Zaken remained in silent most of the time. Before the 'event' in the foundry, he had never heard of any 'bad behavior' for the man's part and even if his last action was really suspicious, Zaken was having difficulties to decide if he trusted or not Sanvil, so he decided to let Malka lead the interrogation while he watched for Sanvil's reactions.
On his own, he could not tell if Sanvil was being honest so he decided to try something else. He touched a new, tiny device inside his ear and focused on LEEK, closing his eyes... an instant latter he was seeing the same scene from LEEK's 'senses'...
...and in another instant he was back to his 'mind'. Now he was sure and he smiled.
"Right, Sanvil, I think we reached a consensus that we are on the same side and we have the same interests. We'll return down there and, among other things, we'll try to get the 'torch' back as well as a way to fully heal Mr. Baine. While we are out, there is now way we could keep an I on Garmen and his affairs so it would be a good idea for you to keep your eyes on him."
"Right, Sanvil, is you are true to your words, keep an eye on Garmen while we keep doing what we can... come on guys, we have something more important to do..."
The mention of a headache got Malka's attention. The occasional headache was to be expected but not so many at one time in different people unless there was an underlying cause. "I was recently plagued with a headache as well. Are you saying that whatever is in that warehouse is the source of town-wide headaches?
"Well, I don't know but I do know that there are a lot more headaches since the torch went out and I did get a very nasty headache as I got close to the warehouse."
"Right, Sanvil, I think we reached a consensus that we are on the same side and we have the same interests. We'll return down there and, among other things, we'll try to get the 'torch' back as well as a way to fully heal Mr. Baine. While we are out, there is now way we could keep an I on Garmen and his affairs so it would be a good idea for you to keep your eyes on him."
Sanvil seemed relieved, "Ok, I'm glad we're all on the same side. But don't count on me for doing much more than what I have already done about the warehouse. I don't want to face Garmen or his thugs. All, I'm saying that there's something funny going on and if Garmen's involved then it's not good."
So... obvious options are to investigate this 'warehouse' or continue exploration down under.
I'd like to recap tomorrow morning...
Game on!
Seven stands quietly, listening to Sanvil talk. He's not sure what to think of the man, and eyes Malka for any sign of fear or anger. She remains calm, however, and so does he.
Glancing toward Garmen's warehouse in the distance, Jeyne's gaze lingers for a long moment...then she turns to the others. "I am interested in what may be occurring in Garmen's warehouse...but I believe our explorations must take top priority. After all, Councilman Baine still requires aid, and it is likely the best aid we can give will be found in the vessel. Or at least, that is where we are most likely to find answers to our questions. This business with Garmen shall have to wait."
Turn 064 is up.
Read the OOC (extensive).
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
"Acid," Jeyne called out simply to Zaken, having returned to the room where the Brigh worshippers still lay, grotesque in their repose. "We need to remove the mold, or more vegepygmies will likely appear."
The fighting had been fierce - the vegepygmies had assaulted everyone with ferocity, and all her companions bore marks from spears and claws. Jeyne had called out Iroran proverbs of precision and power as the beasts fell upon them, hoping to call the blessing of the Master of Masters into her allies' hands, and indeed their attacks had seemed preternaturally accurate, though the conflict was still intense.
The carnivorous plants had given everyone quite a turn as well - but Jeyne had realized in time what they were, and managed to warn Zaken in time to allow him to jump away from the lashing tendril. Had she not temporarily heightened her senses to take in the enormity of the overgrowth in the hydroponics lab, she might have missed the twitch of movement...but thanks to the litanies of Norgorber that enhanced her sight and magnified the sounds around her, she had caught it in time.
Seven had been hurt most, as his methods tended to leave him open to attack, but an invocation or two of Sarenrae's blessing had sealed his wounds with a heatless fire and left him mostly unscathed. Another prayer had closed her own wounds; she had taken a particular nasty hit attempting to maneuver to a position to harry the creatures more effectively and help Seven's attacks land. A calculated risk, and an acceptable one.
