"Heal him up. Potions, whatever. My stake will cover any costs."
"That's real gentlemanly of you Charles." Ton says bitterly as he moves across the room to help his now stricken friend to his feet.
He takes the heavy load of the bigger man as best he can and helps him to the table where Wulf leans groggily.
"I know we only just met none of us owe eachother nothin' but as long as we're all down here we are all in it - no half measures. We already know people have died down here and I an't joining them."
Think on it Charles, I sure hope you're never in a position where you need backup cos it might not be there." he adds, his hands now slick with Wulf's blood.
Taking hold of the table he nods at Ton in thanks. Wulf shakes he head as he attempts to get his bearings back. "He sure could take a beating." He winces at the pain of his cuts and brushing, take in sharp breaths.
"This is nothing LaRA, I'll be back on my feet in no time." He points to Zeke and Garfaulk. "They make sure I'm there to take a hit so you don't have to." He then turns grimly to Charles. "Charles where were you? I was expecting you to do your sneaking thing." Not wanting to sound as harsh as Ton, he knew the elf just expected everyone to work together. He just needed a reason.
As Wulf starts to recover, , and everyone starts to breathe and look around, you notice again the strange markings on the wall.
It is a mix of symbols and Kasatha, and LaRA recognizes that Hetuath was both praising the god named Zyphus for saving his people, but also cursing him for the same thing.
There is also a short continuation from the story told in the desert. The last of his people, Hetuath raises his fist and curses the sky and all the gods for the travesty inflicted on his people. Zyphus answers, raising him and his people as undead. Eventually Hetuath discovers the illusion that separated the desert from these rooms. He was unable to get into the other room (due to it being locked), but he did find this observation room where he realized that his people where being observed in their day to day life in the desert.
Hetuath was carrying two beautifully made shortswords (masterwork), and he was wearing a cloak that seems to have resisted all the ravages of time.
Sitting on the table in the observation room is a black access card-- which apparently Hetuath never tried using in all of his 8000 years down here.
Zeke considers the fallen creature, and thinks to LaRA: "He swore vengeance against the Divinity, do you think he meant all the gods? My ancestors' deity Groetus is said to oppose them all as well, for it is said that he and his followers will remain here when they are all destroyed."
He continues to use the wand to heal Wulf while he thinks. If Mr. Khonnir didn't come this way, where could he have gone?
Nodding at Wulf, LaRA speaks up. "I am not outfitted with advanced impact absorption.", she says. "Assistance in prolonging structural integrity is beneficial." Turning to stare Zeke straight in the eye, she thinks back. "Unknown. Will attempt linguistic analysis on Hetuath's statement. Warning: Please do not attempt vengeance on all divine beings.", she replies.
LaRA stares at the painting, explaining as she goes. Her chipper, educational tone rings in dissonance to the tale she explains, as if it was all a thing that happened in the past, and not the tragic tale of someone just dead. "Statement: observing a species in their natural habitat for such a prolonged period in a controlled environment would be flawed. Suggestion: An experiment to observe the effects on closed environment on intelligent humanoids would be better suited for the current situation.", she chirps out as she stares down at the desert.
Having healed Wulf in the past, Garfaulk had a general idea of how many wand charges to use on him, and went to work, bringing it's divine light over to each of his wounds, watching as they sealed back up. "Heh. I love magic." He looks over to Charles, but doesn't say anything about his lack of participation. He figured there was a story there, but this may not be the best location for said tale. "I'm sure the little guy has his reasons. But is now really the place fer it?"
Charles clears his throat. "I'm here for the job: find and extract Khonnir. I'm a trapsman, a second story man. I can sneak in anywhere. I'll fight when it's necessary. But killing what could very well be the last of its kind? On the translation of an amnesiac just awakened after centuries of sleep, who may well have been part of this torture back then? That's not the job. And what could I have done if I wanted to? The thing was immune to what little my dagger could do! You three with your peashooters and bow talk big sending others in the way of harm. The Job is find Khonnir. The Job isn't 'finish some ancient a~++~%~'s genocide.' Yiu went straight to fighting, which might work for you adventurers, but it isn't right for every job."
Zeke shakes his head, apparently keeping his thoughts about Charles to himself.
To LaRA, he mentally agrees. "Yeah, fighting gods is plain above my station. Mostly I just pray to the one that looks out for me."
Wulf thanks both Zeke and Garfaulk as his breathing returns to normal. But his clothes now covered in blood and dirt he fights the urge to take them off, living with the feeling of it scratching at it skin as he moves. "If we get time I'd like to clean myself up." He moves over to his hammer picking it up, cleaning it with a bit of cloth.
