Even though the Uradurlun have stopped firing their crossbows, they aren't talking either. Neither of these inactions sits well with the ranger and he says as much, Ah donna like it. Peeking his head over the railing, Gwernach draws back the string of his longbow and tries to get a bead on any of the Uradurlun dug in inside. At the first hint of a return to hostility, Gwernach decides he's going to take a shot.
I don’t think they are going to be swayed, Parker says, And I’ve never been any good at direct physical confrontations. It might be time to reconsider our plan, maybe look for another way in and hope we can avoid any run in with these people or anyone else who might be occupying the ship.
Parker shrugs, and looks around at everyone’s faces.
There is an awkward silence, and then a mysterious shadow begins to emerge from the inside of the ship. It appears dark inside the ship but only a patch of shadows near the door. As it moves outward the shadows become an area of dim, and then normal light, reducing the glare of the sun from bright reflections of the floor. A Hobgoblin walks toward you, and the shadows seem to follow him as he comes. He is dressed in Scale Mail armor, and wears a strange, open faced helm. In his left hand he carries a smooth, pale yellow staff.
A male voice calls out from inside the Darkness
The Darkness stops and covers the area between the end of the bridge and the entrance to the ship
|
Parker fixes his eyes on Yildiri and asks her, quietly
What are they talking about?
Yildiri replies.
"They say they'll let us in, but only under armed escort, and they need to know what we're looking for first. They say the 'Red Woman' pays them to protect this place and keep out intruders and allows them to live there. Who the 'Red Woman' is, I don't know. Let me think"
The tension in Gwernach's bowstring tightens at the approach of the male Uradurlunian(?). Suspecting a trap the dwarf decides to keep his arrow aimed directly at the gap in the stranger's odd shaped helm, Ah ain't go'n down with'ot giv'n ya a world o'urt bub.
Yildiri's update gives Gwernach some hope but not a lot, Red woman? Gwernach repeats incredulously, then getting a little side tracked offers up a small antic dote, Ya mean like ging'r? Ya know Ah once knew'a real picara, marchael type an all! Gwernach grins and throws a cheeky wink before turning his eye back to the staff wielding hobgoblin. Taking up a serious tone Gwernach offers his own assessment of the hobgoblin's 'arrangement', Ba no thas one. No, tha lass in there sounds a real piece; keep'n them as'er slaves mo'like. Does E'know tha ging'r's play'n 'em forra dolt? Was she got'on'em? Bett'ya they'll change thar tune once they see tha light.
Yildiri replies.
"They say they'll let us in, but only under armed escort, and they need to know what we're looking for first. They say the 'Red Woman' pays them to protect this place and keep out intruders and allows them to live there. Who the 'Red Woman' is, I don't know. Let me think"
[dice=Knowledge (Local) - untrained] 1d20
"Ah, yes. Some of our outrunners have seen her - tall, with skin like scarlet metal and long black hair, in company with the gulyabaniler - but I can recall nothing else about her"
The Uradulun in the shadows listens patiently as Sasithorn explains, while Parker moves closer to Yildiri, in order to hear everything she tells him about what is being said.
When Sasithorn is finished, Durtank bows his head, and then stands tall as he answers
|
|
Sasithorn sighs, an even mixture of relief and frustration, and turns to the others.
"I don't know how I did it, but I made something resembling a deal: They won't let us go any farther, or they will attack, BUT they have promised to bring us 'the Red Woman's consort,' who we may ASK about the sphere. What concerns me, of course, is that the Red Woman - they say she is 'master of this place' - well, she keeps a lot of secrets. She dictates where they may go in this place, and seems to keep them informed on a 'need-to-know' basis. She never told them about any sphere. I...I just hope she's more forthcoming with us."
"I do not trust the gulyabaniler, and I do not trust whoever pays them, but we shall see", says Yildiri, in a quiet voice.
Gwernach spits over the side of the bridge, Ah donna like it. Wait 'ere?! Sounds lik'a trap ta me gents. Not wanting to leave Yildiri out, the dwarf throws her a quick nod of inclusion. Wa's stopp'n Ging'r Girl from blow'n tha bridge, an us with it?
