"Thanks, Rar'gul. A little to the right. Your right. Good." John studies the wires. Then clips two, strips the ends, and twists them together.
Rar'gul shifts his weight in the direction indicated. "No prrroblem," he rumbles, leaning into the vehicle until his companions finish their work.
"And we can always roll over them once we’re on the move. Speaking of which, let’s finish loading and get out of here.”
"Gcashwasg mci rcb'h ybck kvshvsf mci'fs sohwbu oddzs dws cf viapzs 'hwz othsf mci'js qfoqysr hvs qfigh," the trox quotes an obscure halfling addage in reply, hoping he understood the context correcty.
"Sometimes you don't know whether you're eating apple pie or humble 'til after you've cracked the crust"
Activating the environmental seals of his armour, Rar'gul makes his way toward the door to the exterior while the others power up the vehicles. "It might be worrth having a ccconverrsation beforre rrrunning them overr," he explains over comms.
Readying his hammer, he adds, "Of ccourrse, prroceed with Plan B should things head south."
You've all activated your armor's environmental protections, and just in time. The roll-up doors to the garage are going up! Standing outside is a single shirren.
As the door opens, T'sorkel spots the figure and sends out a psychic scream moments before he realizes this isn't gray.
Stay back! Who are you? He gets a better look and realizes it's a Shirren. You're Shirren! How did you get here?
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Pokotho scrambles backwards away from the strangers momentarily, nearly tripping over the dead Reptoid, the psychic shriek from T'sorkel still startling even if it did not terrify.
"Unmask!" he shouts in reply, dropping his concentration on the spirit locked within the roll-up door's console, and magically scrying into T'sorkel.
(Will Save DC:16 or any Disguise/Shapechange attempt is temporary removed to reveal true appearance. I presume this has no effect on T'sorkel other than confirming that he is not a Reptoid.)
Apprehensively keeping at a distance, Pokotho looks at the armed group, and then at the vehicles readied behind them, his best chance at escape from the area. I was abducted, he projects psychically and in Shirren, These Stewards are not at all who they appear to be, and we need to get somewhere safe. I am Pokotho, and I'm just a Priest of Hylax. Then, with an enthusiastic twitch of his mandibles that could only be interpreted as a grin, he looks past T'sorkel momentarily and gazes fondly on the Steward Cruiser. And that is one sweet looking ride. His antenna tingled with excitement with an urge to drive, his cultural obsession almost overwhelming his common sense.
T'sorkel gets a sense of deja vu as Pokotho casts his spell. He flashes back to a vision he had at the beginning of the day when he was viewing the Archive. He hadn't understood it in the morning, thinking that it was a memory of other Shirren, but now he realizes it's this moment and in a split second, he's able to defeat the spell through sheer willpower.
He looks down in alarm, not sure what Pokotho has done. Staring at the other Shirren for a moment, Beau shakes his out of it, and he draws his sonic suppressor on Pokotho. You heard him. No offense if you're telling the truth, but let's talk when we're out of here.
He pushes Pokotho into the back of the police cruiser, then climbs into the passenger seat, turning to keep holding his pistol towards the new Shirren.
Ok Beau, let's go!
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Pokotho obediently climbs into the rear of the vehicle without complaint, just grateful to put the Reptoid base in the rear view mirror.
"No need for guns," Pokotho assures them, "I've already been abducted twice this week. I know how it works." The Reverend settles into the back seat with his hands folded neatly in his lap. Then, leaning forward over the driver's shoulder, he starts obnoxiously giving little bits of advice as an overly chatty backseat-driver.
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"Gcashwasg mci rcb'h ybck kvshvsf mci'fs sohwbu oddzs dws cf viapzs 'hwz othsf mci'js qfoqysr hvs qfigh,"hoping he understood the context correcty.
Lilly barks a laugh as she climbs out of the cruiser.
“You’re so right, Rar’gul. Ah’ve eaten my share of both.”
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”Beau, you be with T'sorkel. Doc, take the other cruiser. I'll drive the truck.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lilly calls over comms.
Her fingers dance over the cruiser’s cockpit settings, and she finished strapping in as the controls glide into position for her.
So much nicer than when I learned to drive…
She puts the location for Terrapin Station into the nav system, starts the cruiser, and presses the screen’s “go” button.
“Let’s get out of this pit of reptilian insanity and find out what they’re up to. Here we goooo!!”
Flanking T'sorkel as the garage door rolls up, Rar'gul stands at the ready, his hammer held before him in both massive hands. The end of a staff strapped to his back juts above a broad shoulder, embossed with the shirren's head crest of Hylax.
