"I would suggest lighting a fire, myself," Raven says. "The heat was taken out of them, so we should put some more in. That is, unless you are prepared to strip naked and share blankets with them? I recall reading that is a very good way to warm people suffering from hypothermia up again."
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Lazur, notices the skulk that he noticed watching them. The skulk doesn't respond to your question. You here the slightest of mumbles, though you cannot make out anything intelligible.
Rywokit, finally comes out of the cave area covered in a rime of frost, non the worse for wear. He almost seems to be refreshed and extra hyper from the cold. "Hmm... A fire. Is there anything around here that'll burn well? Besides me that is..."
Just kidding.
"Excuse me," Raven says to any Skulks that might be hanging about (she is fairly sure there will be guards), "might we have some wood or other combustible materials so we can warm our stricken comrades? The sooner they are back on their feet, the sooner we can be about our business."
"A purple haired woman?" Jack asks. "Did you happen to notice a person... " and proceeds to give a description of Khonnir. "Perhaps before or after the woman entered?"
"How long ago did she arrive?"
"When our party is back on their feet, I think we can deal with these gremlins. For all our apparent quirks, we seem to be very capable of handling ourselves." Jack turns to look at Locke, seeking confirmation.
"That one you mention, is a terror beyond anything we've encountered. He killed our leader and many of our companions. The second time we came through we all hid and he left us alone. The purple one came along две недеље. I have not word in your tongue, maybe 10 or 12 sleeps? She hasn't come back, so I imagine she is still in there. Your bearded man is also somewhere in there, he hasn't come back either"answers Sef.
Pausing for a bit, to see if Locke had anything to say, she says,"Your help in ridding us of these pests will be much appreciated, and the reward shall help you in your further ventures."
The skulk looks at Raven inquisitively, but doesn't respond. He looks at you with curiosity.
They don't seem to be able to understand common.
"Thank you. You have been very forthcoming. When our party is back on their feet, we'll get to this gremlin business."
Raven stares at the Skulks in polite incomprehension.
"Flammable material?" she repeats, miming the flickering of flames. "Fuel for fire? Yes?"
Sef and Luepel lead Jack and Locke back to the main chamber, catching the tail end of Raven's comments. Sef calls out,"tűz." The skulk looks at Raven, smiles and heads into one of the huts. He comes out a moment later with a bundle of sticks and rags, dropping them unceremoniously at her feet.
Sef continues, "These young men do not understand your common tongue."
"Thank you," Raven says, bowing her head to Luepel, and then to the young Skulk who brought the wood. "If you would tell me your words for 'thank you', I should like to express my gratitude to this young man."
With the pleasantries out of the way, Raven arranges a fire close enough to the stricken pair that they can enjoy the benefit, but not so close that they ought to burn. She rummages among pieces of rock on the floor until she finds two shards that meet with her approval and strikes them together over the kindling with a sharp 'Crack!' Sparks fly into the dry tinder, which catches flame.
"There," she says, rising and dusting off her hands. "Now, then. Let us perform some healing."
After Raven has built the fire up, Rywokit gently shakes and prods Allan and Analise to wake them.
"[ooc]<Run:Concern>Wake up you two, its time to get back to work."
After a few minutes by the fire both Allen and Analise come around, surrounded by their party and at least 3 dark shadowy figures.
" Let's get you up and going! We have some gremlins to see to..." Wicket adds as they finally open their eyes.
Jack waits while the party reforms.
I wonder how people from the Darklands know to come here. What is the source of Torch's fire?
"Gremlins indeed. Does anyone know anything about them? Any experiences?"
Locke realizes that his nanites had temporarily suspended his consciousness while doing routine maintenance as analysis had shown no immediate threats incoming. He shakes his head to clear the fog and quickly reviews the events leading up to this moment.
He cocks his head at Jack's question and ponders.
"My knowledge of non-mechanical monstrous beings is much more limited than what I know of engineering and Rain of Stars artifacts. With further study, I hope to become better acquainted with this field of study, but for now I know nothing of gremlins. My apologies."
Blink... blink... "Ahhhh!!" Analise springs up, electricity crackling at the tips of her fingers, and then seeing no immediate threat, calms down.
"Ahhh... Sorry about that, whoever you are. Living for three months in the Badlands gives you a quick trigger finger. Gremlins, you say? Hmmm..."
