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[IronyOwl]

"Wonderful!" Auft chirps happily, glancing between the dead guardian and the alive Alex. And the babbling AsHul.

"On the one hand, we did say we'd return the artifact. On the other, at least two of us have technically died. This is not a 1000 Fathom mission if a quarter of the people on it die! I don't know how much you need to pay somebody to die, but if it was only 125 Fathoms I'd have a lot more desire for money.

In summary, we should renegotiate in light of the rather excessive conditions of this task."

Poke around the books in the wall-rooms. Are they actual texts with things in them, and if so do they suggest any kind of cultural origin or subject preference?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Auft Kindheart
Description: Standing 3'10", with even fluffier than usual snow-white fur, this Ethral radiates adorable innocence even by the standards of her kind. Her porcelain-white mask is a circular shape carved into slices, each bearing a smiling face with eyes and mouths arched in joy, and adorned with pink blush marks. Her cloak is similarly pure white and a little too large for her, adding to her cute and defenseless appearance.
Goal: To amass and improve loyal pets and slaves.
 
Stats
Str:  8
Dex:  13
Spe:  10
End:  8
Awa:  8
Cun:  16
Kno:  13
Ner:  10

Skills
+1 Medical
+1 Translate
+1 Acrobatics
+1 Persuasion
+1 Stealth
+1 Animal Handling
+1 Archeology
+1 Biological
+1 Chemical
+1 Occult
[1 Skill Point]

Inventory
82 Fathoms
Ethral Rifle [1/7]
Doctor's Bag
Dodecahedron Spider-Thing: Fist-sized dodecahedron body, long unjointed legs that move in very slow cascades. Ceased moving upon being picked up. Can be trained in simple commands via clear hand signals, bops, and repetition.
2 quarter-inch cubes of impossibly heavy black stuff: Estimated 50 lbs weight total
Thug with metal teeth in his mouth and on his arm
Mediocre Skull Mug: A mug made from a skull. It works, but it's pretty meh considering it's made from a skull.
Shitty Bone Pan Flute: Several long bones crudely strapped together, long to short. Despite this, the actual notes are arranged randomly, out of tune, and lack much range.
Inanimate Vertebra Scarab: A bug-thing with a single human vertebra for a body, fingerbones for legs, teeth for mandibles, and so on. Needs an appropriate sacrifice to animate, like a "large" insect.

Iron Teeth, Slightly Demuscled Thug
Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
Soldier Chestplate
Slave Trap

[Pancaek]

"Attempting to renegotiate the contract sounds reasonable. But let's make sure we don't somehow piss off the entire Church while we do so, yes? It feels like it would be bad to be on their shit list."

Join Auft in poking around the books. See if there's any interesting literature laying about.
Also, take a look at the bow I picked up. Can I discern the OOC stats of this thing?

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: Being a Shluck, Clate is rarely seen outside of his environmental suit. Inside, he is the standard albino mollusk, with his only true defining characteristic being the alternating white/borwn pattern of his beak, much like on a nautilus shell. His environmental suit and exoskeltons are full of scuff marks and small blemishes from work, but the knowledgable observer will notice that it is mechanically kept in tip-top shape. He wears a toolbelt and a satchel to store his tools and other knickknacks, and has a blue cap perched on top of his helmet.
Goal: To create great works of craftsmanship and become filthy rich in the process.
 
Stats
Str:  8
Dex:  11
Spe:  9
End:  10
Awa:  10
Cun:  16 (+3)
Kno:  12
Ner:  11

Skills (1 point unused)
Electronics 1
Mechanical 1
Biological 1
Chemical 1
Occult 1
Weaponsmith 1
Armorsmith 1
Stealth 1
Steal 1
Explosives 1

Inventory
Clothing: A tool belt that can be modified to fit the exoskeleton, a satchel and a blue cap with "If it ain't broke, fix it" embroidered on.
Mail shirt (Made to integrate directly into the exosuit, protecting surface that houses Shluck including head.Protect 3)
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
1 Bow from weird eyeball creature. Produces a bone arrow when drawing the string.


