"Oh dear. What happened? Did something break? Did we fall?" Kara asked, feeling the pain and tiredness of her body. It was possible, she considered, that the Crystal Friend had moved them, but she don't think suggesting that would be very good for her popularity. Especially considering the state of Vikkan's-
"Oh, Vikkan! Your-" Kara was about to say stump, but she didn't think it would be polite to do so. After all, he was a very capable driver, even if he didn't have a hand.
"Help! Is anyone a medic? Vikkan needs help! I think his arm was cut by whatever moved us!"
If nobody helps Vikkan, help Vikkan.
Grab that shiny artifact, using my shirt to hold it, like gloves. How does it look? How does it feel?
EDIT: Also get my shiny Crystal Friend. Get ALL THE SHINIES! THEY SHALL ALL BE MINE!
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).
StatsStr:8
Dex:13
Spe:13
End:6
Awa:12
Cun:10
Kno:8 + 3 = 11
Ner:10
SkillsRifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 1
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 1
Navigation: 1
InventoryShirt
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Simple Clothes (no shirt)
Kara's Diary
[8]
You scramble out of the pit, half crawling, half clawing your way up the smooth slope until you reach the spikes. From there you climb your way between them till you get hold of the artifact; carefully wrapping your shirt around it before picking it up. It looks like a clear glass orb with fire inside it. Or rather like the fire is always somewhere behind it regardless of how you look at it. It feels surprisingly light but otherwise is unremarkable; its not warm or cold or anything like that.
You wrap your shirt up into a bundle and then tie it around your chest, creating an improvised backpack for the thing. That done you climb back down and sidle across the lip of the pit over to the doorway where you are reunited with Crystal Friend!
Tch, what did you manage this time? Drett asks Vikkan, I do not know how you managed that, but that bleeding must be stopped.
Patch up Vikkan's nub, stop the bloodflow.
He had his hand a second ago, what even happened?
Drett Medizin, Ethral- Str: 07
- Dex: 12
- Spe: 10
- End: 08
- Awa: 07
- Cun: 14
- Kno: 15
- Ner: 10
SKILLS:- Medical +2
- Biological +2
- Mechanical +1
- Chemical +1
- Occult +1
- Archeology +1
INVENTORY:- Doctor's Bag x1
- Field Lighter x1
- Cave Spider Venom x6
- Fathoms x10
[10]
You open your doctor's bag and get to work on Vikkan's stump. Normally this sort of thing is easy but Vikkan's injury is being quite impossible if you do say so yourself. It just bleeds and bleeds and bleeds no matter how much styptic powder you rub on it. You finally manage to get it to stop through a combination of bandage, hasty suturing of vessels and tourniquet. Its going to heal up quite ugly but at least he'll live.
"I didn't do anything. I've no idea what did this." Vikkan said in between gritted teeth as his stump bled. He truly had no idea what had happened, and why his right hand's nub looked freshly cut, like someone had decided to add insult to injury and get a slice off his forearm. He couldn't think properly since he had a bit too much to worry with bloodloss and pain.
Vikkan's just waiting to be treated and escaping/taking cover in case of danger.
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.
StatsStr: 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 Book (Copy)
-Field Lighter
-Mail Shirt
-2 Fathoms
You can't do much more than lay back and think of Mason as this blasted Ethral sawbones jabs at your open wound. By the time he's finished you're feeling quite dizzy and unstable, not to mention pale and sweat soaked.
"Thanks doc. I think." You say, looking at the wad of bloody bandages on the end of your arm.
"You really can't remember giving it to me? That's weird." Alex paused for a moment, comparing the two conflicting memories. "Then again, it's also weird how me and my group just arrived here, I don't remember much after we left the first room, I only vaguely remember that we were chasing after a group of people, I don't know why though.
You can have it back if you want."
Give Kara the crystal creature and inspect the room for any other possible entrances.
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:
Crystal Creature
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
3 TNT
Bladed Shovel
Mail Shirt
8 Fathoms
((There's no intent to lie, it's just that the memory on how I got the creature was filled out with a suitable expanation, since the event in which I originally acquired the creature never happened.))
You hand the crystal creature to Kara and then look around the room for possible other entrances or exits. Its always hard to tell since they're not normal doors, they're just slabs you can pass through, but you think the roof might be one.
"Now, something here does not add up."
I'm not a diver, but I have read quite a bit on the subject, and something about this situation reminds me of what I'd learned...
While I'm thinking, give Drett a hand, though try not to get in the way.
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
You sit around and think while Drett works, ready to lend a hand or 4 if needed.
[2]
Missing limbs, missing memories, this is the work of EN. The only question is what the source of it is. Diving accident? Deliberate spell? Something in the environment? You should ask around to see if anyone remembers doing an EN action.