She had discovered something strange the night before, though. Previously, the energy for her blessings of healing had always come from an energy pool deep inside her abdomen. She could feel the warming fire there when she called upon the magic, and images of a bronze angel wreathed in flame flashed briefly before her eyes as the flames emerged. But the sight of the hypogun had triggered other memories, deep within Jeyne's mind...her nanites healed her, and she had already seen that nanites could heal her allies as well. Why not use her nanites to heal others?
Spending the night in deep meditation, she had unlocked the secret. Her nanites were small enough to escape her pores; by focusing on the flow of energy throughout her body as Irori's monks did, she could send those nanites through the pores in her hands and through her allies' skin, where they could repair injuries in mere moments. Seven seemed displeased at the tickling sensation, but there was no denying its effectiveness.
With the russet mold fading quickly to a black dust, Jeyne eased one of their holy symbols from where it hung and draped it over her own neck, then returned to the room where they had found the strange coupling, examining the device it had come from critically. "Come, Malka," she called out as Zaken fussed over the gouges still present in LEEK's plating. "Let us see if we can devise the purpose of this machine." Bits of the Logic of Design passed through the back of her mind in flashes as she fingered her new silver holy symbol - careful observation is key to determining the purpose of a not-yet-understood...all parts of a device should serve a key purpose in its function...
"Acid," Jeyne called out simply to Zaken...
Good post, thank you!
@everyone: we can take a little bit longer than usual for this turn since I am asking for a 'reminiscing post' that recaps a good portion of fighting/exploration. :)
Questions?
Game on!
Yeah, easy combat is no fun for anyone and just sucks time. This allows us to let you guys stretch your writing muscles and gets us to cool parts sooner. :)
When was the last time that Camrad's player posted in Seven's game?
@everyone: we can take a little bit longer than usual for this turn since I am asking for a 'reminiscing post' that recaps a good portion of fighting/exploration. :)
Thanks, then I will work on post tomorrow morning. I'm beat :).
Camrad hasn't posted our other game either. Hope all is well.
The exploration began again and Malka was intrigued by the chemistry lab. Some of the bottles remained intact and she wondered if some of the liquids may have an etching or corrosive effect on metal. She hoped that she would be able to take some of the bottles topside to try out in the foundry to see if it would make metal easier to work with.
The gruesome sight in the biology lab barely registered for the wizard before they were attacked by a fierce group of vegepygmies. The smell of fungus combined with moist plant material reminded Malka of what a slough smelled like and it was not pleasant. Wanting to keep her distance and because they were without Camrad, Malka provided ranged support with her crossbow. She made every bolt count by magically infusing them with the ability to hit harder. She had also spent some time researching a new spell that she was eager to try out. She couldn’t help but grin in satisfaction as electricity discharged when one of the creatures attacked her. However, she was unhappy to see that it was immune to the electricity. It was then that it landed an attack causing Malka pain but quickly regretted its decision to target the wizard as Seven came to her aide, almost cleaving it in two.
When all was said and done, they managed to decimate the tribe and had a moment or two to collect themselves and heal their wounds. Then the mold needed to be dealt with so that there wasn’t a repeat of what had happened to the clerics. Thankfully between Zaken and the chemistry lab, there was enough acid to kill the mold and there was even some left over for Malka to take.
"Come, Malka," she called out as Zaken fussed over the gouges still present in LEEK's plating. "Let us see if we can devise the purpose of this machine."
A surge of excitement coursed through Malka as the time came to try out the repaired coupling. She dug the coupling out of her bag and followed Jeyne over to where they had found the damaged part originally.
Another good post. Don't forget that I need to know whether you will continue or head back up to lick your wounds.
You know me; I'll roll if you guys don't make a decision. :)
Game on!
"GAH!" Seven jumped back from The Jeyne, crashing into a metal cart and sending both tumbling to the floor. The crashing noise echoed through the medical lab, drowning out the soft but constant humming noise. He squirmed, trying to figure out the tickling, but all Tolgy's armor and weapons were in the way and couldn't get to it. He snorted in laughter, even though there was nothing funny about it.
