The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

This is the aesthetic centre of the Gardens. Here, great animals roam freely; here, the artworks and monuments of every culture are arranged. It is the most stunning neutral territory. Gnarly nighttwists, elegant yellow musk creepers, strong assassin vines, beautiful rare and Steep herbs, all grow here in attractive proportions. Each is laced with just a touch of magic frost which enables it to survive in the adamas-rich, strong-smelling soil.

The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Diamond Master » Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:24 am

Summary of thread (spoilers within):
  1. A pagoda-like or citadel-like ship appears.
  2. 3 Crystal Sslugs appear, possibly dropped off by the Citadel. They seem largely intent on destruction of the Garden, and can even burn adamas.
  3. Mix, the Sslug of Apathy, goes to the Diamond Watchtower and uses DM Favor to protect the other Sslugs, giving Amatin wings and countering some efforts.
  4. Amatin, the Sslug of Frost, is the primary destructor. It now has wings and rains lasers and acid down on the garden.
  5. Osis, the Sslug of Temptation, wrote out a message in a Sslugtrail. Ptah realized that, upside down, the message says
    Spoiler: show
    "Ravana is watching."

    Osis was eventually trapped (temporarily) in Steepest Durin's domain, but could break out at any time.
  6. The Sslugs have Artifacts implanted into them - Withering Eyes - which are in communication with another being, possibly Ravana.
  7. A Sslug is made out of physical crystals of code.
  8. The Sslugs are mindless and undivertable from their intended paths.
  9. Crystal trilobites with crystal balls for eyes make it difficult to learn things about the Sslug's future.

Action:
  1. Durin builds a machine to strike at the Sslug's programming. This is one way to distract them.
  2. Meanwhile, Thrash summons a wave of earth lifting Yerkan and Grey Aides all the way to the Citadel, where they sneak in with a Reality Revision. The Citadel fires more and more ballista bolts as they try to enter.
  3. The Tawny Trickster also causes destruction in the garden.
  4. Yerkantricks the Tawny Sneak into an offer to help (made with ill intent). Yerkan then vanishes from his own combat, leaving the Tawny Trickster to take the fall. The Trickster could effect an easy escape, but he knowingly stood in a Refractive Facet where he was oath-bound to help or be imprisoned.
  5. The Trickster offers payment for his own ransom, but only if a riddle can be answered. Otherwise he is content to slowly claw his mighty way out of his predicament.
  6. Meanwhile, Durin transforms his own castle into a gigantic artifact-level trap for the Sslugs, guarded by the Council Portal.
  7. The Sslugs respond. Durin is gravely injured, saved only by the timely arrival of the Lady.
  8. The Sslugs begin siphoning Eitr from the cracks of the Garden. Thrash asks his one question of the Norns - what will the world be like without Eitr? It will still tick onward, it seems, though at a slower-changing pace.
  9. A divination by Yerkan of Elish shows a)Spinning b)Wiring c) A roaring big cat.
  10. Transmitters crystallize around the Sslug trail, giving out their call.
  11. It is at this point that Ptah figures out the riddle of the carved trail. He gives the name it reveals to Yerkan for Divination. The Norns make a prophecy.
  12. Ptah suggests retreat from the Garden in the face of these threats. Relations are discovered between Ravana and the rift in the Hamlet of Heroes.
  13. Everyone readies another three-pronged attack on the Sslugs.
  14. Yerkan organizes an illusion to make the entire Gardens look deserted and wasted.
  15. AIiCE, Yerkan, and Durin zap Osis with the Field Proejctor, attempting a hostile reprogramming. Thrash attacks with magma and rips the eyestalks from Osis.
  16. Yerkan invites the tawny trickster to cause chaos with the lands surrounding his studiolo. The trickster causes as much damage as possible, shutting down the Studiolo and imprisoning its essence in a mysterious globe.
  17. The Sslugs survive the attempt at destroying them, and many of the gods' heroes are slain. Ptah slows down Time around them, so that they may be dealt with at a more leisurely pace.
  18. Yerkan, Durin, and AIiCE reprogram the baby Sslug from the Hamlet of Heroes to shield its allies and to later receive commands. This pains the Sslug, and it begins manifesting grotesque vestigial limbs.



The sun rises, the sun falls. Sometimes, it brings something new with it.

The pagoda-tiered outline of a flying citadel puts a stain on the rising of the sun one morning.
Ship.png


It warps in toward the garden, and then dips away below the horizon, cyclopean crystal eye winking out beneath the earth's curve.

But it seems it left a contribution anyway, for as the sun sets, a terrific creaking and tortured groaning comes from the direction of the Arboretum, the finest point of the garden.

Those who rush to the scene see a leviathan sight: 3 putrid Sslugs, made of organized liquid crystal globules, ooze across the garden towards the Realms.

The vermin have too many eyes, and the evidence of alteration is heavy upon them. Unthinkably potent slime melts even the adamas substrate where they crawl. To touch them is death or disfigurement. They effect their horrid urges at a distance with powerful beams of focused red starlight, brought to the ultimate peak of precision in dull, uncaring, steel-matrixed cybernetic eyes.

They break off in three directions, blindly following orders from deep within their coded structure. Trilobites follow where they've been, oracular crystal eyes percolating the waters of knowledge and prophecy with tiny mindless samplings.

Mix, the Sslug of Apathy, veers in the direction of the Diamond Watchtower with unerring accuracy.