A good long amount of time passes, waiting in the shade of the covered bridge.
There are no more threats from the Uradurluns inside and just when you are about to consider that maybe you’ve been played for fools. A strange, attractive, golden-skinned woman appears on the other end of the bridge, coming from inside the ship.
She is dressed in a skin-tight jump suit. Her hair reflects the golden light of the sun and her features remind you of a tall elven, Drasbian woman, though this woman is so thin as to appear frail.
The woman walks straight toward your position, a smile is on her face. When she is a few feet from you she stops, puts her hands, palm upward, out in front of her, and says, in common
Welcome, strangers. My name is AIMEA and I was told you have questions that were troubling to our Urandulurn homesteaders. I want to assure you that you are in no immediate danger from myself, our homesteaders, or the ships damaged systems in any way, however, it is not safe for you to remain. I speak on behalf of my Mistress, the Red Mysterion. She would not be pleased with your intrusion here, and I can assure you that when she returns she will most likely order an attack against you, unless you have already left the area. I would be delighted to help you with any questions you might have, but I do have other responsibilities so I cannot tarry long. How can I help you today?
Parker turns his head so as to try and direct his words to the group without giving away too much to the woman waiting patiently
This woman is an android, a machine, much like our friend Marvin here. Her name stands for her function, Auto-function, Intermediary Medical Emergency Assistant - a simple sort of artificial life form programed to be of assistance to more qualified medical personnel. That she is still functioning is a mystery, and who she is talking about, this Red Mysterion, I have no clue who that is. Let's see if she knows anything useful to us.
Aimea, my name is Parker Anderson, and I was sent her on behalf of the people who originally owned and operated the Contagion, the ship. I'll come right to the point. I believe this ship is hiding a Black Globe Generator. Do you know if that is true, and where the generator is located? Because for a very long time no one has been able to verify the condition of this ship, and right now the United Consortium of Planetary Governments is sending a squadron of system defense boats and an eight hundred ton cruiser here to recover that generator, and when they come, your homesteaders and your Mysterion won't be able to stop them. I wan't to help you if I can. If we can identify the generator, establish its location, and negotiate its turnover to the IRS, I think we can avoid a whole lot of trouble here.
The woman looks pleasantly surprised
Oh, is that what you are looking for? It was removed from the ship a very long time ago. The Red Mysterion determined that it would be dangerous, and could better be put to use in a safer location. It was moved,
She raises her right arm until it is parallel with the ground and with one finger points back across the bridge.
It was taken there. To the vault, I understand. I am not permitted to enter that place, and I have no information about it, other than that the Red Mysterion has on many occasions returned from there in a highly damaged state. It is a place of strange mazes and terrible monsters, but it is where the red Mysterion goes to find inspiration. The generator, and all of its associated control devices, was moved there, for everyone’s safety.
Parker’s jaw drops slightly, So it is true, he sighs. With one hand he scratches his head, and then asks. If the red Mysterion will not be returning anytime soon, I wonder if you, with your Homesteaders escorting me, could show me the location where the generator was connected to the ships systems?
While the woman is considering the request he turns again to the rest of you, and says quietly
I need to at least put my eyes on the connection points for the generators equipment, maybe get a few pictures. If they let me in, I want to ask the rest of you to head to the entrance of that temple, maybe scout the entrance, but be careful. Get an idea of how dangerous it is to go in there, and when I get done, we’ll figure out if it is worth the effort to head into the temple and find the generator.
He takes a step closer to Yildiri and says I know you have some misgivings about that place. I’m not asking you to violate your peoples taboos, I just want to know how dangerous it is.
He takes a step closer to Yildiri and says I know you have some misgivings about that place. I’m not asking you to violate your peoples taboos, I just want to know how dangerous it is.
"We do not enter it for a reason", replies Yildiri, in an undertone. "It is very dangerous, and having the gulyabaniler and this 'Red Woman' seemingly in charge of it does not reassure me at all"
Gwernach stares at A.I.M.E.A as the android and Parker speak, wondering how all of her, dimensions, manages to get into such a skimpy outfit. Peeking a glance over at MARVIN's androgyny, the dwarf puzzles, Ah thought they'd al'look like 'im, before returning to gaze at AIMEA, So much gold...
