Gradually, the party follows Mon'Fargret and Zeton, easing out into the supply node while keeping a wary eye on the two guards and the strangers emerging from the opposite tunnel.
There are indeed two of them, a Farbett and a smallish humanoid of the race known as Ephri Em (a protectorate of the Ergothei Nation.) The Farbett, who is a bit on the short side but brawny, is geared up and very obviously armed. The Ephri Em doesn't seem to have anything but a wrister and the simple clothes he is wearing.
While the Farbett hangs back near the tunnel entrance and eyes (and sniffs) the party suspiciously, the Ephri Em walks confidently forward, staring at Mon'Fargret.
"There is no mistake," he says in the pleasantly accented Yangae heard before. "Mon'Fargret. The artist interviewed on the vid last night." His gaze shifts. "Zeton, the Lybolt reporter. This is a strange place to be investigating cultural issues."
Before there can be any reply, he moves toward the rest of the party and furrows his hairless brow. "But this is even stranger. I assume the two armored ones are from the same ship; perhaps this one is Lirassa. I can't recall the Ibitonian's name yet. And here we have Constable Betham without his badge and Bina Ber'maina without her brooch...together with Pu'Laru of the Night Guard? Curious!" He glances at Nekshi and Granite Spear and frowns. "I don't know these two...or the Ahmonite." He walks dismissively past them. "I do know Widjgleebie." Finally, his gaze lands on Mey'Luskar. "This one...I can't come up with a name, but the face is in circulation now. You are sought by many! There is even talk of a reward..."
Pru clicks off the safety on her gun. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she demands.
"My apologies," replies the Ephri Em evenly. "My name is L'Toyei, and it is my job to know things." He gestures toward the Farbett by the tunnel entrance. "My partner, Furfinndorn. As for why we are here..."
The Farbett clears his throat violently.
"Ah," says the Ephri Em with absolutely no change in his demeanor. "I suppose I should just say that Kuluf said to expect you. We...are looking for something similar, if we understood him correctly."
80 comments:
"My editor said, 'Dig up anything you can on the new underground scene in the area.', so here I am, underground looking for a good scoop... and I think Kuluf just sent it to us. L'Toyei, if you are a friend of Kuluf, then it is a pleasure to meet you."
Zeton drifts back four or five paces and continues to practice and learning how Zobog works.
Mon'Fargret asks Bina, "Is there anything we can do for these guards? It appears that the rune may have affected both."
"It only affected one," retorts Bina, nodding toward the less heavily armored, non-Ehrlathagi guard (who is still quietly scooting away). Then she glances toward the more heavily armored, Ehrlathagi guard (who is still sitting inside his fort of boxes) and adds, "We just overloaded his tiny wit."
"Since we are now celebrities, I hope you don't mind being seen with us. Kuluf is a bit of an enigma to me, but if you are looking to disrupt or end the strangeness of late, then you found a kindred branch of your tree."
Mon'Fargret ventures a glance to the remaining guards, "We were able to loosen the grip of control on one of these guards, though I fear what it has cost him."
"If you ask me," says Lirassa, though clearly no one has, "these guards are just hired grunts. They're not part of any organization. I'm pretty sure I've seen both these guys before. They're marooned spacers just like me and Ham."
Hearing Lirassa's assessment of the guards, Zeton stops what he is doing and breaks out his medical kit.
"Well, one of them seemed to have been under the control of the Rune, right? Lirassa, I'm going to try to make them as comfortable as possible, but just in case they aren't happy with my help, keep me covered, just in case."
Zeton cautiously proceeds over to the guard that seemed to be affected by the Rune first.
(That would be the non-Ehrlathagi guard...still scooting away)
"I'm on it," says Lirassa, clutching her monstrous rifle in a ready position and falling in behind Zeton as he moves toward the guard.
The Farbett newcomer eyes Mon'Fargret and Zeton in turn warily. Then, as Zeton moves away, the Farbett levels his glare on Mon'Fargret and asks in Yangae, "What do you mean? Are these guards being mind-controlled?"
While keeping his eyes on the non-Ehrlathagi guard as Zeton approaches, he calls over his shoulder, first to Mon'Fargret and then to Bina.
"Oh I can't wait to hear your explanation about what we've learned in 30 seconds or less."
"Bina, is there anyway you can help calm this guard down to allow me to approach him without him scurrying away?"
Zeton then returns his focus to the guard and speaks, (in Yangae), in a calm soothing voice to let the guard know Zeton is trying to help him.