2 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod


100ft silk rope


3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
143 Fathoms


Crystal Babies

2. 8 sided diamond (looks like  Ramiel from EVA and floats). 8 inches to an edge
3.  Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.


Warehouse/bore storage:
 1. Dodecahedron, no limbs, rolls. Fist sized.
4.  Spiky daddy long legs like Irony has. 1 foot legs, fist sized body.
5. Thing looks like (see pic). about 8 inches to a side.
7. Wheel sort of thing that has a fat inside edge and tapers to a sharp edge on the outside. Foot and a half in diameter.
1 corpse (missing: skull, neck vertebrea, some bones)
Bomb Collar
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Box with "kidnapper bell"
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials

[piecewise]

"everything is terrible all the time. But at least you're alive again, Alex. Seriously though. Those shoes ...

Guardian is dead? Well done, everyone. If that previous room counted as a Guardian, we have one remaining to face.

So, I think we've all been thinking this, but let's put it out there for everyone: we're claiming the Core of this vision as compensation for our troubles. Objections?"

Edit: Get under control. Crying can come later. If I manage to become at least semi-coherent again, rejoin the rest of the group and inspect the spiral staircase room, up and down.

Spoiler: Not so much a character, but a mistake (click to show/hide)

Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent. Currently a dream robot
Goal:To find God
 
Stats
Str:9  Dex:8  Spe:9  End:11  Awa:12  Cun:11  Kno:11  Ner:16 (-1)

Skills
3 Diving
2 Animal Handling
1 Survival
1 Weapon skill: Guitar

Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy, strata 1,2,4)
1 Silent Night 
3 Worm Blood
100 ft of rope
1 knife (cut/pierce 2)
2 Occult Junks
59  Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore, one "shiny," 57 standard)
168 Fathoms (Team Account. Kept on AsHul's person for safekeeping. Stored separately from his personal funds.

Stored at warehouse during Relic Vision:
Firing Control Module (Brass Brain)
Book of sheet music (from Balaram) [stack of about 100 pages bound by three brass rings along the top of the sheets]
his former bomb collar - made of something like demagnetized neodymium.
One Bone-fretted haunted electric guitar
One mundane acoustic guitar with wave patterns in abalone and turquoise

Notes:
Travellers' guild is offering a relic retrieval job. Local hazards ('living').

[15]
You manage to pull yourself together and get up. Still sniffling you head out to the rest of the group and look at the room. The shaft is pretty tall, but the landing is quite near the bottom, maybe 20 or 30 feet up off the floor of the shaft while the rest of the shaft is maybe 400 feet tall. The bottom of the shaft is a mostly flat expanse of stone, though it looks pretty natural and not artificially flattened. 

"What's wrong with my shoes? So I die and you decide this is the time to check out my shoes?

Whatever, I'm all up for it, the Church won't like it, but screw them, we'll get our payment and the core."

Follow the rest of the group, also shift my position so I'm located near the back.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells

Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.

Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.

Stats:
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 10
End: 11
Awa: 11
Cun: 12
Kno: 11
Ner: 11

Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
1 Skill point

Inventory:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
4 TNT
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Mail Shirt
39 Fathoms
Crystal box of golem limbs
Golem buddy
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 4/10
8 Structural Junk
Grappling Hook
Moon bladed staff (Cut 4)

You walk behind the group, carefully keeping everyone between you and possible danger.

Nyw sighs when Ashul collapses, but still kneels next to the abomination and carefully picks it up, taking care to not allow it any chance to hurt him.

"We will not be stealing the item we agreed to retrieve.  Beyond the simple facts that we are all deeply indebted to the church, and have already made an agreement, upon waking we will find ourselves within a vertitable fortress which we do not know.  Making enemies of that fortres' garrison would be an action of unparalleled foolishness.  However, I do think it would be in order to demand greater remuneration."

Pick up and restrain Ashul, then carry him along with the group.  Knock him out with a punch if he starts to dive.

Spoiler: The Unpronounceable Undead (click to show/hide)

Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:

((No murakumo anymore.  ))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Talks like this.".

