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[Yottawhat]

Scuttle down with the rest if them.

Spoiler: Moku Youkou (click to show/hide)

Name: Moku Youkou
Race: Abomination Shang-Gei

Description: A female Shang-Gei cloaked in a heavy and rough looking worm wool coat. Underneath the clothing, is a heavily mutated figure. Her scales has been coat in plastic, giving each one a iridescent sheen to them.Spikes of melded plastic, metal and circuitry are studded haphazardly, the largest one is a foot long, spearing right above her pelvis. Her tongues have been replaced with metal tendils that sneak in and out of her mouth when she is not paying attention.
Goal: To "find" her mate.
Stats:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 8
Speed: 8
Endurance: 10
Awareness: 12
Cunning: 12
Knowledge: 11
Nerve: 11 (temp -2)

Skills:
Medical: +2
Machine Control: +1
Electronics: +1
Mechanical: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Occult: +1
Diving: +1
Stealth +1
Inventory:
Fathoms:16
Relic fragment
Bladed Shovel
Clothing with ? Balarim Jal

[piecewise]

SIGN UP

Name: Aigresaur
Description: A sexy lizard with a serpentine head, smooth pale scales, a slender velociraptor's body with lanky arms and legs...
Goal: it just wants to snuggle
 
Stats Shang-Gei
Str: 8
Dex: 15
Spe: 12
End: 8
Awa: 12
Cun: 10
Kno: 8
Ner: 10

Skills
shotgun: 6
acrobatics: 3
defense: 1

Inventory
39 cash

I really want the Tunnel clearer for 45 cash. loaded with solid flechettes or 00 buck please.

Welcome aboard. Some issues: Skills only go to 3 and cost incrementally more to increase each level. You can buy level 1 for 1, level 2 for 3, level 3 for 6 and thats it.

And I'm ok with you getting that shotgun if you can get some other player(s) to front you the handful of fathoms you need.

Clate gets out from the crawlspace, dusting off his cap

"Yeah, sounds good. Winch is set up nicely, so once we strap people into a harness we're ready to go."

Tie this rope into a harness so we can start lowering people down already. Also go down, but go last. If nobody is up here to control the winch, player or NPC, stay behind instead.

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:  10
Spe:  8
End:  10
Awa:  9
Cun:  16 (+3)
Kno:  12
Ner:10

Skills
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.
Bladed Shovel
Silk rope (100ft)
TNT x3
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10

1 structural junk
5 Fathoms

[3]
You create a simple harness at the end of the rope. It should hold anyone that goes down fairly securely.  There, that should work.

"Whoa! We're really high..."

Look at the buildings. Can I identify any that look important?

Edit: If we get a cage or a harness and I am able to, be the first to go down to the ruins. Aim for the most important looking part of the ruins if my previous action succeeded and I can control my descent. (Maybe I can rock the rope or angle my body against the air currents?) Otherwise, any of them will do.

Once down, look for an entrance.

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).

Stats
Str:8 
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End:6 
Awa:12
Cun:10 
Kno:8 + 3 = 11
Ner:10

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

Inventory
Simple Clothes
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Grappling Hook
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Kara's Diary

[1]
You look down at the towers. You're not really sure, but most species tend to equate size and height with importance so the biggest tower might be a good place to start.

((I completely forgot that I brought structural junk with me, sorry about that.))
”Um, I don’t know if there’s enough for that, and I want to figure out if they could be useful in other ways, but I do have some stuff you could use” (Shows structural junk from inventory)”There may not be enough for a cage, but you could probably make a harness.”
Offer up the 2 structural junk in my inventory for use by other crew members. Then try to identify the crystals, and what they could be used for.
Then go down to ruins.

No sheet no roll to Identify.

But they're cool and they don't seem to be getting any warmer.

"The line is secure now, right? I'm done waiting, I want to see these ruins up close."
Just climb down our rope to the ruins. If I lose grip I can always just glide down, anyways.

