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[Sir Knight]

(Though it does seem something of a vampirical process, if it does as advertises. Or something more carrionesque, so somewhat Gnoll-like?)

You totally meant "ghoul-like."  I hope.

Anyway, yeah, it'll just be you and your fellow looter.  This will become a somewhat long "turn," as I write the results of all these complicated actions, and the two in hot pursuit of the enemy will be a distance away.

[Starver]

My sort-of-simile is somewhat afflicted by the Discworld variety of Gnolls (scavengers, probably with a conceptual history in the Shoosuva who are Ghoul+Gnoll-like), and yet the later-version D&D Gnolls as were-Hyena (spotted hyenas may be mainly predators, but striped ones are overwhelmingly carrion-eaters), as opposed to the semi-redundant gnome-troll earlier incarnations, gives quite a lot of flexibility too in pandering to the image I was after

But I'll accept "ghoulish" as a replacement, in my OOC thoughts, if only because more people probably know what I would have meant by Ghoul than likely do by Gnoll, as technically inaccurate as both of them may be even in my mind, compared with what my mind's eye was envisaging.


Thank you for watching today's edition of "So what on Earth is Starver talking about, today?". We'll be back tomorrow with yet another amazing programme in the series that explains and dissects semi-non-sequiturs and failed analogies that make no obvious sense. So remember to set your VCR timers, whether VHS, Betamax or Video2000! All the brands!

[Sir Knight]

Previous -- Next

Okay, then I suppose we're just an update or two away from heading off to destiny.  (I mean the tunnel.)  Time to split.

Spoiler: Soulshine lantern (click to show/hide)

Overseer had earned 4 points of level-up HP.  Every point has half a chance of being drained away by the lantern.

Soulshine results: 1, 0, 0, 1 = 2 HP!

Now I roll down all the people present until I exhaust the points.

John's results: 1 = +1 to current and maximum HP!
Dwain's results: 1 = +1 to current and maximum HP!

. . . Just as with last time, that came out absolutely perfectly.

Distractions, distractions.  Dustan and Alyssa Alpine vanish down the tunnel, intent on catching the hoarding wastrels wherever they may go.  The enemy has quite a lead; you can barely hear them in the distance by now.  Tracking skills, indeed, may matter.

Left behind (of their own choice), Dwain and John continue on the apparently-lifeless camp.  John begins removing possessions from all of the deceased.  It becomes obvious you're going to fill an entire wheelbarrow, so to start you toss a few items--a couple of damaged tunics plus Overseer's waterskin and backpack--into the other one.

Dwain takes notice of the soulshine lanterns in that pack.  You recall hearing these hawked in the markets of Rock Bottom.  Hmm . . .

You take one lantern and put it near the resting place of the "abbot."  Peering into the chamber where there would be a candle, you see a cloud roiling as if by magic!  The lantern seeks the power of the soul!  You strike it with a spark, and teal flares brightly around you!

Strange ethereal forces flow from the body, and, like an overfed furnace, the entire lantern is lost to sight in the glow.  As it fades to nothingness, you feel strengthened; a last gift from the departed.  But "given," or "taken?"  Ah, moral quandaries.  In any case, John is nearby at this point, and he is bolstered by the same force of strength.

That handled, Dwain gets up and cautiously explores around the northeast part of the building.



Some sort of living area?  Barely roofed over; how could anybody sleep in a space like this?  You see some tables that probably were recently vacated, what with your arrival a few minutes ago, and more loose objects just lying on the ground: mining picks, and more meat, and more glass vials.  Complete slobs here.

. . . You have moved all objects that you told me to move.  Next?

[ziizo]

Grab the glass vials then if Dwain agrees grab a wheelbarrow and follow the others

[Sir Knight]

. . . And with that, his response will be the only one I need!  Back tomorrow, then.

[Starver]

Yes, but in taking my route back, I shall skirt round the other way (as it seems to do so) to at least force you to draw a final partial map before we exit, and who knows what I may reveal/get ambushed by?

[FallacyofUrist]

My spirit lives on in the ones I called my allies. Stay with them. Guide them in the way.

