Turn 5Those of you who are joining, go ahead and post your races and first turn. Feel free to name your colony so I can call it something besides "the colony"
. Also, you can name any sort of new creature or mineral if you want to unless I've already named it.
Two ten-Snaug teams will leave, one hunting party and one scouting party carrying a day's worth of food.
The scouting party will continue until they reach the end of the mud, then set up an outpost.
The hunting party heads out and brings back a slightly below-average sized crab. It is enough to feed the Smalls for now, however. The shell is used again to reinforce the walls. About half of the walls are now stronger and shell-reinforced. The mud gatherers are still at work tunneling through the ground and stockpiling mud in easy-to-access piles. Some of the Snaug also patch the wall in areas where it could be weak to ensure that it will stand properly.
A ten person scouting party is sent out to colonize the edge of the mud flats and establish an outpost. Who knows what lies beyond? They eat before they leave and take a day’s rations with them to sustain themselves the next day until they can set up a hunting operation. They travel to the southwest until they reach a pass through the Clay Mountains. They finally reach an end to the great Mud Flats. Beyond lies a flat expanse of sandy bottom interspersed with waving bits of seaweed and drifting organisms. It appears to be a sort of sandbar and is quite shallow. Not shallow enough that you can get to the surface, though. They find a good, defendable spot on a large hill of sand. It is based near the edge of where the mud and sand meet. They place their supplies on the hill and set to work gathering mud for their outpost.
A handful of strong Yaffi will use scrap metal to make tendril-blades to arm all Yaffi, the remainder will continue digging out quarters.
The swift Yaffi, if the crustacean is still nearby, will mob the creature en-masse, climbing into its body through the joints or any chinks in its armor. Their goal is to co-opt the central nervous system, rendering it mindless and controllable.
The metal proves to be unworkable, despite the strength of the Yaffi. Without any sort of forge, it doesn’t seem that they will be able to craft blades. They turn to the next sharpest material instead. A strong Yaffi discovers that the shells of the mussels are sharp when shattered and can be used to create a simple but effective blade. The threads from the mussels’ beards are able to function as ties to strap the blades to their tendrils. They create enough of these simple weapons to arm each of the Yaffi with one. The strong Yaffi also finish excavating the Yaffi’s new living quarters. Their complex now consists of an aboveground shelter surrounded by a low rock wall with underground living quarters and storage. Rocks from the excavation are used to shore up the wall and shelter a little.
Back in the bacterial mat, the two Yaffi scouts have called for backup. The rest of the swift Yaffi arrive and they decide with a most straightforward action: they mob the creature and try to
climb inside its body… O.o The Marblit is most startled by the Yaffi’s ((tentacle rape)) attack and shakes itself around. It releases a cloud of spores from sacs beneath its shell that attach to the Yaffi and stick. The Yaffi begin to clump together and drift to the bacteria below in a big clump of tentacles. The Marblit’s bright and out of place coloration was probably a warning sign to warn predators about its defense mechanism. The Marblit has disappeared below into the bacterial mat and is now out of the Yaffi’s sight. They Yaffi land on the bacteria with a
ploomph. They begin to fall into the bacteria as they grab at the restraining spores. Unfortunately, the spores also seem to have some sort of paralyzing effect on the Yaffi and they fumble with the spores, unable to remove them. They drift farther down into the bacteria until they are unable to see the surface. The bacteria almost seem to be closing in on them the way that the light becomes blocked out. Soon, they are surrounded by nothing but a dim yellow glow from above. They are still globbed together and covered by sticky spores. The spores seem to be growing, spreading tiny yellow tendrils out over their captives…
Split into three groups. Have one harvest more young kelp, another begin chopping more kelp logs for, and have the third continue construction on the barracks.
With the new tools for construction, the barracks building becomes even faster. The metal axes speed up kelp-chopping and give a quite noticeable bonus to the amount of logs harvested. Plenty of kelp is harvested for eating, as well. While they are foraging, the Flannigans notice the probable source of the skittering sound from earlier: a brownish arachnid-looking thing that is probably a sea-spider. It lives underneath some rotting vegetation and seems to be munching happily on it.
Population: 25
-Leader ((Leader counts as one of 25?Yes))
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Detailed Orders:
1) Have the Ul'mare leader, named Ehndras, put together three holding cells from the glass and metal bits taken from the pod. He will be our resident engineer and craftsman, being the most intelligent one of the group. These cells should be big enough to serve as future prison cells/storage closets. Have 2 more shrimp placed in a second holding cell to have their growth measured.
