In the middle of Arabella's work, the room lights up. Looking up, you see that some rectangles of the metal ceiling are making light. Looking closely, you see no difference between the surfaces that are making light and the surfaces that are not.
Now you can see the room clearly. And now many of the bumps on the walls and counters are lit up in various colors, and there are many drawings on the wall and counters in bright colors. Also strange squiggles (it's no stretch for Arabella and Marko to assume they are writing) appear alone and in the drawings.
You eventually find several places in the wall, near the top of the ceiling, where tiny thin rectangles have been cut out of the metal. Too small for WindDancer to get thru, if anyone's wondering.
What do you do for the next few minutes?
"Well, it looks like I might want to armor up. Connor, come help me."
Examining the drawings and the writing.
"Well, it looks like I might want to armor up. Connor, come help me."
Connor looks to Alex for direction.
Alexander nodded to Connor with approval. No nephew of his would take orders from a native! All the same, should fighting be called for...
"You're your own man now, Connor. But I would suggest helping to get K'Don there armored. I don't imagine that whoever is responsible for this odd circumstance will be friendly to our arrival." He patted Connor's shoulder encouragingly, careful not to bother WindDancer on her perch.
Arabella is gobsmacked. She hastily extinguishes whatever flame she had going, then she stands slowly, looking around, up, down, a slight grin creeping into her expression at the wonder of all this shiny metal. She tears her eyes away from the blinking lights and other wonders long enough to check if everyone is all right, then to extract her pack and tools from where it is stored in the craft. She powers down the craft and after that begins to look more closely at the door area, her mind racing as she tries to imagine what manner of magic or science created this, what it is for, and what dangers might lurk and what wonders may be discovered.
When she finally gets past all the emotions and settles down, she says, "I don't think we're in Keltica any more."
To power down the craft:
Result = 4, success
General rolls to grasp some small sense of what this is.
Result = 5
Result = 11
Result = 9
Connor's chest swells pridefully at being declared a man. He nods and moves over to help K'Don suit up, though he doesn't seem terribly enthusiastic towards the task.
Dark. Dark dark dark.
She can see all the bigs, and a dull heat glow from the floaty chairs thing they'd been flying in. But everything else is blackness.
And then the light comes.
Ooh! Shiny!
She makes an ecstatic little sound of delight as colorful glowing things appear seemingly everywhere. As her little-big goes to help the big-big...
Boring!
... she flits from Con-nor's shoulder to land on a shelf. Intrigued by one of the shiny glowing pebbles, she tilts her head to one side, makes a little chittering sound, taps it with her snout, and then tries to taste it.
"Thank you Connor, for helping me armor up. Best to be prepared for anything."
Addressing Arabella, "My dear what do you mean we're not in Keltica any more?"
Alex's and WindDancer's pokings and proddings (and lickings) don't have any effect that you can tell.
(I can see WD now, trying to "catch" a light that keeps blinking on and off...)
Arabella will comment that this seems to be science, but a science *far* beyond anything she's ever seen. As to *what* it's being used for, she has no idea.
(For reference, she's probably seen huge banks of wet-cell batteries that produce a trickle of voltage and current, a weak electromagnet that can "magically" lift small things, and *maybe* a hand-build-from-scratch meter that responds to voltage.)
About halfway thru getting K'Don into his armor, something new happens : all the light panels in the ceiling go dark, *except* the one closest to the door-like indentation.
And the door-like indentation opens - part of the wall itself moves to the right, into itself, leaving a gap in the rest of the wall. You see a dim light coming from beyond the door.
Removing his glasses and cleaning them, "It appears we are being invited to to that way" pointing at the open door.
"WindDancer, Sweetest of Flying creatures, would you be so kind as to make a quick flight over to the door and tell Connor what you see."
"WindDancer, Sweetest of Flying creatures, would you be so kind as to make a quick flight over to the door and tell Connor what you see."
The lights going out and the door sliding open catches her attention; otherwise the big's request wouldn't've even registered against her fascination with the shinies. But she hears her name and cocks her head at the big.
A few moments after the talking stops she suddenly looks at Con-nor, who has paused in helping the big-big and is staring at her. With a nod and a chirp of agreement, she springs into the air and heads for the doorway.
WindDancer flits quickly over to the door, cautiously goes thru, and hovers for a few seconds looking all around. She tells Connor (mentally) that there's a narrow hallway going in either direction, all made of metal, with one light panel lit a ways down in the left direction.