Stats:
Str:14
Dex:8
Spe:10
End:14
Awa:14
Cun:8
Kno:7
Ner:10

Skills:
Unarmed: +1
Defense Skill: +3 (Full Plate)
Vehicle Skill: +1
Caving: +1
Navigation: +1
Murakumo: +1


Inventory:
Full Plate Armor [Protective 4]
Ornamental Mask of the Child
Shattered to powder, which is held in a little cloth bag: Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3, Fragile]
Giant Guardian Hatchet [Chop 4, ]

Probably left in the warehouse:
A hooked cleaver [Cut 3]
Two knives [Cut 2, Pierce 2]
Guard rifle [Pierce 2]
A bunch of bloody guard garments, to be used as raw material.

Ashul seems to get over his freak out, so you don't pick him up. You do however stay right next to him, ready to punch the crap out of him if he starts doing dangerous things. Like glare too intensely.

"Attempting to renegotiate the contract sounds reasonable. But let's make sure we don't somehow piss off the entire Church while we do so, yes? It feels like it would be bad to be on their shit list."

Join Auft in poking around the books. See if there's any interesting literature laying about.
Also, take a look at the bow I picked up. Can I discern the OOC stats of this thing?

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: Being a Shluck, Clate is rarely seen outside of his environmental suit. Inside, he is the standard albino mollusk, with his only true defining characteristic being the alternating white/borwn pattern of his beak, much like on a nautilus shell. His environmental suit and exoskeltons are full of scuff marks and small blemishes from work, but the knowledgable observer will notice that it is mechanically kept in tip-top shape. He wears a toolbelt and a satchel to store his tools and other knickknacks, and has a blue cap perched on top of his helmet.
Goal: To create great works of craftsmanship and become filthy rich in the process.
 
Stats
Str:  8
Dex:  11
Spe:  9
End:  10
Awa:  10
Cun:  16 (+3)
Kno:  12
Ner:  11

Skills (1 point unused)
Electronics 1
Mechanical 1
Biological 1
Chemical 1
Occult 1
Weaponsmith 1
Armorsmith 1
Stealth 1
Steal 1
Explosives 1

Inventory
Clothing: A tool belt that can be modified to fit the exoskeleton, a satchel and a blue cap with "If it ain't broke, fix it" embroidered on.
Mail shirt (Made to integrate directly into the exosuit, protecting surface that houses Shluck including head.Protect 3)
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
1 Bow from weird eyeball creature. Produces a bone arrow when drawing the string.


2 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod


100ft silk rope


3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
143 Fathoms


Crystal Babies

2. 8 sided diamond (looks like  Ramiel from EVA and floats). 8 inches to an edge
3.  Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.


Warehouse/bore storage:
 1. Dodecahedron, no limbs, rolls. Fist sized.
4.  Spiky daddy long legs like Irony has. 1 foot legs, fist sized body.
5. Thing looks like (see pic). about 8 inches to a side.
7. Wheel sort of thing that has a fat inside edge and tapers to a sharp edge on the outside. Foot and a half in diameter.
1 corpse (missing: skull, neck vertebrea, some bones)
Bomb Collar
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Box with "kidnapper bell"
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials

"Wonderful!" Auft chirps happily, glancing between the dead guardian and the alive Alex. And the babbling AsHul.

"On the one hand, we did say we'd return the artifact. On the other, at least two of us have technically died. This is not a 1000 Fathom mission if a quarter of the people on it die! I don't know how much you need to pay somebody to die, but if it was only 125 Fathoms I'd have a lot more desire for money.

In summary, we should renegotiate in light of the rather excessive conditions of this task."

Poke around the books in the wall-rooms. Are they actual texts with things in them, and if so do they suggest any kind of cultural origin or subject preference?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Auft Kindheart
Description: Standing 3'10", with even fluffier than usual snow-white fur, this Ethral radiates adorable innocence even by the standards of her kind. Her porcelain-white mask is a circular shape carved into slices, each bearing a smiling face with eyes and mouths arched in joy, and adorned with pink blush marks. Her cloak is similarly pure white and a little too large for her, adding to her cute and defenseless appearance.
Goal: To amass and improve loyal pets and slaves.
 
