Log:Post-Apocalyptic Dwarves, Scene 6

Post-Apocalyptic Dwarves 2020/03/13 Ascendant Artemis Fauna Ghost Titan Thunder 6

The heroes narrowly lost the big fight, and awoke to find themselves chained with magic-resistant manicles to an obsidian-walled, lava-surrounded room with only one door, at the top of the room. Thirteen dwarves appeared, in the company of Palanir as 'translator'. Palanir explained the local history and argued with various people about matter of honour, before turning to go. Unfortunately for him, Ghost's translation spell enabled a couple of the dwarves to hear how Palanir decribed his 'allies', and they have just passed this on to their leader. Meanwhile, Moonshadow is tracing the maglev linesto find where the others have been taken. 

The leader gives an order, and four of the dwarves fly down to secure Ascendant in a different sort of chains.

Ascendant summons his Soulbrand. He laughs. "Come little ones. Shackle me. See if you can keep your heads!" He shouts as he points his weapon at them.

The weapons of 12 dwarves - all but the one carrying the shackles - are suddenly pointed directly at Ascendant.

"Submit to the chains, or we fire," says the leader to Ascendant.

Artemis struggles against her chains as Ascendant is threatened, wanting to join the battle.

The Ascendant does not balk- in fact he charges them, suddenly enraged. "We were promised sport and you only bring dishonor!" He says in Dwarven. "I will take as many of you with me as I can before then. No Godflora would submit thusly!"

Ghost says firmly, "If they fire railguns in here those of us without our defensive foci are going to die from stray rounds. Please consider your responses carefully, Ascendent."

The chief dwarf looks at Ascendant. "If it is sport you want, we will be happy to oblige. We know of an arena where they seek good fighting slaves."

The corner of Artemis' mouth twitches at the fighting slaves comments and she struggles harder, despite having no leverage to make much progress.

"I'll not spend another cycle enslaved to a Tauborn!" Nohrbor shouts back to Ghost angrily as he continues flying towards their captors. "I'll gladly die and raze the lot of them as a spectre! The Godflora iwll surely avenge you all and Hod will take you into her Glorious li---" He turns back to teh Chief Dwark, eyes far more wild than ever seen by those Earthbound.

"This is no threat! I've already spent lifetimes in usch servitude. Never again." Ascendant says. "NEVER!"

Ascendant summons his power back from the spear and instead reaches out with his mind, reaching out to grab the Dwarven leader and put him between his minions and the Ascendant.

Titan would love to just...fight. But there are vulnerable people with them. The idea of magma starting to fill the room doesn't really appeal.

The Ascendant is knocked back, slamming into the wall after he's shot with one of the hypervelocity rounds.

His Ascendant form is otherwise unmarred but his fury is stoked. Even as he stabilizes himself he reaches up and tries to crush the leader with his telekinesis.

The armour doesn't crumple, but enough telekinetic force seeps through it to squeeze the dwarf inside.

Projectiles richochet about the room, but, luckily, none hits anyone...

Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx's unworldly alien martial art keeps him in constant motion. He smoothly weaves around the bullets & keeps his grasp on the Leader.

The bullets penetrate the floor in 3 place, and lava begins to bubble up into the room at Ascendant's feet.

"Fools. You throw your own lot with ours? I promise only DOOM!" He shouts up, holding his hand up and shaking it side to side so that he can show them what he has in his grasp- their leader. "I shall pull your whole tribe down around your ears. I shall haunt your halls and never shall I slumber! Not even this warm tides cause me pause!" He almost sems elated by the idea.

Ghost looks over at Titan and Fauna, "If you can break free, do it and try to get as many out to safety as you can. Because anyone still in a couple of minutes is going to be dead."

Titan growls as he sees the magma start flowing in. "I agree."

Titan flexes...and pulls...and his arms come free as the shackles pull from teh wall. He shouts at the dwarves, "Stop firing those in here, you idiots! That will kill all of us! Or at least you! I'll be fine!"

It's hard to tell the reaction through the armour, but the dwarves all look toward Titan...

The lava bubbles in, reaching Titan and Ascendant's feet....

Ascendant does not need to gesture like lots of telekinetics. He merely wills the leader's armored form to him, so he might stand upon it out of the lava. More to prove a point than anything.

