"That was completely unintentional, I assure you!" AsHul mutters as he backs slowly away.
UnDive! Back to Akhmah with my ill-gotten gains.
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)
[18]
You close your eyes and then open them. You're back in your normal body. You try to sit up but your entire body is asleep; absolutely numb and very awkward. You mange, with some effort, to jerk yourself into a seated position and wait a few minutes as all the feeling returns in waves of pins and needles.
The bronze sphere and the sheet music are sitting next to you and you gather them up with clumsy fingers and stuff them in your bag.
Kara laughed (which sounded more like cawing) both out of joy and out of stress (or rather being relieved from it).
"Thanks Drett. You don't know how happy I am to-"
Kara interrupted her speech as she noticed something with the corner of her eye.
"Oh, damn, wait, excuse me one second. Sorry. Be right back." Kara apologized with a small bow before running away.
"Oops! Sorry! Sorry everyone." Kara apologized yet again as she neared the people gathering in front of the door.
"I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be dangerous to remove the artifact from this room. Here, I'll get the door for you." she added as she hurriedly approached the door and touched the Crystal on it.
"If you still think its too dangerous to take the artifact with us, then I suppose I could wait here and guard it, even though I would really like to explore this place. I'll even give you Crystal Friend if you promise not to let anything happen to it, I really like this thing. And hey, maybe those Abducted in the first room have read those tablets and found something about what the artifact does, so maybe I won't have to wait that long."
Open the door for the others but do not leave the room yet.
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
InventoryFire Orb Artifact (in backpack-like thing made from shirt)
Ethral Rifle (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Crystal Friend
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Simple Clothes (no shirt)
Kara's Diary
You carry your crystal friend down to the entrance that everyone seems to be congregating at and use him to get everyone through.
Head back together with the others. While heading back, keep an eye out for interesting items or wall markings or side chambers or crystal constructs.
Remember how I oriented myself before? Use that to help me navigate and not get lost in the crystal palace.
You carefully orient yourself towards the largest spire and lock that place into your mind. You make sure to keep it in the back of your head at all times, so that you can navigate with it as the point of reference.
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)
You orient yourself and head back down. Its not perfect; knowing where the tower is doesn't tell you which of these branching paths is the right one. However, you do know roughly the direction the room you're lookign for is in, so you can, through process of elimination, eventually find it. On the way you see no writing on the walls of any kind; at least nothing you recognize as writing. You do however come across several constructs of varying shapes, including one that looks nigh identical to the "Crystal Friend" that Kara has.
You pick up the construct and use it to get through the door and enter the room you started in. There are several men still in here, poking at broken barrels and dividing loot by the look of it.
Stay with Kara, or at least near enough to keep track of her. She's got the artifact, and by extension, all our lives.
If outside, or close enough to go outside without losing track of the corven, examine the ceiling and walls of the cavern. Is the bore visible anywhere, or are there any conspicuous holes or anything? We almost certainly must have come from somewhere either to the side or above; everyone is too grouped and fresh to have trekked all the way up from underground, if there's even any safe paths up through the magma.
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
You stick with Kara. And yes, you remember coming down here. The last thing you remember is moving through that first door with Kara and her crystal friend. After that you lose time until showing up in that room with the pit.
”Tell you what Clate, I want to use some of those dice, but I’ll let you hold on to ‘em if you open that there box. Other than that, with the possible exception of the knife and the box, I’ll let you hold onto the unique stuff, and I’ll take half the gold, and half the materials. I’m also not likely to be stingy with my share, if you want to utilize materials for community projects and such”
If Clate agrees to let me, I take half te gold blocks, and half the materials. Then I inspect the knife.
”Additionally, if you, or anyone else for that matter want to Topple the tree themselves, I’m willing to Let them have what’s under it”
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
The knife, for that really is what it appears to be, is about 14 inches long. It has a square pommel, a thick rectangular grip, and a Rectangular blade. The tip is squared off and the back is flat but the blade side is beveled in to an edge on one side, the blade on a pair of scissors. Its made of crystal, unsurprisingly, but the crystal is silvery and has a metallic coldness and heft to it, even though its slightly translucent. Its definitely a utility blade of sorts, the lack of point and the design of the edge makes it look more like an oversized straight razor than anything else. You wonder what a society that makes everything out of stone could do with a knife. What were they cutting?
Commence with the looting once Kara opens the door.
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
Follow Kara as she is the only one able to open the doors, and once she opens them, move in and start the looting fest.
Name: Garos Ellon
Description: Garos is a 4 feet moth-creature, with a black fur coating his body, the only different colors standing out on his form are located on his wings; blue circular marks that do give him two "eyes" on the back. Aside from the mask his kind naturally wears, he is also wearing a worn kettle helmet, which while doesn't provide the protection it normally should due to its current condition works like his lucky charm. The mask Garos wears is somewhat plain looking, all black aside from some blue marks along the "cheeks" and a crudely drawn star on the forehead area.