"Can't I just drink a potion???" He yelled to the room, tears in his eyes. Even the big needle started to sound better. Gasping, he crawled back to his feet, trying to resort the mixed up cart, doing a terrible job, and pushing it away with a sigh.
He thought about eating another trail ration. He remembered how bad they tasted compared to Val's pastries, then changed his mind. Then he remembered being hungry all the time, and changed it again. He sat on the floor and opened his pack. As he chewed, he thought about this latest adventure.
There was the room with all the bad but familiar smells. They didn't stay long there, which was good. Then there was the room with the vegepigs, which was not. The things were little and fast and mean, and even though Tolgy's steel hurt 'em real bad, they managed to scratch him up with their claws. They had turned red then, and he couldn't remember much, except how good it felt to squeeze that one that hurt Malka with his bare fists until it stopped struggling. The voice liked it, too. The voice was still going on about how nice that was, even while he was trying to eat. "Shh!" he hushed at it, drawing looks from the others.
Everyone seemed real excited over some stuff they found. A little ring, and a good armor. Seven didn't think it looked as good as the one Tolgy had given him. Tolgy's stuff was the best, he had decided. There was also some potions, which he now knew were way better than The Jeyne's tickling trick. I wonder if The Jeyne is ticklish, too? he wondered idly, glancing sideways at her.
But then his mind wandered back to the greenhouse, with the bad plants. Again, his sharp sword chopped them real good, but there sure was a lot of thorns.
"We gonna sleep down here without Camrad? I guess it's faster than going back." He sighed, realizing he'd be eating rations again and, more importantly, would have to sleep in what was really just another big box. He suddenly missed his shack by the junkyard.
er... OK one more day for Zaken because it is a big post.
I also don't know if you'll be pushing on or sleeping here or going back so...
I'll recap tomorrow.
Questions?
Game on!
"Acid," Jeyne called out simply to Zaken, having returned to the room where the Brigh worshippers still lay, grotesque in their repose. "We need to remove the mold, or more vegepygmies will likely appear."
"Ha, I got a few new tricks, Jeyne!" Saying this, Zaken pointed is arm forward and shot the fungus with a new technological device he finally figured out in this garage.
During the fight against the vegepygmies, for Zaken's amusement, LEEK was able to also demonstrate his new abilities... when a particularly nasty one came closer, probably the leader, LEEK lifted his big fists and a hatch opened in his elbow... soon after a jet of heat appeared, propelling his fist down completely smashing the poor creature... it was messy but quite pleasing, at least in Zaken's opinion.
Aside from the incident in the greenhouse where he could have been strangled if not for Jeyne's warning, Zaken was pretty confident of their abilities, even if they had found no more clue about what was happening to Mr. Baine.
Zaken watched as Jeyne and Malka were looking for a way to use the repaired coupling... he would also have liked to help but LEEK still had the remains of the leader all over him and he would not risk any danger so he meticulously cleaned the construct. "If you need any help, just let me know..."
Seeing that Malka was really concentrated with the coupling, Zaken decided to have a little talk with Seven. "Hey Seven, how are you doing? Everything is alright? So... I realized I have never really asked much about your life before Torch... it is impossible not to notice the bond between you and Malka... could you tell me more about you two?" Even if a bit curious, Zaken was really worried that the close bond between the two could turn sour if they had different expectations of what it should be so it was better to figure it out as soon as possible. The easiest way to discover the feelings one person has about another one is to ask them to describe each other...
Turn 065 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
"How are you doing?"
Seven was feeling great. He had more food than he could eat. He got to walk around wherever he wanted to go. He got to help Tolgy when there was purple fire. He got to haul trash. He got to sleep in his own bed. He got to see the sky. He got to wear Tolgy's armor and use his sword. And he got to see Malka. "Real good!" Seven replied. "...Uh, how are YOU doing?" (Malka had told him it was good to ask people that question).
"Before Torch..." he said slowly. Malka had warned him about this--people asking about the down-below place before they'd come into town. She'd told him, over and over, how to answer those questions. He'd practiced it until she was happy with it. Not even Tolgy knew the truth.
