Explore more.
(13) You attempt to get into those narrow passages, and successfully manage it. It's very mazey and hard to navigate, but soon you arrive at what appears to be another cave area. It's well lit by light stones and the surfaces appear to be smoothed, there are a few rock formations and on the other end of cave is another passage, smoothed as well.
You feel presence in an area, and soon you notice familiar dark blue-scaled creature, it's a snake, a snake of a pretty decent size and length. Snake stops still and starts staring at you, shortly you get telepathic message: "Go away".
Total essence loss for this turn: 120
"Hm. It looks like this sphere is attached to the walls! And I don't like it!"
Try to sever the strings with the starched cloth shiv, as many as possible. Keep an eye on the moving sphere.
(1) You swing your shiv around, trying to his light strings, you end up triggering one of strings instead by flailing around, sphere quickly moves in (RtD: 10-2+1) and you can't react in time, starting your dodge a bit too late, but due to your speed boost you almost dodge it, though almost is almost. The sphere hits you, knocking you back into the light rock surface of the sphere, and as it starts moving back to it's place some shockwave shatters most of light stone around as well as strings, though it didn't damages you. The place becomes noticeably darker and small sphere slowly falls.
Total essence loss for this turn: 340, Skill points acquired: Dabbling Dodger: +1
danger
The Shifter pulled out a claw-shaped device with four prongs - the Elemental Focus.
Use the Elemental Focus to emit a focused shockwave, severing as many strings as possible.
Make certain Ted Carver [Harry Baldman] isn't in the line of fire.
(16-1) You start focusing essence in your elemental claw as you get distracted by sphere suddenly moving and hitting Ted, you finish your focus and unleash pretty decent shockwave around. It shatters light stone surfaces around and severs most the light strings, you also manage to control shockwave a bit to not hit Ted. The rest of light strings simply disappears as area becomes darker. Small sphere starts slowly falling.
Total essence loss for this turn: 180, Skill points acquired: Novice Elementalist +2
Go back and collect light stones and put them in the missing spaces.
(17, 17) You quickly go back a bit till you see a couple of light stones on the ceiling, you attempt to pull them out and after a bit of time you get both. You return and place them into empty spaces, all light stones in circle start glowing stronger and soon space distorts a bit in the middle. The distortion becomes stronger bit by bit till it forms a passage through space.
Total essence loss for this turn: 140
Oh, well this is no good.
Backtrack quietly and take the right fork to meet up with K'ull. Perhaps he's found something of note. And if not, Zirg would rather not tangle with this beast and any kin around on his own.
(11+2-2) You quietly go back into passage, out of the cave area, hopefully that creature didn't noticed you. You decide to take other passage on the fork and soon arrive to what appears to be circle of ten glowing stones with space distortion in the middle and K'ull in front of it.
Total essence loss for this turn: 70, Skill points acquired: Dabbling Stealther +2
Pick a random passage and enter it.
(19+1(11+1)) You pick one of small passages and enter it, it's pretty mazey and not easy to navigate, but you manage to go through without much of a problem, soon you reach another cave area. It's well lit and surfaces of it are smoothed, there's a few rock formations and an passage at the other end of the room, which also has smoothed surfaces.
You see Kyle getting out of different narrow passage in the corner of the cave nearby and then you see a dark-blue scaled snake of decent size coming through smoothed passage, it stares at Kyle and don't seem to notice you due to rock formation inbetween.
Total essence loss for this turn: 60
Praet stares blankly (which is how it stares at most things, honestly) at the spot that it'd fired upon, before returning its rifle to its sling and turning.
"Got a bit spooked... But there's got to be something living somewhere around here, though..."
Continue moving on ahead, cautiously.
(Passage roll: 2) You go through the passage ahead, it goes rightways and then leftways, eventually leading to a small cave area with alot of vegetation and two more passages. One appears to end straight with dead end and a single light stone, another appears to be smoothed out somewhat. The area itself has an interesting rock formation that looks like an 'Y' in the middle, and it has a few light stones in it as well.
You briefly hear the vegetation movement around, but can't see anything suspicious.
Total essence loss for this turn: 70
Grab some of the rock and swim more.
(6) (Passage roll: 2) You attempt to grab some of that rock, but it appears to be very tough, but you barely manage to cut a small fragment of it, though you feel like you used a bit too much essence on an attempt. You then continue into passage, following Praet, you notice movement on walls, but it quickly disappears. Soon you arrive to small cave area that filled with vegetation. There are two more passages, one is very short and ends with dead end and light rock in middle from what you see, another one goes on normally and has smoothed walls. In the middle of an area is an 'Y'-like rock formation with a few light stones.
Total essence loss for this turn: 140, Item get: Unknown Rock Fragment x1
Stats:
Name: Ted Carver
Essence: 1900/2600
-Stats-
Consistency: 16
Locomotion: 18
Focus: 16
Emotion: 10
Inventory(Known Effects):
Starched Cloth Shiv(+2 to melee attack, minimal essence usage)
Studded Leather Armor Fragments(+2 to defense, additional +2 to defense if active but then uses essence)
Prismatic Kerchief(Can be used to distract target)
Colorless Fabric x10(Can be used in clothmaking, Permanently changes it's color when used on an colored object)
Skills:
Adequate Shapeshifter(3)
Adequate Light Armor User
Adequate Clothier
Novice Knife User
Dabbling Dodger(1)
Status effects:
Cloth Octopus(+1 to speed, +2 to locomotion, 30 essence/turn to support)
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #4 - Light Sphere
Name: The Shifter.
