"See, our fortunes have turned already! Be careful though, it might be trapped or guarded."
Look around, can I spot any traps? If not, go inside and inspect the box itself for traps. if still nothing, open a small hole in the top with the crystal construct and look in (if that's possible, if not just open it up and take a step back in case there's a snake inside).
There is a sound like gunfire but far FAR too massive and loud. Everyone, everywhere in the structure, hears it. But only AsHul, out on the balcony and looking at the dragon, sees the source. A crack appears in the wall the dragon is eroding, a fissure That must be several feet wide appears in the stone and races out in stuttering bursts, zig-zagging along the wall and up towards the ceiling. Dust and stones begin to fall from the cave ceiling and there is a sound like distant thunder rising all around. More cracks begin to appear, spreading from the first or from other places in the wall. One rips its way down into the magma and the sea of molten stone pours in for several seconds before settling.
"Either our friends are having themselves a party or something big and, I'll estimate, bad is afoot."
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)
1 crystal construct
[6]
You walk around the chest, careful, eyes searching its surface and the floor around it for any kind of suspicious mechanism. There were none, of course; the Gem people always seemed to keep their mechanics hidden within the inscrutable shell of stone. Something on the molecular level, maybe. You file it away to think on later, assuming you got that chance. You hold the crystal creature out as far from you as possible with one hand and tap it against the chest. Just like with the barrels, a seam appears along the chest's upper section, splitting the stone into two unequal halves. The lid sort of rises up and sides back a half inch, just enough that it rests on the lip of the chest instead of clicking back into the locked position. You push it the rest of the way; its heavy but there's surprisingly little friction so once you get it moving it glides off and onto the floor with a bang. Inside is a single object: It looks like a double beaker or sorts, a many faceted clear quartz container filled with some sort of thick, slightly yellow liquid. Inside this layer of liquid is another quartz container, this one containing something black. Or, you see upon closer inspection, not black but something very very very dark amber. Its so dark it looks black everywhere except along the edge where a bit of light can shine through and display the true color. There is a long neck leading up from the inner beaker, through the outer one. This neck rises another 2 inches before it is corked and coated in some sort of substance that is clearly not stone.
"Sure. I'll be careful..."
Search the box for traps. If we don't find anything, open it. Really don't care if it's a bomb since I have done absolutely nothing and this is the first interesting thing I have seen since I created this character.
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
[1] You concur with the assessment of the box as being safe and not trapped before Adam opens it.
"THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE STILL ALIVE IN THERE, WE SHOULD LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY!"
AsHul shouts teh above into the main room, then suits deed to word and moves across the bridge back to the borehole.
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 (currently at -1)
Skills
Diving: 3
Animal Handling: 2
Survival: 1
Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (copy)
1 Silent Night - calming. gives advantage on diving rolls
3 Worm Blood - steadies nerves (restores to max)
2 Occult Junks
3 Fathoms (One magnetically welded to the wall of his room in the Bore, one "shiny," one standard)
One Brass sphere with clockwork innards (From Balaram)
Book of sheet music (from Balaram) [stack of about 100 pages bound by three brass rings along the top of the sheets]
You shout a warning and then, your conscious clear and your work done, sprint back across the bridge as fast as your malformed legs will allow.
"What's going on?"
Hurry back to the main room and determine the cause of the sound.
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
Broken Bladed Shovel (Handle and Shovelhead)
Mail Shirt
8 Fathoms
Stone and crystal samples (including a diamond, black opals, quartz and goldlace marble)
Crystal box of golem limbs
Golem buddy
You run back into the balcony room and find a Corven and....a skinless lizard thing screaming at each other. You give THAT a wide berth and run over to the balcony. The source of the noise becomes very obvious from that point on. Also there's an abomination running away from the ruins on a stone bridge, waving a half frantic, half sarcastic goodbye as it does so.
”Wait, that’s the wrong piece… fuck… wait, that’s the wrong material… FUCK! It’s ok, I’ll just get more… god damn it”
Get to the moth corpse and grab her revolver. Then get to the balcony see what’s going on.
Addendum, If the moth is magically alive again then don’t go for the revolver.
If the big guy is going to be in the way, I’ll respectfully back off and head for the bore.
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
Crystal cutting utility knife (free to borrow)
Silver/Tin wire spool
3 gold cubes
7 Octahedrons
5 Large branches of crystalline lead
Lucky Shot (6 rounds)
Field Lighter
10 Path Markers
2 units mechanical junk
You respectfully turn tail and dive into the harness. You give it several sharp tugs and send it back up to the bore. You're greeted by that same guard, though he is a lot more on edge this time, demanding to know whats going on and where the Relic is. He punctuates his sentences with meaningful thrusts of his rifle towards your chest.
"What is going on? Just what happened in here!?"
