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1 (6.7%)

10

5 (33.3%)

2

6 (40%)

3

0 (0%)

Potato

3 (20%)

Total Members Voted: 15

[Devastator]

Does it sound like there's space below the vent?

[Egan_BW]

Warm path.

[MaxTheFox]

Warm path.

+1.

[King Zultan]

Warm path.

+1.

+1

[Parisbre56]

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Does it sound like there's space below the vent?

The floor seems pretty solid. It doesn't sound hollow. You could dig into it with a bit of effort but it will probably be a while before you reach anything, assuming there's anything to reach.

Head for the warmer area

After a second of thought you continue running towards the place that feels warmer. You run for a bit less than a minute, passing below two more grates without pausing to investigate them. From a quick glance through them, one of them leads to a place with a lot of noisy bipeds, another leads to a dark storage room.

You turn a corner and enter a room with a great buzzing machine in it, a thin and tall thing that extends far above where the floor above would be. It is either the origin or the destination of the warm pipes, you can't really tell. 3 pipes come from different paths (one of them being the path you came from) and merge into one before disappearing inside the machine.

Several wires connect to the bottom of the machine, the place where the buzzing is loudest. You can feel vibrations inside it, as if there's something turning around in there.

A ramp with a flimsy-looking safety rail twists around the machine until it reaches the top. Up there you can see an iris that opens every few seconds. It stays open for less than a second but during that time there is a great rush of air, as if it's sucking the air out of the room. At the same time the machine releases a great amount of steam from its top. Almost all of it is sucked through the open iris, but the timing isn't perfect. Some of the steam remains in the room, making it quite hot and humid.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Age: a few minutes (hatchling)
Size: about the size of a dog
Status: no longer hungry, blood-stained
Health: cuts and bruises
Weapons: claws and teeth
Armor : soft scales
Abilities: none, for now

[NRDL]

Slash or bite at the wires.

[King Zultan]

Slash or bite at the wires.

+1

[MaxTheFox]

Slash or bite at the wires.

+1

+1.

[Parisbre56]

Slash or bite at the wires.

You choose a random bundle of wires and use your claws to cut it. Through sheer dumb luck this causes the iris in the ceiling above the machine to get stuck open instead of triggering any of the other possible side effects the universe had in its roll chart.

The iris remains open regardless of whether or not steam is being released by the machine, revealing a narrow tube you could crawl through to get out of the room. Air rushes out of the room through the open iris, the intensity of the wind gradually dying down as pressure is equalized. The low pressure makes it harder to breathe but it's not dangerous, merely tiring.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Age: a few minutes (hatchling)
Size: about the size of a dog
Status: tired, blood-stained
Health: cuts and bruises
Weapons: claws and teeth
Armor : soft scales
Abilities: none, for now

[Naturegirl1999]

Enter the tube

[Xantalos]

Okay yeah imma be watchin

[Egan_BW]

Out out!

[Devastator]

Out is good.  Not in, out.

[Naturegirl1999]

Out is good.  Not in, out.

The tube the air goes through leads out, right?

[Parisbre56]

The tube the air goes through leads out, right?

Well, that is a very reasonable assumption, but for all you know it could lead to a giant blender.

Enter the tube

You run up the ramp, using your claws to find traction in metal still slick with condensed humidity. As you reach the top you hear the distant clang of a floor grate opening, but if they're coming after you, they're too late. With a jump and a flap of your wings you reach the hole and grab the edges. Thankfully the rushing air has removed most of the water, so the tube is not too slippery. With a couple more flaps of your wings you climb up the rest of the way. You crawl forward for a couple of steps until the tube starts sloping downwards. You emit a whine of alarm as you start sliding forward but flail as you might you are unable to stop. Then the tube suddenly ends and you are left tumbling through the air.

End of Chapter 1: Hatching

Alien Egg Hatches, creature kills 1

Chaos erupted in the Alcea Udd Museum this evening when an unknown alien creature emerged from what was previously thought to be an inert egg. After beaking out of the display case that housed its egg the creature escaped through the building's maintenance shafts. Security guard Aracess Glea attempted to stop the creature with her stun rifle but was killed in the process. Though this was the only person attacked by the creature, many others were injured in the resulting chaos.

The Museum has been blamed for negligence in its handling of the artifact and many visitors have threatened to sue. Security Force inspectors that arrived at the scene shortly thereafter have pledged to uncover the reasons behind this tragedy. The museum will remain closed while the investigation is in progress.

Security Force officers are also performing a search of the area in the hopes of finding and capturing or killing the creature before it can cause more harm. They have asked anyone with knowledge that can help with the search to contact their nearest Security Force station. However one Security Force officer who asked to remain anonymous said to our reporter: "Don't hold your breath. By now that thing could be anywhere."

Fame: +10: How prominent you are in the public's attention
Notoriety: +5: The public perception of your actions and the threat you pose
Fear: +5: The public perception of your power and abilities

Chapter two starting in a moment