Stats
Str:  8
Dex:  13
Spe:  10
End:  8
Awa:  8
Cun:  16
Kno:  13
Ner:  10

Skills
+1 Medical
+1 Translate
+1 Acrobatics
+1 Persuasion
+1 Stealth
+1 Animal Handling
+1 Archeology
+1 Biological
+1 Chemical
+1 Occult
[1 Skill Point]

Inventory
82 Fathoms
Ethral Rifle [1/7]
Doctor's Bag
Dodecahedron Spider-Thing: Fist-sized dodecahedron body, long unjointed legs that move in very slow cascades. Ceased moving upon being picked up. Can be trained in simple commands via clear hand signals, bops, and repetition.
2 quarter-inch cubes of impossibly heavy black stuff: Estimated 50 lbs weight total
Thug with metal teeth in his mouth and on his arm
Mediocre Skull Mug: A mug made from a skull. It works, but it's pretty meh considering it's made from a skull.
Shitty Bone Pan Flute: Several long bones crudely strapped together, long to short. Despite this, the actual notes are arranged randomly, out of tune, and lack much range.
Inanimate Vertebra Scarab: A bug-thing with a single human vertebra for a body, fingerbones for legs, teeth for mandibles, and so on. Needs an appropriate sacrifice to animate, like a "large" insect.

Iron Teeth, Slightly Demuscled Thug
Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
Soldier Chestplate
Slave Trap

((The bow's stats are somewhat variable. Its (Pierce X) where the X depends on the strength of the user. ))

Auft and Clate split from the group and start looking around. They head up the stairs a bit until they find a room with a bookself; the room itself appears to be upside down though. Auft steps in first and promptly falls upward onto the ceiling. However her perspective almost instantly reorients such that she's laying on the floor and Clate is standing on an upside down staircase, apparently defying gravity. Clate's transition is a bit less awkward, though he still ends up sprawled on a rug after the sharp change in gravity.  After both have gotten used to their sudden reorientation, they pick up a few of the books on the shelf and start looking through them. They appear to be real books, but not in any language they understand.  There are images but not of things they know or recognize.  Its all totally alien.

”Hey, that’s a good sign. Sharp as a-oh fuck.”
See if I can’t patch this up real quick. If it’s beyond me, see if anyone hanging around the bore has any medical skill. Did I get a working spearhead, or is did I ruin it?
Is there any way I could get this bore moving? Either by my in-game action, or by pointing out that we should be moving on even if the guy who does that is inactive at the moment?

Spoiler: Harm (click to show/hide)

Name: Harmony “Harm” Li
Description: Lean and broody looking. This woman has short black hair and is partially covered in interlocking black tattoos. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop. She wears a mail shirt underneath her clothes.
Goal: Overall, Harm would like to find a place where refugees and travelers could seek refuge without dealing with the dogmatic influence of the church. Right now, though, she just wants to get away.
 
Stats
Str:11
Dex:11
Spe:11
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:11

Skills
Weapon smith (3)
Mechanical (2)
Lucky Shot (1)

1 unassigned

Condition
Bad cut on hand.

Inventory
Radio
Mail shirt (protect 3)
Small Obsidian Knife [cut, stab 3. Fragile]
Crystal cutting utility knife (free to borrow)
Obsidian arrowhead (cut 4, fragile)
6 Octahedrons
Half a ton of obsidian
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Lucky Shot (6/7)(14 rounds)
Short sword (cutting 3, pierce 2)
Voice in the Eyes- and intricate mechanical eye
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units mechanical junk
2 mechanical arms (belong to Kara and Vikkan)
6 sturdy glass bottles
144 fathoms

"Oh dear!"
I have to do something! I hope Drett won't be mad with me when he gets back...
Try to fix Harm's arm. Or at least stop the bleeding. Use the bore's medical room for a bonus. And remember, I have medical 1.

I should let the guys rest. Besides, I've been watching Vikkan do this for so long, I'm sure I can deal with it. And he's been driving for a while, I bet he's tired. He needs some time to relax.
Also, if the crisis is resolved, start drilling east till we get to Goldshore. I can always pester the Seekers on our way back.