The Ascendant merely takes flight, rising above the lava. But now he uses his grasp on the leader to yank him into the lava. "If you won't listen to reason or the Mighty Titan of Hollywood, then we shall eliminate you all - one by one."

Ascendant does not need to gesture like lots of telekinetics. He merely wills the leader's armored form to him, so he might stand upon it out of the lava. More to prove a point than anything.

Titan looks to Ghost, "Is the room floating in the magma? I might be able to lift the entire thing out?"

Fauna does not appear at all worried about the oncoming problem.

Ghost nods, looking a bit apprehensive as the approaching lava, "There's lava all around the cell except above, Titan."

Fauna shows she's relaxed with a yawning stretch. A chirp sound, toward the Ascendant.

The Dwarven leader slides through the air and is laid upon one of the holes made by his men. As it slides into place haphazardly, Nohrbor makes a show of sitting upon the downed leader. "We shall start with your leaders. ANd I will baptize them in lava one. By. One. Then I shall pluck each of you and give you a fiery rapture as well. Fear not. We Immortals are patient and shall outlast the lot of your people." The Ascendant Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx shouts up. He gives Fauna a smile and a nod. He does seem to be enjoying himself. Nothing like a little high stakes entertainment to fight off the bordem brought on by endless centuries.

The dwarven leader is still conscious. To judge by the screaming.

he remains in it. If only part of a character's body suffers exposure- such as a hand or a foot- use the Hit Location table to adjust the damage accordingly." 6E2 p152

"Ah- there we go." Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx says as the leader begins screaming. "A melody suitable for your tongues!" He laughs riotously as if he'd truly been unshackled by this perdictament. "You doom your very people with each moment more you treat us so dishonorably!"

The screaming might have something to do with the way his armour is starting to glow.

Ghost has no real expectation of success but tries to astral phase and move out of the chains holding her prisoner.

Fauna waits patiently for the clearance to happen, sounding a chirp now and then informatively.

Ghost steps into the astral and moves out of the chains and further from the lava. Hurriedly.

In the heated envirnoment the effort saps her reserves.

The dwarves fly the hell out of the room filled with hostile metas and filling with no less hostile lava. The door slams down with a clang behind them.

Artemis knows she hasn't the strength to break through her bonds, but she can't relent. She'll burn fighting rather than give up.

The obsidian begins to give around one of the bonds!

Titan plants his feet and reaches down to take a hold of the chain connecting his ankles to the wall. Yes, this may or may not hurt when it comes free but he needs to be mobile. He pulls with as much strength as he can muster. He needs to get his ankles free if he's going to get this room safely moved.

Artemis grunts and strains, but with no leverage, she still can't break free. She pants as she halts to prepare for the next attempt, looking to Nohrbor as he tortures the leader. "End him quick if you must, Brother, but torture not when he hasn't a fighting chance."

With a mighty tug, Titan rips the manacles on his legs from the wall. Cracks spread out from where he pulls - reaching to where bullets struck the wall, and to the existing hole in the floor - and shard of obsidian begin to be forced up by the prssure behind them...

The Ascendant sighs before replying thusly, "His people are fools and cowards. I'll let him languish a moment more, Sister and I will leave him to the same fate we all face. If he survives, let his scars tell his little people of our burning intensity and fearless constitution!"

Titan shouts at Ascendant, "How about working on getting other people free? Or getting that door open?!"

Ghost adds to Titan's comment, ".. and remembering WHY we came here. A rescue mission. There are others we need to free as well."

Titan nods. "We have to save ourselves before we can get hte others. One thing at a time."

The Godflora are beings bound by their words- even beings like Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx though not as strongly as the Ashildr.

Ascendant releases the leader from his hold and flies for the door- hoping to rip it free from its place in the wall.

He charges it and attempt to kick it clean off its hinges.

The Ascendant Doj'on's form and strike are near perfect and the door resounds its fury with a riotous clang! Unfortunately it holds strong against his mighty blow!

The Doj'on curses in his mother tongue.

Artemis catches her breath and attempts to free herself again. At least her legs so she can buy time.

Ghost delays for the moment. Trying hard to think of something constructive she can do to help her team.

Ghost says, "Johnathan, when you have a momewnt could to kick the unconscious drawf my way? I'm about dwarf sized. I might be able to use his equipment."