Watching closely as the shirrens converse, the trox is on the alert for any signs of trickery. Unfamiliar with the shirren language, he is surprised to recognise some words in their discussion - Pokotho and Hylax. He also notices the stranger wears the vestments of a priest of Hylax beneath their well-worn armour. Still, that meant nothing around these parts.
With little time for more than a surprised raising his brows and exchanging meaningful glances with his companions, Rar'gul waves the shirren past and heads toward the truck.
"All set," he rumbles to John as he clambers aboard, hand thumping the side of the vehicle in the universal signal for Let's Ride!
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Pokotho winces as he hears John use the radio. "We might want to consider radio silence," he cautions the others, [b]"My computer spirit told me that comm signals route through Terrapin Station. But if that's our best shot at getting off this rock, given what we've seen so far, we might not necessarily want them to know that we're coming."
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John’s voice lights up the cruiser’s radio as Lilly pulls her vehicle into line.
The banter she heard as a kid on the long-haul pilots’ channels echoes into her mind. The words and strange phrases meant something among the pilots, but she rarely understood. It was all mysterious fun... laughing as the voices argued about desserts and drinks at stations she’d never heard of and calling themselves colorful things like Damprock Nightmare and Chrome Diatha.
She triggers the wheel-mounted mic switch and tries for a pithy reply.
“Uh…,” she begins. Off to a great start there, hon.
“You’re, um, five by five… and, uh… blowing my seals… uh, loose. This is…”
Oh crap... name! You need a code name! You could be…um… little... oh, crap, no... uh... got it!
”This is Pointy Dee... in your back door.”
Pointy Dee... the doc with all the needles... I like that. I should put that on my gear cases.
A voice in her head interrupts her happy moment.
”My computer spirit told me that comm signals route through Terrapin Station. But if that's our best shot at getting off this rock, given what we've seen so far, we might not necessarily want them to know that we're coming.”
She frowns at the warning from the Shirren the team just ‘adopted’.
“Computer spirit?” ”Given what we’ve seen so far?” Who is this Shirren? What have we gotten ourselves into?
Your convoy of vehicles exits the base just as additional warning klaxons begin sounding, indicating increased levels of radiation. Other warnings indicated that the reactor will reach critical mass in 20 minutes.
Piloting your vehicles, you make appreciable distance from the base when there is a bright flash followed by an enormous rumble. A mushroom cloud emerges from the horizon, indicating that Tyralkis Base is no more.
T'sorkel turns back around to help John navigate out of the base and watch for threats. When the explosion goes off, the Shirren turns to look at it. Oh my stars! Look at how big that explosion is! Everyone, keep going! Who knows what secondary explosions might get triggered!
He turns back to the newcomer. Ok, start talking. What did you say your name was? Pokotho? Again, what were you doing at the base? You said you were abducted. By who? From where? As he has from time to time, T'sorkel seems oddly confident in his questioning. Even though you know he's just a student, he suddenly seems like he has the air of a trained investigator.
Shortly after the explosions that end Tyralkis Base, you approach a massive lava flow that complicates your passage. As if this isn't enough, several huge herd animals mill about the area directly in front the narrowest portion of the lava flow.
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Having already magically scanned T'sorkel for shapechanging and deception, Pokotho was more trusting, at least with the other Shirren. Pokotho opened his thoughts and began to weave a tale of the past several days that sounded uncannily similar to their own experiences, beginning when he left his congregation on Nchak on a journey of self-discovery, flying on a ship known as the Chimera. Mystery and intrigue pulled Pokotho and some of the other passengers into an unraveling conspiracy, until they eventually discovered that the Chimera did not even truly exist, with each of them having been abducted and experimented upon in a Gray simulation, almost certainly the same program that T'sorkel had experienced. Pokotho and the others fought their way through the Gray ship, though the others never truly made it off the ship, and only Pokotho was able to survive to an escape pod before the ship was destroy. Left adrift in space, he was picked up by Stewards whom brought him here, but Pokotho's well-earned paranoia eventually resulted in him uncovering their ruse and struggling to escape.
The story was close enough to T'sorkel's own that it suggested a conspiracy larger and deeper than Pokotho had initially imagined. Pokotho's shared memories were interrupted, however, as they came upon the lava flow and the herd of strange beasts.
"On the left," he blurted out, "Your other left. Now punch it. Look out!" The Shirren's obnoxious backseat driving was a little irritating, but at least well-intentioned and slightly helpful.