Spoiler: "Kara" the Corven (click to show/hide)

Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be  Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).

Status
Sacrificed left arm to reverse time (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged and given spider venom for the pain.

Stats
Str:9
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End:7
Awa:12
Cun:10 
Kno:12
Ner:11

Skills
1 unspent
Rifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 1
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 1
Navigation: 1

Inventory
Radio
3 fathoms
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 100 ft
Simple Clothes
Kara's Diary

In Storage
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Crystal Friend
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes

[19][17]
Harm gets some gauze and places it roughly over the injury, which does slow the bleeding a bit, but then Kara comes in and slaps the gauze out of his grasp.

"NO! We have to fight fire with fire!" she says before grabbing the half finished spear head and using it to further cut Harm's hand.

Vikkan tossed and turned and finally woke up after a nice, long sleep. It'd probably have been nicer hadn't he had some nightmare he forgot about his hand being torn from him. "I hope I haven't missed much. Kara?"

Back from vacation. Is it be drill time yet? Assist Kara with manual labor if necessary, no medical powers to be found in Vikkan.

Spoiler: Vikkan Laerthe, Human Bore Driver (click to show/hide)

Name: Vikkan Laerthe

Description: A human from Anvil and a moderate Chthonic who was born and raised close in the neighborhood of the Hammerfall boreyard, where his parents were employed as menial workers. Being so close to a place so filled with machinery and boring machines left a lasting impression on Vikkan, who became a furnace helper, then a drivemaster's apprentice until he finally reached the controls of a bore. He's quite good at conducting driving bores and, most importantly, he deeply enjoys his work.

Bore love aside, Vikkan is also generally quite friendly and good-humored even when he's not behind a bore's controls. He is, however, aware of his limitations out of the control room, and he'd rather leave most other matters to more skilled people. What he lacks in intellectual education he displays in polite curiosity, and he tends to be interested in listening even to topics he can only vaguely grasp, making for a good talking and drinking buddy if nothing else.

At odds with his friendliness, he looks rugged, if young. His hair is dark brown and cut short, and he has a well-groomed handlebar mustache (though he's been known to let it grow and style it into a horseshoe at times). A small diagonal scar moves from his right eyebrow to the bridge of his nose. His skin is brown and displays a few burns thanks to a few years of furnace and boiler work. He's fairly hairy, with his shirt's sleeves covering hairy arms and a few spots of scar tissue. His uniform is made of thick cloth and utilitarian, overalls, a long-sleeved shirt and a cap. His major concession to vanity is keeping his uniform and mustache impeccable. He doesn't have a right hand.

Goal: To deep driving bores and having fun while doing it. It's not a difficult dream, even if it can be hard at times.
 
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 10
End: 11
Awa: 13
Cun: 10
Kno: 11
Ner: 11

Skills (1 point unspent)
+3 Vehicle (Bore)
+2 Navigation
+1 Defense (Mail Shirt)

Inventory
-Conductor's Clothes
-Dynamo Lantern
-Black Book (Copy)
-Field Lighter
-Mail Shirt
-Short Sword
-Rifle
-Knife
-100ft silk rope
-142 Fathoms
-Neck chain (that used to hold a black flame that actually never existed)
-Black Flame
-Clockwork arm

1 Mission and counting
Level 0: +3 Awareness
Level 1: +1 Str, Dex, End, Kno, Ner. 1 skill point unused.

Yeah, let's-a-go, drilling is good and fun and makes me feel like more of a man.

Go over our papers and contact info again on the way there.

If any time left, test my flammenvision on crystalfriend. What can it teach us?

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza

Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.

Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.

Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.

After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.

Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.

Stats
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 11
End: 10
Awa: 11
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 13

Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Can see things in great detail as well as look through objects such as walls. Rolls Nerve.