Goal: He is just hoping to gather himself a fortune and hopefully some fame too, just in case the hiring-and-shooting business becomes a necessity.
Stats
Str: 7
Dex: 12+2
Spe: 10+1
End: 8
Awa: 7
Cun: 13
Kno: 13
Ner: 10
Skills
Weapon Skill: 2
Stealth: 2
Acrobatics: 2
Defense Skill: 1
Inventory
(40)Ethral Rifle [7/7]
Silk Cloak
Kara opens the door into the tower and you both immediately run in and start searching for loot. You quickly find that almost every room is blocked by a solid "Door" much like the passage into this tower, but there are a few rooms that are open. Most contain those Blue Stone barrels that you saw earlier, maybe a construct of some variety, but the thing that most catches your eye is a solid cube of what appears to be obsidian or a similar looking black stone. Its inordinately heavy, even the both of you working together can't shift it from its position.
”Tell you what Clate, I want to use some of those dice, but I’ll let you hold on to ‘em if you open that there box. Other than that, with the possible exception of the knife and the box, I’ll let you hold onto the unique stuff, and I’ll take half the gold, and half the materials. I’m also not likely to be stingy with my share, if you want to utilize materials for community projects and such”
"Nonsense, friend harm. This was a team effort, so we should both grab a somewhat equal share, no? What say you grab half of the octahedrons (8 ), the junk (6) and the gold cubes (3), along with the knife and the wire? I'll grab the other half of the stuff along with the labradorite rod and the chrome stuff. We'll open up the slate box right here to see what's up with it. Deal?"
To expand on Lupanian's action, the current loot divide is as follows:
- Clate: 8 Octaherdrons, 6 structural junk, 2 gold cubes, chrome stuff, labradorite rod
- Harm:7 octahedrons, 6 structural junk, 3 gold cubes, silver/tin wire, knife
For my actual action, I'll stuff the above mentioned things in my hammerspace pockets. Then we'll inspect the slate box. If it doesn't seem trapped/dangerous at first glance, gently open it, preferably using the tip of my shovel blade instead of my hands if possible. Check what's inside.
If nothing bad has happened up until now, start hacking off chunks of the lead tree that's grown over barrel number 1 with my shovel. Try to free the barrel and its contents from the lead if possible, but be sure to leave the snake and pinecone incased in lead.
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
You stuff your loot into your bag and then check out the box. You open it with the tip of your shovel and then when nothing explodes, you pick it up and look inside. The box is not really a box. Its box shaped but its really more of a clamshell set of stone plates with a small hollow in their center. In that hollow is a piece of crystal. Its only about the size of a toothpick and roughly the same shape, but it glows with intense multicolor light.
[3] You hack the trunk of the tree with your shovel, severing/shattering it and sending the giant growth tumbling to the ground. It shatters into countless pieces and coats the ground in lead shrapnel. However, the barrel, while still filled with lead, is now free to be accessed. The process of excavating the roots in such a way that you don't release the snake is...well something for a more delicate instrument than a shovel.
"Thanks for the help." Vikkan said wearily, trying to stay as upright and dignified as possible in his sorry state while being helped by Drett and whoever decided to keep him propped up during his trek back to the place they'd somehow left.
Wiellste's theories made him raise an eyebrow. It was a really weird thing to hear, but then again he wasn't too familiar with the effects of diving. He also didn't want to sound doubtful or suspicious and come off as rude, specially when she seemed to mean well and his memories did get scrambled with.
"So the spell made my right hand disappear and erases my memories of ever having one?" he asked, looking down at his pendant-less chain. "If that's the case, then maybe they did something else. I have this chain but I have no idea why, there's nothing on it. Could some have taken what was here?" The arrival of more people cut Vikkan's theorizing short.
"Reuniting with the bore would be good for my health. Are people done exploring?" he asked.
Waiting until people decide they've looted enough and we can move on.
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 follow Adam back to the entrance and sit down in a corner, waiting to leave.
You've had about enough of this silliness.
We should be save leaving and taking the artifact with us - there appears to have been no failsafes removing it from the pedestal. It would likely be a safer bet to move it to the room where we descended in case of emergency.
Follow the group. Keep an eye out for anything that could be useful in a medical context. Or books! Anything information-wise would be great.
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
Well, there's still those crystal slabs no one has managed to get. Gonna assume you travel with Vikkan since you're playing doctor to him.
Get back to the group and through the door. Try to figure out my new pet's purpose or qualities on the way.
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
Dodecahedron Spider-Thing: Fist-sized dodecahedron body, long unjointed legs that move in very slow cascades. Ceased moving upon being picked up.
You follow Vikkan and Drett, I assume.
[18]
You look at the spider and shrug. Who knows. Does something. Cute sorta thing.
Author
Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 413878 times)