Spoiler: Wiellste, bravest moth! (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:  7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End:  8
Awa:  7
Cun: 15
Kno: 13
Ner: 11

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

Inventory:
Silk cloak
Copper mask
Ethral revolver 6/6

1 Fathom

((PW said on discord that just tying the rope to ourselves/rope harness is safe and he won't roll for the descend itself now that we have the winch system set up correctly. We'd still need a roll to tie the knots securely, but doing it right once means we can assume we manage the others as well. So yeah, we can leave this turn if we want to!))

"Ah, perhaps we should just tie ourselves down with the excess rope and lower ourselves, so we can get moving. Brother Clate, you seemed to do a good job with the winch, perhaps you could help the others get tied up with a sort of rope harness so we can lower them?"

Help Clate with his work, then be lowered down.

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.


Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
 
Stats
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 10
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 13

Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1

Inventory
Clothing: simple priest robes, shortened a bit so as to less restrict his movements
1 minor artifact
1 black book copy
1 black flame
1 Silent Night
1 field lighter
23 fathoms

Get lowered down into the ruins.

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

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

((Without the murakumos.))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Explicitly stated goals are a boring way to get across what should be plain by roleplay".

Stats:
Str:14
Dex:8
Spe:10
End:14
Awa:13
Cun:8
Kno:6
Ner:10

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


Inventory:
Full Plate Armor (Protective 4)
Ornamental Mask of the Child

"No way ah'm missin' out on this ! Ah'll go down here too." Rick excitedly declares.

Go down into the ruins as well.

Nothin' fer it, then. Though perhaps I should go down last, just in case, eh?

Descend. Last.

"I'm going down too, should be more interesting than sitting up here."

Aid Clate in creating a harness, then descend into the ruins.

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: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 10
Cun: 12
Kno: 10
Ner: 10

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

Inventory:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
3 TNT
Bladed Shovel
Mail Shirt
8 Fathoms

Considering our position directly above the ruins, Drett shall glide down along the rope in spiraling fashion to meet those on the ground AFTER AND ONLY  AFTER the first successful lowering.

Glad we are finally in a position where I will not be the first on the ground. I would be much remiss to leave you all without a proper caretaker.

Spoiler: Drett Medizin (click to show/hide)

Desc: Coated wholly in downy white bugfur, he is crowned with two fuzzy antennae and collared by a just-as-fluffy mane. His limbs are dainty, almost gangly if it weren't for his 4 hand a half foot stature. His cloak is a mottled light gray, able to blend in better with the environment than his alabaster being. A silver mask adorns his face, with a circle carve in the top third, stylized lightrays splitting the mask in half and coming down in symmetrical angles. The eyeslits are angled, almost malevolent looking.

Goal: Concerned with the Light of Knowledge, Drett has taken it upon himself to study the complexities of biological organisms, and lesser so, how those organisms may bond and interact with the world around them. Having learned all he could of Ethrals, he has signed onto the bore in order to better understand those species he coexists with

Str:7  Dex:12  Spe:10  End:8  Awa:7  Cun:14 Kno:15  Ner:10
Medical +2
Biological +2
Mechanical +1
Chemical +1
Occult +1
Archeology +1

1x Doctor's Bag - 25
1x Field Lighter -3
6x Cave Spider Venom - 18
Fathoms - 10

"Well then, down we go. Are we going to have some guards up there yet to handle the ropes?"
Go down as well.

Scuttle down with the rest if them.

Spoiler: Moku Youkou (click to show/hide)

Name: Moku Youkou
Race: Abomination Shang-Gei

Description: A female Shang-Gei cloaked in a heavy and rough looking worm wool coat. Underneath the clothing, is a heavily mutated figure. Her scales has been coat in plastic, giving each one a iridescent sheen to them.Spikes of melded plastic, metal and circuitry are studded haphazardly, the largest one is a foot long, spearing right above her pelvis. Her tongues have been replaced with metal tendils that sneak in and out of her mouth when she is not paying attention.
Goal: To "find" her mate.
Stats:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 8
Speed: 8
Endurance: 10
Awareness: 12
Cunning: 12
Knowledge: 11
Nerve: 11 (temp -2)

Skills:
Medical: +2
Machine Control: +1
Electronics: +1
Mechanical: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Occult: +1
Diving: +1
Stealth +1
Inventory:
Fathoms:16
Relic fragment
Bladed Shovel
Clothing with ? Balarim Jal

"I could stay to take care of the drill or I could go with you, either works." Vikkan said after leaving the cockpit to reconvene with the diving group.

