This was quite the struggle Anody says nervously. Unnerved by the amount of blood. [/b]
Criek slumps against the wall for a moment as he surveys the scene of the battle. But...no bodies? he wonders. Neither here nor where we met Genni, but people--er, people made of flesh died here, clearly, and presumably there as well?
...or have the winning faction been taking both their own dead and the other group's...Khonnir's group?...with them?
Anody tries the closest door with the black card.
If these were the medical drones, the winning party must have carried off both their own casualties and the later group's?
Creik describes Khonnir to Genni and asks if she has seen him.
She replies that another group came through somewhat later, and what sounded like a fight happened. She thinks the new group was defeated. She could see as her head could not move and was facing the other way.
The door opens easily. In front of you is a ten foot wide, thirty foot long corridor. A double door is off to your right, and single door to your left. Another double door is at the corridors end.
”Well, at least there is less blood in here…”, Sharae remarks as they look to the south. With her starknife ready, she listens carefully at each of the doors.
If there are no card slots on any of the doors, she will suggest her friends get ready and then open the single door on their left…
Criek points to the other double doors in the outer hallway, I can't believe I'm saying this, but should we try these doors first, since it appears the, er, blood trail most likely continues through them? ...Or were you thinking that we should verify these rooms clear before following the trail of the saboteurs?
As criek says this Sharae approaches the single door, which opens on approach.
She sees two circular metal tables and several chairs filling the bulk of the room. Metal cabinets sit against the walls, while to the north
stands a large machine with glowing panels on its surface. The
air feels unusually warm.
No threats are evident.
"What do you think Professor? Maybe Genni could tell us the purpose of this room?"
Criek begins quickly looking through the cabinets along the walls for anything that might be identifiably useful -- and holding up any particularly interesting unidentifiable objects for Anody's inspection.
Anody questions genni, and after a short conversation says, This is a dining room, I think. A place to eat meals and relax.
Creiek finds the lockers unlocked. Inside he finds a large selection of tubes, in many different colours.
Anody says, these are rations, I think. I have heard of these. One of those little tubes is the equivalent of a meal. This is quite a find.
Apart from the food tubes, there is no other loot here, unless you want to take the tables and chairs. It does seem to be a secure place to sleep.
"This sema a safe place for us to rest... Although I fear time is against us now - if we must then we can return here but, for now, shall we move on?"
Responding to Criek's earlier suggestion, "Criek is correct, we should - much as I hate to chase risk - follow those bloodstains to their source. Although, if they are from Khonnir, it is likely that we are too late... Way too late"
There are a lot of different agendas at play here it seems like, and they've been running into each other more than they have been running into us. Anody says with concern. Let's see what's in the next room
Ayla replies to Sharae
"We'll know we are too late if we find the professor dead, as he could be alive and eating those tube things."
Criek frowns and busies himself by handing around a few of the food-tubes to each of his companions, mumbling, In case we decide not to come back here, before looking up at Sharae. If we are too late to help Khonnir, we at least need certainty of that fact? Until we find him and determine his condition, we will not know if we have been too late all this time, or if every minute of haste has mattered. ...And, in the worst case, it would seem his attackers are also responsible for the melt down and the fate of both this place and Torch.
There are 120 food tubes
Returning to the bloodstained corridor, the party opens the net door with their white card.
A long table with various unusual stones and dirt samples
heaped on it sits along the southern wall of this room, while to
the north a line of metal desks with glowing panels and buttons
are placed next to a large humming device. The heart of this
device seems to be some sort of flickering sphere of reddish/brown
mud or dirt. Dust covers much of this room, save for a
strangely clean swath between the doors, which leads to the
strange humming device.
It looks like something cleaned up the blood trail, but it can still be followed by following the clean area.
As you enter a voice sounds inside your head.
Odd. Not things. Who are you not things? What is this place?
The voice in your minds is cold, alien. As it speaks a series of images and thoughts flash through your minds, in a blur. Your minds rebel from these.
A startled Ayla replies
"Who are you?"
who am I? Who are you? Not things are stupid. I hunger. For knowledge. This place is...blank, tasteless, boring, yes I see that boring is correct. Hmm. Tasty, thoughts and memories, feelings. Who am I, not thing? Tell me now!
Uhhh.. Anody reels from the alien images. Genni... Can you tell this... Intelligence what it is and what this room is?
Hmm.Not thing is making mouthings at thing. Why do that? It is a thing? What are you? Who am I? Answer me! I am hungry! It seems to be becoming agitated.
Sharae staggers as the images overwhealm her as does Valia.
The creature shrieks in your minds
Answer Me! What are you? What am I? Why do I hunger? Answer! Not things are cruel! I hunger!
And with that it shrieks in a blast that ripples through you minds
initiative
Sorted
Sharae
Ayla
Beastie
Valia
Anody
Creik
Sharae and Ayla are up.
From the dirt and mud on the humming machine a swollen, brain like bulb, encrusted with fungal shelves, emerges. Several rope like tentrils extrude. AS you watch a wide mouth bisects the bulb. A sense of revulsion sweeps through you.
+2 vs fear and or emotion
Ayla give the thing a good whack
As the noise fills her skull, Sharae doubles over... Tears of pain mingled with tears of sadness run down her cheeks - the tracks of the tears streaking through the butterfly image painted across her face...
Ayla steps up to the pulsing monstrosity and swings hard, striking the creature hard. It screams, the first noise you have heard from it,
It attacks Ayla
touch attack
Creature
AC 18
Hp taken 12
Ayla has taken 8 hp
Sharnae is nauseated
Remember, if you failed the initial save above, attacks are at -2.
Valia, anody and creik are up.
Valia spins around in a circle confused before collapsing onto all fours. He begins vomiting profusely onto the ground.
Anody digs out the slate from his backpack and uses it to scan the bizarre creature on his turn.
Ah. A cerebric fungus. Should be vulnerable to whatever plants are weak to I think.
Ayla give the thing another good whack
+2 vs fear and or emotion
Shaken by the mental onslaught and not trusting his aim with a bomb, Criek loads his sling and fires at the hideous thing --
As the ringing in her ears subsides, Sharae calls upon Desna to guide her friends…