"Charles first things first the job is to survive, he was an unknown and might have just attacked us if we left." Wulf says sounding like Ton almost like he is repeating something the man had said to him a hundred times. "No matter what I wouldn't stand back even if I couldn't help you. But each to their own, I suppose now isn't the time for it." He turns to Ton making sure the elf will drop it at least for now.
hp - 27/28
"Let's find your old man, Zeke. Maybe he'll know if Hetuath meant anything by 'The Divine.'" Ton says, picking up the black card from the table. "And let's try this on the door we tried to open earlier."
He didn't think it worth pursuing the matter with Charles further, and the others seemed to be holding their silence as well - besides Wulf of course. That was fine. He'd said none of them owed eachother anything and that was true.
But maybe he had just assumed more than he should have about how they were going to work together on this mission.
His shuffling gait leads the way back toward the sealed doors.
The party takes what it can and departs. If Khonnir encountered this pitiful zombie or not, you have no clue.
As you step out of the room, you open the side door and proceed inward. You find yourself in a curving narrow hallway. There is a door directly in front of you.... a door indicating it requires a black access card. The hallway goes both to the north and south, with the slight curve eventually hiding what lays beyond.
Zeke continues to keep an eye out for signs of Khonnir Baine’s passing.
The metal floor is shiny and you don't see any signs of where he went.
Ton tries the black card on the doorway.
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"The Divinity.", corrects LaRA. "Singular, noun. In the context, it can be understood as refering to a singular being, rather than the colloquial name for a group." She stares at the door unlocking. "Hypothesis: Zyphus is not the Divinity in question, as Hetuath referred to the former in name during the previous conversation." She pauses, eyes blindly darting around the hallway. "Possibility entity Divinity is responsible for the Kasathas' plight before Zyphus' curse."
She looks around once more. "Playing memory: Speaker: Hetuath, translated from Kasatha.", she annouces, before beginning to speak in her monotonous translatory voice.
"Zyphus is the One who listened. Who allowed my people to live forever, and who chose Hetuath...the tribe's Chieftain, to keep his mind and then forced him to wait out thousands of years.""
"Hypothetical extrapolation: Entity Divinity is responsible for placing the Kasathas in a situation where they seek divine favour for eternal life.", she blinks twice. "Further extrapolation may be too inaccurate."
Garfaulk nodded at Charles, understanding. "Aye, I can understand tha. I wouldve much rather preferred talkin to em." he moves a little closer, putting a hand on his shoulder, if he'll allow it. "But I know fer me, pleasantries went out the door the moment he put mah pals in danger. I know we're all new to each other, and I knew ya did jump in ter help defend him a bit, but I hope eventually you'll fight fer us like I know I would fer you."
Ton'iel uses the black access card, and the panel by the door turns green and the door slides open. You step into a large room....
A large metal desk with blinking lights and strange glowing panels sits atop a raised area on the east side of this room near a circular table. Two couches covered with black material sit to the south a pair of black metal pillars. Splatters of dried blood stain the floor and walls near a pair of doors to the north, while here and there patches of rust-red mold and fungus cling to the southern wall.
Wulf takes out his water bottle and starts to clean off what blood he can from his skin and clothes as they move. Working mainly on his face, neck, and hands. Then moving to clean up his hammer as best he can.
Wulf just stares at LaRA as he wipes the last of the blood from his beard. "I have no idea what you said, but you remind me of Ton when he goes off on one." He throws his blood covered rag away, ready for whats next.
"Not a vendetta guy. But these...Kasatha? They deserve something."
Ton waves dismissively. "Divine, Divinity.... whatever."
Just like an android to correct me.... or my ex-wife for that matter. he grumbles internally.
The scene beyond the door made him wary. The air feels thin and somehow stale and though the blood on the wall is long dry, there is still a coppery smell lingering.
"Alright." he says. "By. The. Numbers." he doesn't say it directly to Charles, but he looks at him pointedly enough. "LaRA, Garfaulk, Zeke - do you think you can make anything of that glowing table over there? Wulf, Charles - let's cover these doors a second and make sure nothing interrupts us while they work."
Charles nods, weary for more traps.
Snapping her head towards Wulf, LaRA stares at the injured man. "Which topics of conversation do you find difficult to understand? I am equipped to provide short educational lectures, should you request it."
LaRA nods at the instructions, moving towards the wall. "Initiating situational analysis.", she says, moving towards the table before suddenly turning towards the blood. "Please note that all accidents aboard the vessel must be reported to...", she adds almost without thinking, before stopping. "No data available.", she finishes with some distress, before continuing towards the glowing table. Staring at the glow, she turns to the rest. "Androffan databanks still fragmented. Standing by to provide linguistical assistance."