Wait. Wha?! Picking up the conversation Gwernach's eyes narrow now that he realizes where Parker's sending them, Great.
Folding his arms irritably Gwernach addresses the golden beauty, AIMEA, yar auto-funk-shing, right? Mean'n ya can make up ya own mind. So, are ya requir'd ta show Park'r 'ere to thas connect'rs? or can some'un else do it? Looking in Parker's direction the dwarf elaborates, If ya'r und'r escort, ya won'na be need'n a medic lad. We, on tha oth'r hand, are head'n in ta real dang'r. AIMEA's skill'd hands could be of use. Should, one of us, geet 'urt...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Red… Mysterion…" Marvin looked preoccupied, deep in their thoughts upon the mention of the name by AIMEA. The light of their eyes flickers into a haze, attempts to retrieve related information in their memory being forcibly stopped by bad requests, fatal errors, or some other exception. It's like their system defines that name as a parameter whose presence indicates a condition where it cannot operate safely. To an android which processes emotions as data, and sometimes data as emotions, the repeated attempts to abort any thought relating to the name and the inability to understand it gives Marvin blatant unease.
This reminds them of the feeling most of their interaction protocols invoke, but on a lesser scale. Their protocols involving other beings were what some would call paranoid, always assuming threat from any action directed at them and thus resulting in less efficiency in team situations, but their system's logic had accepted that this way of thinking would have been more useful to a solitary unit. It made sense to be uneased with any situation not proven to be friendly, but could the reason for his threat-first interaction protocols been have something else?
AIMEA's protocol-based behavior should have been more comforting to another android, but Marvin only felt more unease. They stay behind the party, their grip tight and ready around their musket. "This… this unit does not recommend prolonged stay." Their voice is low, directed only at their party. Though they speak in the same monotone, the halting words, as if hesitant, add a wary inflection. "The Re… Red Woman's location is unknown and she may return at any time. Her danger is estimated to be of the highest level. This ship and the temple's danger is relatedly estimated to be of similar risk."
Aimea seems to take no notice of Marvin, while smiling at Gwernach
I'm sorry I do not understand your reference. I am forbidden from entering that place. I...cannot... agree to accompany you.
Something seems to affect the woman's demeanor, a slight twitch flickers across her left cheek
The twitch last for several moments, and then stops
If you are in need of medical assistance the ship's primary care facilities have been restored to a limited functional condition and I may be able to render aid if you wish to accompany me. I'm afraid that all of the ship's supplies that would be of use in first aid of triage parameters have been exhausted or have exceeded their expiration limitations and I would not be allowed to use them to help you, but basic diagnostic and recuperation equipment is functioning.
I think we've got a opportunity here and we need to move quickly Parker says
Aimea, please show me the installation location of the black globe generator before it was removed from the ship.
Parker turns to Gwernach, Sasithorn, Yildiri, and Marvin and says
I think I'll be fine. I'll be in and out as quickly as I can. Meanwhile, see what is the deal with that temple. It can't be too large. While I'm with Aimea I'll try to find out when this Red Woman is expected to return, but believe me, time is not on our side. I may have exaggerated about the UCoIG response, but I've no doubt they are inbound. We have at most a few days before this whole area is turned into a quarantined demilitarized zone
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yildiri furrows her brow at Parker's words
demili... quaranti... what?!
And looks unhappy at the mention of examining the temple.
"I will have to do penance after penance if I go in... If I ever come out again..."
With an expression that says, 'the person ahead of you just took the last one', Gwernach stows his bow and turns to face the direction of the temple's entrance. Summing up the approach the dwarf pauses for a moment then shrugging his shoulders turns to AIMEA, We're gonna needda time frame. 'Ow long do-ya think yu an Parker a'gonna be? Should we me'back 'ere? Call on-ya chums there, Gwernach points in the direction of the Uradurluns, or will ya send Parker in aft'r us?
Marvin's face looks tense before it suddenly loosens. However, their grip on their musket remains as tight as ever. "If the party insists on proceeding, this unit recommends great caution in scouting. Immediate retreat and regroup is advised in the event of danger."
