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[piecewise]

Let's do what we need to load this cargo onto the bore. I suppose that we brought the bore to the warehouse, and will push boxes into the freight elevator? I'm afraid that I'm not very helpful with pushing heavy things around, so enlist some help from everyone else.
Be careful around this cargo. I'll examine them once we're on board but until then they're something of an unknown quantity.

Spoiler: Wiellste? (click to show/hide)

Name: Wiellste Gunsmithy

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

Goal: The spheres remain intriguing, but it's become clear that it would not be good for Wiellste's health to become a diver. And... neither Ethral or Corven culture demand it, but Wiellste feels that she owes Kara something. There's a difference between someone who saves your life and someone who brings you back from the dead.

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

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

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

Notes

1 Fathom

We will assume that the Birdies help get the boxes loaded into the bore. After they're out you make a complete examination of the boxes. To your surprise they're not simply a metal box with a lid or something, they're actually welded shut. They're a completely sealed cube with, from what you can tell by knocking, pretty damn thick walls. Hmmm.

Hmmm, think about my mother and see if that triggers anything.

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. One of her eyes is covered with an eyepatch. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop. She wears a mail shirt underneath her clothes.
Goal: Overall, Harm would like to find a place where refugees and travelers could seek refuge without dealing with the dogmatic influence of the church. Right now, though, she just wants to get away.
 
Stats
Str:11
Dex:11
Spe:11
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:11

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

1 unassigned

Condition
Hand has been severed, then reattached.
Healing cut on hand (2)(forgot to update this).

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

You think of your mother. Nothing happens.

"Excellent! I look forward to our next meeting. Farewell." Kara said with a small bow, before she turned around and walked away.
She knew things weren't 100% OK, but she couldn't help feeling proud about what she had done.
I should get a cape. That way it can swing majestically behind me when I turn around. Hmm... But that might get in the way of my tail. A cape that splits in the back perhaps? Or maybe- Gah, Kara, what are you thinking, this is not the time for that!

If things have been loaded up, then it's time to move a bit further away from the warehouse and decide what we're going to do.

Do I know what the law of Goldshore say about selling corpses? (Or at least, what did it say last time I was here, since the gangsters might have bought a new law for all I know.)
What does the law say about attacking people who sell corpses and are probably gangsters for that matter?

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

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

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

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

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

Inventory
Radio
3 fathoms
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 100 ft
Simple Clothes
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Kara's Diary

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

Kara quickly thanks the birds and then gets semi-comatose Vikkan to move the bore a bit further away. And then a bit further still till they're on the edge of town.

If memory serves about the laws around here...they wouldn't care about selling bodies. Well, not unless someone paid them to. If one of those bodies is the child of someone rich, they might care for personal financial reasons...but otherwise it wouldn't matter. Same with attacking people. They might have personal security engaged or some sort of law plan bought but otherwise it probably wouldn't matter. Written off as a personal issue and various fines paid.

Aah, an 18 and a 20, glorious. What's next, the rocks start falling? 

You know what, screw it, let's do this the old fashioned manual way: with Math.

Please give me the exact dimensions of each box and how many of each type there are. Then also please give me the cost of decent rope in this town.

(Cost is 1 fathom per fuel if I remember right. I'll assume you guys kept track of the fuel expended and how much you need to get back to full)

Very quick check seems to indicate we used about 90-ish fuel. Ok if we refuel for that amount?

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

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inventory

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

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

1 Silent Night
4 worm blood

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

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

(consider it fueled as long as the money gets take out from somewhere.)
They seem to be about a meter and a half on all sides. There are 16 of them. The cost of rope you find locally is 100 feet for 4 fathoms.

Carefully set the books down, and ready the guardian hatchet.  Say nothing, just be prepared to defend the others if the guardian attacks.

...Also, if it doesn't attack, but Ashul starts diving, knock him out with a punch before he can actually do anything.

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Nyw sets the books down and readies the hatchet, carefully dividing his attention between the danger outside -the lizard of the unknown- and the danger inside -the Ashul of the unknown.

"Is that the last guardian?"

Be ready to shoot the lizard if it attacks.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells

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

Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.

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

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

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

Alex doesn't point is weapon at the creature just yet. A gun pointed at your face is not generally a good way to start a formal greeting, after all. But he is ready to fire at any moment.

"Another weird creature. Fascinating, but troublesome at the same time."

Observe the creature. Do I know of a species like this, either something with the shape/feautures it has right now or perhaps something that has the inky black and green glowing eyes as its defining features?