Inventory

1 soldier chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, shortened a bit so as to less restrict his movements

1 ethral rifle [10 rounds]  (pierce 2)
1 black flame

1 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
6 fathoms
   -loaned 40 to Cara (Tiruin)
297 fathoms (payment from pilgrim escort)
1 unspent skillpoint

So you guys wanna drill straight through to goldshore instead of following the path? There's a fault and a river between you and it on a straight line. Wanna just barrel through?  Or you wanna plot a different path?

[The Lupanian]

Get the well meaning birb friend off me, then finish applying gauze.

Spoiler: Harm (click to show/hide)

Name: Harmony “Harm” Li
Description: Lean and broody looking. This woman has short black hair and is partially covered in interlocking black tattoos. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop. She wears a mail shirt underneath her clothes.
Goal: Overall, Harm would like to find a place where refugees and travelers could seek refuge without dealing with the dogmatic influence of the church. Right now, though, she just wants to get away.
 
Stats
Str:11
Dex:11
Spe:11
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:11

Skills
Weapon smith (3)
Mechanical (2)
Lucky Shot (1)

1 unassigned

Condition
Bad cut on hand.

Inventory
Radio
Mail shirt (protect 3)
Small Obsidian Knife [cut, stab 3. Fragile]
Crystal cutting utility knife (free to borrow)
Obsidian arrowhead (cut 4, fragile)
6 Octahedrons
Half a ton of obsidian
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Lucky Shot (6/7)(14 rounds)
Short sword (cutting 3, pierce 2)
Voice in the Eyes- and intricate mechanical eye
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units mechanical junk
2 mechanical arms (belong to Kara and Vikkan)
6 sturdy glass bottles
144 fathoms

[Parisbre56]

"Come now, quit struggling. I need to cut it cleanly so that the new one grows properly."

Hope that my single noodly birb arm was not enough to cause too much damage.

Hope that someone can convince me humans don't actually regrow their limbs.

Try once more to heal his arm, using the bonus from the bore's medical room. My luck will turn around eventually. I hope.

Spoiler: "Kara" the Corven (click to show/hide)

Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be  Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).

Status
Sacrificed left arm to reverse time (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged and given spider venom for the pain.

Stats
Str:9
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End:7
Awa:12
Cun:10 
Kno:12
Ner:11

Skills
1 unspent
Rifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 1
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 1
Navigation: 1

Inventory
Radio
3 fathoms
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 100 ft
Simple Clothes
Kara's Diary

In Storage
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Crystal Friend
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes

[The Lupanian]

“Humans don’t regrow their arms…”
“Come to think of it, I don’t think Corven do either. “

[Radio Controlled]

So you guys wanna drill straight through to goldshore instead of following the path? There's a fault and a river between you and it on a straight line. Wanna just barrel through?  Or you wanna plot a different path?

Can't we start by taking the path (hunter's pass) until we pass the fault and river, and then start digging the rest of the way? If yes, do that.

"Hey, what are you guys WHAT THE CRAP?!"

Try to restrain Kara/get her off of Harm if she doesn't come back to her senses (assuming this happens within earshot, if not then nevermind, nothing I can do).

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza

Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.

Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.

Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.

After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.

Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.

Stats
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 11
End: 10
Awa: 11
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 13

Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Can see things in great detail as well as look through objects such as walls. Rolls Nerve.

Inventory

1 soldier chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, shortened a bit so as to less restrict his movements

1 ethral rifle [10 rounds]  (pierce 2)
1 black flame

1 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
6 fathoms
   -loaned 40 to Cara (Tiruin)
297 fathoms (payment from pilgrim escort)
1 unspent skillpoint

[Ozarck]

"Well, Nyw," -sniffle- "I'm probably not in a good place to," -sniffle- "be making decisions, what with the" -cough- "strain all this Diving and being sliced, diced, crushed, eaten, and rebuilt has put on me."

AsHul pauses and takes several deep, metallic breaths.
"But this is a local job and does not concern the Church at large - just the local body. I suspect we could, if negotiations fail, present a reasonable case to an arbiter in the Faith. And it wold be easier to gain a hearing if we retain something of value to the local church here.

If an Arbiter of the Faith determined that our contract was made in good faith from both parties and that the local church hadn't deliberately underrepresented the risks or had fairly compensated us, well, that would be that, wouldn't it?
I guess for now we'll just have to wait and see how the local church reacts to our situation." 

