Sinclair again. He's not sending him ahead to take point.
He glances down at the bones as they walk, sizing them up curiously. Do they look draconic too, or like other of the game monsters? ]
This is the first reference to dragons we've heard since the song, isn't it?
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[ Sinclair will study the checkpoints a little more - what kind are they? Any flags left over? Any writing?]
Swallow and I were saying... it's funny how we haven't seen any dragons as boss battles in dungeons.
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On top of the checkpoint building lies a huge stone dragon that seems to be hugging the roof, draped over it it's some sort of sleeping cuddle buddy as it watches over the scenery before it. You might feel like the dragon is watching you, but you will never see the dragon actually move.
The inside of the checkpoint building is nothing remarkable apart from a plaque with a riddle that sits in the center. It reads as follows:
What clings to you? Bear it you cannot, accept it you cannot, but hidden it is from you. Recite its name.
They have 3 attempts. ]
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He engages in a staring contest with the dragon for a short time before reading the plaque over several times, frowning slightly in thought. Riddles... ]
I would have said, "regret." But that's... far from hidden. What do you think? Literature is your strength, not mine.
[ He's conferring with his partner and not submitting that as an answer yet! Leaving the actual decisions up to Sinclair; godspeed, Sinclair. ]
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[Also Michel is the video game creator???
Hm. Sinclair touches his chin as he thinks]
Something hidden...would be one's own shadow?
[Is he close?]
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But they don't get a reward or anything. Sad. They are free to roam the area though. ]
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It's in line with the theme again. The Shadowed Man, the Twilight Dragon.
[ Mysterious! Anything else to see in this checkpoint, or any way to get to the top of it? He wouldn't mind a closer look at that dragon. ]
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He did good!!
But yes, of course. If Michel is studying the dragon, Sinclair will go further inside to explore. What else can he find?]
...do you feel like that dragon is watching us?
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The checkpoint building has nothing else of note inside! The stone dragon still stays flopped over the checkpoint building. You can try climbing the stone building, but it won't be recommended, lest you accidentally slip and fall--possibly into the mists below. Or maybe you can try a more reckless thing to do, like throwing someone.
Just like a certain famous painting, you might feel like you can see the dragon's eyes move shift in your periphery, but that could just be in your head too. There are tons of fun little illusions like this out in the real world too, after all. ]
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Michel, fortunately, isn't in fact reckless enough to try to get onto the roof that badly. Not just to touch a statue, which has historically worked out poorly in these areas. If prodding around the checkpoint reveals no hidden mechanisms, he'll grudgingly move along... ]
It is. Does that mean the only reward for answering that is it not attacking us? There should at least be a trick door, or something like that...
[ Kind of cheap, actually. Is there another catch? Michel is keeping an eye out for any conspicuous shadows. The dragon's, theirs, whatever. ]
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[Sinclair reaches up - short people problems - to see if there are any stone blocks that look like they can be pressed down on]
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Though, hm. Upon longer inspection and more focus, it seems very difficult to tell whether the dragon is made of stone in the first place or if it was turned into stone. With this realization, you may feel a sense of urgency, like how you should leave before something bad happens.
:) ]
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There might be more pieces to the puzzle. We can look at the other checkpoints and then come back.
[ They could probably fight a dragon as a duo. Fighting "unseen thing that maybe turned a dragon to stone," thought. ]
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Okay. Let's go back to check.
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Is the dragon watching? ]
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Michel lets out a sigh as he leans against the checkpoint. He doesn't like it, but if there's only the one... It would be a shame to learn nothing here. ]
One more look around. There must be something we missed, or the riddle would have done something.
[ Quick skim through his inventory to see if there's anything he can use to test something without disaster... out comes a nerf gun. ]
If we need to throw something at it, I have this. [ Michel no. ] Unless it's in the riddle itself. "Recite its name"...
[ Should he try it again in German, like the song? This is vexing. Finally he knows how his users feel when he makes the puzzles obtuse. ]
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[Sinclair frowns. Is that the name? Oh, the nerf gun. He has his foam spear still and a potion of deep sleep. Can they come out and do anything or will it end in horrible disaster? Also can they lean against a checkpoint to hide from the dragon's gaze? He'll recite the poems again anyway]
But the original poem segment was:
"Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born…
After the stars doth cross the heavens,
The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning.
From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes."
And the second one was
Riding the wake is ██████, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands.
Mirage of Deceit, █████, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave.
And by the Power of █████, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave.
With the Wave, ████████, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule.
Is it the Wave that did this, the Shadow of Death or...?
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What would the dragon do? Attack you? That's funny.
Maybe it would be a good time to leave. ]
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Nothing. There wasn't much at the cathedral, either... Perhaps it unlocked something somewhere else.
[ Like, another Area. Alas. ]
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[Ok no throwing anything at creepy stone dragon? But if there really isn't anything worth discovering now, they can leave.]
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