"If I stay, I'm willing to lend my utility items, armor included, to the people going down to explore, though. I'll see if the guards can take care of lowering and raising the rope, since I doubt they'd leave us without anyone capable of doing at least that."

Check if one of the guards can do the lowering and raising of the rope.

Vikkan quickly briefs a guard on how to raise and lower the winch before he starts lowering everyone down, one at a time.

Kara is the first into the rope harness and Clate carefully adjusts the sliding hitches that go around each limb, making sure they're snug and secure. Once he's  satisfied, he gives her the go ahead and they both crawl over to the exit hatch. Getting out is somewhat terrifying, even for someone as nimble and surefooted as Kara. There are no stairs, no ladders, nothing to hang on to as she crawls out of the hatch backwards, worming into a sitting position with her upper half outside and then slowly standing up, feet planted on the bottom of the hatch opening, hands clinging to the top, standing outside with her body pressed up against the bore. She slowly turns around, so her heels are resting on the hatch opening and she's holding on behind her back. The bore's drill turns slowly below her and the harness rope pulls taunt. She takes a deep breath and then lets go, leaning forward so that the harness holds her body while she pivots downward on her feet, slowly going from standing vertical to descending horizontally, spread eagle.  She passes the Bore's enormous conical drill, just inches from it as it rotates with glacial slowness. A moment later she's out into the cavern proper, nothing around her but hot wind and empty space. The winds are random, undirected, and spin her around and around, though never push her very far in any direction. Most of the view on the way down is a blur as she twists one way, slows, stops, and then twists the other.  She keeps her focus on the ruin beneath her, eyes locked on the growing blue forms. It looks for a moment that she might end up on one of those razor edges of the towers, lowered slowly onto a knife blade. But the descent misses it by maybe 10 feet and finally ends on an flat balcony of sorts; an uneven hexagonal plate jutting out from one of the towers at a not quite flat angle. Its as smooth as ice and when she lands she has to dig her talons in a bit to stop from sliding.

Kara gets her footing and then undoes the harness, giving it three good yanks to signal her landing and letting it go has it gets reeled back in. She looks around while she waits for the next person to come down. The balcony is tipped very slightly back towards the spire its connected to, and an irregular pentagonal doorway in the otherwise smooth blue wall. The stone is cool beneath her feet, despite the intense heat of the world around her.  It was hot up there but here its like standing with your face next a furnace. She wouldn't want to stay out here too long.

Adam comes down next and he's still getting the harness off when Wiellste comes crawling down the rope and ends up stepping on his head as he struggles with a knot.  Nyw comes down next with Drett spiraling down beside him. One by one they all come down over the course of maybe 10 - 15 minutes, until finally Vikkan hands the controls over to the guards who lower him down last. His descent isn't quite as nice; apparently the guards aren't as gracious and careful as he was and lower him frighteningly quickly until the end where they suddenly choke back, jerk him to an almost dead stop and then lower him to the ground.  He grumbles and shrugs the harness off, making sure not to give the signal to raise it back up.

The view from this balcony is quite astounding, the lake of magma is dazzlingly bright, glimpsed between a forest of crystal spires, all glittering in volcanic light. More spires extend higher behind them, with the highest spire right at the center of the ruins.

AsHul frowns momentarily.

"Abandon me with the guards, Aspirant? What could you do against the guards? I won't get lonely, I assure you. No, I won't be attempting to lighten myself in order to be carried across the gap. That has many unnecessary risks involved, and little reward for yourself or I. A pity my bridge was incomplete. I was looking forward to the search."

GM: Action in spoiler. Alternate action can be ignored.

Spoiler: Action Inside (click to show/hide)

Spell:Akhmah Sige (Altermaterial(Stone))

Path: 2 rolls
reinforce Akhmah: 5 rolls (should need much less material for this)
reinforce Sige: 5 rolls (for speed and location as well as size. don't want them to be able to react and kill us)
total Nerve rolls: 12 (Still at advantage, round 5/5)

Final "not insane" nerve roll
final "proper effect" Akhmah roll

14 rolls.

