System Agnostic/Episode Two: Old Haunts

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The next episode picks up once again in the simulated amphitheater, facing down an echo of the creature they first faced back in the prehistoric simulation. The four people try to determine if they’re still in the simulation or not; Eyelean asks Dom if the tunnel should still be collapsed since “Indomitus” closed the tunnel before, while Samantha just wants to leave rather than face any hostile creatures again. They bicker about whether they’re supposed to go through events the same way they did before, or just ignore it all and head to the town of Outrys.

They’re interrupted by the metallic humanoid that tried to kill them earlier asking if they’ve seen Karavox. Dom comes to the conclusion the group needs to find the axe first, while Eyelean is more focused on the possibility of turning the amphitheater into a swimming pool of pudding. The metallic humanoid asks how the group can possibly be a threat.

Just as the group decides to leave, they see a glowing pair of eyes from one of the tunnels and hear yet another growl. The metallic antagonist decides fleeing is prudent and vanishes. Ronny casts Detect Evil, and feels a pulse from the D6 in his shoulder. He determines the creature isn’t evil—just hungry.

The crystalline argons they had all faced in the simulation once before now steps out of the darkness again; only this time, there are cracks along its body and it seems visibly worse for wear. Ronny remembers arrows don’t work on it and decides to start running. Eyelean also spreads out and waits to shoot if it attacks. Samantha casts Detect Light to see if any exists inside the argons, but comes up empty and she, too, heads for higher ground.

Dom admits he’s frightened, and his spear admonishes him for not being “hype” enough. The argons claws him, leaving him bloodied and nearly dead. Eyelean takes the opportunity to shoot the creature, and manages to wear down its guard. Dom swings at the argons, only to find its crystalline hide is tougher than he thought.

Eyelean shoots again, shattering off a piece of its flank. Ronny aims his bow, despite knowing the argons was resistant last time; the arrow shatters against its thick skin.

Seeing Dom is injured, Samantha comes closer to him and heals him a little, but admits she can’t do much for him. The argons takes another swipe at Dom, hurting him again—and dropping Samantha’s guard. Dom slashes at the creature again, shattering off another piece of its guard.

Eyelean, the Neo paragon, activates her Fair Field HUD  and notices something flickering on the argons’ forehead. When she clicks on it, a voice asks her, “Would you like to lock down the Fallen argons?” She says yes, and the argons suddenly freezes up and almost seems to shut down. She commands it to sit, and it does so.

Ronny sees how the simulation is similar to what they experienced last time, and tries to summon Ronin. When that fails, he casts Summon Living Servant. A small robotic humanoid appears in front of him—right before a familiar bird lands on his head.

Samantha backs up and tries to take Dom with her, managing to get them both out of the range of immediate death. The argons is locked down and can’t move, but it does weaken the hold Eyelean has on it. Dom listens to the questionable advice of his spear and advances on the argons again, slashing into it again.

The Fair Field asks if Eyelean wants to strengthen the integrity of the hacking. She agrees, and manages to do so. She tries to command it to self-destruct, but it still maintains a sense of self preservation and ignores the command.

Ronny asks his Living Servant what it can do, but it only responds “caw” in a metallic voice. The Fool drop-kicks the robot down the stairs of the amphitheater, where it breaks on impact. Samantha backs up again and casts a Sun Blast at the creature, damaging it further. The argons tries again to break out of the hack, but only weakens it.

Dom jams the talking spear into its chest, and it shatters into glittering crystal. The spear celebrates, saying Dom needs to do this more often and pointing out he nearly died. Eyelean drops down and picks up the creature’s Fair Gold, thinking she must be in a video game.

In the meantime, Ronny calls out to everyone that he found Ronin, and proceeds to jump from the highest part of the amphitheater to the floor—casting Feather Fall to soften the landing. Samantha asks if they should be heading to Outrys or the temple if they want to exit the simulation. After some discussion, they decide the town in the better choice.

When they reach Outrys, they notice it’s similar to the previous simulation, but the layout of the town is different. Upon reaching the tavern they once frequented, they’re met by two familiar faces: Meghan Duscalla, who was pulled away from them into the void earlier, and a hairless pinks Rakshasa in blue robes—who’s looking into a magic bucket. She looks up and greets them: “I was awaiting your arrival. I was sure you would be coming.”