Regardless, be ready to jump out of the way/behind Nyw should it decide to attack us.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

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

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

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


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


100ft silk rope


3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
143 Fathoms


Crystal Babies

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


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

[13]
You've never seen any creature like this before...however you do recognize it to be similar to the statue of the final guardian. But not the same. Maybe a minion?

"Is that the last guardian?"

"I d not know. It bears some of the hallmarks of being a guardian. And yet, it differs from most of the guardians we have seen so far in a couple key ways. If it is indeed a guardian, perhaps it need not be physically battled, as was the case with the funeral room. After all, it does not stand in our intended path. Perhaps simply moving on would be a solution.

If we DO need to battle it, I suggest light or fire. Or possibly water or something of the sort, to disperse it. It looks to be the kind of thing that might flow around a solid object rather than take damage from a weapon."

Slowly approach the lived in room, observing the inky creature as I do. Does it react to motion in that direction?
Recall the idols and the other guardians. Does this thing look like the last idol, or have telltales of being like the other guardians?
Finally, if time and brainpower allows, consider the creature's odd breathing. What does this signify? Fear, tiredness, overheating, some form of breath attack, sexual arousal?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The creature watches your movements but doesn't move other than to turn its head to track you.  It seems not to react in any way beyond that.

The thing does look like the last idol but not identical to it. The last idol had the same almost fat boomerang shaped head but not this thing's stubby, rather chubby body. It looked more like some sort of legged serpent coiled around and round a pillar.  This thing might be its spawn.
[4]
Judging by the fact that its breathing is getting no faster or slower, you'd be willing to bet it just has a very fast respiration cycle.

[Egan_BW]

^{_{"Um, Kara? I've run into a prob- well, not r-really a problem, it's just- uh, might be a problem."}}

Wiellste adjusts her mask slightly.

^{_{"...That is, um, it looks like the crates containing our cargo are welded shut, sealed. I was going to take a look myself to try to find out what we're dealing with here, but. Um, it's just a concerning. Without opening them up, the only way we can tell what's inside is Adam's sight, and that might not we wholly accurate. We could unseal the crates, of course, but the fact that they're sealed might suggest that doing so would be dangerous.
What do you think?"}}

Spoiler: Wiellste? (click to show/hide)

Name: Wiellste Gunsmithy

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

Goal: The spheres remain intriguing, but it's become clear that it would not be good for Wiellste's health to become a diver. And... neither Ethral or Corven culture demand it, but Wiellste feels that she owes Kara something. There's a difference between someone who saves your life and someone who brings you back from the dead.

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

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

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

Notes

1 Fathom

[Parisbre56]

"I don't think unsealing them is a good idea. Maybe it's just a way to prevent them from being tampered with or to keep law enforcement from finding them, but I find it far more likely they did it to keep themselves safe. If those bodies are undead of some kind... I wouldn't want to risk you getting hurt, not unless we exhaust all other options and come up with a plan that minimizes the risk we have to take."

"My suggestion is to have Adam take a closer look at them, now that we're safe and he can take his time. We'll put them in an empty room and keep them under watch. I think that should be good enough for now. After all, these Corven must have had them in that warehouse for at least a day or two with nothing happening. Assuming there's no environmental trigger or timer on them they should be able to last a few days more."

"If you and the rest of the crew feel uncomfortable with this, we could always just turn the boxes over to the authorities or dump them in a magma pool. But that means us not getting paid plus a hit to our reputation. That merchant might start spreading rumors about us being unreliable. I say we treat this like any other job and do our best to finish it."

@Radio Controlled: "Sorry for saying those things to you and about humans in general, but I wanted them to keep thinking that I'm in charge, that I'm fine with the situation and that you didn't matter. Didn't want them thinking we were a threat. I'm sure you realize that, right?"

"So, what exactly did you see? And what do you think we should do about this?"

[Ozarck]

"This creature appears to be a lesser, perhaps immature version of the last guardian, if my memory of the last idol [description from turn goes here] is correct.

Now, the question is this: would returning this creature to its larger relative be a good thing, or a terrible thing?

Perhaps it would be terrible, increasing the guardian's power, or sending the guardian into a rage.
On the other hand, if the guardian feels some sense of filial affection and a sense of gratitude or honor, perhaps returning the thing would fulfill some condition in the trial here, granting us some kind of win."

[Hotfire90]

"Perhaps it will lead us the last guardian if we follow it."

[The Lupanian]

Get back on the Bore ASAP

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. One of her eyes is covered with an eyepatch. She wears simple black clothes, with a knee-length Maggot Wool Coat overtop. She wears a mail shirt underneath her clothes.
Goal: Overall, Harm would like to find a place where refugees and travelers could seek refuge without dealing with the dogmatic influence of the church. Right now, though, she just wants to get away.
 