Goal: Floor spikes to kill our two guards with. Goal is to have the spikes dart up suddenly under and around them.

Spoiler: Alternate Action (click to show/hide)

I couldn't find anything in the Rules about multi-actionsphere spells, so consider this an experiment with their requirements and limitations. Last Spell of the Silent Night, may as well go out on a bang.

Spell:Akhmah Sige Hel (Alter and transmute material(Stone to steel))

Path: 3 rolls
reinforce Akhmah: 7 rolls (should need much less material for this)
reinforce Sige: 3 rolls (forming it into lattice as it extends is a tad more complicated than a simple spire)
reinforce Hel: 2 (Stone to steel. Seems like a simple enough transmutation)
total Nerve rolls: 16 (Still at advantage, round 5/5)

Final "not insane" nerve roll
final "proper effect" Akhmah roll (or is it 2, one for the transmute and one for the alteration?)

17 rolls. (18 f I need 2 Akhmahs at the end)

Goal: To transmute rock to steel and shape it into a lattice for both reinforcement of the existing half-bridge and to extend to the nearest tower. Draw the material from the walls, run it under the current spire, and extend it out. The lattice work should make it lighter, and the steel should strengthen the current structure, should the spell succeed.

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

Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent
Goal:To find God
 
Stats
Str:9  Dex:8  Spe:8  End:10  Awa:12  Cun:10  Kno:10  Ner:16

Skills
Diving: 3
Animal Handling: 2
Survival: 1

Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy)
1 Silent Night - calming. gives advantage on diving rolls 1 used, currently on round 5
4 Worm Blood - steadies nerves
2 Occult Junks
2 Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore)

Your vision is beginning to return to normal. The Silent night is almost over. You can feel your heart starting to beat faster.  You turn around and look at the two guards. They're standing near each other, not far away. You look around, trying to look as though you're not observing them. You walk over to some stone near the edge of the hole, right by your semi-failed bridge, and close your eyes. You awaken to a tremendous crunching, grinding noise. You blink and look over towards the guards. The spikes might have been overkill, so many thin shards of stone erupted from the ground that they formed an interwoven lump of braided rock. The guards were in there, somewhere, in some form. There's blood and fabric, a chunk of hairy scalp sticking on the end of one spike. Grisly hints but little in the way of actual bodies, which must now exist somewhere in that stone coffin as a fine paste.

You smile a bit, sweating, and then the drug wears off. The calm and silence recedes and is instead replaced by the exact opposite. Your solid black eyes turn pale gray, irises bleaching out to white, and your vision goes painfully bright. Like going from pitch darkness to a spotlight, but your eyes refuse to adjust. The world is screaming around you; so much noise, so many smells, so many sensations. You grit your teeth and the sensation of  them grinding over each other is like scraping them with a power sander.  Silent night withdrawal.

Lokam carefully walks to the end of the newly made bridge, but doesn't jumps yet. He waits for AsHul action to happen and if he fails to disable or kill both guards, he jumps and uses his wings to fly to the ruins. Otherwise, he stays with AsHul.

Spoiler: Lokam Pilgrim (click to show/hide)

Name: Lokam Pilgrim

Description: Lokam is an Ethral Aspirant of the Tenebrous Chruch currently on pilgrimage. His soft fur is pale yellow, his large and fuzzy mane is golden and antennae and wings are dark purple with white details. His antennae, unlike most Ethral, are also very long and fluffy. Most of the time, he's wearing his silky church robes, which also have a hood included. His mask is very dark purple, with bright yellow spirals and curves, similar to tentacles.

Goal: His goal is to just complete his pilgrimage and ascend in the chruch. He wishes to go as deep as possible and someday become a Living Saint, Stygian or even a member of the Council. But his dream is to someday go deeper than everyone, reach the center and finally find God.

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

Skills:
Diving: 3
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Survival: 1
Translate: 1

Inventory:
The Black Book (Real)
Black Flame
Bag of Path Markers
Silk Aspirant Gray Robes
Purple Mask

You walk off the bridge and over to Ashul, who is looking very ill.