Considering the situation they were currently in, he probably wouldn't have time to gather answers, the priority was obviously getting the hell out of that place as soon as possible.
"We need to get out of here RIGHT NOW. No time to keep fiddling around, otherwise none of us will leave this area in one piece!"
Follow Vikkan to the Bore to guarantee he gets there safely.
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
Vikkan was about to continue his looting efforts alongside Garos when the fairly leisurely scenario the group found itself in started to unravel in spectacular fashion. A pair of horrible noises invaded his ears one after the other, just the kind of sounds no one wants to hear. The kind he didn't want to hear.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Vikkan shouted, arriving in time to see one of his companions seemingly dead, Kara screaming as she suffered some sort of mutation and listen to the non-insane abomination's warning. His stomach sunk and for a moment he felt like biting his tongue until he felt blood and falling into a stunned stupor. He just couldn't give himself that amount of rest, though.
"Drett, please check on her! And if she's dead... Someone has to carry her!" The bore driver called to the medic Ethral, glancing at the honored dead at the last part before turning to Kara and the many-tongued abomination. "YOU! GET AWAY FROM KARA! KARA, MOVE AWAY FROM HER!" he shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth and from under his mustache. He had no idea what had happened, but he was too nervous and under too much stress to try and find out.
"EVERYONE ELSE, FINISH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LET'S MOVE!"
To the rope, tug on it with obvious urgency and let's get out of this place. After getting into the bore explain the situation, including the fact we have the artifact. If necessary, help anyone who stays behind due to fresh new wounds or whatever.
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
Despite the chaos, the guards are apparently cognizant enough to send the rope back down after Harm's ascent and Vikkan gets himself strapped in with Garos' help. Garos then, without asking, sits on Vikkan's shoulders and the two go up together. The entry into the bore is pretty scary, particularly for unrestrained Garos, but they both make it back. Vikkan explains the situation to the guard, letting him know that they have the relic, that the cave is probably going to collapse soon, and that this will all go much faster and easier if he can get back in the control room and handle the lifting.
The man gives Vikkan a long look before nodding. He steps aside to let Vikkan up and the bore driver makes his way up to the control room, a return made all the more tedious and difficult by his missing hand. He didn't remember climbing ladders being this hard before. He sighs and thinks that he must be much more tired than he originally imagined.
Light damn it all, this is why... Drett curses under his breath constantly as he moves immediately to Wiellste.
I don't think there is much I can do for her. Kara, are you in any pain?
Tend to the (most indeedly dead) moth on the ground. Any chance at all of resuscitation?
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
[19] You run over to the moth and flip her onto her back. You then attempt CPR, pressing down hard on her chest. A wet popping sound is the result, along with a gush of ichor and her head, already barely attached, goes rolling off and stops several feet away.
"Ah." You say, nodding to yourself, before promptly doubling over and vomiting.
Do a knowledge check on the rod with the crystal. Regardless of outcome, pick it up by using my magnetized/sticky shovel handle to grab onto the rod part, avoiding the crystal part.
Exit the door. Tap the construct again with the obedience rod and start moving towards the bore/winch. If the construct does not automatically start following me, drag it with me. Also, on my way to rejoin the bore/team, check periodically if I don't see any other constructs. If I do, go tap them with the obedience rod so they follow me as well.
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
8 Octaherdrons - supposedly replicate materials
2 gold cubes
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod
Slate box with multicolour crystal toothpick - supposedly turns someone into a gemperson.
7 structural junk
30 chemical junk
5 Fathoms
[4]
This is a piece of "Jewelry" they are supposed to have worn some times; apparently literally impaling the metal rods into themselves like hat pins. Very odd. Said something about the resilience of the species, no doubt.
[4] You turn around and pass through the door, giving the construct a little bop as you do. It shivers into motion and follows after you, moving with surprising speed. You run down the halls back towards the balcony room, slipping and sliding along uneven footing. You find six more constructs on your way back; not taking enough time to really examine them but still bopping them with your rod and continuing on, the growing herd of stone creatures clattering along behind you. You slide through the door to the balcony room a few moments later.
Nyw sighs, and walks over to Wiellste's body as soon as her collar explodes. He kneels down next to the small moth and inspects her neck visually, but doesn't say anything. When others rush over to grab at her body, he physically raises a massive arm over Wiellste, blocking their paths. "Leave her." is all he says.
Block anyone who tried to move Wiellste, or take her items. Keep the abomination at arm's reach if her flailing brings her close to Wiellste. Wait until everyone else has left, then carefully pick up Wiellste and take her body to the rope personally.
Since the 'kumo should be within arm's reach anyway, grab that and hold it on one shoulder. I don't suppose it sticks to the back, does it? Could it be slid through gaps in Nyw's armor to hold it without hands, in case Nyw needs to carry multiple bodies?