Mon'Fargret nods in the affirmative, "One of them was. The other I am not sure about. I don't know much about how it is done, but we were able to obtain a symbol which releases the control, though the consequences, as you can see, are rather harsh. Surely you have observed strange changes in the behavior of some locals here, haven't you?"
"Yes," replies the Farbett guardedly. "Some. Maybe lots. I want to know more."
"Well, the details are still somewhat sketchy. However, I think it is best to be frank. We have learned that a number of people that were part of the Talent Roundup on the Free Channel were actually murdered as part of a cult bent on obtaining power."
"Part of this cult involves retaining adherents through the use of mind control. This sounds strange, but they exploit a genetically engineered flaw inherent in several races. Not all members of each race are affected, but when it does so, it changes the affected person to begin adopting the attributes that the controller desires."
"The organizers of the Talent Roundup are controlled or are willing participants. Through some investigation and help from the Hergoth priesthood, we were able to track these people in a manner similar to you. As you might imagine, it goes well beyond this one televised program."
"our goal is to stop them and eliminate the mind control threat. If you do not share that goal, it is best to say so now."
Mon'Fargret shifts to a somewhat more defensive posture, but not anough to be threatening.
[Ignore the typos please.]
Furnfinndorn (the Farbett) and L'Toyei share a knowing/amazed look.
"An Atlanzi!" says L'Toyei in a low voice. "Just as the Lady thought!"
"You know what this is about?" asks Ham with surprise.
"Pel'Mogli?" asks Betham. "You work for her? You're private investigators?"
"Yes," replies L'Toyei. "We, er..." He glances at Furnfinndorn.
"Our Lady is missing," continues Furnfinndorn. "Her way led us here. Our reasons are different, but our goals are the same."
(I need an ALT check for Zeton, please.)
Roll = 8. ALT 16 - 8 = 8. (I sure hope that's good...) :-)
For those who can't remember, for some reason, what happened in the game 3 years ago, here is a link to Pel'Mogli.
Most of the party is distracted by the conversation in progress. In the meantime, the non-Ehrlathagi guard, who has been quietly scooting away as Zeton and Bina carefully approach, suddenly goes for something on one of his(?) bandoleers.
Zeton can react but has no hope of beating him to the punch without using his swift attack skill.
Granite Spear also notices the action and is capable of using her combat reflexes to respond if desired.
Furnfinndorn also sees what happens in his peripheral vision and can react, but not yet.
Zeton will attempt to tackle the guard in order to pin his arms to his sides to stop him from moving.
Swift attack roll is... a 7! [I'm not sure what to compare that to, but I hope it is sufficient.]
Granite will also make an attempt to tackle the guard (because she didn't realize Zeton had the same idea). She'll use her jets to give her some element of surprise.
Hmm, rolled a 14. With an ALT of 13 (if that's the right value to use), that puts her at -1.
(Actually, I already rolled for Granite's ALT, and my result was better. I'll use that roll as one for swift attack.)
Okay...I'll update things after I get some sleep...
Okay...here is the sequence of events:
The guard's hand moves quickly toward his belt.
A psychic warning cry can be felt by almost everyone.
Almost instantaneously, Betham whips around and brings his pistol to bear, cranking off a snap-aimed short burst just as Zeton leaps into action.
Two stun bolts can be seen to make impact on the guard's torso just before there is a dull report and a hiss. As Zeton charges forward, thick, silvery smoke quickly wells up in front of him.
What is Zeton going to do?
(None of the other player characters is able to act yet.)
Wishing he had time to put on his filter mask before plunging into the silvery smoke, Zeton takes a deep breath before continuing after the guard in order to tackle him.
(Make a roll against Zeton's CON)
roll = 19. Con 12 - 19 = -7. [Oh well...]
Zeton catches his breath as his momentum carries him into the rapidly-blooming cloud, but the stinging fumes quickly cause his eyes to burn and fill with tears, and his throat tightens.
As he continues down to the floor where the guard should be, Bina dives after him, Betham closing from behind her.
Zeton curses his foul luck, but follows through with the attempt to grapple with the guard. No matter what, when Zeton hits the ground, he will attempt to roll out of the cloud and get away from it, even if it means rolling the guard with him.
It's not hard to find the guard, since he doesn't appear to have moved at all. (Make a d20 roll to see if Zeton's grapple attempt is successful.)
