Aurexil frowns. "I don't know... remember the tube things? Seems like you'd choke on them if they weren't working right? Though for that matter, if they weren't working right you'd suffocate on the goo... I think."
She looks over at the party members that know more about this kind of thing.
Neve shrugs Could get them killed for alls we know
Fraejia sees that each tube has a small panel on its side, which flickers on and off. Thanks to the understanding provided by Andretta's ability, Fraejia can read the alien words that flash on and off. The panel is meant to display vital statistics of the occupant (referred to as Patient 121605 Species GOL3276), and has indicators for releasing and sealing the tube. Unfortunately, all of the vital statistics seem to be flatlined, and MALFUNCTION flashes across the screen.
Andretta can be heard to be complaining about the door not opening around the corner.
The words on the screen revert to gibberish as Andretta's ability wears off.
Her expression saddened as she examined the panels and finally said, "Never mind, it looks like we're already too late for these. It seems their tubes malfunctioned and killed them all." She lay her hand on one of the tube station and sang something in her native language, a language that oddly didn't make any sense despite the ability to understand each other, the gist of it seemed to be a lament for the dead.
Neve looks crestfallen. I wouldn't, like, have left them in there or anything she says in a small but defiant voice. We've got to find the jerkholes that did this and make them pay.
Artiriam moves over with Jaxel to see if he can help Andetta get her door open.
"Fraejia, hvers vegna ert þú svo dapur?"Artirian asks after he hears her lament.
Fraejia, why are you so sad?
Aurexil opens her mouth to speak, then closes it with a frown. After a moment, she says, "Bíddu, ég held að þýðing hlutur leið burt."
Shrugging Neve moves back to Andretta to see what the problem with the door might be. If it's just a matter of a keyrod she uses it to open the door for the newcomer.
Neve tries the key, and sees that it doesn't work. Her best guesses are that since the door was malfunctioning, it shut down completely, or perhaps a different key is needed to get into the store-room. Based on the complete lack of reaction from the pad, she would bet it is the former rather than the latter.
Neve looks apologetically at Andretta and shakes her head while knocking on the door.
Aurexil observes the rather crowded central chamber, then looks over at Neve and Andretta. "Tími til að fara í hér, þá?" She says, pointing over at the elevator.
AefPakka nods his head in agreement with Aurexil and points toward the elevator for those who don't understand them. "Förum! Ég er spenntur að sjá hvað er þarna uppi!"
Neve moves to the elevators and taps it to get it moving.
Artirian and Jaxel follow the rest of the party to the elevator.
Fraejia moved to the elevator as well, ready to get in and take it up. When everyone was able to get into it she gestured them back from the doors and then focused. As she did the temperature dropped in the lift and across the opening appeared a thin sheet of ice. She motioned for everyone to hunker down behind it and said as best she could, "Break if safe, not hard."
Aurexil nods in approval of Fraejia's precaution, doing her best to not have her wings and tail get in everyone else's way in the cramped space.
The door to the elevator opens, but rather than reveal the expected small room, it reveals a gaping hole with a few large, swaying vines. Looking up or down, the shaft reaches into darkness.
It appears to the tech-savy that the cables for the elevator have snapped and the elevator room itself likely lies at the bottom of the shaft. Whatever caused your cells/pods to open must have done this damage as well.
As if to confirm the theory, something like an earthquake rocks the complex. As it does, the vines/cables convulse, one or two contracting or expanding while the rest merely shake lifelessly.
This is just, like, perfect. Neve says in GalComm This place is falling apart. Probably the only reason we got free.
Aurexil pokes her head into the shaft.
"Ég giska á að það er ekki ætlast til að líta út eins og það," she states.
With the sudden stop, and no sign of immediate threat, Fraejia broke down her ice walls and looked out of the lift. "Looks like we climb then." She looked both up and down the shaft carefully for any problems they might have while climbing, or for any other nearby lift that looked functional.
Jaxel attempts to climb up the cable, a little.
"Upp eða niður?" Artirian asks.
Up or down?
Some of the cables/vines look strong enough to carry even the heaviest of you. With the cables, it's a fairly simple climb either way (DC 10). Lighting may be an issue, so someone may want to do something about that.
