As Yariel realizes that the Botany Bay is largely safe, she is able to pause a moment to collect herself, perhaps opening her pack and taking a sip of water.
Even through her environmental protections, the odors in this lab are evident. They are conspicuous, but not entirely unpleasant. The floral notes emanating from one set of plants suddenly cause a response in the Ysoki mercenary as certain memories come streaming back into her consciousness.
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Yes! That scent is almost exactly the same as the flowers in your neighbor's garden back Gideron Prime. Deg was an Ysoki, and a good friend of your families. She maintained a garden, and it was both beautiful and nutritious. Deg was always pleased to share, and during the times when the local hobgoblin warlord had his thumb placed figuratively on the throat of all of the second class citizens, her food was a boon to the neighborhood. She raised several Sukh-Shari birds, and their eggs were filling and tasty! Even in winter she had a small greenhouse, and there would be beds of quick-growing greens to augment whatever foodstuffs your family could provide.
Without a doubt, Deg prevented many along your winding lane from starving when things were tough.
Then you heard a blast, and flames began erupting from Deg's small cottage. You were hypnotized, both with fear, and because of your fascination with flames. It was almost as if the small home erupted instantly from all of its openings with flames.
Soon first responders arrived, extinguishing the flames, and pulling Deg's charred body from the ruins of her home. Your eyes couldn't look away as two hobgoblin firefighters pulled the corpse roughly from the crumbling, smoking home. Deg's jaw was slack, and a...tongue? No...it couldn't be a tongue. It was forked...and impossibly long...and through the charred, discolored fur...COULD THAT BE SCALES?
That afternoon, as you huddled with your siblings, your young brother tried to describe something he saw just before the fire. He recounted a tale of another aircraft, this one not like any of the local military aerospace fighters. This one had bright lights, roared across the sky at impossible speeds and angles, and in the blink of an eye disappeared from view.
This room is covered in thick panels of dark metal, many
showing signs of scratches and gouges. To the north is a
broken doorway, much like the one near the entry shaft.
Bright light illuminates the area beyond this opening,
revealing plant life. To the east is a thinner wall with a
broken section where a door might have been and a narrow
strip of transparent material, like a long window, about three
feet from the floor. To the south is another large closed door.
To the east is another broken interior wall with a similar
window, beyond which is another sturdy door.
T'sorkel looks into the room and hears mumbling in Akitonian. He motions to the others that there is someone in the room. Then he carefully protects telepathic speech in Akitonian. Hello? Is someone there? We mean you no harm. Are you hurt?
Noticing T'sorkel's gestures, Rar'gul slowly makes his way toward the shirren.
Beside T'sorkel, he cautiously peers through the doorway. Cocking his head to the side, he listens carefully for any hint at what lies beyond.
Shrugging, the trox gives a small shake of his head and, glancing between his shirren companion and the open doorway, stands ready while awaiting further explanation.
T'sorkel translates the speech for the rest of the group. Someone is in there and scared. They don't want to be re-captured and they seem to have been a gladiator before. I would be careful, they could be armed or at least dangerous.
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”Okay, I’m gonna try this.” Beauregard whispers to the party before he clears his throat and speaks loudly in Akitonian.
”Hello? Hello, I’m Beauregard, we were captured here just like you. We-we really don’t have an interest in capturing anyone. In fact, we might be able to get you off of this place. But we need to get through the room and shut down the reactor first. Is it, is it okay if we do that?”
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Yariel's fur shivers as she recalls that old memory. She doesn't quite know what it means, but she does share it with Doc .
When done she whispers, "What do you think it means? Just a random coincidence? We all laughed at my brother, but what if the grey's had been involved there. What if we were picked because we've all had some dealings with them before?"
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As she holsters the needler and swings the caustolance into position, Lilly notices that her breathing is fast and shallow.
Her jaw tightens. Hold. It. Together. Now is not the time.
