It is not difficult to put the ore in a sack or pouch. There is not much more than 2lbs of rock altogether.
"So we got a bag fulla fancy rocks now," Seoli crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently, "Should we get movin' again, or does this room have anythin' interestin' for those of us who aren't the metalworkin' types?"
"Yes. Let's move along. I can experiment with these ores when things are safer".
Karina agrees about moving around.
Scanning the surrounding area, Alpha-47 assents, "Indeed, let us keep moving,"
The small box under the table is made from similar metal of the floors and walls, but this is white. It has a double latch at the top but does not appear to be locked.
Raika will lift the box up, set it on the table, and look over it for any traps.
Raika gives the small case a thorough once-over, and is pretty definitively sure there are no traps on it.
Raika will open it and see what's inside.
Karina looks at the small box and facepalms, not having noticed it before.
The box opens easily enough. Inside are 3 wide-barreled pistols of a bright orange color. They appear to be loaded with a small charge inside a satchel-like covering that is stuffed into the wide-mouth barrel of each one. All the pistols seem scratched and dented, and its unclear if pulling the trigger would actually fire the thing -- or what it actually does if triggered.
Looking over Karina's shoulder into the box, "Interesting, what do you suppose they do? Though now might not be the best time to test them," Alpha-47 continues to watch the surroundings, "If I could feel worry, I would probably be starting to feel it right about now, the longer we delay the more likely it is that Khonnir baine is dead,"
"Ooooh. Interesting," Raika says, as she lifts one of the pistols and tucks it into her belt. "Given what we've seen here, this could be a nice backup option, if it works." If no one else wants to grab one of the other two, she closes the box and adds it to the group's treasure.
She's ready to move on.
"I have heard of such things, but never actually held one. Do you mind if I take one"?
Bahir takes another of the pistols.
"We should be very careful as these look old and damaged".
Bahir makes a CRAFT Check to determine anything useful about the discovery. (+4)
"Are those... guns?" Seoli furrows her brow and tilts her head in thought, "Why's someone keepin' a buncha guns in a room fulla rocks? ...And why'd they paint 'em all orange?"
She shakes her head, "Whatever, place is still weird," pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the door behind her, she changes the subject, "Anyway, can one of you guys with a card get this thing open?"
Karina tries her best to identify them, using the specialized skills she's gained.
"They seem to be operated like firearms regardless of their function, which I'm trying to identify. I'm not skilled in their operation, but I could get used to them if you need me to. Firearms are essentially crossbows with a ton of recoil. As for Bahir's comment... this entire place oozes as if it were some kind of ruin, yet-- firearms. I suppose that befits the throughline that nothing weird in Numeria is ever magical. It's like Alkenstar City itself crashed here."
Bahir is lost when it comes to these items. But, as the pistols are disseminated, Karina looks it over and determines that these are not exactly firearms, but pistols that fire a one-time chemical burning ammunition. The charges will burn brightly illuminating a wide area, but they are hard to target as a weapon, though it can be done Once fired, they will be useless, and though battered she expects they are still functional.
The double doors at the south of the geology lab open with a hiss, and the blood trail you followed into this room continues on the other side, ending abruptly at another set of doors on the west wall of a brightly lit set of hallways that make a large T shape. There are several other doors off these corridors as well, but the blood is only on the west door and floor leading to it. All the doors seem to have the brown chip which will allow you access with your brown key-card.
Karina repeats two words in Androffan, which Alpha recognizes as "flare guns", then resorts to Taldane since her knowledge is imperfect. "They are operated like firearms, but they aren't reusable, they illuminate a wide area, but... they won't work that well as a weapon. Best not to fire these unless we need to light an area or signal someone, since they aren't reusable."
After thanking Karina for the information about the pistol, Raika moves down the hallway to peek around the corner and see if she can see any creatures in the side hall. If she does, she drops back to the group, and if she does not, she waves them forward.
Alpha-47 watches the group fawn over the technological flare guns, thinking to himself, that he isn't so different from the battered technological devices really in a way. He continues to stand passively, waiting for Raika to continue her scouting.
