That was a hell of a day. I’ve only just gotten back to the guild hall and sat down for the first time today. So much chaos happened today that I cannot begin to piece together all of it at once.
I guess I’ll start from the top. Today was our first delve into the Artifice. We had 2 simple missions:
- Reach Basement Floor 10, scouting out the floors as we went.
- Escort Segfault the Metang to Basement Floor 10.
It was a mess. The whole Artifice was apparently an old Ancient research facility, from what we gathered on screens found at the rest stop. Moving parts, sprawling metal corridors, and electric and steel types galore. Segfault was nearly instrumental in clearing some encounters, with his fast movement and “repositioning” tactics.
Our first major hurdle came at BF3, with the, as dubbed gleefully by Banni, Magnemite Blender. A large square room filled with Magnemite. From what we gathered, their job was supposedly to spin metals and materials around the large inner square to separate them. These materials now include any Pokèmon unfortunate enough to wander into their sightlines.
I was unlucky enough to discover this first hand. In a reckless attempt to freeze a line of those horrid creatures, I got spun around the room with enough force to black out twice. It was not fun. The others got a good laugh out of it, while I came out feeling less than please and wanting nothing more than to eradicate the rest of these problems from the planet. We did finish the floor off, and were rewarded immensely for it.
Our next major hurdle happened on BF7, with a choice of path. After Jaze absolutely destroyed a poor Metagross in what was the second most violent display of the day, we were granted the option to defend into a Distortion heavy Zone. I’ve dubbed the following two floors The Factory and The Copycat Office.
The Factory was a nightmare. Huge moving walls that crushed anything in their path, endless corridors filled with traps and buttons, rooms lined with Dungeon Pokèmon launching endless Solar Beams. It felt like a constant thrumming beat of violence and noise as we stormed our way through. On top of that, our Looplets were functionally useless there, as the Distortion was so thick it just made them worthless.
The Copycat Office was a little less hellish. As we exited The Factory, our Looplets started working again, meaning we had more movement and thus a much easier time navigating the floor. This floor featured a new enemy in the form of Ditto. I’ve met exactly 1 other Pokèmon who could change their shape, and they were pleasant to be around. These Ditto? Nah, we knew something was up when we say another Absol. Four Ditto copied our party, move sets and all. It was fairly stressful also finding out that Telepathy works both ways. Where our resident nuclear baby uses her link to us to find out what’s going on around the Dungeons, so could the clone. We got out of there fast. One literal bomb child is enough for me, I didn’t need a second.
I’m suddenly glad I packed us a lunch. We got to our destination and were BUGGERED. After completing Segfault’s request, we scrounged around the 10th floor, finding some new Ancient tech and discovering that the Artifice could charge the tech from the Terminals in the room. I got the rest of the party to eat some food (I need to remember that Bea is allergic to fish) and we got down to the nitty-gritty of sorting through some files on the terminals that Segfault opened up. I can only say that the things we read were deeply concerning.
After a quick ride in the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, an “elevator”, we got back to the local Guild. This is where we had our daily Oppsie from Bea. She had the idea, after charging a piece of her tech down in the Artifice, to teleport to the old Ancient dwelling we scavenged to search for another part to charge the tech at home base. The last thing I heard while handing off the report to the local Pawniard was a cut off swear and a blink.
I will say that my reaction was a bit silly but also valid. I ran. I didn’t stop. I checked our whole path home. The old Ancient dwelling? Absolutely ransacked searching for Bea. It took me a good hour to get back to Embark at a dead sprint. I’m glad Jaze got me to invest in that Extreme Speed Emera, because I’ve never been more worried about that silly psychic child more. Turns out, she tried teleporting twice and knocked herself out, appearing above Embark’s Crossroads and falling about 50 feet. The only thing that stopped her was one of the Ditto we cleansed. Had they not been there, I fear what would have happened...
We’re all home now. Bea is stable after a quick treatment of Oran mush and water, and the others have both gone to bed. I’m having trouble getting to sleep, so I think I might go for a walk to clear my head. Haven’t truly explored Embark after dark, after all...