"WindDancer says there's a side-to-side passage. Light to the left, dark to the right. Shiny walls, like in here. She doesn't see anyone."
"Ahem. Excellent work, Arabella." Alexander sheveled himself and poked his head out the door to confirm what Connor (and WindDancer) had told them.
Leaning back in, he regarded the rest of the party seriously. "Does anyone have ANY idea where we are, how we got here, or anything of the sort? Were we close to Gerta's contact on the map? This isn't some dwarf hall, is it?" He made a moue of distaste at the thought.
"In any case, I would prefer not to be captured in that box of a room once again. Come, let us venture forth. While K'Don was our guide in the wild, perhaps a stealthier approach is called for here. Connor, can you stay in touch with WindDancer if she's out of sight?"
He pulled out his pistol and rapier and held them ready, prepared to sneak down the lit corridor.
Connor nods. "As long as she doesn't go too far."
K'Don eventually gets all his plate armor on.
As the group moves down the hall, when you get closer to the light panel, another door opens up.
Assuming the same procedure as before, WindDancer checks it out and reports another long hall, with one light panel lit.
This goes on for some time. Does anyone want to specify any actions during this time? Eventually...
After WindDancer provides an all-clear indication in the next room, Arabella cautiously peers in. Her hands keep flitting to her pack of tools attached to her backpack, signaling a struggle of will against an urge to break out tools and begin trying to pry at the coverings hiding the inner workings of the place.
"Does anyone have ANY idea where we are, how we got here, or anything of the sort? Were we close to Gerta's contact on the map? This isn't some dwarf hall, is it?"
"Rule number 4 of my mentor back in Grassfield, where I grew up, 'If you have no evidence, reserve judgment.'"
"If I had to tender a hypothesis, I'd say someone saw us and decided to invite us inside their shiny home. Evidence for this hypothesis, such as it is: Something shot at us. Probably intentional that what happened to us would happen. As for where we are, I've heard rumors of various arcane attempts at transporting people directly from one place to another, sometimes styled teleportation or aportation. If so, that means we could be just about anywhere."
"Of course, Neils' rule number five was 'Remember, you could be wrong.'"
You finally reach a room which if WindDancer inspects first, Connor would report "There are some BIG bugs in there...and WindDancer says they are *talking* to her! They seem friendly."
Going in, you do indeed see what at first glance are 4 foot long, 1 foot wide, centipedes. They are arched up (sort of "S" shaped), so many of the back feet are on the ground, and you see that several of the raised front feet are much longer. You see nothing that resembles eyes or ears or nose.
In your minds you each hear (in your first-learned language) "Please do not be afraid, we will not harm you." We can talk more later, but your unexpected and unexplained arrival here has freed *all* the prisoners, and we need your help getting them back in their cells.
I am the pilot, and my companion is the <one-who-makes-things-work>, we are not able to do this. I take it by your weapons and armors that you are used to fighting, will you help us?"
Pointing at every visible gunpowder pistol with various frontlegs, it says "You MUST NOT use those kinds of weapons in here! We will provide you with appropriate guns if that is what you prefer to use. Is that acceptable?"
Result = 4
Faith freezes as the 'pedes begin to 'speak.' Revulsion and fear struggle with curiosity and wonder for control of her next action. She manages to hold it together, just barely, and tries to understand what they are saying and asking.
"We can talk more later, but your unexpected and unexplained arrival here has freed *all* the prisoners, and we need your help getting them back in their cells."
In Arabella's mind, she pictures the prisoners the PCs have just freed and at first thinks they were responsible for the mining operation. But then something makes her wonder if they might not mean some other party in the recently uncovered plot. She thinks, "Which prisoners are you talking about?".
"I am the pilot, and my companion is the <one-who-makes-things-work>, we are not able to do this."
'I am <one-who-makes-things-work> in this group. Will you show me how some of this [mental sweep of all the tech] works?'
"I take it by your weapons and armors that you are used to fighting, will you help us?"
'*snort*. Not by choice. We were kidnapped, forced to work as slaves, and only fight to survive.' Then she pauses and glances at K'Don. 'Well, he is used to fighting. Enjoys it rather.'
"You MUST NOT use those kinds of weapons in here! We will provide you with appropriate guns if that is what you prefer to use. Is that acceptable?"
'We don't use weapons on those who are no threat to us. Where is here, exactly? Before we agree to anything, what do you want us to do and what are you prepared to give us in return if we do?'
Having alighted on her little-big's shoulder, she cocks her head at the big-crawlies. "Krzzt?"