Continue to foster calmness and resolve. Keep up with the main group, but don't move ahead yet.

Reflect on what AsHul knows of 'minor' relics and 'minor' communions. Is our experience in line with what was presented to us by the church, or does it seem that we're in a higher class of Communion? I know that bad rolls have played a part in the amount of trouble we've experienced, but is that enough to account for the challenges we've faced?

Spoiler: Not so much a character, but a mistake (click to show/hide)

Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent. Currently a dream robot
Goal:To find God
 
Stats
Str:9  Dex:8  Spe:9  End:11  Awa:12  Cun:11  Kno:11  Ner:16 (-1)

Skills
3 Diving
2 Animal Handling
1 Survival
1 Weapon skill: Guitar

Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy, strata 1,2,4)
1 Silent Night 
3 Worm Blood
100 ft of rope
1 knife (cut/pierce 2)
2 Occult Junks
59  Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore, one "shiny," 57 standard)
168 Fathoms (Team Account. Kept on AsHul's person for safekeeping. Stored separately from his personal funds.

Stored at warehouse during Relic Vision:
Firing Control Module (Brass Brain)
Book of sheet music (from Balaram) [stack of about 100 pages bound by three brass rings along the top of the sheets]
his former bomb collar - made of something like demagnetized neodymium.
One Bone-fretted haunted electric guitar
One mundane acoustic guitar with wave patterns in abalone and turquoise

Notes:
Travellers' guild is offering a relic retrieval job. Local hazards ('living').

[Egan_BW]

^{_{"Human anatomy is weird. Well, vertebrate anatomy in general."}}

Assist Kara in general.

Spoiler: Wiellste? (click to show/hide)

Name: Wiellste Gunsmithy

Description: A young Ethral, no taller than 4 feet. Her fur is unpatterned and a milky white. Usually wears a rather plain quilted brown silk cloak, and a polished copper mask with symmetrical, spiraling lines etched on the sides.

Goal: Wiellste is like many Ethral in that she seeks to gather knowledge about the world before all else. Though being an Ethral from Knot, her skills are largely more on the practical building side than the scholarly side. She isn't particularly invested in the teachings of the Tenebrous Church, but the idea of the spheres intrigues her, especially Balarim, with it's writings and technology.

Stats:
Str:  8
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End:  9
Awa:  7
Cun: 15
Kno: 13
Ner: 11

Skills:
SKILL 1
Weaponsmith 2
Diving 2
Pistol 1
Bore 1
Translate 1
Stealth 1

Inventory:
Silk cloak
Copper mask
Human-made revolver (Pistol 3) (6/6)

Notes

1 Fathom

Missed me ya big dummy.

^{_{"Oh... oh dear. Kara, I don't think that making additional cuts will be helpful. Would you mind if I helped?
Adam! T-there's no need for physical interven-"}}

Wiellste objects too quietly for Adam to be able to hear her. She decides to get out of the way.

[syvarris]

"Hmm.  You raise an interesting point, Ashul.  I do still feel hesitant asking a favor of the greater church, after all they have done for us already, but if the local chapter does not compensate us fairly I will not hinder efforts to negotiate with their superiors.  That is, assuming such efforts are not conducted by you, personally; you are in no shape to negotiate, Ashul."

Stay with Ashul, until we reach the jump off point that sprawled Clate and Auft.  Don't enter the room, just stay with Ashul and be ready to disable him if necessary.  He's an emotional wreck of a bomb, right now...

Spoiler: The Unpronounceable Undead (click to show/hide)

Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:

((No murakumo anymore.  ))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Talks like this.".

Stats:
Str:14
Dex:8
Spe:10
End:14
Awa:14
Cun:8
Kno:7
Ner:10

Skills:
Unarmed: +1
Defense Skill: +3 (Full Plate)
Vehicle Skill: +1
Caving: +1
Navigation: +1
Murakumo: +1


Inventory:
Full Plate Armor [Protective 4]
Ornamental Mask of the Child
Shattered to powder, which is held in a little cloth bag: Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3, Fragile]
Giant Guardian Hatchet [Chop 4, ]

Probably left in the warehouse:
A hooked cleaver [Cut 3]
Two knives [Cut 2, Pierce 2]
Guard rifle [Pierce 2]
A bunch of bloody guard garments, to be used as raw material.