((If sacrificing the collar actually works without killing you I'll be amazed and greatly amused.))
Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:
((Only one murakumo, but hey! Dual wielding them is stupid anyway.))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Mourning the foolish young moth".
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]
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3, Fragile]
Ornamental Mask of the Child
Auft cooed sadly over the corpse of her fellow moth. Still, waste not want not...
Drag Wiellste's corpse back to the bore and haul us both up. Recruit passing companions if necessary to retrieve her carcass.
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.
2 quarter-inch cubes of impossibly heavy black stuff: Estimated 50 lbs weight total
You lumber over, pick the would be medic up by the collar, drop him on his feet and give him a shove in the direction of the balcony. You manage to intercept the other moth before she can reach the corpse and catch her by the front of her robe, lifting her effortlessly off the ground and carrying her as you walk over to the Murakumo. You shoulder it with your other hand and confirm that its backside is flat, so you could, theoretically pass it through a section of armor to hold it in place with relatively low risk of injuring yourself or damaging the armor. You spin the would be ghoul-moth around and drop her to the ground before giving her a stern, if not hard, kick in the abdomen, propelling her several feet towards the balcony. She squeals and shouts something at you; not swearing but not words you understand. Something about "Ignoramus" and "Ragamuffin"
Use the Artifact to dive. Sacrifice my arm. Do Noth Jal Undyne to selectively reverse time. Focus on me, the dead moth (Egan) and the syrupy abomination (Yotta), aiming to get us back to a safe/normal state. If we also retained (or attained in my case) the loss of our collars that would be an added benefit, but not my main goal. I dunno if our equipment got damaged as part of our misfortunes but fixing that would also be an added bonus.
I dunno how exactly time reversal works, but if it affects the entire person the idea is that my missing arm, the general panic and the other differences will prevent us from doing the same mistakes.
If I need to specify a path and reinforcements, use the following: Noth + 4, Jal+2, Undyne + 6. Or whatever is most sensible.
If I can't affect 3 people in one dive, then split the dive and my sacrifice into 3 parts (hand, forearm, rest of arm).
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 reach back into your pack and place a floppy hand atop the orb. It wasn't the usual kind of fragment people used to dive with, but an Artifact was an Artifact and it should work. Never the less this was going to be a dangerous thing to do, probably a stupid thing to do. But you didn't see much choice. You ignore everything else and lift your left arm out, offering it to empty space, and begin the dive. You find yourself standing somewhere you weren't before. A valley or canyon of some sort; high jagged walls of black stone covered in thick snow. You're sunken up to your waist in the snow as well, though you don't feel the cold. You look up and around and notice, hundreds of feet above, vaguely humanoid figures with too many arms moving in the snow. You hear sounds, distant snorting and weird musical calls. Then you look back at the valley and see something in front of you.
Its black against the white snow, a great wriggling ball of muscle and tentacles, not unlike a Shluck grown out to impossible size. Its limbs, thick as your waist, slither forward and grip stone and snow in crushing embrace. Its body and head are indistinguishable from one another, just a mass of flesh at the base of all the limbs, tipped with a huge beak. The creature coils itself like a spring and then leaps forward, leading with several limbs and that serrated black beak. You see a ring of glowing red eyes around the beak just before it snaps closed over your arm.
You crash back into the waking world with a scream, the weight of the creature still pushing you back and to the ground. Your arm is gone, not neatly either, a jagged stump at your shoulder that blossoms blood with every heartbeat. But as you watch, the gouting blood turns white before it can hit the ground. Those white motes of snow are swept up by unfelt, unseen wind and whip out towards the corpse of the moth, towards Moku, and towards your remaining arm. They curl and spiral around the three things, spiraling in a violent, concentrated snowstorm. And those things begin to move backwards. Moku's face slides back on and she walks backwards, her image flickering beneath the shroud of white. She walks back to where she was and proceeds to shove the collar back onto her head. She stands there for a few Moments more, apparently readying her dive, before suddenly the storm bursts and the white flakes fly away from her, melting into nothing as they do. A similar thing happens to Wiellste's corpse, the head reattaching. However her collar, sacrificed in an attempt to dive, doesn't reappear, though the blast does as it rewinds back into thin air and vanishes. Your arm changes slightly, the squishy nature of it vanishing as well.
All the time reversals happen at the same time and end at the same time. You find yourself laying on your back, gripping the stump with your restored hand, while Moku and Wiellste look around in confusion. They clearly know something abnormal has happened but they don't seem to know what. The reversal must have effected their memories. Wiellste, feeling for her collar, looks a bit too smug. You can see the self congratulatory wheels turning in her head, making assumptions about her skill with diving and how the sacrificing worked perfectly. Moku just blinks big, dull lizard eyes in a complete lack of understanding about whats going on.
Author
Topic: DIG: Heresy (Read 413746 times)