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T'sorkel turns back around to help John navigate out of the base and watch for threats. When the explosion goes off, the Shirren turns to look at it. Oh my stars! Look at how big that explosion is! Everyone, keep going! Who knows what secondary explosions might get triggered!
Even shielded by the truck's bulk, John's eyes close to save themselves from the flash. When he opens them a moment later, they flick to the view of the rising cloud in his mirror. No place be more deserving of that fate. John's cheeks draw back slightly in a small smile and he doesn't need T'sorkel's urging to press the accelerator.
John slows when they reach the molten river. "Those beasts have the look of head-butters. They may be aggressive. Can we just skirt them?"
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The explosion’s reflection in the cruiser’s mirrors illuminates Lilly’s face, but her eyes don’t leave the path ahead.
A tear rolls down her cheek.
Goodbye, Breez. We could’ve been really bad for each other in the best possible way. I’ll make them pay for that... for every moment we lost...
She catches a glimpse of lava ahead and a massive thing -- er things -- moving near it.
Animals? Here??
John slows when they reach the molten river. "Those beasts have the look of head-butters. They may be aggressive. Can we just skirt them?"
You ascertain that you may be able to drive around the beasts, but you would be crossing the lava flow at a wider point.
Beau reaches out his hand and closes his eyes, the lava flow ahead of the cars seems to gltich as if they were in a malfunctioning HAC. The lava flow ahead of them turns black-and-white for a moment and seems a lot cooler.
The explosion’s reflection in the cruiser’s mirrors illuminates Lilly’s face, but her eyes don’t leave the path ahead.
A tear rolls down her cheek.
Goodbye, Breez. We could’ve been really bad for each other in the best possible way. I’ll make them pay for that... for every moment we lost...
She catches a glimpse of lava ahead and a massive thing -- er things -- moving near it.
Animals? Here??
[Dice=Life Science to identify]1d20 + 15
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Pokotho looks at the precarious lava flow of jutting rocks and glowing magma, dangerous obstacles which for him seemed infinitely exciting to race through. Yet, having also been victim to both the Grays and the Reptoids, he understood there was no way his captors were about to let him drive. With regrets, he closed his eyes and meditated upon the area, telepathically reaching out to the beasts around them with soothing tones to reduce the tension.
Riding with some small comfort in the back of the truck, Rar'gul sits with his back against the rear of the cab as he watches Tyralkis Base slowly recede as John puts distance between them and the place of their recent confinement.
The trox is forced to turn away from the blinding flash of light, shielding his eyes with one arm while holding tightly to the truck with the other in an effort to not be thrown from the borrowed vehicle as the ground bucks beneath them.
By the time his vision clears, a distant fiery glow and pillar of smoke are the only signs of Tyralkis Base ever existing. "Kkeldunet's trriumph!" Rar'gul breathes.
John slows when they reach the molten river. "Those beasts have the look of head-butters. They may be aggressive. Can we just skirt them?"
The trox stands, turning to look across the roof of the truck's cab to see what John has spotted. "Hnn," he grunts in agreement. "Don't lookk likke they'd be interrested in eating us, but prrobably best not to spookkk them."
The trox uses his vantage point to try and help pick a safe way forward.
T'sorkel reels from the mental imagery and onslaught of memories from Pokotho. He has performed a mindlink many times before, but the uncertainty of the Shirren's identity and the odd perspective of another Chimera simulation disorients him. Feeling the familiar sense of paranoia with a sense of isolation, T'sorkel finds Pokotho's hard and grabs it, initiating his own mindlink with the Shirren.
T'sorkel tries to help John find a safe way across the field. If one gets too close, I should be able to scare it away.
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“They’re lava striders,” Lilly says into the comms. “They can be a bit skittish, but they aren't a problem unless they get spooked. Going around them would work, but that’s a bunch of extra driving near lava. Who’s good with normal animals?”
She chuckles at the phrase “normal animals” as it comes out of her mouth. Not so long ago, most of the animals I knew counted as normal.
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Sheepishly Pokotho raises his hand. "I'm pretty good at keeping things calm," he timidly responds, "If we want to stop for a minute, I can probably guide them out of our way. The last thing we want to do is ruin this sweet, sweet ride."
Pokotho's mandibles twitch together eagerly as he looks at the cruiser's controls. He can drive, but he can work animals almost just as well.
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Livestock should be penned, butchered, and served hot, not roaming the surface of the biosphere.
John listens to the chatter and considers the newcomer's offer. Unless Pokotho can make the lava striders attack, there's no downside to their offer. And even if they can, the team's concentrated firepower could put them down before things got too out of hand.
"That be a fine offer. I think we should take him up on it."
