Survivor's March (Open)

[Cadic's Devoted]

"As long as they let us through the cave without any further worries, then I see no reason to seek them out...." Looking around as everyone rests, Ian trys to determine who is most injured out of the group, assessing everyone's injuries quickly (This includes Tukka-kan). Looking at the plate that Tukka-kan brings back, Ian stares at it for a moment, then shakes his head, a grim look on his face. "How long has this creature been around Tukka-kan?"


Heal check: 12+5=17


[ooc] I believe I had taken 11 hit points worth of damage, which is half health for me. What did anyone else take?[/ooc]

[The Lord of Blades]

(Joe reminded me of Barth's actions before posts were lost, so his will be included here)

Tukka-Kan chuckles: "Not only will they let you through, they've given you permission to travel the mineral-falls to get there quicker. It's a little risky, but I've traveled. You'll be outta the mountains in an hour like that. It'd take you about two weeks, with luck, to travel over these mountains, so far you've been in here about a day. Another hour to get through, that's pretty good time if you ask me. Also, there's a cave in here with some healing crystals. Rest there and you'll feel better. It's not much, but I've used it to get on the mend much more quickly. C'mon, I'll show you the way." He gets up to walk, continuing to talk as he goes.

"That thing? Only showed up in the past... month I think? Maybe a little more. I only got here about two weeks ago. They say it wasn't there much longer than that. Why? D'ya know something 'bout it?"

Barth, in accordance with your actions you manage to recover a staff from the creature's insides, but other than that, you get the impression it either disgorges its stomach regularly, or powerfully digested things. Before you try to bottle it, you realize exposure to air has made its stomach acids incredibly weak. The staff, when cleaned, appears to be made of iron. You're not sure what it does or if it's even magical, but it was all that stuck out, largely due to the fact that it was embedded in the creature's skull, running along what was its brain and out to the back, looking like just another horn. It is cold and inert in your hand, perhaps another kobold's lost weapon that was lodged in the creature's armor?

Tukka-Kan eventually leads your group to a room with softly glowing purple crystals. "You folks can use this now. Before I had to hide in that back corner since you can't defend this room well, but with the beast dead, we can rest here easily. So, ya never answered, what brings ya here anyways? ...and where ya headin?"

While in the room you feel the presence of healing energy, you imagine a good rest (8 hours) here would recover you substantially (maybe not full, but definitely more than you would normally).

[joelocaust]

Barth continues to examine the staff/rod/control spine carefully. He makes no attempt at hiding it from the others in case they notice something about it. He also attempts to bottle some 'healing crystals.' He does not expect to succeed.

Barth looks confused. "Why rest? In a hurry, yes. No time for rest. I'm fine. I'm always fine- wait- yes, fine." He then looks at Tukka-Kan. "There's an army chasing us. Well, at least a recon team. Very efficient. Tactical prowess of the <insert known Masaad equivalent> for just their grunts. They sacked our home town. Have to warn others. Very important." Barth's unusual sentence fragmentation seems to stem from his pre-occupation with deciphering what he has learned about this creature. He is heard mumbling things like "bio-weapon" and "mind control" as he furiously calculates and examines the staff.

[ooc] I know AQ works this way, not sure what the 'trigger' is in D&D, but Barth attempts to 'thought-activate' the staff. If he's ever touched a charged magical item of any kind, whatever you'd do to activate a mundane ring or rod. If that yields no result, he begins carving the end off of it and tapping it against things to decide whether or not it is iron through-and-through. [/ooc]

[Cadic's Devoted]

"A month?" Ian's look darkens when Tukka-kan says that. "They've been here for a month?!" Clenching his hands into fists, he seems to shake for a moment, before visibly taking control of himself.

"To answer your question Tukka-kan, Barth's assessment is spot on. Our home town was sacked in the night 4 nights back (I think I have the timeline right???) by a single squad of what looked to be a much larger military force. We managed to escape to attempt to spread the word. We made it as far as the outpost back in the mountains there, but we only beat the army by a short time. We left there just before the battle commenced in an attempt to get through these mountains ahead of the invading force to warn the next town, and get the word spread. We need to show a cohesive front against these invaders or all will fall to them."

Looking at the plate no the ground again, Ian bends down to pick it up, frowning at it. "This makes me think that this beast was a creation of this army's. And if it has been around for a month, that means that this isn't an isolated incident as I had hoped....but it means that they have been scouting us out for a month now, at least, without anyone being the wiser."

Sliding the plate into his pack, Ian walks over to whoever seems to be the most injured (Which is either Communism, assuming he is still playing, or myself). He will then quickly cast Cure light wounds, dropping his other 1st level spell in favor of it. "May the chaos of your wounded body be brought back to Order." After that he will look around at the others. "Are we ready to proceed? We have no time to waste, less even than when we first got here, given this new information."

He also looks at Tukka-kan. "You are quite the warrior, though not quite what I expected at first. I would be glad to have you watching my back if you see fit to join us. Can't promise there will be monsters to fight, though it does seem likely if this army is using beasts like this."