[Parisbre56]

"Whew. This is hot. I really hope they made the inside magically cooler..."

Get inside and start exploring. My main aim is to find a way to the biggest tower but anything else (murals, books, everyday objects, corpses) is also interesting to me. Be sure to pocket stuff that look important and/or shiny.

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).

Stats
Str:8 
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End:6 
Awa:12
Cun:10 
Kno:8 + 3 = 11
Ner:10

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

Inventory
Simple Clothes
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Kara's Diary

[Egan_BW]

Explore. Gotta be a library somewhere, right?

Spoiler: Wiellste, bravest moth! (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:  7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End:  8
Awa:  7
Cun: 15
Kno: 13
Ner: 11

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

Inventory:
Silk cloak
Copper mask
Ethral revolver 6/6

1 Fathom

[Ozarck]

"Aspirant. Don't talk, it hurts. You should find the others and tell them what I did. I don't think ... there's anything more ... you can do here."

[Caellath]

"It might have been a bad idea to let the goons control the bore. I'll be the first one back up so everyone's ascent isn't as bad as my descent." Vikkan commented in a worried tone as he massaged his muscles, now sore after the 'thrilling' trip down to the ruins.

"Did I miss anything?" he added as he stopped dealing with his soreness.

Look around (visually only, don't stray away from the group) for any sign of what path was the most used in these ruins, and for safe paths around any rubble or dangerous areas.

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.

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: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 13
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 10

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

Inventory
-Conductor's Clothes
-Dynamo Lantern
-Black Flame
-Black Book (Copy)
-Field Lighter
-Mail Shirt
-2 Fathoms

[Egan_BW]

"Would be nice to be able to blow them up at will. Maybe they would learn some respect.
Speaking of, now that we're far out of earshot, do any of you have plans to get our of this somehow? They'll probably just kill us when we get back, you know. Or give us something else to do."

[randomgenericusername]

_{"...I'm not leaving you here."}

Lokam quickly makes an inventory check, searching for anything useful. He finds nothing useful on his bag, but notices that AsHul still has a Relic Fragment and some Worm Blood. He wonders if the worm blood could help him relax or if he could try diving to cure his withdrawal, but AsHul probably wouldn't like for him to just grab and use his stuff while he is in this state.

Spoiler: Lokam Pilgrim (click to show/hide)

Name: Lokam Pilgrim

Description: Lokam is an Ethral Aspirant of the Tenebrous Chruch currently on pilgrimage. His soft fur is pale yellow, his large and fuzzy mane is golden and antennae and wings are dark purple with white details. His antennae, unlike most Ethral, are also very long and fluffy. Most of the time, he's wearing his silky church robes, which also have a hood included. His mask is very dark purple, with bright yellow spirals and curves, similar to tentacles.

Goal: His goal is to just complete his pilgrimage and ascend in the chruch. He wishes to go as deep as possible and someday become a Living Saint, Stygian or even a member of the Council. But his dream is to someday go deeper than everyone, reach the center and finally find God.

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

Skills:
Diving: 3
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Survival: 1
Translate: 1

Inventory:
The Black Book (Real)
Black Flame
Bag of Path Markers
Silk Aspirant Gray Robes
Purple Mask

[Hotfire90]

"I've got an idea." Alex replied to Wiellste. "They want the relic, we could use that as a bargaining chip by threatening to blow the relic up, or by dropping it into the magma." Alex paused for a second. "Only concern is that the guards may not play along and just decide to take their chances and blow our heads off, that and that they might not have a key to disable the collars."

Alex sighed for a moment. "We could try our luck, but I think our chances of survival are best if we play along and deliver them the relic."

[Parisbre56]

"Erm... I really think we should antagonize them, not when all of us are down here and they can just kill all of us. We stand to lose much more than they are and I don't want to trust my life to the honor and intelligence of thugs. As long as we have those things around our necks, we should try to appear obedient and helpful."