2) Next, set up two experiments. Heat up one Heart crystal and put it inside of a holding cell, allowing the shrimp to grow faster... Have a long bit of metal sharpened into a spear and use some Silk Algae to tie the second crystal to its end. Rub the crystal-tipped spear into a bit of floatstone wall or metal rapidly until the crystal is extremely hot, seeing if it can be used to slice through stone and metal as hoped for. Otherwise, conduct a few other experiments to figure what the super-heated crystal can be used for... Heat conservation can be a very useful tool in the future...
3) Remove just enough rubble from the southern blockage to allow a single El'mare to enter((small hole)). Have 10 explore the immediate vicinity, making sure not to go too deep, and to report anything strange or interesting they see. Bring back samples of any stone or material of different color or texture they find, sending 1 or 2 Ul'mare with the supplies each time something is found. This system will allow the Ul'mare to focus on exploration and ensure that the supplies aren't lost if they are attacked.
4) Have 10 El'mare go back to the plateau to collect some thornweed brambles, some shells, some random stones, and plenty of silk algae to make string with and weave into rope and netting. Set up a few nets outside of the caverns to ensure a constant inflow of captured fish/shrimp/etc. Perhaps we'll find a few surprises in the nets once in a while...
5) Including the leader, 5 El'mare remain. The leader will conduct the experiments while the usual 3 guard. The last remaining El'mare should be tasked with drilling/digging tiny holes into the cave walls in and outside to see if we can find traces of any metals to craft with.
General Order: Prepare our men for colony expansion. Our home, this cavern, shall be forevermore called "Kyeraeon", 'Heaven's Gate' ((Kye'ra = gate, Aeon = Heaven). Beginning this turn, we shall expand deeper into the cavern system, once we ensure the soon-to-be explored chambers are safe.
Ehndras, the tech-minded engineer, was the head of the Ul’mare. He was quite entertained by the crystal’s ability to retain and emanate heat. The crystal that had previously heated up has shown no signs of cooling and is still radiating light. Strangely, the heat that it gives off has a short radius. It does heat the water a little, but the true extent of its heat can only be felt when touched. Using up most of the metal bits and three units of glass, Ehndras crafts three smallish holding cells. Taller than they are wide, the cells can just hold a single Ul’mare inside. They have a large window that provides a view both into and out of the cell. Two additional shrimps are moved to one of the holding cells and the shrimp in the tube is transferred there as well (it had outgrown its container). A large chunk of Heart Crystal is heated up to a warm temperature and placed in the larvae’s cell to incubate them and speed up their growth.
Other experiments are also conducted by Ehndras. He fashions a spear of sorts out of the last long bit of metal and ties a sharp bit of Heart Crystal to the end. The Heart Crystal is heated up through friction until it is searing hot. It cannot cut through floatstone, but it is able to heat the metal up to glowing through sustained contact and cut through it if held onto the metal for a while. While the entirety of the crystal glows and turns a solid red color, only the part that was rubbed remains heated. The crystals could be used as a light source, signal beacon, incubator, or weapon among other things.
In an effort to further expand the caverns and their knowledge of the surrounding area, they open up a small gap in the piled rocks and send a team through. It is quite dark in the tunnels; barely any light shines inside. Each team member brings a small Heart Crystal with them to light the way. Directly inside the hole is a worn tunnel that leads off to both the left and the right. They decide to follow the tunnel to the right. The walls are weathered almost smooth as if something traveled these tunnels often. Every now and then, a tiny chuck of Heart Crystal is found embedded in the walls. These Crystals are barely glowing with a faint light. Whatever once traveled these tunnels hasn’t done so in a while. A blue alga encrusts the walls in large patches, occasionally growing long enough to obscure the Seaborn’s view. The team continues along the tunnel cautiously. Ahead, the tunnel begins to narrow and split. A smaller tunnel (about big enough for one Ul’mare to go through at a time) goes off to the left and up while another goes the opposite direction and is a little wider. From the smaller tunnel comes a soft, echoing noise while the telltale light of lit up Heart Crystals comes from the wider one.
Back in the bright daylight, ten of the Ul'mare travel atop the plateau and forage for supplies. They carefully worm their way through the thornweed thicket until they find some of the better thornweed plants. They manage to harvest half a dozen spear-sized thorns that would probably come in handy as weapons. They also gather up two dozen bushels of silk algae and bring it back to be woven into nets. One of the Ul'mare idly weaves a basket on the spot and decides to bring back some of the things she found on the ground, like old green shrimp shells and smooth pebbles. The silk algae will be woven into nets by tomorrow.Find some more rocks to polish and search the other crevices. Be cautious.
Reinforce the wall.
Search for more anemonies to protect the wall.