[ooc] James, what time of day are we looking at here? I know it was headed towards night when we first got in here. My character is proposing to travel through the night. Would that be inadvisable? Not sure just how tired we are at this point. [/ooc]

[The Lord of Blades]

Tukka-Kan holds up a hand to Barth: "Rest. Trust me. Better to rest when you can than to find somewhere you wanted to rest crawling with enemies. Life-lesson I learned the hard way." He then turns to Ian as Barth fidgets with the device, "Is he always like that?" before shaking his head and dismissing it as though it doesn't matter.

Barth, you discover the staff is iron throughout, and nothing seems to activate it beyond it causing a faint buzzing sensation in your mind once in a while.

Tukka-Kan listens to Ian speak before finally replying. "Hmm... what's it say on that plate that makes you folks so upset? I can't read it. Damned if I've ever seen that language before." when you get ready to leave he holds up a hand again. "I keep telling you, no sense rushing into the unknown when you're not in top shape. If you want to go, I can't stop you, but I'm sure going to rest here myself for a bit since I can. I'd be happy to join you, but only if you boys start showing a little sense and patience. Moving about nonstop in a mad frenzy like that only has you being driven before your enemies like a scared troglodyte." He pauses, pulls out a pipe, lights it, and takes a puff. "Mmm, yep, wait a little bit, get some rest, then we can all go charging out like madmen in the morning. Besides, if you're willing to take the mineral-falls while wounded, you're even braver than I am."

[OOC]You have honestly no idea what time of day it is. You came in right as night had fallen. You'd guess you've been there about 6 hours or so, based on the fact that you had to wait for a bit in Tukka-Kan's room but honestly you aren't entirely sure. You're not used to being in a sunlight/moonlight free area and none of you are dwarves to be familiar enough with it. You feel like you could still travel, of course, the crystals have already moved most sense of fatigue, so you're not entirely sure how long it would last away from their healing effects.[OOC]

[joelocaust]

Barth waits for the group (especially since it has diminished so much). "Rest, yes, rest. Safety and rest. But of course... the... the buzzing..." Barth seems like much of his resting time will be spent further examining the staff. He mumbles something about mind control. If absolutely no progress is made, Barth examines his notes and sketches of the robot he dismantled earlier. He takes a look at potential locations or similar equipment that it may have contained. If anything looks like a lead, he asks that he be escorted back to the remains of the robot he dismantled earlier (assuming it's not days' worth of journeying away).

[ooc] Barth attempts to isolate the buzzing to specific actions/locations/gestures/etc. Barth continues to try everything from licking/biting it to submerging it in the pool (after everyone has gotten out, of course, safety first). [/ooc]

[Cadic's Devoted]

Coming down off the adrenaline of the fight, Ian sighs. "Alright, you're probably right. Not really in any condition to fight right now...besides, its been a while since we got any sleep." As if thinking about it has reminded his body, Ian has to stifle a huge yawn. "And its worth the wait if you're going to accompany us. A good sword, or in your case spear, arm is hard to find these days."

Looking at the plate again, he sighs once more. "And the plate is just a number. A unit number or some other such designator. And its in a language that, honestly, I have no idea how I can read it. Just started being able to a few days ago when this army showed up. That makes me believe that its related to this army, which means this beast somehow fits into all of this."

Shaking his head, Ian will start making a bit of camp, getting some rations out and setting up his bedroll.

[The Lord of Blades]

Barth discovers no notable similarities in the machine and the beast. He also cannot isolate any specific activity that causes the buzzing. It comes and goes randomly despite repeated actions or positions.

Tukka-Kan eyes the plate curiously, "That's a strange thing, numbers-sorry, a language, you couldn't read but now you can... huh. Alright. Well, time for some shut-eye." He stretches out and seems to go to sleep, unless someone else says more to him.

---Assuming no one has anything else to do/say---

When you wake up, Tukka-Kan is gone, but he quickly returns and nods to your group. After a quick meal he leads you to a narrow passage that eventually stops at a ladder. "Well now, this is the mineral falls, it'll work like this. We get inside the tumbler at the bottom of this ladder. We release the safety lines... and then ride it to the bottom." He smirks and points down, you can faintly see that the 'tumbler' is little more than a spherical hollowed out rock... suspended in a waterfall... of some kind. On closer inspection you can see that the waterfall isn't water at all, but a mix of sand, gravel, and other stones. You're not quite sure how it works, but it looks like it'll be an enormously bumpy ride.

"So, anything before we go?" he asks, waiting patiently as he takes the first steps down the ladder towards the tumbler.

[joelocaust]

Barth quickly inspects the harness and rigging for sound assembly and functionality. If he can improve it at all with the materials/tools he has or that are available, he does. Barth says, "A ride, a ride. Yes, so much fun. Can't wait. Safety first- wait- yes- safety first, fun second. A close second. But second. Yay!" Barth climbs down in. "A simple feat of engineering that simultaneously delivers fun and travel, we live in great days- wait- no- sort of, aside from the terrorist army..." Barth looks slightly downtrodden and then prepares to pull the release lever, which seems to cheer him up. "Hurry, hurry! I want to ride the thing!"