The woman finally lowers her hand, and turns over her palm, offering it to Parker.
I can show you the place where the generator was installed. It would be a pleasure.
Parker turns and winks at the rest of you, and before taking the androids hand, he says quietly
We have the short range communicators, remember. Here let me show you how they work.
Parker takes a moment to show the group how to turn on the communicator, and how it basically works, and then says
Just keep it turned on. The power cell should keep it working as long as it is in the light of the sun. Once the sun goes down, or if you go into the temple, it will last probably twelve hours. I’ll contact you before then. Just be careful.
With that he leaves with Aimea
Gwernach pays close attention to Parker's instructions for the talking boxes. Leary of the source of their power, the dwarf non-the-less keeps his handy, tucking it securely upon one of the utility harness's straps.
Watching to two leave, Gwernach turns to the others, Best get'on with it, would'ya like me ta lead tha way?
Retracing his steps across the bridge, and careful not to look down, Gwernach cautiously makes his way towards the temple entrance
-
Yildiri appears to have her eyes closed, and is praying almost silently in her own language.
She opens her eyes briefly, nods at Gwernach, then follows him towards the temple entrance, still praying, but looking about at the same time with a distracted, worried expression on her face.
There doesn’t appear to be any hurry, no reason to rush, as the four characters slowly approach the twenty foot wide opening in the wall of the canyon.
On either side of what looks like a built up or certainly worked edifice are two tall cylindrical columns of dark stone and as soon as the group gets near, Gwernach knows something special about this stone that was used for the columns.
When you reach the symbol painted on the ground in front of the entrance each of you feels a warm, comforting feeling. Crossing the symbol and approaching the entrance the warm comforting feeling soon fades and a cold “alien” feeling begins to creep into your bones.
The entrance is twenty feet wide and fifteen feet high and there is enough light shining to illuminate a natural cavern on the other side of the entrance. In the shadows, some thirty feet past the entrance you can see a wall which has been “built up” with stones two feet on each side made from dark granite. Set in this wall is a pair of doors, but what those doors are made from you cannot tell without entering the cavern and getting closer.
The sight of the columns causes Gwernach's pace to slow as his eyes scan the lengths of each. A puzzled looks morphs to grave concern, Ah donna like thas. Pointing to the columns the dwarf explains, Thas' Holdandun, a dwarv'n ward mean'n break iron or glass iron. Tis a very brittle met'l, not usual'lay us'd in construct'n. An see those beams? Gwernach points up to the horizontal support beams, Thas Hema-tite. Tis bett'r us'd in woman's jewl'ry though Ah've heard it us'd by heal'rs 'swell. Anoth'r strange choice iffya ask me. Folding his arms in front of him and frowning at the entire place in disappointment the ranger passes perhaps a premature judgement, Poor'lay made place this.
Moving on, the dwarf warily makes his way towards the dark granite wall and the pair of doors.
...
Marvin's hands grip their musket, always at the ready as they walk. They look down and observe the symbol they crossed before scanning the cavern and the doors cautiously.
Upon Gwernach's words, Marvin assesses the construction for themselves.
Gwernatch passes through the portal cautiously, heading toward the doors at the far wall in the shadows, while Marvin pauses to examine the peculiar columns
Gwernatch finds the doors set in the artificial stone wall of the cavern are in fact made from an exotic, hard wood, polished smooth and coated with a thick layer of some kind of dark resin material which shows some small damage in places where it looks as if someone may have hit the wood with an axe or other small blade. Here, in these places, he can see that the wood below the stain is a deep, dark red in color.
The doors have no handles, no rings to pull, and are closed shut with no more than a hairs width of a gap between them. On the bottom there is a gap of about one inch while you cannot see if there is a similar gap at the top.
The doors have strong iron hinges, molded into plates that are nailed to the doors at each side. Each nail is two inches across the head, and in fact may be rivets rather than nails but you cannot tell until you see the other sides of the doors. Given the arrangement of the hinge plates, you suspect that the doors must be pushed open from the other side, might be pride open from this side with a strong tool inserted in the gap at the bottom.