[Sir Knight]

My spirit lives on in the ones I called my allies. Stay with them. Guide them in the way.

Oh, you people continue to amuse me.  It is mirthful.

Sadly, my answer is the same as it was last time: I don't yet have any mechanic for "ghosts," especially when I encourage players to revive themselves via the waitlist.  Given your spiritual past, I will keep it in mind; but I don't promise anything.

And I will update once I've done certain other necessary tasks!  Like getting out of this chair for the first time today.

[Sir Knight]

Previous -- Next

Quick little moment in time:

John picks up the vials.  Some of them have splashes of water in them, like they were being used as waterskins and were partially drunk.  Well, that's even more "ew"--if you wanted that, all the waterskins you took are full anyway--and you shake the things dry at arm's length before adding them to your stocks.

Dwain finishes a circuit of the building, coming around to the side where the dripwater had accumulated.



First you pass by a large central area housing the forge you witnessed through the wall.  Ah yes, the source of the magenta glow you'd been seeing this whole while.  Say . . . they wouldn't happen to have anything interesting from their labors, would they?  Perhaps any magenta rocks lying about that you could snag on your way out?  There's some sort of store space in the back; you see loose rocks and finished metal bars both . . .

Second, there's one last little sleeping area.  More meat on the ground.  Some weapons, too--hey, those are sickles.  That's weird.  These don't seem like the sort of people to harvest grains, do they?

Some notes on the imagery.  It says "Fresh air" at the bottom because that's the best place on the map I found to print it, but the whole area is open-air.  Also, though I've already put the glass vials from the east into the wheelbarrow, I persisted in drawing John (ziizo) in the east because this allowed me to give you perspective on the map.  You have now seen every room in the camp.

[Starver]

Sickles, and I may have missed your prior mention of rush-like plants by the water (it was... hectic at the time, I'll go back in a moment to re-read). I imagine a link.

Based upon this, I should take a sickle and see about the plants (and vial, near the sickle), before moving on, but first call out "Brother John - further vials, and more besides", (sorry, giving you the onus on whether to tarry longer in looting).

Thence help in the final phase of looting or start at last to push a barrow, in concensus with my colleague.

[ziizo]

Alright Finish looting then pick the wheelbarrows and (once Dwain finish using the plants) follow the others path.

Leave the meat but take the rocks, metal bars and if possible the weapons./b]

[Starver]

(Aha, you did mention the Cavereed, Mr Mod. I sit re-enlightned.)

[Sir Knight]

take the rocks, metal bars and if possible the weapons.

( . . . Finally.  I'd only told you people that there was glowstone to loot here as soon as you arrived!)

take a sickle and see about the plants

When you say "see about," I interpret it to mean you want information.  Which is fine: that's what I'd gladly give you.  I'm just checking.

(And I'll be back tomorrow!  -Ish.  Tomorrow might be busy.  And then, when you leave, I'll want to do a great big update too.)

[Sir Knight]

Previous -- Next

I'm ready, but there will be a lot to handle afterward.

Spoiler: Inspiration?  Observation?  Thinkitude? (click to show/hide)

Dwain's insight roll: 2, Fail!

John's insight roll: 4, Succeed!

Dwain gets to thinking.  You take up one of the iron sickles--you know, casually set there in the dust like you do with your valued farm equipment--and walk to the dripwater.  The flowing water feeds cavereed, just as you'd seen it in Rock Bottom and near the Halfway House, and here the clumps of reed are thick with grain to harvest.  Just look at the sickle: it is dented and scratched like you wouldn't believe!  These hoarding wastrels must get a lot of use out of their agriculture, hey?

John gets to shuttling the obvious goods back and forth.  The wheelbarrows are soon at capacity.  You are forced to empty the waterskins you got from the hoarding wastrels in order to drop some weight; but that's alright, you had no idea if you could trust the water anyway.  You also cram the various vials into your own pack and take Overseer's old waterskin as well.

But with that!  Ah, you can load up on glowstone, lots of coal, iron bars . . . even a stack of workstone bars!  Nice!