"I worked on a farm, diggin' in the dirt," he said carefully. "But when the rain stopped comin', the food stopped growin'. And so I moved on. Here I am."
"Malka, she... she saved us," he said, and this was really the truth. "Found me in the uh, the dark, and showed me how to follow the stars. Malka's a friend, that's for sure. I'd do anything to help Malka."
When the room began to move, Seven's stomach tried to jump out of his throat. He regretted eating that trail ration, after all, as it found its way back up and onto the floor. He hated that feeling. He found himself on all fours, his head tucked between his arms, until the motion had stopped. He looked up, embarrassed, but unable to get to his feet just then. Haulin' trash was never this hard.
FYI, I'll be 'out and about' tomorrow during the day and may not be able to post until evening/night.
Action 2:
The humming began and Malka knew that the fixing of the coupling was successful. She waited and wondered what was going to happen. When the floor began to move, Malka felt thrown off balance and she reached out to grasp the console to steady herself. Seeing Seven's reaction to the movement, she slowly made her way over to him. It felt weird walking as the floor moved and she kept her arms out on either side to stay balanced. Once she got to him, she knelt beside him on the floor. She pulled out her handkerchief and held it out for Seven to use to wipe his mouth. She put a hand on his shoulder and said quietly, "It means a lot to me that you came back with me. I know you don't like places like this." She then stayed beside him until he was able to get back on his feet.
No Zaken or Leek... :(
Zaken noticed Seven was not telling him the truth but decided not to push things over. "He will tell me whenever he is ready... I guess..."
"ELEVATOR... I think this means we are going up! I wonder if to go down we'll need to find a different place... there is no sense for something to be called 'elevator' if it doesn't always 'elevates' us, right?" Then he noticed Seven had thrown up. "Wow! Hold your belongings, dude!"
As Zaken noticed the growling creatures, he bolted back to the elevator, taping LEEK in the shoulder before entering. "Your shields are up, LEEK! Get ready to punch if they come closer!"
LEEK lifted his fist and prepared in 'special punch', just waiting for the creatures to come closer.
When the cat-dog-thing came closer, LEEK brought down his mighty fist propelled by the jets in his elbow and crushed the poor thing.
Her systems had momentarily shifted into their hypersensitive state at the movement of the floor...but after a moment, a memory came back to Jeyne. That elevator had been smaller, designed for just a few people at a time, but the sensation had been the same - the momentary feeling of increased weight as the floor began to push upward, the slight sinking feeling in the stomach as gravity worked against the upward motion. After a few moments' standing still, her systems had adjusted to compensate...but it seemed her allies were having more trouble. "The strange sensations are simply an effect of upward motion. They shall only be temporary."
Turn 066 is up.
Read the OOC (extensive).
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, hit
, miss
, miss
Seven was still feeling sickish when they stepped off the jellyvader, so much so that it took him a few seconds to recognize that they were being attacked. Again!
Now normally he liked dogs just fine. Garritt even kept one chained up in the junkyard and, even though it barked at him, Seven was working on making friends with it.
But these were clearly trying to hurt them. He turned to the one between him and the Jeyne, thrusting his sword into what looked like a neck. The dog yelped and whined in a way that made him sad, though he knew that sometimes things that were bad needed to be put into the big sleep.
______
possible crit
The scene that greated them when the elevator opened was not at all what Malka was expecting. Seeing the new threat, the wizard cast her main means of protecting herself and made her skin like iron.
Once her skin was reinforced, she pulled out her wand to provide ranged support.
The creatures emerged, Jeyne's vision turned to red crystal, and quickly she realized that her situation was...less than ideal. Her long spear was useless in such tight quarters, throwing her net or casting a spell would leave her open to attack, and there was nowhere close she could step to open up more space without letting down her guard.
With little option left to her, she decided to retreat backwards past LEEK, attempting to keep her guard up and avoid drawing attention. But her ploy was unsuccessful - though she tried her best to duck away from their bites, both creatures took a snap at her as she withdrew. Ending up behind Seven, she set a hand on his shoulder, willing him a measure of guidance in his actions with a prayer of precision.