Titan says to Ghost, "Let me see if I can get hte room out of the magma first. Taht will alleviate a lot of the problems. If I'm able to lift it, I might need some guidance about what to do next." He flies up to the ceiling...and tries to push, attempting to lift the entire room, occupants and all, out of the magma.

Titan raises the whole room a couple of metres before hitting solid rock. Not high enough to stop the lava coming in, though the pressure is reduced.

Titan says to Ghost, "I've hit something. What's above this? I need some guidance."

The shards of obsidian are pushed free of the cracked floor, and lava pours in more freely!

Ghost tells Titan, "I can go look but it will knock my body out. This heat is draining. Someone hold me above the lava level please?"

Titan nods. "The other option is...get that door open while I keep the pressure lower. Though it's going to be tough opening it with my having lifted the room." He sighs.

Ascendant hears the others and would not leave them to struggle alone.

He turns back and flies to hoist all he can- summoning his Spirit Brand to his hand so he can use its extend length to lift Ghost and any others who might be indanger of being burnt up by the encroaching lava.

Fauna increases the overall size of her body by enlarged limbs, actively dipping part of herself in.

Fauna enlarges her limbs to get her fetters into the lava, and part of herself.

The fetters soon absorb the heat, becoming red hot - and hopefully a bit softer!

Fauna busies herself with the fetter testing, looking relaxed and attentive on her work.

Ghost sends her spirit out into the astral. Fully expecting the effort to render her physical body unconscoius. Once astral she'll check what is above the cell, and also look for a relatively unobstructed path up out of the lava trap.

As she expected Ghost's physical body is knocked out and her spirit is stunned.

Ghost becomes translucently visible. "There's obstructions above, Johnathan. Listen and remember. I won't be able to repeat these directions. Go 50m at 7 o'clock to your current facing. Up 39m. You'll hit rock. Turn 60 degrees to your left and go another 40m in that direction. Then straight up. You;; emerge into free air through the vent of the biggest volcvano I've ever seen." As she speaks her voice is fading until at the end it's barely a whisper. Then her spirit image fades away.

Titan nods as he listens. "I think...if we get to that second step, we get plenty of time. Up 39 meters would likely get us out of lava."

Artemis struggles to exhaustion, sweat beading upon her brow, and still no progress.

Fauna barks to get attention, nodding her head in Artemis's direction.

The lava flows towards Artemis' toes...

Titan grows to full size...mainly because he flies considerably quicker that way. And the sooner the room is out of the magma...the sooner everyone is safe. He then tries to follow Ghost's direction, carrying the room.

Titan manages to move the room a fair distance...but he's going to need at least one more go to get the room out of danger.

Just as Artemis' toes are getting toasty - the lava begins to drain *out* of the room.

Titan breathes a sigh of relief as the magma starts to drain out. He remains large for a little bit longer, even though it's more tiring. He continues trying to follow the instructions. Another six meters...then up 39? Something like that? He looks to Ascendant, "Can you get the others free?"

Artemis sighs and takes a moment to regain some energy before attempting to strain against her bonds again, now that the imminent danger is averted.

`The lava drains away quite quickly once there's only air underneath it at first, then slows as it begins to form a crust.

"Aye Titan of Hollywood! I shall endeavor to do so with all due haste!" Nohrbor says, flying first to his bloodbound sister to help her free.

His spear fades to nothing and his form takes the energy and repurposes to strengthen his Immortal Form. "Alright Sister, let us free thee from thy bondage." He says as he moves to grip her shackles.

Eventually Titan flies so high that daylight come in through the hole in the floor!

Titan shrinks back to his normal size, just to conserve energy. He can probably do that indefinitely now that he's not trying to maintain his large size. The room hits rock. "Okay...so sixty degress to the left. And...forty meters." He slowly starts to fly in that direction.

Then it's upward...and into the air. Titan mutters to himself about the dwarves, and he looks down at the one who was stuffed into the fissure...and he sighs. Finally, he looks to Ascendant, "How's it coming?"

Using Artemis' might & adding his own telekinetically enhanced vigor to the effort, the demi-goddess' bonds are shattered as is the wall behind her.

He grins at her. "If only we had Titan with us when we languished beneath Duod's heel. We could have freed ourselves cycles sooner." He says too her. "Though we would have never slayed that Cargaktra on Tsophian-4!"

Ghost when checked appears to be in a very deep coma. Shallow breathing. Slow pulse. No reaction to stimuli.