Marvin assesses the door for themselves, checking for traps. Upon confidence that there is no danger in investigation, they start feeling the door with their hands, knocking on it lightly to listen both for thickness and danger.
"A tool will be required to open this door."
Marvin scans the area to see if any such tool lied nearby.
An observant onlooker might see a faintly relieved expression on Yildiri's face.
"I can see nothing that might serve, myself"
Kneeling down, Gwernach peers under the door checking the gap.
If all is clear, the dwarf tries using his fingers at the bottom of the door to see if he can't pry it open enough for someone to pry a dagger into the widening gap between the two doors and wedge them apart/open.
Diddo...but a bit extra:
1 weight nullifier, 1 respirator, 1 utility harness, 1 length of rope, two personal restraint systems, 1 short-range communication device, 1 of those portable power systems with multi-configuration adapters and a multi-tool.
Remembering his new acquired gear, Gwernach searches his utility harness for the thing Parker called a 'multi-tool'. Removing it from the harness, the dwarf fiddles with some of its attachments, looking for something which might help.
What began one night just over a week ago with the sudden appearance of dark, shadow creatures attacking the coastal village of Connie’s Bright, then the revelation of a mysterious entity conducting experiments on unwilling subjects in the Moors to the west of the village, which lead to the discovery of a monstrous creature known only as the Strangler of the Shadow moor, has now brought a small group of strangers with barely any knowledge of each other to a pair of massive, dark wooden doors set deep inside a cave on the southern canyon wall of the Great Canyon of Kizjta. A local hunter and mysterious guardian of this place, Yildiri watches nervously as a young dwarven ranger by the name of Gwernach assembles a metal tool he hopes will be able to pry at least one of the doors open from the outside. The mysterious copper skinned individual known only as Marvin, keeps a watch in the direction of the cave entrance as occasional images of a mysterious past he cannot recall flicker in his mind. And finally, Sasithorn, a man with his own mysterious past with some understanding of the perils involved in dealing with the realm of shadows and ancient stories of the retribution of offended goddesses, peers at the doors barely able to conceal his excitement as it overcomes his concerns. What lies beyond these doors is said to be of such incredible danger and malignancy, that it is said in hushed whispers that few who enter ever return and those that do are often changed beyond recognition.
Gwernach peers under the door, wondering if there is a way to try and pry it open, and then suddenly remembers the multi-part tool he stashed in his pack.
He stands, and without so much as a ‘how do you do,’ he throws the three pieces of the tool onto the floor as he retrieves each piece from his pack.
The dwarf folds his arms and stares at the pieces for only a moment, and then snaps his fingers, reaches down and takes two parts, quickly fitting them together with a snap, and then fixing the heavy head to one end of the tool he admires his work, seeing he has assembled a sturdy pry bar, with a heavy, flat and pointed, angled head that will easily fit under the gap of the door and should provide all the leverage he needs to jack the door open a few inches at a time until it clears the other door and someone can get their hands behind it to finish opening it.
With a shrug and a sideways glance to the others as though to say, 'Here goes!', Gwernach puts the tool to work opening the door.
Marvin clutches their musket tightly, putting aside the faint memory images to ready themselves for what awaited behind the door.
Yildiri looks on with a worried expression, fiddling with the handle of her mace and chewing her lip.
"There may be a good reason why we have been shut out of here", she offers.
The door opens slowly and silently under the steady work of the pry bar in Gwernach’s hands. When nit is opened far enough for him to get a hand behind it, he drops the bar to the side, and pulls.
Warm dry air blows out through the door, as if the air beyond the doors is even hotter than the air of the desert above*
You open the door far enough for the whole group to get a look at what lies beyond.
Before you is a vast chamber, with a floor finished in black polished stones. You cannot see if there is a wall in the distance, and from the doorway it appears that the room goes on and on into the shadows straight ahead, and to either side.
At first you think it is completely dark beyond the doors, but slowly your eyes adjust and you begin to see a faint bluish glow fills the room. This glow comes from a source you cannot see to the left and to the right.
Poking your head just a little past the door you look left and right and see a wall, thirty feet away twenty feet long that seems to suggest that this cavernous room has two alcoves just a short distance to the left and the right after passing the doors.