Wrixx shifts down a bit to get a better line of sight on the second gremlin. "I concur." He holds out his hands, letting sparks gather between his long fingers before lobbing them at the creature above them.
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"Or that could work I suppose," Wrixx says. "I'll just... stay out of the way then."
Wrixx squints, but doesn't see the wire until Anna points it out to him. "Ah, I see it. I can keep clearing the way, as long as there aren't any more of those things lurking around."
Wrixx nods. "There wasn't much point in disarming the trap if we're not actually going through there."
Wrixx grumbles over the quality of the trap a bit as he carefully unhooks the wire, trying to avoid setting it off by accident. Then he hears Anna's warning and looks up. "I think I'm done. I think frontlining enemies is your schtick." He steps back to let the Kellid come forward.
"Ah, now we're coming to something that I'm quite skilled at." The ratman scampers forward and digs out his pouch of thieves' tools to deal with the trap.
"If anyone knows how dangerous small people can be, it's me," Wrixx jokes as they head to the entrance to the tunnel.
"While killing isn't exactly my first priority," Wrixx says. "I see no reason to pick a fight with a group willing to be peaceful. If that involves killing some less friendly locals, I'm happy to help out."
"Very nicely done, Croudh," Wrixx murmurs softly as the gnome manages to negotiate a compromise with the strangers. He falls silent, not wanting to interject and confuse the issue.
Hey guys. I'm making a quick post in all of my games to tell people that I'm going on vacation early tomorrow morning and will be away for a week. I should still have internet access and will try to post in the evenings or if I have free time, but if I post more slowly than usual or seem to miss a day or something, it's just because I'm away and probably busy.
Wrixx sighs and rubs his eyes. "I question why provoking a group that is willing to treat peacefully and has already had trouble with the previous groups that came through here puts us in a better position. Especially when we know very little yet."
Wrixx taps his fingers together and glances at the strange beings. "Don't stray too far away," he says after a moment. "You never know what might happen."
Wrixx cocks his head at the strange figures in front of them. He's never seen someone with skin like a humanoid chameleon. "Who is your leader?" he asks carefully. "And why do they want to see intruders?"
"I suppose I am one of the best sneaks after all," Wrixx jokes. "Alright, I'll go ahead then."
"I like tricks, but we don't actually know who they are yet. Perhaps we should poke ahead a little further and try to learn more before picking a fight. The fewer surprises we have to deal with, the better."
Wrixx frowns slightly and his ears perk up. "I hear it too. Not a language that I've heard before though. We should be cautious. Whoever they are might not be the most friendly of sorts."
"Oh, I remember these. Some of these were always packed in with whatever cargo we were carrying. They use them as a power source for a lot of the technical equipment around here when they actually work." He pokes at one of the disks in Era's hand. "I don't think these do though. Still, might as well hang on to them. They're still worth a bit."
"Give me just a moment," Wrixx says "There might be something useful buried in all this scrap." He takes a quick look through the pile and glances at the mural on the wall.
Wrixx blinks a few times as his sight starts to return and he can finally see again. "Yes, I believe so. Much better." Wrixx chuckles awkwardly at Era's question. "Well, I can see in the dark, so I never really learned."
The ratfolk's head turns vaguely in her direction. "Ah. Well, I'm not all that strong really. So I try to keep myself as light as possible, especially since I usually work on a boat. It's much easier to shrug off a coat if I need to shed a little waterlogged clothing than it is to drag a shirt off over my head or unbutton one. And it's nice to feel with wind on my fur when we're sailing down river."
"Is that the origin story your people tell of the sky metals?" Wrixx asks, sounding legitimately curious. His head cocked toward the sound of the gnome's voice as he focused on the words and not the fact that he was still blind.
"A little help would be appreciated," Wrixx says, sounding rather chagrined.
"If what I remember is correct," the ratman says slowly, reaching out with one hand to find a wall to lean against. His paw gropes blindly at the air for a few moments as he stumbles around to find what he seeks. "It should only last an hour or so. But we have little we can do about it now other than wait for our sight to return."
"Well, it seems you've got this relatively well in hand. Let's see if I can't do a little to help." Wrixx wiggles his fingers and sparks shoot off the ends toward the glowing creature. Unfortunately, the sparks merely flicker against the ground and do little to the target.
Wrixx throws up his hand to shield his eyes just in time to avoid the bright glare blinding him. He then falls back to safety behind the much burlier warrior types. "I think it's still spoiling for a fight."
"Blindheim!" Wrixx calls out as he falls back a pace and raises his hands, blue light dancing around his fingertips. "Their eyes can be blinding if you look directly into them, but they're not actually very... bright. They're animalistic and have only a rudimentary language using their eyes flashing, but they can be moody and nasty if they're provoked. If it decides we're too much of a danger, it will just douse the glow and run. Some other underground dwellers use them as distractions, so watch your back." He raises a hand and a single flickering spark of electricity jumps from his finger tips, arcing over the warriors to slam into the creature's chest.