Neve casts a Light spell on herself to help light the way.
"Upp, ég myndi segja," Aurexil says, following Jaxel's lead into the shaft and up a cable.
Looking up Fraejia shrugged in acceptance and began climbing. She was obviously not that great at climbing given her hesitation but she was managing to do alright as she began to pull herself up the vine.
I'll stay here until you guys let me know what's going on. I can't climb too well Neve says to Fraejia.
"Er ástæða Neve er að vera á bak við? Við ættum ekki skipt upp."
AefPakka confidently starts to climb thinking it will be quite easy, but slips slightly, unused to the unusual material.
Those with darkvision looking up the tunnel see that there is an opening about 40' up (whilethe tunnel itself passes up out of range of your sight), while the top of the elevator box is a 30' drop down, with its snapped cable having torn a large hole in its top.
Jaxel leading the way, you begin the ascent towards the opening above, forming a chain of climbers (Jaxel, Aurexil, Fraejia, AefPakka,Artirian, Bahgra, Bahgra Bahgra; leaving Neve, Andretta, and six Bahgra waiting in que.)
Just as Jaxel reaches the opening 40' above, a creature emerges from the hole in the top of the elevator box below. It is a Large centipede-like creature with a black and green carapace, its four eyes radiating rainbow-patterns like a backlit prism, and its huge mandibles snapping around a tendril-covered mouth.
Aefpakka
Artirian
Aurexil
Fraejia
Neve
Andretta
Climbing Bahgra
Waiting Bahgra
Tauslek Matriarch AND [-20] = 12
Order:
Tauslek Matriarch
Aurexil, Fraejia, Neve, Climbing Bahgra
Tauslek Matriarch's second turn
Aefpakka, Artirian, Andretta, and Waiting Bahgra
The creature scurries up, not bothering to use the cables but rather crawling on its many legs, As it reaches the opening below the climbers, its mandibles clamp towards one of the waiting Bahgra.
Bite for plus grab and poison Bahgra Fort .
The creature's mandibles latch onto the flat-footed Bahgra, knocking him out in the process.
The heck is that thing! Neve shouts in GalCom as she fires at it.
Aurexil grunts in surprise as she watches the centipede-like creature's swift movement. She takes a moment to study it, then struggles to change her grip such that she can draw her shortspear while holding on to the cable with her other hand.
Fraejia saw the freakish thing come down and attack and knew there was nothing she could do to help it's first victim. She saw the Bahgra take the blow and pass out from the injuries and began a response of her own. She focused a moment and then sent a burst of frigid, blue, cold at the insectoid. A shame really, it kind of reminded her of the pets some kept on the world of her childhood. Unfortunately the precarious position and the fond memory caused her aim to be ridiculous and she simply froze a patch of wall several feet shy of the creature for a few seconds before it thawed once again.
The Bahgra nearest the beast attempts to swing his axe at it while hanging on with the other hand.
but misses.
The creature scuttles back down the wall and into the elevator box below, carrying the unconscious Bahgra with it, disappearing out of line of sight.
The remaining Bahgra bark out excited and angry responses.
(End combat for now unless someone next in order wants to jump down or something similar to that.)
Aurexil growls, baring her teeth. "Við verðum að fara eftir þessi hlutur!" she shouts, annoyed by her inability to fly in these close quarters.
Yes, it hit. Fortitude
You may certainly pursue it below if you wish. The Bahgra with Neve near the shaft draw their bows and point them towards the opening below. One barks out.
"Up or down, we protect."
"Við skulum veiða þessi kónguló hlutur niður."Artirian says, his lips a grim line.
Let's hunt that spider thing down.
He takes out his silk rope and tries to knot it.
Jaxel tries to head down.
Neve goes down with the group.
Aurexil may make a DC 12 Fly check to do so.
You can all try the slide down the vines trick by making a DC 10 Strength check to reduce the fall damage to 2d6 nonlethal; each 5 points of your check beyond 10 reduces the damage by 1d6 (to a 0 minimum at DC 20 or better.) Anyone who fails the DC 10 Strength check takes a full 4d6 damage and is prone.