Raika soon finds the hallway is empty of any creatures of any kind. The only distinguishing item, is the blood smears on the floor and door.
"A gun just for lightin' stuff up?" Seoli ponders, confusedly, "Why go through all the trouble of makin' somethin' like that when you could just light up a candle or lantern or somethin'? And if you needed to light somethin' up from far away, wouldn't you just get a caster to do it...?" she trails off, mumbling to herself.
She shakes her head, getting off of that train of thought, "Anyway, we're still followin' the blood, right? Lead the way."
"That's the thing, Seoli. Everything weird about Numeria? No magic, casters have tested it. Due to the f#~%ing League we can't investigate too much into the workings lest we get murdered, but it's fairly well recorded that this s%+! isn't magic. That's why no one understands it all." Karina says, a bit crasser than normal as she bashes the League, quite agitated at them clearly.
"Not everyone can use magic. Most people can't, and most people can't afford to hire one either. I can see this pistol being useful if someone is lost and hears rescuers yelling for them, to show where they are. It could be helpful on a ship at sea, or for many other uses, Raika opines before she adds. "Anyway, which door shall we check next?"
Joining Raola and Seoli in the hallway now that it has been determined to be safe, "This area still appears to be quite large. It appears the blood trail goes behind that door, perhaps we should follow it. Khonnir Baine is a human and his blood should be red, so this very well could be his blood or another humanoid type creature perhaps, still it is the best clue we've found in a while,"
Alpha-47 points to the East door, where the blood appears to be going.
"Looks to me like we should follow the blood trail".
He then looks at Efni. "Hey! Where are you going. We're going this way".
"Sis. You want to check this door before I open it".
Besides the blood smear, nothing seems out of place about the door itself. When the brown key-card is used, the doors slide open. Inside, metal desks sit to the north and south of this long room, yet the most distinctive features are a pair of odd, bed-like tables flanked by curving panels of blinking, pulsing lights. Moving armatures of metal extend out over the beds each outfitted with glowing panes of glass and strangely glowing tools. The chamber reeks of blood with great crimson stains splashed across the device, beds, and floor.
A single white shiny drone stands on the north end of the room, turning towards you as you enter the room. It appears to have hypodermic needles for fingers on one hand, and be made of some hard metallic substance. The drone speaks in a strange language as you enter.
Nodding, eyes closed, "Ahh it is a medical robot of some kind, if any of you are hurt still, it says if you lie down on the bed, I believe it will fix your ailments,"
"With how huge this place is I figured there woulda been a caster or two livin' here, but fair enough," Seoli nods in understanding at Karina and Raika, "Seems kinda excessive to kill people tryin' to figure out how these odd trinkets work."
As the door to the infirmary opens, she gazes at the bed surrounded in blood with concern, staring at Alpha incredulously when they paraphrase the robot's words, "Uh... I think I'll pass. You did a good enough job patchin' me up, and I don't really want somethin' with spikes for fingers tryin' to 'heal' me."
"I would trust it, if this place weren't literal ruins. Who knows if this thing still operates correctly."
The white metallic drone turns to face the group altogether. And continues to say, while ambulating slowly towards you.
The drone's head turns to look at you quizzically, but it waits a moment to see if you comply.
Looking at the others, and then to the robot, speaking back to it in Androffan
Looking back to the others, "I told the robot we are fine, it is becoming very insistent that one of us lies down on the table,"
The drone replies to Alpha, its tone never really changing but it gestures at Bahir who is nearest the entrance, striding towards him ever closer.
"'shot' is the only word I understood... wait, isn't something some weird alchemists use? That does NOT sound safe. For all we know we'll turn into animals!"
"You're not poking me with anything and if you try you might find my poker carries more threat".
"Intimidate +0
Looking from the robot, to the robots instruments and then to Bahir, "Bahir, it wishes to administer something to you, I would be cautious, there is no telling if the medicine it posses is still working after being down here for so long. That said it seems to be growing irate with our lack of receiving medical care,"