Essence: 1925/2500
-Stats-
Consistency: 15
Locomotion: 20
Focus: 15
Emotion: 10
Inventory(Known Effects):
Elemental Focus Claw(+4 to elemental attack, small essence usage)
Amulet of Shielding(+3 to defense)
Essence Focus Claw(When used increases focus at the cost of higher essence usage)
Metal Storage Sphere(Stores Metal, 5/50)
Skills:
Adequate Shapeshifter(2)
Adequate Metal Manipulator
Adequate Amulet User
Novice Elementalist(2)
Dabbling Dodger(2)
Status effects:
Shell(+1 to defense, -1 to locomotion, 25 essence/turn to support)
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #4 - Light Sphere
Name: Clair
Essence: 1610/2000
-Stats-
Consistency: 10
Locomotion: 20
Focus: 15
Emotion: 15
Inventory(Known Effects):
Dagger(+1 to melee attack, Additional +2 if attack is stealth attack, minimal essence usage)
Leather armour(+2 to defense, bonus to movement actions)
Lockpick(Bonus to dealing with locks when used, at the cost of essence)
Essence hiding potion x3(Can be used to make essence-originated item temporarily invisible, or for temporary stealth boost)
Unknown Rock Fragment x1
Skills:
Adequate Knife User
Adequate Stealther
Adequate Dodger
Novice Light Armor User
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #3 - Through Cave Area #2 Passage #2 - Small cave area
Name: Kyle Johnson
Essence: 1770/2200
-Stats-
Consistency: 12
Locomotion: 16
Focus: 16
Emotion: 16
Inventory(Known Effects):
Longbow(Uses arrows, effect depends on arrows, essence usage depends on arrows)
Essence arrow 10x(Essence charged arrows, +6 to attack, minimal essence usage)
Reinforced cloak with cowl(+2 to defense, bonus to stealth)
Grappling hook(Can be used to attract target to user, can be used to attract user to target, minimal essence usage)
Split arrow 4x(Essence charged arrows, +4 to attack, can attack multiple targets at once, small essence usage)
Light Stone(glowy and warm)
Skills:
Adequate Archer
Adequate Stealther
Adequate Light Armor User
Novice Grapple User
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #1 - Through Big Cave Small Passages - Entryway
Name: Praet - 047
Essence: 1790/2200
-Stats-
Consistency: 12
Locomotion: 20
Focus: 12
Emotion: 16
Inventory(Known Effects):
Essence Rifle(Essence charged, +6 ranged attack, less than moderate essence usage)
Armored Lieutenant Uniform(+4 to defense, penalty for movement and stealth)
Machinery Kit(Bonus to operating various machinery when used, at the cost of additional essence usage)
Scope(Weapon attachment, decreases target dodge rolls and defense rolls versus next attack of weapon at the cost of increased essence usage and speed penalty)
Skills:
Adequate Rifle User
Adequate Mechanic
Adequate Medium Armor User
Novice Dodger
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #3 - Through Cave Area #2 Passage #2 - Small cave area
Name: Zirg
Essence: 1870/2200
-Stats-
Consistency: 12
Locomotion: 14
Focus: 16
Emotion: 18
Inventory(Known Effects):
Zirg's Walkin' Stick(+2 to melee attack, minimal essence usage)
Flowing Robes(+2 to defense, decreases essence fading per turn a bit)
Oracle's Tome(Random information on a subject, moderate essence usage)
Essence Scroll x10(Unpredictable effect but don't uses essence)
Skills:
Adequate Bookmaster
Adequate Misc. object user
Adequate Writer
Novice Light Armor User
Dabbling Stealther(2)
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #2 - Right way - Not So Dead end
Name: Tedno of the Wastelands
Essence: 1720/2000
-Stats-
Consistency: 10
Locomotion: 24
Focus: 16
Emotion: 10
Inventory(Known Effects):
Kalinka(Essence charged, +2 to ranged attack, Can attack two different enemies at the cost of halved effectiveness, minimal essence usage)
Trenchcoat(+1 to defense, less than moderate bonus to movement actions)
Silver Bullet x1(+10 to ranged attack, returns in 10 turns, Less than moderate essence usage on return)
Quickdraw Potion x3(Allows to attack twice next turn at the cost of -1 to attack)
Skills:
Adequate Gun User
Adequate Dodger
Adequate Light Armor User
Novice Actor
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #1 - Through Big Cave Small Passages - Entryway
Name: K'ull Daweik
Essence: 2090/2500
-Stats-
Consistency: 15
Locomotion: 15
Focus: 16
Emotion: 14
Inventory(Known Effects):
Bone-saw(+4 to melee attack, chance to cause fear in target, small essence usage)
Surgical Mask(+1 to defense, reduces essence usage on medical actions a bit, small increase of medical actions effectiveness)
Syringe x20(Random positive effect on allies or random negative effect on enemies, can have opposite effects, small essence usage)
Essence Syringe(Can be used to restore essence of the target, or drain essence from the target, automatically filled in The Subspace, can't be used on user, 500/500)
Skills:
Adequate Saw User
Adequate Surgeon
Adequate Syringe User
Novice Light Armor User
Status effects:
None
Location: Beginning - Through Passage #2 - Right way - Not So Dead end