Connor shrinks back, standing behind Alex. "Unka Alex," he asks in a quiet, trembling voice, "wha... what's happening?"
Which prisoners are you talking about?
<confusion>The prisoners on board this ship, of course.
Will you show me how some of this [mental sweep of all the tech] works? Where is here, exactly?
Yes, but not now. The prisoners must be contained first.
We don't use weapons on those who are no threat to us.
No, I mean you MUST NOT use THOSE weapons, the guns-that-shoot-projectiles, EVER in this ship. That could kill us all!
What do you want us to do and what are you prepared to give us in return if we do?
You need to subdue the prisoners by any means you have available to you (and we can provide weapons and other support, too).
If that is accomplished, seeing as the prisoners escaped *due to* your arrival, we will not press charges<image of a jail cell>.
And if you don't help subdue the prisoners, they will kill you. So you also get to continue living<dry irony>.
Arabella is still nearly too stunned to think straight, but she's gaining ground now that there's a conversation that puts her into a more familiar arena of a battle of the mind. She steps forward a bit, and says, "Are you blaming us for this prisoner escape situation?!" indignation creeping into her voice. "We were hit by some kind of blast and then we were in this ... this ... place! We are not here by choice unless it was someone else's choice to send us here!"
Then she thinks, forgetting for a moment that perhaps they can tell what she's thinking, 'I'm getting tired of fighting other people's battles and doing other people's dirty work.'
She will eventually calm a little and ask, "If you want us to do your police work, best start explaining who we are arresting, where we find them, and where we are to put them. Then explain what kind of resources you can provide."
I'm ready for a battle. Do we have to bring them back alive or is dead ok?
How many of them are their? Are they like you or us? Where did they escape to?
Oh my goodness. What is going on here. I hear them in my head, but they are not talking aloud.
Excuse me but would you be so kind as to tell me where we are?
Alexander pushed Connor behind him with his pistol hand. The things seemed truthful about not harming them... but they were... things. "Either I've been drinking all this time, or those rather enormous centipedes speak the common tongue," he answered Connor. He didn't put away his pistol, despite the creatures' warnings - what little protection it provided from the inmates, he wanted, and who ever heard of a single pistol killing everyone?
"So you offer us nothing but threats? At least offer us answers. It takes only a moment to explain where we are, and perhaps why." He couldn't think of a politic way of adding, and what you are.
"It *would* take a long time to explain where you are, and we have no idea why. And I did not threaten, only state the facts as best I knew at the time. I believe you did not come here willingly, but we must act now.
Alive would be best, dead only if needed. There are many prisoners, each as different from you as we are. Once...<concept cannot be translated>...we were able to, we sealed off the prisoners in various halls and rooms on the ship.
We can provide guns, if that is your weapon of choice, that can knock out someone without endangering us all, like your guns would. We can give you a way to communicate with us and each other, so you can co-ordinate your attacks, and we can tell you each prisoner's strengths and weaknesses. And we have handcuffs that can restrain them once they are subdued."
Arabella grits her teeth and contains a snarl of rage. She feels like an animal thrown into a ring to fight for the amusement of a bloodthirsty crowd.
"If we truly have no choice, then give us the guns and 'cuffs and explain what we need to know to make things right." She transfers her pistol to her pack to make room for the gun. She keeps her bioergogs crystal set for agility based skills.
The centipedes will politely *insist* that all gunpowder-based firearms remain in the room with them. If they got into the hands of the prisoners, they might not hesitate to use them.
If anyone objects, you can role-play your objections...
Alexander put up a little fuss about leaving his pistol behind ("A Taarnfalk heirloom left behind? Preposterous!"), but in the end was willing to compromise by leaving the gunpowder and shot with the centipedes, on their solemn oath that they would return it.
He accepted guns for himself and Connor, kneeling by the boy. "Another adventure for the Taarnfalk men, eh?" he said with false cheer, wrapping Connor's hand around the gun. "Just like we practiced, understand? Good lad. Stay close, and keep WindDancer from flying off."
Arabella gladly hands over her pistol, as she keeps it mostly for its deterrent value and as a last resort defense. She will want to know what these new guns do to someone hit by them.
"Another adventure for the Taarnfalk men, eh?" he said with false cheer, wrapping Connor's hand around the gun. "Just like we practiced, understand? Good lad. Stay close, and keep WindDancer from flying off."
Connor stares at the gun, confused. "This..." he says, looking at Alex, puzzlement in his eyes. "This isn't like your gun."