Stats
Str:11
Dex:11
Spe:11
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:10
Ner:11

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

1 unassigned

Condition
Hand has been severed, then reattached.
Healing cut on hand (1).

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

[Ozarck]

"Perhaps it will lead us the last guardian if we follow it."

"Perhaps. Hmm. Some kind of legged snake encircling a pillar. Perhaps the pillar is a representation of the open shaft we've been climbing, and the guardian is, in fact, the entwined spaces wrapped around it.

Do any of you volunteer to approach the small thing?"

[Hotfire90]

"Allright, just be ready if anything happens."

Calmly approach the creature in a non-threatening manner.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells

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

Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.

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

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

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

[syvarris]

Allow Alex to go forward, he's prooobably less intimidsting than a giant man in plate armor.  But do be ready to charge forward and yank him back if bad things start happening, and to attack the lizard thing.  Preferably both simultaneously, but getting Alex out of danger would take priority.

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

[Egan_BW]

^{_{"Still, I worry that if that cargo gets set off for whatever reason, it'll be something we're not equipped to deal with."}}

[Ozarck]

Ready to assist Nyw in pacification efforts. Mostly, AsHul will attempt to tackle the creature if it attacks physically. If it responds in a different way, AsHul will either remain where he is or make a dash for the lived in room that's next in the chain, depending on how obviously dangerous the act is. (i.e, if it starts screeching, he might stay where he is. if it shots tendrils of pitch black out into the room, accompanied by the screams of the damned, he'll dive for it))

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Radio Controlled]

(consider it fueled as long as the money gets take out from somewhere.)

Done.

They seem to be about a meter and a half on all sides. There are 16 of them. The cost of rope you find locally is 100 feet for 4 fathoms.

Does it seem like tying rope around the boxes (all around so a 'cross' of rope is on every side) would add much in terms of containing whatever is inside, or do the boxes seem sturdy enough that some extra rope wouldn't help much? And can I see any sort of release or opening mechanism?

Also, is this city connected to the landline communications network? If yes, could we contact the guy who hired us?

@Radio Controlled: "Sorry for saying those things to you and about humans in general, but I wanted them to keep thinking that I'm in charge, that I'm fine with the situation and that you didn't matter. Didn't want them thinking we were a threat. I'm sure you realize that, right?"
"So, what exactly did you see? And what do you think we should do about this?"

"No offense taken, given the circumstances. But don't do that again. Right now I think we should first ensure they won't be a threat to us and that we aren't getting ourselves into massive trouble ferrying these, which means finding out what the hell exactly we're dealing with. These corpses have diving upon them, but I can't say what exactly. We could open one up and take a closer look, but that's not something to be done lightly, I'm sure you all understand.

I'm also gonna look into contacting the man with whom I negotiated this deal, see if that teaches us anything. And maybe see if we can up the pay he owes us, since this isn't what we signed up for at all."

"Oh, and by the way," he added, turning to Vikkan, "Got someone to refuel the bore for us. Is she good to go otherwise? If we need any maintenance done now would be a good time, before we set off again."

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

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Inventory

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

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

1 Silent Night
4 worm blood

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

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

[Parisbre56]

@Radio Controlled: "Well, the Messenger cut straight through the tunnel, so unless they've already reopened the path I don't think we can contact Anvil."
"Did you see any diving effects on the boxes or only on the corpses?"

@Egan_BW: "Do you think you could make some traps for the room we store the corpses in? Something like a more deadly version of the slave trap, in case those things are strong enough to get out of their boxes? Do you think it would be worth it to combine a bomb collars with some TNT as a last resort?"

[Pancaek]

Observe for now, staying behind Nyw. Be ready to dive for cover should the thing come charging my way.

((I'd add a clause to shoot if it attacks, but we're all a bit bunched up so I don't think that's the best idea right now.))

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

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

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

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


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


100ft silk rope


3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot
143 Fathoms


Crystal Babies

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


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

[Parisbre56]

Do I know of any monsters or other bad things that are attracted to necromancy or diving? Or could the corpses cause effects related to their sphere to manifest, similar to how objects retrieved from dives do? I mean, could it be that we could face danger not from the corpses themselves but whatever follows them?

Then it's time to go shopping! First up, how much for some good quality, beautiful yet functional clothes, something fit for a Corven mercenary?

Second, is there something that could help protect from diving effects? I mean something that really works, not useless charms and trinkets they sell to trick gullible superstitious people.

Third, if I wanted something like a slave trap but more deadly, would it still be 10 fathoms?

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

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

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

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

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

Inventory
Radio
3 fathoms
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 100 ft
Simple Clothes
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Kara's Diary

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