"Our word for thank you is, köszönöm."answering Raven's question as she watches the group care for their fallen comrades.
Sef thinks a bit about the question of gremlins," Gremlins, is the right word I think in your language. Short little creatures, nasty little things that can teleport at will, and generally cause minor mayhem. I believe they have a leader back in their warren, if you can kill or drive him off that should remedy the current situation and earn you our thanks and a bag of gold pieces."
4714.Arodus.19 12:55:00PM
The group moves towards the small tunnel that leads to the gremlin warren, and you notice a smooth wall of dark gray metal bisecting the cavern here, its expanse pitted and scorched but quite solid looking. A strange, circular opening pierces the wall five feet off the ground, allowing access to some sort of hallway on the other side.
Sef says,"The fellow you are looking for went through there, the purple one and her group headed through the gremlin tunnels, neither have come back."
Jack nods, checking his shield's straps. "Ready?"
Jack will take point (unless someone else wants to look for traps?) and head down the tunnels looking for 'gremlins'.
"Well, then we may hope they have eliminated one another," Raven says. She blinks once. "Unless, of course, they are in negotiations to become allies."
"I presume you refer to the woman with the violet hair and the gremlins rather than the tech savant we are currently tracking," Locke says with a steady blink while looking at Raven.
"I recommend moving cautiously as we know these gremlins are a hostile force at least to the tribe here. If they are in fact in a state of conflict, there may be ambushes and traps set, so let's please examine the way carefully."
As they move into the wider area, Locke notices the metal wall and portal and stares with fascination.
He moves up to the wall and begins to touch and tap it trying to glean its composition if he has seen it before.
"Naturally," Raven says, blinking once at Locke.
She then frowns a little. "Hmm... 'Gremlins'... I seem to recall something. Let me ponder a moment. Sef, can you describe the ones you have seen in more detail for me?"
Lazur takes up the rear position to guard the back.
Jack waits for Raven to be ready, and any information she may know, then heads down the tunnel.
Sef explains that they are little, scrawny things and their eyes glow in the dark, have pointy bat ears and sharp little teeth.
The height of the tunnel is barely five feet, causing taller folks to have to bend to get through. The tunnels are also very narrow, making you walk sideways through them in some spots.
Jack heads in first and walks northward and there is a 10ft ledge, he drags himself up and then continues to a branch in the tunnel. A larger room opens to the west side while a tight tunnel continues to the north.
"If anyone has cold iron, get it ready," Raven says, a slight frown on her face.
Locke realizes he is being left behind as the others crawl up the ledge. He wonders why his scrutiny did not ever seem to yield results. It's like he was looking at the material and the universe simply ignored his examination never bringing any illumination to his mind. It was difficult to fathom how that can be. Locke wondered if some kind of all powerful entity was intentionally manipulating Locke's place in time and space in order to goad him onto another path and disregarding the android's own actions.
Everything he had done and even the internal questions he had asked had simply faded like a dream. In his mind's eye, Locke saw a a large steam driven machine running along some kind of twin metal beams that stretched from horizon to horizon.
I guess the only thing I can do is ride the machine in whatever direction it goes, he realizes. Why did I ever believe I had any freedom at all?
As Locke ponders his place in the world, the word glaucite leaks into his mind. This wall is made entirely of glaucite and the circular opening was clearly a doorway, but unlike any he had seen in the outside world of Golarion. He then remembers that glaucite is a word the smiths above use for an alloy of iron and adamantine one of the mysterious sky metals. He also remembers that this material is very hard and heavy, and while it can be worked, albeit with much difficulty, the end results really aren't much better than a creation made of steel and weighs nearly twice as much.
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The weight of the mountain above you presses in, slowing all of your thoughts and actions. You feel lethargic as you stare into the dark paths under this great mount. The skitter of tiny feet can be heard to the north and west, as tiny creatures seem to be living their lives oblivious to the soon to be invaders...
Locke shakes himself to clear the strange visions, but the knowledge he sought has appeared.
"Right," Locke says to no one in particular and goes to where the others climb the ledge and begins to assist and be assisted hoisting himself up.
Jack readies his grip on his pick as he moves along the path, not knowing what to expect.
Lazur takes his position at the rear and readies for action.
Raven fits an arrow into the slot of her crossbow and cranks its spring back as quietly as she can. Her eyes penetrate the darkness as she also seeks danger...