The mounting stress of this place -- killer plants and killer bugs and killer robots and… and… KILLER EVERYTHING -- momentarily threatens to overwhelm the Halfling. She closes her eyes.
Yariel's voice floats into her darkness and helps her focus. Lilly listens carefully to the story, syncing with the cadence of the Ysoki's voice. Slowly, she calms and turns to face her friend.
"What do you think it means? Just a random coincidence? We all laughed at my brother, but what if the grey's had been involved there. What if we were picked because we've all had some dealings with them before?"
Random flashes of memory play in her mind. A family friend who didn't "look right" after returning from a trip... a stranger in town who talked nonsense that now seems to make sense years later... a memory she can’t quite touch from her own youth…
Lilly nods. “It’s very possible, Yariel. You could be onto something… but I don’t know how it all fits yet. The Greys play a very, very long game. We might have been part of it for longer than we knew.”
After Beauregard calls out, there is silence.
But only for a moment.
A large piece of debris is thrown through the second doorway, narrowly missing T'sorkel.
A large, lizard-like humanoid appears within the room. "If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave this area. I will KILL you in a most heinous fashion if you come any closer!"
T'sorkel flinches as the debris is thrown right near him and quickly steps back outside. Um, perhaps one of you would be better to go in and calm the giant, enraged, lizard-like creature? I can continue translating from what I hear.
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”Hey, bud, listen, you wanna stay here, WHATEVER YOU WANT bud. But, like I said, the reactor is going to go critical and kill us all, along with several more people, unless we can shut her down properly. If we can find it we’ll do whatever you want. We’re just looking for it. If you know where it is, can you tell us? If so we will be on our way. Or, and this is just an option, it isn’t mandatory, we could rescue you from this place and take you back to Absolom station. Again though, we need to shut down the reactor first.”
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The ysoki stays quiet. Firstly, she isn't smooth with words and this thing is actually sorta listening to them. Secondly, no reason to give away how many of them there are or if it knows already, no reason to act like they are all ganging up on it. It already has a quick trigger and is probably responsible for untold murders.
Once again there is silence.
The creature in the room finally speaks . "Alright, I won't kill you all, though it might have been fun...that two-headed troll that can teleport is probably going take care of you anyway. I had a bit of a tussle with it. If it would have been in the arena, it would have been MOST epic! If, and it's a very BIG "IF," you make it out of here, let them know back on Akiton that Hrog the mighty escaped from the clutches of his captors and fought a two-headed troll to a draw!"
T'sorkel send a psychic message to just the group. So...this isn't the troll. Um, perhaps we should simply move along? If we are able to fix the reactor, then we can come back...or better yet, tell the Stewards to come for him. He pauses, considering a new thought. Um, unless we want to learn more about the two-headed troll. I mean, if we do run across him, it sounds like Hrog might be a good asset to have.
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”Two-headed troll that can teleport?” Well, that explains a lot.
Looking to Beauregard, Lilly says, “If he fought this troll-thing to a draw, he could be a strong ally to help us finish the job and get out of here. Let me see if I can help you convince him.”
Lilly moves toward the door and leans in, speaking in Aktonian. “Are you injured? I’m a doctor. Maybe I can help you get back into the fight. You can defeat that thing and, uh, hear Akiton's crowds celebrate your victory with your own ears. What d’ya think?”
Hrog does not seem to want to easily trust all of you. Occasionally you see his huge form peer toward you all from deep inside the room he's in.
"You don't look like one of those cruel little grays! I don't know. Maybe I would follow you, just to see what happens. I mean...WHAT HAVE I GOT TO LOSE!"
Hrog giggles to himself for a moment.
"Hey, any of you have anything to eat?"
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Beauregard takes a can of the 'all nutrients you need for a day soda' from the carton and rolls it into the room.
"I mean, eat? Not exactly, but that's got a lot of nutrients in it. You help us lock down the reactor and kill the troll and a few rooms back there's a room that can manufacture almost anything you want out of UPBs. I'm sure it could give you a hearty meal."