Granite Spear is able to act now. Is she going to follow through with the jet-assisted leap attack as you said even with the smoke/gas(?)?
Die roll = 2. [Oh, now I roll low, after inhaling a lung full of smoke!]
The guard offers no resistance at all as Zeton wraps himself around him and starts to roll...just as someone grabs his leg and starts pulling him (and the guard) back.
Zeton will offer no resistance to the help he is receiving while hanging onto the guard to prevent him from doing anything else that might harm the group.
Granite Spear weighs the overwhelming desire to rip the guard to pieces against the thought that the smoke/gas might wreak havoc with her already irritated membranes. The safer course of action wins.
Bina pulls Zeton and the guard most of the way out of the smoke cloud, and then she starts to collapse. Betham immediately takes over, and Lirassa moves to help.
Some smoke is still issuing from the guard's belt, though languidly.
Between coughs, Bina can be heard to sing to the storage node's survival pod.
"Diffusive smoke," observes L'Toyei flatly. "Not friendly to the eyes or mucous membranes."
Sorry for the slow response, but Granite definitely would have chosen NOT to jump into the smoke/gas, as you said.
Although Zeton has just inhaled diffusive smoke, he will try to remain as calm as possible to prevent himself from panicking, thereby making the situation worse.
If Zeton can, he will sit up, or at least prop himself up on an elbow and turn his head to the side to prevent himself from chocking should he vomit.
If Zeton is not too incapacitated, he will fumble around with his med kit to look for some sort of sterile wipes to wash the chemical from his face.
Betham slaps cuffs on the guard. Meanwhile, Lirassa removes the latter's helmet...revealing a humanoid head that is of Sark-type shape and clearly male, but without the bushy eyebrows and aquiline nose characteristic of Sark-type males.
Lirassa mutters something under her breath.
"Oblendae," explains Betham. "Part of the Fasion Alliance."
"I've heard of 'em," retorts Lirassa. "The Fasions really DID turn 'em into a race of pussies, I see!"
Meanwhile, Bina sits in a meditative position and tries to entrance herself, but soon collapses in a fit of coughing. A few seconds later she retches.
Zeton manages to calm himself and keep his gut disciplined, if only for the moment. As he does so, he notices that something seems to be flying slowly in the party's direction.
"Lirassa..." cough... "Constable Betham, we have a visitor." Zeton points in the direction of where the object is slowly flying.
Zeton then does his best to move over to Bina to assist her recover from the diffusion smoke, as well as to help her should the new visitor prove to be hostile.
Granite looks to see what "visitor" Zeton is referring to, and readies her pistol...
As does Mon'Fargret...
It's hard to see it clearly with all the smoke spreading out through the room (and stinging the eyes and throats of all those not protected), but it is some kind of flying device about the size of a good sized suitcase. It also has lights on it.
Cough... "Could this be one of Zobog's older brothers?"
Once Zeton is next to Bina he'll gently try and move her away from the approaching guest, preferably behind some form of cover, then continue to offer her assistance in coping with the diffusive smoke.
Since I'm still in the back of the tunnel I will refrain from firing my grenade launcher. Any sign of life behind me?
Okay...I've updated the map pic (on the last post). Widjgleeby is actually inside the chamber now, though still at the back. There doesn't seem to be anyone in the tunnel behind.
As Zeton lifts her and pulls her away from the smake, Bina tries to talk but is unable to get the words out through her coughing.
[Is a Smake the same thing as the smoke monster on Lost? Smoke+Snake]
Granite lowers her pistol as she peers at the approaching object. "Looks like some kind of medical robot." She'll keep her eye on the flying suitcase until she can better assess its intended destination.
Mon'Fargret will keep his pistol trained on the medical robot until its function has been verified.
(SMOKE, dammit!!!!)
The medical robot emerges from the smoke and slows as it approaches Zeton and Bina.
Bina tries to say something to it but can't.
Betham glances up and points at Bina. "Geishana, heal!" he sings.
Zeton will do what he can to ensure Bina receives the care she needs from the medical robot. Once Bina is stabilized, Zeton will direct the medical robot to attend the non-Ehrlathagi guard.
The medivalet extends an appendage that looks like a small vaccuum cleaner, eases it toward Bina's face, and then apparently emits some kind of gas. Bina breathes it gratefully and immediately looks better. Next the robot aims a stream into Zeton's face. It is some kind of medicated inhalant, and it works quickly.
Apparently satisfied that things are under control, L'Toyei turns toward Granite Spear.