Seeing the good work LEEK did with the first creature, Zaken could thought a couple encouragement words were necessary. "Nicely done, LEEK, keep the pressure, keep punching them!"
LEEK beeped twice before moving north and attacking once more.
His next punch was as powerful as the last one but not as accurate.
Zaken noticed the worse in his movements. Perhaps a machine doesn't answers well to nice words... With LEEK out of the way, Zaken readied his spear against the remaining beast.
Turn 067 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
BTW: I've given up on Camrad so I'm starting to look for another person to join our game. Please let me know if you know of someone who might be interested in joining our game. This next PC will be introduced whenever you guys come up for air again.
, miss
, hit, crit?
, no
, miss
, miss
Action 1:
Malka pointed her wand at the thylacine before her and let loose the magical energy. It slammed into the creature's side causing it to yelp in pain but did nothing to slow it down.
Action 2:
Malka took a cursory glance at their options for further exploration. "Shall we start with the closest, single unlocked door and work our way to the one that is locked?"
One attack seems adequate to take each beast down, Jeyne ponders to herself, connections dancing in her mind. Now to ensure those attacks reach their targets. With Zaken already helping LEEK, she focused her attention on Seven, moving around to his side to open up space to attack and lashing out with her spear to attempt to aid him.
Seven spins around, taking advantage of the Jeyne's stab, realizing he is actually getting pretty good with the sword stuff, and easily rends the next one.
_______
"Sounds good," he says, placing himself in front of the closest door.
With only one puppy remaining, Zaken stepped back and tried to distract the dog-thing to help LEEK but was unable to do so. Fortunately, it was not even needed as LEEK hit it hard with his piston fists, crushing its ribs and probably perforating a few organs.
With the combat over, Zaken joined Malka in her planning. "I agree with you... but I'm also curious as how the creatures were able to enter here and how they survived so far. I assume they are not able to open doors, right? This leaves us with two options: there is a way to the surface where they can find game, or someone is feeding them... I think it would be nice if we discover which one of these are the true before pushing on..."
Saying this, Zaken calls LEEK to his side while he inspects the southwest and northwest tunnels.
I agree with you... but I'm also curious as how the creatures were able to enter here and how they survived so far. I assume they are not able to open doors, right? This leaves us with two options: there is a way to the surface where they can find game, or someone is feeding them...
I am inclined to believe the latter; otherwise, why would they have returned to this place once they discovered the path to the surface? Examining the doors, Jeyne found she had little more to suggest that others had not. The plan Malka suggested seems sound; there is little to suggest one door over another, and we may find the means to unlock the secure one in the unsecured areas. While Zaken checked the other tunnels, Jeyne began to examine the locked door; if I can discover how to open it now, it will save some trouble later should we be unable to discover a card.
Yeah, sure. You've been playing with me for a while now so you know the type of game I like to run.
Have them look around and see if they're interested and have them contact me if so.
Game on!
Turn 068 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Very full day here. I may not be able to post. Apologies, please bot me if needed.
Oops. It's a DC 15 linguistics check.
I'll make the loot adjustments unless I hear otherwise.
So now Seven gets a ring? I wonder if he likes rings? He doesn't like the cloak. :)
As Zaken entered the room, it took him some time before he noticed the drones. His first thought was to fight them but since it seemed that they were more interested in repairing the room than of killing them, he held his orders.
"It looks like this is some sort of manufacturing lab... these leather thinks are responsible for transporting whatever was made here, with workers along the sides... if I'm right and this is a line of production, the other room behind that door..." Zaken pointed to the west door. "...could gives us more clues about what was being built."
With LEEK behind him, Zaken moved towards the other door, paying close attention to the drone's reaction.
1 out of 4 players makes me wait...
Game on!
"A manufacturing laboratory...it seems a reasonable guess. Fortunately, these drones seem uninterested in pressing an attack..." Moving carefully to the space between the two leather belts, Jeyne watched the drones from a distance, fascinated with their motions, jerky and disjointed as they were. "I agree with Zaken - we should look into the door he suggested first. The blood on the belt is a particularly motivating factor."