[Pancaek]

"These look rather neat, even though I haven't the faintest clue what's in them."

Grab two or three of these books at random. One's with "pretty" pictures in them get priority

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: Being a Shluck, Clate is rarely seen outside of his environmental suit. Inside, he is the standard albino mollusk, with his only true defining characteristic being the alternating white/borwn pattern of his beak, much like on a nautilus shell. His environmental suit and exoskeltons are full of scuff marks and small blemishes from work, but the knowledgable observer will notice that it is mechanically kept in tip-top shape. He wears a toolbelt and a satchel to store his tools and other knickknacks, and has a blue cap perched on top of his helmet.
Goal: To create great works of craftsmanship and become filthy rich in the process.
 
Stats
Str:  8
Dex:  11
Spe:  9
End:  10
Awa:  10
Cun:  16 (+3)
Kno:  12
Ner:  11

Skills (1 point unused)
Electronics 1
Mechanical 1
Biological 1
Chemical 1
Occult 1
Weaponsmith 1
Armorsmith 1
Stealth 1
Steal 1
Explosives 1

Inventory
Clothing: A tool belt that can be modified to fit the exoskeleton, a satchel and a blue cap with "If it ain't broke, fix it" embroidered on.
Mail shirt (Made to integrate directly into the exosuit, protecting surface that houses Shluck including head.Protect 3)
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
1 Bow from weird eyeball creature. Produces a bone arrow when drawing the string.


2 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod


100ft silk rope


3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
143 Fathoms


Crystal Babies

2. 8 sided diamond (looks like  Ramiel from EVA and floats). 8 inches to an edge
3.  Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.


Warehouse/bore storage:
 1. Dodecahedron, no limbs, rolls. Fist sized.
4.  Spiky daddy long legs like Irony has. 1 foot legs, fist sized body.
5. Thing looks like (see pic). about 8 inches to a side.
7. Wheel sort of thing that has a fat inside edge and tapers to a sharp edge on the outside. Foot and a half in diameter.
1 corpse (missing: skull, neck vertebrea, some bones)
Bomb Collar
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Box with "kidnapper bell"
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials

[Ozarck]

"The greater Church is full of Space Worms!" AsHul rants.

"No, that's ... think of it as a mutually beneficial arrangement rather than a favor. As long as they don't fill our brains with their psychic weevils. They get you with Crysanthimums and cave moss, that's how it spreads!"

AsHul shakes his steel and plastic head a bit.
"I don't see why I wouldn't be the perfect one to do the negotiating. Put those terrible cobblers in their place." He looks knowingly at Alex.

"I'll get this under control. Stupid dream world. Stupid dream world interior decorators. Why do we have to climb stairs? What's left of my feet hurt. "

[Hotfire90]

"Perhaps the threat of calling in an Arbiter might be enough for them to let us leave with the core. If they did act maliciously, then they wouldn't want the church to find out about it."

Continue following.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells

Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.

Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.

Stats:
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 10
End: 11
Awa: 11
Cun: 12
Kno: 11
Ner: 11

Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
1 Skill point

Inventory:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
4 TNT
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Mail Shirt
39 Fathoms
Crystal box of golem limbs
Golem buddy
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 4/10
8 Structural Junk
Grappling Hook
Moon bladed staff (Cut 4)

[syvarris]

"Why do you desire the core so, in any case?  The church will certainly be more willing to part with a larger sum of money than the core itself, and money possesses far more utility for us than a holy artifact."

[Hotfire90]

"Money is good and all, but the core might be useful for us, and if isn't we can always sell it for a lot of fathoms. We're still going to get paid for completing the job, plus whatever danger bonus we get from our negotiations, and once we have our bonus payment secured, wouldn't you agree that we should also try to score the relic core?"