EDIT: Adding Perception.
Wulf holds up his hand at LaRA. "There was a lot there but maybe we can save the teaching for later." He then moves toward the door, he brings up his hammer coving it as the others behind him do their thing,
Immediately upon noting the blood by the north doors and assuming it has something to do with Khonnir Baine, Zeke recites a quick prayer and examines the scene to try and determine what transpired.
Ton'iel notices that all of the doors are locked with a brown access lock, except for the one immediately behind the desk, which is locked with a black access lock.
The blood gathers the most attention from the group... it is clearly fresh, or at least several days old, unlike the several thousand years old blinking lights and panels. The panels are blinking two words in Androffan over and over again... LaRA recognizes it: "404 Error"
The mold on the south wall is not particularly noteworthy or dangerous... Though it does make you consider why it is growing there. A closer look makes it clear that it is growing from the southern door.
"Can we get anything from those panels and screens or is it all dead?" Ton asks. "If that's the case I reckon we follow this blood trail."
Garfaulk looks around as well, though doesn't have any ideas the others haven't already looked at. Going over to the door way the south, he checks or out further, curious about how it could have grown like that, as well as gives each computer a once-over.
The mold is growing from under a crack in the southern door, and spreading across the wall and floor.
Ton slides the black card into the northern door. Even though it is marked for brown access, the light turns green and the door slides open.
Bloodstains mar the floor and walls of this hallway, while scorch marks and smears of ash on the walls evidence some sort of altercation having taken place in this area relatively recently. Four tangled mounds of metal and other materials lie further up the hall, surrounded by more blood stains.
Zeke rushes through the door, eager to investigate. "Ashes," he announces, "Like from a fireball spell? I think Mr. Khonnir came this way! I wonder how he got through the door?"
Wulfs moves past everyone taking the lead along the bloodied and scored marked corridor, trying his hardest not to step in any blood. "A big fight happened here, you really think your dad could do this?" He continues to move forward slowly as he spots to doors and signals to the others. He gets up closer and checks them over.
LaRA breaks into her rushed walk as the others leave the door, before spotting the ashes. "That is one possibility. It would require extended analysis to determine the true cause of the fire.", she replies. "However, considering your situation, a suggested alternate path to this information is to follow the path of destruction. I am ready to assist." Taking steps into the corridor while seemingly paying no heed to the blood or the carnage, she turns around. "In the event that Khonnir Baine was the only biological entity in the combat, he has sustained a severe haemmorrage.", she informs, before bending down and dipping her finger in the blood.
You had determined from the previous room that the blood is recent... days, perhaps.
Wulf, the door at the end of the hallway is closed- and once again locked with a brown access lock. You don't hear anything from behind it.
Charles describes the brown, freezing mold they'd found, then asks LARA, "Sound similar to back there?"
Wulf takes the card and places it in the door that is clearly leading them on to more of the blood trail. "Let's push on and find out if this leads to Val's and Zeke's dad."
Ton tries first the brown card and then the black on the door.
The brown card unlocks the door before Ton gets a chance to try the black one.
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 reddishbrown 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.
The blood trail has disappeared.
Ton enters warily.
"What do we make of this place?" All of this place was so strange to him, so alien, so his years of experience counted for very little.
Wulf follows Ton carefully. "I have no idea where to even start." He moves closer to the other door wanting to secure it. "LaRA, what is this room?" He says looking back at the group.
"Unknown.", LaRA replies, as she glances over the room. "The layout of the room surmises its use for biological and geological analysis." She looks towards the device, eyes narrowing. "The him suggests the device is currently active." She takes a step towards the clean floor, eyes wary. "Hypothesis: an entity has transported itself from this room to the next and has interacted with the device. Time frame likely to coincided with the battle." Her head tilts to the other side, as she blinks rapidly.
"Correction: two possibilities are predominantly possible - an entity has exited the pod and moved back the way we arrived. Or that post-altercation, an entity has moved into the pod."
She looks at the rest. "Escort requested for closer analysis."
Charles moves to the "dirtball."
Two spots of light appear as Charles approaches the reddish-brown dirt. The dirt twitches and pops up, and Charles and everyone in the room hear a voice in their heads. "HIYA! Who are you? Nice day, isn't it?"
Charles tries to hide instinctively.
"Heya! Where you going now? Don't leave. I like new friends. I think. I've never had one before."
Talkies, please talk.
"What... who are you?" Ton asks, not knowing what else to say to some animate dirt.