"Shurian," he says with interest. "Forgive my curiosity, but I've never met one before. As you are female..." He pauses thoughtfully. "Are you the Zorlan's superior or her bodyguard?" Then he glances at Nekshi with interest.
The Oblendae (i.e. non-Ehrlathagi) guard, now cuffed and raised roughly to a seated position by Betham and Lirassa, starts to come around.
"Alright, sport," says Lirassa liltingly in Brekka, but with her translator engaged, "Y'all've got about two decaseconds to tell me why I shouldn't start ripping everything off o' ya...and I must warn ya, I don't stop at the skin!" She clicks on her sword.
Mey'Luskar starts to approach, an unreadable expression on her face. "Lirassa," she hisses, "let me do it!"
The Ehrlathagi mutters something in Ehrkiss, holding his head in his hands.
"Sister, don't!" cries Bina weakly with horror. "Please! Don't take the path of violence!"
Granite shakes her head at Bina. "Sometimes violence is the only way, and its good for your soul."
As Zeton continues to recover, (as well as assist Bina in any way possible), he pipes up after Granite speaks, "I could be wrong, but I don't think Mey has violence in mind. I'm not sure why I feel that, but whatever she intends, I don't think we need to worry about Mey walking down that path... just yet."
Once Zeton is recovered enough to move around, he'll check in on the Ehrlathagi guard.
Granite looks disappointed, but stays quiet.
(Still waiting for Fragbait to make an appearance here since I've been stalling things for his benefit for the past two months...)
Bina gives Zeton an almost scolding look. "You don't understand Yangae very well," she retorts.
Mey'Luskar sniffs derisively. "Violence?" she says in a politely acidic voice. "Don't be crass!" She pops open a gleaming switchblade. "This isn't violence! This is art!"
Pru smiles.
Lirassa whistles. "Um...I think I have everything under control, Mey!"
Acknowledging Bina's scolding expression Zeton, replies, "Yangae I think I understand, but Mey, I most definitely do not. I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it looks like I was wrong. If you have any suggestions on how to make Mey think twice, (as well as disappoint Granite a second time), now is the time to speak up, because short of knocking her out with sleeping gas, I don't know how to stop her."
[I thought you were calling one of us "FragBait", but now I see that this is a new player that has yet to join the party....]
(He's the player of Furnfinndorn, the new Farbett character I just brought in.)
Mey'Luskar sighs, puts away her switchblade, and starts to turn away.
As she does so, the Oblendae guard scoffs at her.
"Lost it, have you?" he asks in heavily-accented Yangae.
Lirassa immediately plants her armored fist on his jaw, knocking him flat. Then she pulls him upright again.
The guard winces, spits out some blood, and whimpers, "What do you think you're doing, anyway?" He throws a pained look at Bina and then at the others. "You're not...I mean, do you know what you're getting into?"
"The Eye of Tann," replies Mey'Luskar quietly.
Granite approaches the guard with a menacing stance. "Anything you'd like to tell us about what's ahead?"
Sighing with visible relief as Mey decides not to practice her "art", Zeton begins to collect himself and his gear.
After making sure Bina is able to manage on her own, Zeton will turn his attention the non-Ehrlathagi guard. If possible he'll direct the med bot to help out. If the med bot responds and Zeton's full attention isn't needed, he'll begin to prep Zobog for the next step of the journey.
"If guard will not talk I can always fart at him. Worst than diffusive smoke." Widjgleebe says half to herself.
Overhearing Widjgleebe's comment to herself, Zeton bursts out laughing. "Widj, that was the best medicine I could have received right now. Nothing like a good dose of laughter to help clear the mind. Thanks."
Pru wrinkles her nose. "Nobody deserves that," she says.
The Oblendae guard throws a baleful glance around the party and then glares at Granite Spear (and gulps hard).
"You want to know what's ahead?" he says. "I can tell you! Death!" He mouths the word as if spitting venom. "This is so far beyond...ANY of you! You're nothing! You're gnats (or whatever the Lyranell equivalent is)! You want to get swatted? You want to die horribly? It's your choice!"
Choice? I think I'll get swatted, thanks. I want to see that bug paddle."
"Oh, what do they have? Gods? Ibitonian sky dragons?" says Mon'Fargret bitingly.
"I bet most of your view of the Atlanzi and who guards it is based on third-hand street talk. Tell me something I don't know."
[If I got the name wrong, pretend he said it right...the wiki is in need of configuration and inaccessible I just found out.]