[Hotfire90]

"It can't hurt to have a backup plan that guarantees our survival though. Our part of the job ends once we've brought the relic back to the bore, at that point we become useless, the guards could very well trigger our collars and return alone with the relic, claiming our efforts as their own. Having a plan ready to avoid such a scenario might come in handy."

[The Lupanian]

Try again to identify the crystals. Do they appear to be the same crystals the buildings are made out of?
Wait until someone else progresses, then step in the next room. Take a look around, if nothing seems out of place, then search it.

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.
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:10
Dex:11
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:10
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:10

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

Inventory
Several large chunks of blue crystal
Lucky Shot (7 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units structural junk
2 units mechanical junk

[Radio Controlled]

Adam comes down next and he's still getting the harness off

"Ah, that was a little scary, but it luckily everything went perfe-" Bonk

when Wiellste comes crawling down the rope and ends up stepping on his head as he struggles with a knot.

"Ah yes, glad to see you made it down safely as well, sister Wiellste." he finished with but the slightest tone of sarcasm.


Once everyone is down, Adam said "Thank you brother Clate for setting up that system, it worked wonderfully. And you brother Vikkan, my ride down here was some smooth sailing. I wish I could say the same about your ride."

Mentally try to orient myself in relation to the central tower, with the intention of staying aware of the direction of the central tower as we go down into the palace. After that, move along with the rest of the team into the crystal palace.

Also, loan 6 fathoms to aigre.

"Would be nice to be able to blow them up at will. Maybe they would learn some respect.
Speaking of, now that we're far out of earshot, do any of you have plans to get our of this somehow? They'll probably just kill us when we get back, you know. Or give us something else to do."

"It would be preferable if we could keep this relic out of the hands of these scoundrels. It belongs to the Church, they are the only ones who can handle these things safely and correctly. That said, it would do us no good to not be aware of the position we are in. They have great leverage over us through these collars and the fact all of them are heavily armed, while most of us are not.

However, if we could solve the issue of these collars at least temporarily, which I think should be doable through the use of the divine powers, then we'd have the element of surprise for our attack. We'd need to carefully coordinate this to stand any chance of success of course, and it could only work if everyone is on board. But I think we have a shot at it. Though even if we win, we'd still need to get rid of these collars permanently...

All that said, we could play along and try to rebel against these people later on. Why they'd keep us around after they've gotten their hands on the relic is beyond me however. It's possible they'll keep us around for future suicide assignments I suppose, but that seems rather unlikely to be honest, nor very enticing." he said, while scratching his neck near where the collar was.

"I've got an idea." Alex replied to Wiellste. "They want the relic, we could use that as a bargaining chip by threatening to blow the relic up, or by dropping it into the magma." Alex paused for a second. "Only concern is that the guards may not play along and just decide to take their chances and blow our heads off, that and that they might not have a key to disable the collars."

Alex sighed for a moment. "We could try our luck, but I think our chances of survival are best if we play along and deliver them the relic."

"But if this relic is indeed a thing of power, then we could make good use of it by turning it against our captors. So either way it seems our next step is to explore these ruins and locate our objective, wouldn't you agree?"

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.


Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
 
Stats
Str: 10
Dex: 10
Spe: 10
End: 10
Awa: 10
Cun: 10
Kno: 10
Ner: 13

Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1

Inventory
Clothing: simple priest robes, shortened a bit so as to less restrict his movements
1 minor artifact
1 black book copy
1 black flame
1 Silent Night
1 field lighter
23 fathoms

[Aigre Excalibur]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Aigresaur
Description: A sexy lizard with a serpentine head, smooth pale scales, a slender velociraptor's body with lanky arms and legs...
Goal: it just wants to snuggle
 
Stats Shang-Gei
Str: 8
Dex: 15
Spe: 12
End: 8
Awa: 12
Cun: 10
Kno: 8
Ner: 10

Skills
shotgun: 3
acrobatics: 2
Unarmed: 1

Inventory
Tunnel Clearer 5/5

Slither along, following Radio Controlled if possible.

[Egan_BW]

"...Possibly. Finding this relic may prove useful. It may also use resources that would be better spent escaping. These collars are very well crafted, so if we want to remove them without the key, we will need fresh, untired divers."