Amatin, the Sslug of Frost, slashes deeper on a beeline into the heart of the Garden, accessing the withering gaze of his compatriots for unspeakable alteration of the aesthetics in the garden, raining razor needles of light on the beauty of the Pinnacle Facet, destroying tracts of land forever.

Osis, the Sslug of Temptation, molds its massive bulk into many distracted directions, carving a deep trough into the structural adamas underlying the Garden near the Deific Realms.

Sslug (2).jpg


Brutally, they cut a quick swath through the Garden's defenders, who quickly abandon the offense and concentrate on removing precious treasures to safer places. Occasionally, flashes of death emanate from an appearance of the strange ship to destroy these defenders. Other times, it rains down trilobites on the priceless artifacts, hiding them from even the memory of the gardeners.
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Volatilus » Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:11 am

Another hunt is afoot! Far trickier than the last from the noxious scent, and three no less! I can't imagine my beastly pack being of use this round. Cunning will outweigh number strength this time. Best learn of them quickly before striking. This Mix will catch my attention first, I'll dash in it's wake looking to avoid the trail of destruction it's making. Anyone have a massive salt shaker on hand!?
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Morbus Sano » Thu Nov 01, 2012 5:11 pm

No certainly not, but these so called "Sslugs" must be stopped before they wreck all that is our house and home. as such I quickly create a potion announcing that the drinking of this potion will turn one into a giant slug themselves, although they would leave behind no destructive adamas and have the regular two eyes. my plan is to cut off Osis, the Sslug of Temptation and see how it would treat me, if its name is any indication, perhaps it will attempt to seduce me hahaha.perhaps we ought even to have each of us attempt to communicate and lead each of them off to another path.
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Yerkan of Elish » Thu Nov 01, 2012 5:34 pm

"Ah... sslugs. Not so delightful as dragons, I figure. Especially these aberrations. Surely they are fascinating creatures, but I have no emotional attachment to these. They are better of dead, if we can manage it."

I set up an array of mirrors to reflect their weaponry and use the trilobites as well as my own cunning to disguise these reflectors as parts of the garden that they might want to destroy.

Let us experiment! Though I'd suggest experimenting without actually touching them...
enuma eliš la nabuú šámamu
šapliš ammatum šuma la zakrat
gipara la kiissuru susaa la she'uú
enuma dingir dingir la šupuu manama
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Diamond Master » Fri Nov 02, 2012 12:50 am

Morbus Sano steps between Osis and its apparent goal. Osis bears toward him, leaving a deep trail behind and laser cuts ahead. A well-placed mirror is shattered by the overbearing light beam, but the cubic eye's sensor has been distracted just long enough for Morbus Sano to duck within Osis' reach. The Sslug does not halt nor even demonstrate a concern for Morbus, who is only spared by a quick backwards jump and a sudden sideswing on the part of Osis, who begins furrowing in a different direction.
trail1.jpg

Volatilus finds that Mix's cybernetic eyes have a 360 degree locating ability, but Mix does not avert its course across the Frozen Ocean.

Yerkan, to be clear, your mirrors are not powerful enough to reflect their deadly beams.
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Steepest Durin » Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:22 am

I'll go with Volatilus ta get an idea of what modifications have been performed on th' Sslugs.
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Great Thrash » Fri Nov 02, 2012 3:18 pm

I will run damage control until we know what form our counteroffensive will take.

Healing the earth, putting up barriers to the Sslugs' paths, that sort of thing.
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Yerkan of Elish » Fri Nov 02, 2012 4:05 pm

I will attempt to gather a sample of the slug's caustic juices using the Loupe Estoc. I will attempt to just pierce the skin of one of 'em from the side and see what we can learn! I go with Volatilus and Durin in order to garner some protection as well as insight regarding what has been done to these beasts.
enuma eliš la nabuú šámamu
šapliš ammatum šuma la zakrat
gipara la kiissuru susaa la she'uú
enuma dingir dingir la šupuu manama
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Diamond Master » Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:46 pm

It takes the combined effort of the three of you to safely extract any slugjuice.

Your estoc shows you that the Sslugs are composed of organized crystal and poisoned adamas in a ionized substrate. Shielding particles hold it all together against many attacks.
There is nothing to require that the Sslugs be in this current shape.
Commands run through the substrate, preordained, difficult to alter once set into motion. This gives the Sslugs an unstoppable strength, mutable versatility, and freedom from distraction.

The alteration is both superficial and deep. The eyes are artifacts of cybernetic versatility, capable of perfect memory, focusing power, and projection. The eyes and eyestalks have been crudely stitched into place, then held by a reaction within the Sslug's structure. The alteration has added much to the abilities of the Sslugs, and nothing to weaken them.

The crystal nature of the Sslugs has been altered to send out a prescient signal, calling the trilobites' own abilities, and allowing the Sslugs to see just far enough into the future to be there to blast brand new obstacles. The Oracular Muddying muddies the motivations of the Sslugs from your dagger.

What else would you like to know? What else do you do?
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Re: The Crystal Sslugs of the Test

Postby Great Thrash » Sat Nov 03, 2012 4:34 am

Let's take it logically. Power level? Outclassed. Specializations? We're rather outgunned but we are definitely more versatile. I think this is a weakness in the sslugs. Equipment? Us, all the way, with our resources pooled and Durin in his workshop. And this is our home. Informationally, we're outclassed again because they've got a head start and are the informed minority. But we've got a knowledge domain and a few multiverse travelers and an informationdagger. What's left. Magic! Aides. I noticed you had a magic domain. What is your speciality?
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