The guard gives Mon'Fargret a quizzical look. "At-lanzi? What in Zarberic is an Atlanzi? Is that some weird Foldorian lingo?"
(You got it right.)
"Atlanzi," says Betham mockingly. "Ugly. Nasty. Powerful. Very old. People worship it."
"Your description is incomplete," says L'Toyei.
"What are you talking about?" demands the guard.
"You should tell him that they're the First Born," suggests L'Toyei.
"It's probably been inside your tiny mind till now," replies Lirassa, ignoring the Ephri Em, "doing most of your thinking..."
"Making your hate stronger," puts in Bina melodically. "Making you want to serve its cause."
"The cause," echoes the guard, worry creeping into his face and voice. "Its cause?" He looks up at Granite Spear again. "Wait a minute..."
"Your boss is its slave," says Lirassa.
"It feeds on human service," sings Bina.
"Tell him that his race was created for that purpose," suggests L'Toyei, "along with most of the..."
Bina throws him an intense glare, and he shuts up.
"WHAT?" barks the guard. "Now, look! I see that..."
"How many guards are there between us and the gate?" demands Mey'Luskar?
"Uh?" The guard is taken off guard, but he quickly steels himself again. "Oh, like I'm going to..."
Mey'Luskar glances back at Bina. "Was it three?"
"Yes," replies the fallen priestess. "Very good!"
"Hmmm," replies Mon'Fargret.
"That is more than I expected out of him. Thanks my lady. Now on to the practical matter of moving on and what to do with this guard. Killing him would be easy and possibly sensible, but there are other possibilities. Can anyone, um, put him out of commission for a few hours?"
"Couldn't we have the med bot sedate the guard? There must be some sort of anesthesia setting on the bot somewhere..." Zeton begins to examine the med bot wondering if all he needs to do is provide the proper command.
The medbot looks basically like a paramedic's field medical kit with tool and manipulator arms, sensors, and antigrav/repulsorjet drive systems. Other than a few simple buttons (on/off, etc.) there is no obvious user interface.
Granite grins mischievously (which is particularly hard to do with a beak I realize, but she damn well does it anyway). She'll draw her staff, and give the Guard a swift "BIF" to the head. Her intent is to knock him out, but she frankly doesn't care as long as he goes down.
Don't know if you need a d20 for that, but here goes: Sweet... a 4! Hope you can use that!
"Sedate me?" scoffs the guard. "With a medbot? Ooh, you're real badass fighters, aren't you? And you're going to go up against the Cause? Ooh! Have you got lots of stun guns and pain killers? Better be careful! You might..."
There is a *swish*.
There is a short, sharp thump.
There is a dull, heavy thud.
Granite Spear returns her staff to its ready position and grasps the pistol again.
Lirassa says, "Well, at least you saved me the trouble of doing that!"
"That makes two of us," adds Mey'Luskar.
Betham sighs and walks away.
"We'd better move on!" says Bina edgily. "Something's starting to happen! I can feel it!"
Granite nods approvingly. "I may not be feeling what Bina is feeling, but I'm definitely itching to get out of here. Either that or my skin is drying out a bit."
She messes around with her talk box for a second, and then reaches over to Nekshi with a tentacle to move her mouth up and down. The talk box speaks in a slightly higher pitch than normal: "Yes, I agree with Granite. It is time we increase our forward ambulation to shorten the distance to our goal."
[Question to group: Do we know which of the four remaining tunnels we want to move down? Certainly not the ramp to the airfield, and not the tunnel we came from (obviously). I'm guessing not the tunnel to the southeast either, so that leaves the two westbound tunnels. I recall seeing a rough map of the area at one point, but I didn't have any success locating it in the past blog entries. That's the problem with the length of this game combined with my current age: it's hard to remember details about what happened 2 or 3 years ago. ;-) ]
[DewKid: Same problem here. I tried to remember, then do a look through and couldn't find the details I was looking for. I am certain the characters would know since it has only been a few days for them. Maybe a certain GM might be able to assist some doddering old gamers. ;) ]
Mon'Fargret raises his eyebrows and says, "Or we could do that."
After hearing Bina he says, "Okay, let's get ready and head out."
(Sorry about the delays. Like I said, I was stalling to try to bring in our new (and notoriously flighty) player(?), who I'm beginning to fear has vanished yet again...hopefully without intending to steal my intellectual property. Anyway, I'll continue in a new post.)
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