"Oh hey, this rod made of Labradorite seems cool as hell. What do you say we first completely open the second barrel before we start dividing the loot, eh? I think there's some other stuff in there."
How many octahedron were the barrel I just smashed open? Also, try to figure out if they have any purpose. Do the same for the rod of Labradorite, though I suspect it might just be a pretty gem.
Get a sealable container out of my satchel and try to kinda of roll the second barrel to try and pour out the chrome stuff into the container. Regardless wether it works or not, hit that barrel dead center like I did with the previous one, since that seems to work to open then. Observe what's inside of it. If I didn't already do see, try to scoop up the chrome foil stuff into a sealable container.
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 - handle coated with chrome stuff
Silk rope (100ft)
TNT x3
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
1 structural junk
5 Fathoms
Looks like 15 Octahedrons in this barrel.
[15][20]
Judging from the evidence you've seen so far these octahedrons might have something to do with that tree like growth. And considering its made of lead after a bullet was fired in there, you're going to guess they might be able to replicate materials in some way.
As per that rod, you have NO fucking idea. Like, zero. Not even a little.
You get a jar out and tip the barrel over so that the chrome stuff flows out. It moves like a sheet of silk a single thread thick, drifting and flowing into the jar. Once its all in there, you close the lid and get to work. [15] Your whack is weak, as usual, but you manage to smash the barrel open just a bit more; enough to get a better look inside and to insert a hand, if you feel so bold. There is what appears to be several cubes of gold about an inch to a size, a large roll of silver or maybe tin wire, a box made out of slate, and a knife.
"Somehow, this infinite, complex, alien, crowded, and dangerous situation is less worrisome than the possibility of being roasted alive. I must be missing something"
AsHul's gonna keep an eye out for functional looking devices on any conveyor that comes close enough to reach, small enough to pocket. If he can't ride the conveyor he is on past the mechanical arms, he'll hop off onto a nearby conveyor, or climb off onto a support structure. Otherwise He'll just stand carefully between cones and let the arms do their job around him.
Also, AsHul will be looking around to spot anything that appears lifelike. He has little desire to poke the natives, yet.
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
4 Worm Blood - steadies nerves
2 Occult Junks
2 Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore)
[8]
You look around for more interesting goodies and see something on a conveyor below you. Its something complex, a brass orb about the size of your fist with a glass dome revealing clockwork innards. You decide to try and jump/climb down to that conveyor.
[10]
You sit down and attempt to lower yourself to the next conveyor, reaching out with your toes and trying to get a foothold. As soon as you get your butt off the conveyor you end up tumbling down, missing the belt you were going for and landing 15 feet below on another one. Ow. Luckily this one is carrying...you reach out and feel around till you grab one, bringing it to your face to look at. Books of sheet music. Ok.
Continue being asleep until AsHul wakes up from his diving thing.
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
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
"Well, at least it's not your useful arm," Auft cooed, looking at Vikkan's wound.
Consider what I know about the gemfolk's crystal golems. Can they survive/function outside gemfolk ruins? Do they require special care and feeding? Do they butcher their owners to fashion more gemstones out of their crystalized blood?
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: 7
Dex: 12
Spe: 10
End: 8
Awa: 7
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
Inventory
2 Fathoms
Ethral Rifle [7/7]
Doctor's Bag
[12] You don't know a whole lot...you know they can survive outside of their ruins but that they are generally so specialized that you can't do much with them. They don't seem to need any food or care; they seem to just be living crystals that wander around.
The lizard extracts herself from the pile, shaking herself like a dog, ignoring the on-going conversation she skulks off to the center of the room where the artifacts lies. Her eyes stare down the artifact as she begins to circle around it. At the thrid rotation, she stops and grabs the handle of her bladed shovel and pokes the flaming orb.
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: 9 (temp -4)
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
You get some help climbing out of the pit and immediately run over to Kara and poke the orb on her back. Your nail clinks off it like normal glass.
Sit and consider the artifact. Assist with its retrieval, if necessary, but otherwise just watch it and wonder why we were searching for it, and how we can get out of here.
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
[17,9]
Hmm. You're positively stumped. It matters not; better to consider the best way to deal with these highwaymen and their damnable collars.
Help Clate
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
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Several large chunks of blue crystal
Lucky Shot (6 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units structural junk
2 units mechanical junk
[17]
You manage to smash the hole a bit bigger, but not by much. Still, every little bit helps.
Look over the possessed person to see if he's acting normal again or if there is any residual effect of any sort of his possession.
Then take a close look at the artifact and try to figure out what it could do or be used for.
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
17 fathoms
(loaned 6 fathoms to aigre)
What possessed person?
[18]
You have no idea what it could be used for but you do remember that if it is a true divine relic, then it will more than likely have no overt use or great power as is. Only through communion can its powers truly be unlocked.