Try to form a mutualistic relationship with the anemonies; We can go around them without being eaten, and we will provide them with food.
Sharpen several rocks and if able, try to dig out some of the substance found in the crevice.
Search for additional food sources in the chasms/Explore the chasms.
Name the lofani settlement "Deephome"
The rock wall is finished and the five anemones are placed on the wall. They instinctively latch onto the substrate and wave their tentacles around, searching for food. The Lofani decide that the safest course of action would be to train the anemones against eating Lofani. They begin their training, using bits of food as rewards. It may take a while for the anemones to catch on, but the effects would probably be worth it. More anemones are brought back from the ledge. The Lofani use their new polished ammunition to knock down the last two of the small anemones and three of the large ones. The large ones take about three Lofani to carry them, but all reach the colony safely. After the anemones are attached, smaller rocks are placed in cracks and the wall is reinforced.
The workers sharpen eight rocks and set to work chipping at the rock around the metalloid. They decide to call the substance Lapis after its color. Although it is difficult to access due to the amount of cold it gives off, the laborers work in shifts until they have harvested about three OMUs of the stuff. The substance is stored in the Pod.
Meanwhile, the scouts in the Upper Waters continue their exploration. They still cannot see beyond the seaweed, but in the distance is a large cliff face. There are small fish eggs stuck to some seaweed in the Upper Waters that could be used as a possible food source if there were some sort of connection between the colony and seaweed. The scouts feed themselves on these munchies while they continue their expedition.
Lofani (
Brown)
Colonies:
Deephome, Camp
Traits:
- Capitol
Population: 26
- Kyridgem (Leader)
Food: 22
+35 Copepods
+14 Oysters
- 26 Eating
- 13 Training
Buildings:
- Pod (Can be deconstructed for 18 scrap metal, 8 metal plates, 3 circuit boards, 13 glass, and odds and ends)
- Rock Wall (With 7 small anemones and 3 large anemones)
Materials:
- Rock Oyster Shells (12)
- Lapis (3)
Items:
- Marblit Legs (21)
- Marblit Shell (4)
- Polished Rocks (32)
- Sharpened Rocks ( 8 )
Yaffi (
Violet)
Colonies:
Colony 1, Camp
Traits:
- Capitol
Population: 28
- Leader
- Enslaved Mussels (6)
Food: 30
+46 Mussels
-28 Eating
Buildings:
- Shelter (Shell)
- Low rock wall
- Storage Area
- Living Area
Materials:
- Stone (48 OMU)
- Mussel Shells (6)
- Scrap Metal (18)
- Metal Plates ( 8 )
- Circuit Boards (3)
- Glass (13)
Items:
-
Ul’mare (
Red)
Colonies:
Kyeraeon (Heaven’s Gate), Camp
Traits:
- Capitol
Population: 26
- Ehndras (Leader, Engineer)
Food: 11
+33 Larval Shrimp
-26 Eating
Buildings:
- Pod (Can be deconstructed for 8 metal plates)
- Floatstone Barricades
- Rough Holding Cells (3)
Materials:
- Rough Floatstone (88 OMU)
- Heart Crystals (3 OMU)
- Circuit Boards (3 OMU)
- Glass (10 OMU)
- Silk Algae (24 OMU)
- Thornweed Thorns (12) Items:
- Rough metal chips
Snaug (
Yellow)
Colonies:
Colony 1, Camp
Traits:
- Capitol
Population: 18
- Leader
Food: 22
+37 Mud Crab
-28 Eating
Buildings:
- Pod (Can be deconstructed for 18 scrap metal, 8 metal plates, 3 circuit boards, 13 glass, and odds and ends)
- Mud Wall (50% Shell Reinforced)
Materials:
- Mud (18 OMU)
Items:
-
Mudpost (50%), Camp
Population: 10
Food: 10
Buildings:
Materials:
Items:
Flannigans (
Orange)
Colonies:
Colony 1, Camp
Traits:
- Capitol
Population: 29
- Leader
Food: 5
+34 Young Kelp
-29 Eating
Buildings:
- Camouflaged Pod (Can be deconstructed for
18 9 scrap metal,
8 7 metal plates, 3 circuit boards, 13 glass, 10 Kelp Fronds, and odds and ends)
- Barracks (75% done)
Materials:
- Kelp Fronds (No end)
- Kelp Lumber (50 OMU)
-10 Barracks
Items:
- Wooden Hammers (27)
- Rough Metal Axes (10)
- Large Rough Saw
Feel free to correct me if I miss something.
Poll
1 (6.3%)
Author
Topic: Smalls of Tolla: A Smalls RP (Read 27088 times)