Marko will busy himself by going over his spells and any supplies he would need. Checking himself one last time he pushes the glasses up on his nose and says "Well, I guess we should be off. The sooner we get his business behind us the sooner we can get back to what is important"
K'Don sounds like a tinkers cart rolling down the road when he moves with all the clicking anc clanking in his new plate armor. Doing a few Kata moves to check out the movabliity and fightability.
Connor stares at the gun, confused. "This..." he says, looking at Alex, puzzlement in his eyes. "This isn't like your gun."
"No, quite right. But there's a trigger here, and I presume this nozzle should be pointed at what you wish to shoot. Strange times lead to strange bedfellows, and their strange equipment," Alexander muttered, hoping Connor wouldn't panic and shoot him (or the others) by accident. The gods only knew what this foreign bit of technology did. The boy would probably use his strange power instead, if such a thing worked on whatever passed for prisoners in this place, but Alexander felt better armed.
Rising, he turned to the weird insects and demanded, "Tell us what to look for, and where. What manner of attack might we expect from your prisoners?"
Arabella waits for the 'pedes to give the group some outline of what they are facing. She's hoping to learn what manner of creatures we pursue, what kinds of attacks they might mount, how many there might be, and where they would be found. She hopes they'll also give some notion of how to open doors, turn lights on or off, and hazards to avoid. She has a very grumpy look on her face, not amused at all. She just wants to get this over with.
The centipedes give those of you who want one objects that basically look like pistols, but smaller and much lighter than you're used to, mostly made of some kind of material you've never seen, with sleek lines. They explain that they shoot narrow beams of sound which can knock a creature unconscious if hit with it often enough.
They also give each of you a very small oval-shaped object, instructing you to insert it into one of your ears. You discover that you can now hear them and each other simply by talking. They explain that you can now stay in contact should you get separated.
They give each of you something that looks like a large bracelet for your wrist (made of the same odd material), and say that when you touch the button on it, a small shield will appear that can help deflect attacks. If you try it out beforehand, you discover that the shield is mostly *transparent*, with just a little bit of red color to it so that you can see it. Tapping on it, it feels quite solid but gives no sound when you hit it - very odd!
They take you over to one of the doors, and point out a small rectangular outline next to it. Having you hold your hand up near it, they push some buttons on one of the consoles in the room and say that while they can control the doors remotely, if you should need to now any of you can open the doors by waving your hand in front of the rectangle.
The centipedes say "there are several rooms and halls where the prisoners have been trapped by our locking the doors. Fortunately they had not gotten hold of any weapons, but most of them have a variety of natural attacks that can be quite deadly. We will inform you of what kind of attacks to expect for each room. When you get to a hallway we will open up the door and suggest you let them move into the room you're in to have some space - the halls are quite narrow."
Alexander was quite impressed with the guns they were given, despite the warning that it would take several shots to down a target - in fact, the thought was a bit of a relief, given that Connor didn't seem quite comfortable with them. He was even more impressed with the earbuds; he could think of quite a few people who would pay handsomely for such useful magic. He eyed Arabella, trying to get a sense of whether she understood the workings of these things. If she could create something like this with her crystals... well, wealth and renown weren't far off!
"I say, these items are quite interesting. I should think that they would be reasonable compensation for our efforts, or at least a step in the right direction."
Arabella's annoyance seems to diminish with each new gadget or demonstration. She's still frowning a bit, but all can see that her mind is revving into red-line territory trying to figure all this out or at least form some initial hypothesis as to whether each item is magic or technology. For now, she can't imagine any technology being able to do so much while being so small and compact.
Eventually, she gives up and tries to redirect her focus to the potential fighting. "Is there a weapon that works like a sword for our large friend?" She gestures at K'Don. "If nothing else, how about a big club? Otherwise, if he uses his big sword, he'll probably kill them. I'll take a gun if they don't kill. I suggest we all have one. Same with the shields. If it looks like we are having trouble hitting with these guns, I'll boost everyone's shooting ability with my bioergoggs."
Once she has a gun, she'll ask, "How many shots will these make?"
"The prisoners are the worst of several worlds, being taken to a prison planet where they can harm no one but each other.
We have nothing like a 'sword', but if that's how that K'Don works best, there will be no repercussions from killing the prisoners.
These guns can fire 20 shots over a short period of time, and then the energy source slowly refills itself over time.
We can discuss 'compensation' later, but there would probably be no problem with your keeping these items, they are nothing special."