Oh, no, I get it. I guess I'm just trying to make him feel like a different character than Wrixx. I don't want them to just be basically the same kind of guy. Honestly, one of the easiest ways to handle him that I could see was to just have had him sign up with one of the previous expeditions and having gotten killed. Or have a Technic League stooge grab him, in which case he's probably in a dungeon in Starfall, or wherever they keep prisoners, assuming they didn't just kill him.
Wrixx shakes his head. "The most basic supply an adventurer can have. I should have known. Perhaps you should hold on to one of those. You and... Anna, yes? Will likely be taking the brunt of the fire."
I don't see any issues with Wrixx. I still need to finish his partner. Or at least give the guy a name...
Wrixx takes one of the vials and mutters a word under his breath. The strange silvery specks in his eyes seem to grow brighter for a moment as he examines the potions. "This seems familiar but I don't recognize this specific mixture."
Wrixx taps his chin thoughtfully. "One of the bands of people who came down here poking around were some local toughs, right? Perhaps this Garmen was interested in what could be found down here and sent them. If there's anything unusual down here, powerful people would probably like to know."
Wrixx straightens a little bit as they enter into the next chamber, though he hadn't needed to crouch all that much to begin with. It was quite convenient to be short some days. "Called it," Wrixx says with a shake of his head. "Do be careful. We don't know if there's anything else in the water."
"I doubt they're going to be the last one we find dead in here," Wrixx says with a sigh as he hurries to keep up with the party.
"And wound up dead for that matter," Wrixx says, glancing forward at the corpse. "It must have been one of the things lurking down here. Let's take care not to end up like that." His eyes dart around the chamber, checking for signs of ambush.
Wrixx sticks close to the group, hauling himself up onto the next ledge as they move deeper into the cavern.
Wrixx shakes himself again and moves forward, sticking a bit closer to the middle of the group. "Always good to have some reliable muscle."
The ratfolk shakes himself, splattering a little water from his fur onto the cavern floor. "I think I can see straight again. I just hope there's nothing more like that. Otherwise the rest of this little job is going to be miserable." He groans and looks around. "Don't let me hold us up any further. I can at least walk."
Wrixx drags himself out of the water and dry heaves a few times, his stomach rolling. "Ugh. And we have to swim out through that too..." He gags again and doubles over. "Give me a minute please."
"Thank you kindly Father. We'll do our best not to go missing." He wrinkles his nose at the pool and quickly pulls out a handkerchief to stuff his nose before he gets any closer. If he's going to go into that, at least he's not going to smell it at the same time. He huffs a little and starts to wade into the water. He had always preferred to be above the water, rather than in it, but there was no helping it.
"Not far at all," Wrixx says, stroking his chin. "I just hope the smell washes out. Fur seems to hold the worst smells sometimes." He adjusts his coat and nods to the priest. "But lead the way. No reason to put this off."
Wrixx nods to the priest. Or the man he assumes is a priest at least. "Indeed. Ah, Wrixx, a pleasure to meet you." He offers a hand and a small smile to the older man.
Wrixx probably rolls his eyes right back, but it's hard to tell with his pure black orbs. "I was under the impression that warriors of skill were capable of moderating their strength. Or have I been misinformed?" The ratfolk sighs and straightens his coat. "But I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to smash things later."
"You could have taken care of it with a bit less vigor," Wrixx says as he absently wipes a little oil from his hands. "Even if it's just for learning how to kill them better, remains that aren't completely smashed are usually easier to examine. That being said, it doesn't show any signs of anything unusual other than the existing damage that I could see, so I suppose we are done here. Now, don't we have somewhere else to go before we go splunking? That other councilor or whoever they were?" He nods his head to the young kellid girl. "It was a pleasure to meet you Val. We'll do our best to find Khonnir, and try to keep you informed to anything interesting that happens."
Wrixx spends a few minutes pawing over the robot, but he can't seem to find much of use. "Well... it probably doesn't like electricity. And it's got some weak points, so that's always good. But I've never seen something quite like this before. Curious." He blinks and looks back at Val, having nearly missed what she was saying while he was working. "Oh, yes. Fal asked us to help out looking for this missing fellow, Khonnir. And to investigate the underground."
"Well, I guess that's taken care of. Let's see if there's enough left of it to get an idea what the hell it was." Wrixx nods to the kellid girl as she comes out of hiding. "You must be Val. A pleasure to meet you. Please call me Wrixx, a recent associate of Fal's. Pardon my shortness, but I'd like to take a look at the machine before it gets any more beat up."
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