[Cadic's Devoted]

In the morning, upon waking, and before preparing his spells or his soul melds, Ian will look to Tukka-kan. "What kinds of things should we expect at these Mineral falls? Anything in particular I should prepare? For example, the acid you had prepared for that beast yesterday."

Once he has had time to prepare as appropriate, he will move with the others to the Mineral falls.

Looking at the strange ride, he will simply shake his head. "Guess we don't have much choice." And with that he will climb down the ladder into the contraption.

[cOMMUNISMISFANCY]

Sir Tolman wearily settles down after the battle, sheathing the wooden longsword gingerly. He leans against the rough wall of the cavern and watches his companions sort through the innards of the dead creature for whatever it might have eaten. Ettore paces nervously for a few moments before shaking vigourously to settle the raised fur upon its back. He follows without more than a few words when they are lead to the crystal cavern and settles down with Ettore, using his pack as a pillow and his cloak as a blanket. They sleep rather soundly for the next few hours and awaken with a great deal more energy.

When they arrive at the falls, Tolman will coax Ettore into the contraption and then nervously enter it himself.

[The Lord of Blades]

[Everyone who rested recovered 6 HP, also any ability damage/drain was also restored.]

As you all climb into the overly large and hollowed out boulder. Tukka-Kan helps each of you strap into your 'seats' although they're little more than a rough chair-shape with ropes threaded through holes. After you're each secured (including Ettore), Tukka Kan sits in the pilot's seat and lashes himself into place. He then pulls a lever and a loud "kchunkth!" can be heard as the boulder is released and begins tumbling. Within seconds you've flipped over and over and have become completely disoriented, it isn't until a few more twists and gut-wrenching flips that anyone who fails a DC16 Fort Save begins to feel nauseous and after a few more seconds must make an additional save to avoid vomiting (much to the dismay of the others in the rolling sphere). After about ten minutes of unbelievable shaking and disorienting flips and rolls, the device finally comes to a halt with a sudden and jarring thud.

"Don't try to move just yet. We've got a good 25 minutes before we should be getting out of the Tumbler. So yah. Just wait and figure out which direction up is before you untie yourself." He himself is obviously making no effort to undo his own restraints yet. After about 5 minutes you can finally realize that you're right-side-up, but tilted. When you all climb out of the tumbler you're in a small basin of gravel, sand, rocks, and other various minerals. If you stand still for long enough you start to sink, but you imagine the only reason the Tumbler is sinking is due to its weight whereas yours is light enough not to be dangerous if you don't wait around.

On the far side of the basin is a rocky ledge easy enough to step up onto. You can see the bright orange glow of fading sunlight at the end of the tunnel leading out of the cavern though you can't tell how far away it is. As you walk down the path you see numerous offshoot tunnels but Tukka-Kan never strays from heading straight. Eventually, while walking, he asks: "So where are we headed then, by the way?"

[joelocaust]

Barth tumbles out of the contraption and looks around. "Not much for ergonomic passenger comfort. The in-travel play was good though... I didn't like the lead though, not a strong singer..." Barth continues to mumble things about artistic values and then his head and eyes stop wobbling around. "Yes, advances I could make to this device. Probably the manual would read, "Do not use." Wait- yes- under no circumstances."

When asked, Barth says, "To warn the others. Armies of evil- wait- no- just sufficiently imposing tech and military prowess. Yes. Scary."

Fort checks: 7, 11

[The Lord of Blades]

Tukka-Kan looks at Barth with his head tilted. "And here I thought this ride might jumble you the right way. Hah, guess not." He helps everyone up and gets them to the cave mouth. "Anywhere in particular location in mind or just wander around preaching about death and destruction?" Before Barth can respond however, as they clear the cave mouth he feels a strong vibrating force from the iron staff he took from the monster. He can feel a presence invading his thoughts but only barely. He imagines if he was directly implanted with it, as the monster was, his free will would've been instantly forfeit, but in his circumstances, he has a chance to throw it aside where it once again goes inert being no longer near a body.

Tukka-kan only stares at it. "...and that was...?"

[joelocaust]

Barth starts tittering, "OHMYGODOHMYgodOHmygodohmygodohmyGODohMYGODOHMYGOD!!! GET RID OF IT!" He then begins kicking the rod back into the cave as quickly as possible to try and get it rolling down into some deep, forgotten chasm within (if kicking it has the same effect, he will attempt to use his magic-item tongs or other long, vice-like tool). As onlookers ask him what's going on, Barth says, "Long range mind-control-WAIT- MAYBE- soul control even! I don't know! But I felt it which means they felt it which means the can track it which means it should go while we run and hide!" Right before it's about to go down into the cave-depths, Barth rubs a dagger on it back and forth for about a minute. Barth also tests any interesting cyborg pieces he reclaimed earlier and their reactions to the rod. He then holds out a second dagger after the staff is gone, and attempts to hold them next to each other (he's attempting to locate resonance, flux-well-probably not flux-that might be too advanced, magnetism, or otherwise detectable/recognizable field).