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When the group slowed the cruiser to a halt a short walk away from the herd, Pokotho exited and approached the animals, one hand extended and openly broadcasting soothing white noise through his telepathy. "Easy there. Easy. We're not going to harm you," he offers in soft tones, "The Forever Queen admires the way you hold together as a herd and operate with collective purpose. You are not so different from ourselves. We wish you peace and safety."
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Lilly watches the group’s new addition — What's their name? Pokeno? Poketho? I really need to learn that if they survive this encounter — calmly approach the lava striders.
She scans the terrain for an easy getaway route if the Shirren’s play goes sideways, but she knows that she’ll try to save them first if that happens.
They seem to be doing okay so far… maybe this’ll work after all.
It's ok everyone. T'sorkel sends psychically to the group. I've seen his memories and they're real. He was abducted too and put through the same Chimera simulation. But the rest of his crew died. They never made it out with him.
He stands back watching Pokotho try to calm the animals.
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Coaxing the lava striders back from the narrow passage, Pokotho slowly steers the herd out of the path of his new allies, waving them through as the way becomes clear. The heat of the lava causes his carapace to molt and peel and he wipes the moisture from his brow, nervously making his way through on foot to rejoin the others on the far side... should they survive.
"Forever Queen in Holy Places," he prays, "I know I haven't been the most obedient servant. I still do not promise to submit to your will, but protect these people anyway. They have suffered enough pain and hardship already."
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With the lava striders calmed and the ground firmed, Lilly follows John across the lava field.
Despite the danger -- or maybe because of it -- her mind wanders a moment and catches a memory of Breez's smile. A tumble of fresh tears pour into her eyes. She wipes a gloved hand across her face, pausing long enough to rub her eye with the heel of her left hand.
The cruiser suddenly lurches over a rock and bottoms out on the uneven terrain. Lilly grabs the wheel tighter and fights to maintain control.
Dammit. Not the time, not the time right now. Hold it together, Lills. C'mon... driving first, then revenge. Then mourning when your life isn't in danger.
Dr. Flint-Bridge is at first surprised by the thermal updrafts from the streaming lava, but soon has her vehicle under control.
John is also able to make it across, but his truck takes a small amount of damage from one quick kiss of the lava when over corrects.
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Pokotho winces as he watches the truck take a splash of lava, grimacing painfully at the damage to the beautiful vehicle. "Oh, baby," he says sympathetically, "You don't deserve to be treated like that."
Gently directing the Lava Striders away, Pokotho clears the path for his new allies, trying to remain calm while they pilot through the dangerous terrain.
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Pokotho gets a stupid idea, his curiosity taking control of him. Subtly approaching the lava striders again, he nears the herd, and then abruptly tries to mount and ride one.
Getting kicked off immediately, he startles the herd into a makeshift stampede. Racing back towards the cruiser where Beau and T'sorkel are hesitantly waiting in front of the lava field, debating which of them will drive through the hazardous path, it is the panicking priest running at full speed who makes the decision for them. "Time to leave!" Pokotho shouts, flinging open the driver's door of the cruiser and diving in behind the wheel, with or without permission.
Grinding the cruiser into gear, he takes off like a shout, howling with excitement as he ramps a rocky outcropping and begins bouncing them through what clearly looks like the most dangerous path possible.
Driving with a cool calm, shifting breaks and screeching the car practically sideways as he avoids hazards and navigates the pass.
T'sorkel jumps into the vehicle with Pokotho. He quickly sends a message to the rest of the group. Don't worry, I'll watch him. The Shirren screeches as the cruiser takes off.
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Lilly glances into the mirrors to check on the last car. Her eyes get very, very wide for a moment.
I must be seeing things… that can’t… no way…
She triggers comms. “Beau, did that Poke-hotshot just try to RIDE one of those lava striders? And now he’s driving?”
She shakes her head. If I make it through this, I’m writing a vid series about it…
Though the journey is harrowing at times, you all manage to make it over the lava flow, avoiding the large lava striders as you do (though Pokotho does manage to annoy a fair number of them as you make your final exit).
You continue across the blackened fields of rock vaguely toward Terrapin Station, where you hope to find a ship to get you off of this moon.
Up ahead you see A black dome nearly 20 feet across rising from Varos’s
surface, just beyond some patches of bubbling yellow mud.
Technological junk is piled near a slight downward slope.
T'sorkel places a hand on Pokotho's shoulder. Slow down. Look, we're getting close.
He buzzes in response to John's concern about the crust not holding the weight of the vehicles. Does anyone know what that yellow stuff is? Doc, could it be dangerous?