Yeah, you help us fix the reactor by keeping that troll away, and we can all get out of here and get a good meal!" T'sorkel peeks into the doorway. Hrog is it? You can come out. We won't hurt you. I'm T'sorkel. Do you know anything about this place?
Unable to speak Akitonian, and not wanting to spook Hrog with his size, Rar'gul hangs back, leaving the negotiations to his companions.
T'sorkel nods and then send telepathic Akitonian speech to the creature. Hrog, is there a hatch in the floor in there? Or have you seen any hatches that lead farther down?
Hrog moves forward. You now the see the hulking form of...an Ikeshti?
Hrog has no idea how to get to the reactor.
Rar'gul steps back, giving Hrog space as he enters the greenhouse. The trox nods in greeting to the ikeshti. "I look forward to seeing you in combat, should it come to that - which I imagine it will."
He pushes on through the lush chamber, carefully checking for danger as he moves.
Come on, Hrog. Let's go see what's in here. T'sorkel follows Rar'gul around through the garden.
Hrog cautiously follows all of you. Reacting to Rar'gul's comment, he says "If I get in a scrap again, somebody's going down, and isn't getting up. I just hope it's not me."
You think he chuckles. But you're not sure.
-REGARDING THE OCTAGONAL ROOM-
This room, paneled in dark metal, contains
an open shaft, about five feet wide with a ladder on
each side. The ladders are narrow, as is the distance
between rungs.
Peering down the ladder, it appears to end up in a room some 30 feet below (though you need to continue another 20' to get to the floor).
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Lilly taps at her microlab and looks toward where she thinks Hrog stands. Seeing the plants move and hearing steps come closer, she scans the area.
The display fills with data on Hrog's biology, anatomy, and hormones. Confusion hangs from every feature on her face.
“That’s impossible… you should be my size... you can talk and think… you have reason… but you’re…”
Looking up from the display, she clearly sees Hrog coming toward them.
“… an Ikeshti Rivener... a massive Ikeshti Rivener,” she whispers to nobody.
the room, dropping down into an enormous octagonal space.
Two sets of bright purple lights alternate in this chamber,
creating constant, if pulsating, illumination. Four heavy
columns stand spaced evenly around the room. A niche in
the east wall contains a wire framework of gold and silver
anchored to a smoky crystal machine, connected to which is
a computer workstation. Two small humanoids lie crumpled
there in pools of blood. Small hemispherical nodules cover
the walls, and the floor is a gridwork of heavy metal grates.
The west wall has a series of large glowing rods running
floor to ceiling, each emanating a hum. An airlock door is set,
centered in the wall, between two of the glowing rods. Deep
gouges mark this door. You drop into the room relatively quietly. As you do, you notice a massive creature slowly moving about in one of the corners of the room.
John disappears down the shaft. Looking down, you all see pulsating purple light at the bottom of the shaft.
T'sorkel glances down the shaft. Well, it doesn't appear that anything ate him just yet. Who's next? The Shirren doesn't appear to be in any hurry to plunge down to the reactor.
Rar'gul waits for word from John, ready to drop down and check out the level below.
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John crouches by the ladder peering about the room. He whispers into his comm unit. "It be here. Or something big be. There be a control panel, some dead grays, some kind of power rods, and an airlock door. Looks like it's been scratching at the door. Start down the ladder. I'll tell you when to drop the last 10'."
John retreats carefully behind one of the pillars, and draws his pistol.
John relays his information.
It seems the beast that has left a trail a destruction all the way through this complex is here.
1. T'sorkel
2. John
3. Enemy Black
4. Beauregard
5. Dr. Flint-Bridge
6. Yariel
7. Rar'gul
8. Hrog
The Shirren holds back, waiting for the others. The idea of the reactor's radiation had already made him skittish, but now knowing there was a violent creature below too had him pause even longer.