Mort's finishing up dissecting the Gug as Jarreck moves forward again, stating the tunnel could be a next place to investigate.
"I'll be there in a moment." He says before casting a spell to rinse his hands of the Gug's blood and entrails.
He then walks up to Jarreck and shuffles along with him as quietly as he can.
Jarreck crawls through the tunnel and emerges, Mort right behind him
The air in this long, low-ceilinged cave is particularly close and foul smelling, and the fungus growing thick on every surface seems particularly decayed and corrupt. The ceiling is a mere six feet high, with a hole leading to a tunnel at the east end. The western reaches of the cave pulsate eerily with a black, throbbing miasma.
Seventeen waits calmly for Jarreck and Mort's report. As she does so she makes a series of notes in her folio in a language that appears unlike any you have seen before.
Guaire waits alongside Seven.
His thoughts wander, but then his attention is caught by Seven's writing.
"What language is that?"
Mort ponders his brain as to what it might be himself.
"Hmm.. Yes it does look like something I'd know doesn't it? I might be more immune to it perhaps, but I'm not immediately sure as to what it is myself."
Mort continues to look at the creeping miasma for a bit longer, hoping to see if it would make more sense or see if it is coming closer to him and Jarreck.
Mort doesn't think its natural. It's certainly not anything you've encountered before. Mort thinks it might have something to do with the extra fungal activity in this small cave...
Mort approaches the miasma with caution, seeing if it moves closer.
He whispers back to Jarreck.
"It's not anything natural in my opinion. But... it could have something to do with the heightened fungal activity in this place. Let me investigate this more closely."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mort moves forward and feels a familiar cold clamminess on his skin as he approaches the inky blackness. Once he enters the blackness, the darkness is absolute. Mort cannot see anything. Mort eventually stumbles across a rotting corpse... He's sure that this is the source of the foul black miasma. He's also sure that this is some alien disease that killed the being here. Mort thinks that its a good thing he's immune to disease, or else he might spread this nasty alien virus to everyone he touches.
"Don't come down....got it. Once you know if it -is- safe to come down, you'll let us know."
Guaire looks at Seven.
"What would you reckon they find down there, a natural hazard, or something magical?"
Mort scrabbles back out of the tunnel and dusts himself off, picking off some last slime and flicking it back.
"Do not come down here. This is literally a dead end. Some strange alien fungal growth that spreads disease."
Omo shivers when he hears Mortimer's news. "The idea of one's own body turning against oneself is so awful."
In a monotone Seventeen replies, "I see. Perhaps that was the source of the bad air. There is nothing to be gained studying such things. We should try the area to the north."
|
Jarreck looks at the two passages ahead of them to the north, "Still think the narrow passage smells a bit better, granted not much but a bit. I'll head through there first. Perhaps we should tie the rope and I'll go ahead. If it's clear on the other side I can give 3 sharp tugs and you can.follow. If I start screaming haul that rope and me back quickly."
Jarreck gets his rope from his pack....
Jarreck crawls down the long passageway and it quickly becomes evident that he doesn't have enough rope. However, the other heroes stoop down and crawl behind Jarreck some 50' in his wake.
Jarreck can't make out much in the gloom when he arrives at the end of the tunnel. He does know he's in a much larger cave.
Guaire steadily crawls forth, the light of his bow a relief to his otherwise hampered sight.
"Hang on Jarreck, if you wait a little, i can light up your way ahead."
Watching Guaire forge ahead, Seventeen decides she should be there too in case she was needed. However she deemed it unwise to do so while visible. She whispers a spell and simply vanishes.
Hidden by her magics, Seventeen quickly walks forwards and brushes past Jarreck when she enters the large cave. With her nanite enhanced vision she looks around for any thing of interest...
Seven moves forward, and in the dark she spots movement. This unnaturally graceful creature has a bulbous fungoid lump for a head, spiny insectoid wings, and a tangle of spiky, clawed legs.
The creature is moving away from the party, but Seven doesn't think its spotted them.
Seventeen's autonomous systems scanned, categorised and filed reports on the alien. Unfortunately all that scrolled down her HUD was an error message, 'Access denied to file 14J-B2'.
Once she sees it out of range she whispers to Jarreck, "Quickly retreat into the tunnel before it returns." Once in the tunnel and hopefully out of earshot her disembodied voice describes what she saw. "Surely it is an alien, we must assume it is extremely dangerous. My tatical subroutines suggest fighting a flying for in the large cavern would be foolhardy. If we wish to engage it, it should be in this tunnel."
In a deadpan Seventeen replies, "Unless you learn how to fly it might be rather difficult to fight it otherwise." She pauses suddenly before adding earnestly, "... I could teach you however."
Seventeen gives Guaire an appraising look, "Would you like to be enchanted first? Or maybe that Pilo of yours..." Her attention suddenly snaps to Jarreck and she asks in a deadpan, "Hmm? What about you? Would you like to fly?"
"You're better off giving Spike flight. I can work from the ground just fine, but thanks."
Guaire positively raises a thumb.
Seventeen announces that, "I must rebalance my internal energies before this fight." Sits sits down and pulls out her folio, she opens it at precisely the page she wanted and cross-legged she begins rapidly studying it. Moments later she stands up, not that anyone could see her and announces I am ready.
Seventeen suddenly asks Mort and Omo, "Do you need to prepare?"
Seven casts her spell, Jarreck moves into the cave...the Mi Go can't help but notice Jarreck. Combat of course, ensues.
Round 1
Seven
Guaire
Isuma
Mort
Migo
Really Bad Mi Go
Omo
Jarreck
Edit: Since I completely forgot about the Fungus when Seven invisibly explored the cave, if you make the kn:Nature check, you can assume to know about it ahead of initiative.
"Careful guys, avoid that dark green fungus. That is highly hazardous to your health and sanity. An elder told our troops about it at a meeting, no doubt this is what he spoke of."
Guaire opens fire on the bug.
Omo pulls out a potion of invisibility and downs an Alchemical Allocation infusion.
while whispering a strange incantation. Suddenly a crackling beam of black energy lances out, striking the alien in its centre of mass!
[dice=Enervation negative levels]1d4[/dice]
Noting combat is joined, she removes a scroll from her scroll case and whispers the very last phrase of the spell contained within. Suddenly the scroll crumbles and time appears to slow to a crawl!
Round 1
Seven casts Haste on her allies.
Guaire fires at the Mi go, unfortunately the cave isn't well lit and the light spell only goes so far... but both of Guaire's shots hit! Two of Guaire's arrows find their mark.
Isuma has her LOS blocked by the cave, and so she readies her Zero Rifle to fire at the first unlucky thing to come into view.
Mort moves forward, and can't cast enervation because that requires LOS which he does not have.
Migo retreat into the darkness of the cave...
Really Bad Mi Go casts a spell
Omo drinks his Allocation
Jarreck
Round 2
Seven
Guaire
Isuma
Mort
Migo
Really Bad Mi Go
Omo
Jarreck