Spoiler: Inventory of the second group's wheelbarrow, just so you can see (click to show/hide)

Wheelbarrow (iron, surface wood): 90/90 kg capacity
--Damaged tunic (wall tiger leather): 6x 4 kg
--Damaged tunic (unidentified leather): 4 kg
Enemy using blunt attack adds Fail
--Cultist hood (wall tiger leather): 9x 1 kg
Avoid "missing helmet while underground" penalty
--Mace (iron): 2 kg
You add Succeed; blunt
--Dagger (iron): 7x 1 kg
Butcher animals; you avoid unarmed penalty; sharp
--Scaled turkey leather: 4 kg tanned hide
--Wall tiger leather: 4 kg tanned hide
--Unidentified leather: 3x 4 kg tanned hide

Waterskin (standing jellyfish leather): 9x 0 kg by themselves
--[All empty]

Backpack (surface leather): 2 kg, 7/40 kg capacity
--Food, four days: 4x 1 kg
--Blanket (surface fabric): 2 kg
--Soulshine lantern (etherstone): 1 kg
Everyone who shares the light of this lantern has a chance to siphon the level-up HP of a recently-deceased person; one use

Backpack (scaled turkey leather): 2 kg, 13/40 kg capacity
--Chisel and hammer (iron): 1 kg
Carve sculptures and engrave stone
--Horrifying mass of rotten and unidentified meat: 1 kg
--Scaled turkey bones: weight 1 kg for several (3x)
--Opal: 2x 5 kg rough stone

Spoiler: And the third group's wheelbarrow--note that the first group's has been stolen (click to show/hide)

Wheelbarrow (iron, surface wood): 90/90 kg capacity
--Damaged tunic (wall tiger leather): 2x 4 kg
--Iron: 4x 10 kg metal bars
--Coal: 8x 3 kg rough stone
--Glowstone: 3x 4 kg rough stone
--Workstone: 6 kg metal bars

You cast about the forge for something else to grab in one final load.  What of the furnace area itself, still glowing with the fires of glowstone?  What were these wastrels working when you arrived, anyway?

Looks like . . . they were melting down iron skull caps.  Skull caps?  What?  They don't wear metal caps; not that you've seen.  Wait a minute; you've faced iron sickles and skull caps once before.  The hoarding wastrels got this stuff from the ugly mugs.  They stole it.  The hoarding wastrels are thieves.

. . . Oh, eurgh, and what about the "meat"?  Is it scaled turkey after all, or is it ugly mug for dinner?!  You become acutely aware that your team has only enough food for one more night, while you are surrounded by meat that is not only unappetising, it may very well be inhuman to eat.  You need to get back to civilization as soon as you can.

And so, with a signal to Dwain, you pack up to leave.  Quickly.

John (ziizo): I already put the other sickle into your backpack.  But there were two mining picks, and you said to take "weapons": do you want those mining picks in your backpack?  With that you will be at maximum capacity (just like the wheelbarrows are).

Everybody: We're almost ready to go.  Any final instructions?

What I'm going to do next is a double update, covering what happens when you head down that tunnel and reach the next area.  This will also involve camping: can I assume you'll want to burn bulky coal instead of compact and efficient glowstone?  For meals, you'll eat some of your final travel food, of course.

And once I post the second part of the double update, I'll invite waitlisters!  Hooray!  It's been so long . . . are you people still reading?  The next four on the list are:

Larry (Shadowclaw777)
Lazarus (ufo)
Gary (Coolrune206)
Hagrid (heydude6)

Shadowclaw777 missed out once already, but ufo sent a private message reporting interest.  Are you up to date (-ish) and ready to go?

If anyone's missing, here are the next people on the list:

Sir Lootser (TankKit)
Bob (magmaholic)
Louis (dustywayfarer)

I must have a list of players before I do the update, as it'll be your turn to start!

[Starver]

I'm ok to go, (and not sure whether I'm glad I delayed us or not!, for numerous reasons) and it looks like we're now getting a workout as we chase down the chasers. Good luck to us all?