Forgotten Worlds (IC)

[gabado]

Early this morning, you were awoken by an emergency bleep from your radio.

*Minnow requests audience, repeat, Minnow requests audience, make haste*

Groggy in the near blackness of the budding dawn, you hastened through the steadily filling streets, past incredibly energetic shopkeepers, beating back drowsiness with "unbeatable deals!"
Pungent aromas, spices, herbs, smoke, sewage, greet your nose, searing your pallet and burning your eyes.
You arrived in good time outside the Kicking Killbot, a rundown tavern and not-so-secret secret base of operations for the PLF.
Through the grimy, ground floor rooms, past crumpled patrons of last night's revery, and up the familiar back stairs. You emerged from the darkened stairwell into a small waiting room.
Two dilapidated sofas face one another from opposite walls, and across from you, a large mahogany door commands a large stretch of wall. Others begin filtering in behind you. As the room fills, the door remains shut, and a nervous anticipation begins to fill the stale air.

You are all gathered together in the room. Some of you may know one another. Feel free to get acquainted, familiarize yourselves with one another, and explore the space.

[squidpope]

Jasper looked around the room, panting from his sprint over here. Why is it always the mornings? It had been a long night again - He was productive, certainly, and had cleaned the lab, but was still tired. He swallowed, catching his breath, and looked around the room. It looked as though some of the others had already arrived. New faces, mostly. One or two he had seen around the HQ, a few more he had seen around town. And Kara. He smiled. At least she was competent enough not to get herself killed during raids, and it would be nice to have a familiar face. He pulled down the hood from his face and sat down on an open place at one of the couches, looking around, fiddling with one of his batteries.

"So... Who's ready for an adventure?" he said, breaking the silence of the room with a dry, un-enthused voice.

[Ebon Dragon]

"Sure. Sign me up." Kara smiled at him, ignoring the sarcasm. Or maybe she just didn't notice, could be hard to tell the difference. "Good to see you, Jas."
She plopped down on a couch, propping her feet on up a low table. "Anyone know what's going down?"

In truth she was going spare, cooped up in her home near HQ. The emergency, whatever it was, would make for a much-needed change of pace. 'Sides it was liable to lead to a raid somewhere down the line, and she was itching to get out of here.

[Exthalion]

Maya was smart. Really smart. People just couldn't grasp how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly smart he was. I mean, you think your kid brother who reads old-earth philosophers is sharp, but that's just peanuts to Maya.

Which was why he was so frustrated. He could, and had, worked with the greatest heights of Empire-grade technology. He had been down to the core, with government escort no less, to repair the torsion field grid that kept all the giant buildings from collapsing. Up in the Spires he was something of a legend for reactivating the asteroid deflection system that many of their posh residences were unknowingly built into. Yet for all that he still could not reproduce any of the quantum-sculpted armatures that made truely efficient power generation possible or fathom the adaptive nanite-coding needed for restoration chambers. He was absently considering putting in a request for a coffee raid, having already gone through a can of instant on his current problem, when the call came in.

"Now this is what I live for. You want the cool toys, sure, I can spare a couple lifetimes. But when a problem comes up right this second, that's you know you need me now!"
The empty room didn't disagree.

Now he waited with the rest, wondering what was big enough for all the head honchos to be in one place. Most of the ideas he came up with were very interesting than sitting in a room quietly. All of them were more dangerous. The thought made him smile.

[gabado]

A muffled crash from behind the door brakes through the tense atmosphere of the room. Before the sound can die from the room the door is flung open, crashing against a the wall and causing the filthy windowpanes adjacent to rattle in their frames.
A pathetic looking halfling scuttles quickly backwards into the waiting room, bowing and whimpering, clutching at his side and wheezing in pain.
Through the door, you can now clearly make out Minnow's familiar cursing.

"Pelor curse them! Let them rot forever in Nerull's fetid maw!"

The halfling ducks through your group and sprints for the door, you can hear him trip and fall, tumbling down the narrow staircase into the bar below.

There is a small chirp from Minnow's office, as a Tengu sticks its beaked head around the door. Its glossy blue-black feathers catch the pale morning light, filtering in from the still quivering windows as it eyes you with its beady eyes. It wears simple clothes and clutches a cane with it's taloned left hand. The feathers over its left eye have been bleached and their tips died blood red.

"I... I think you should come in," the Tengu croaked, waving his free hand in a dejected manner. "She's, uh, not in the best of moods."

This is Waylon, he seems not to recognize you or anyone else in the room. Although this is nothing new, Tengus often find individuals of other races hard to distinguish between, complaining that they all look too much like monkeys to be worth remembering. Waylon is no exception, although hearing you speak often goes a long way to jogging his memory as to who exactly you are.

Stepping through the doorway into Minnow's surprisingly large office is a bit like entering another world. More specifically, it's a bit like entering another world that was just ravaged by an angry air elemental. Upturned bookcases line the walls, their contents spilling across the floor. In the corner to your right, a pile of what must have at one point been furniture lays in a small mound. The lamps which would have stood beside the door have been broken, and their splintered shafts protrude from the eye sockets of paintings on the opposite wall. The carpet in many places has been torn up, and the roof bears the unmistakable burn marks of arcane rage.
The only thing in the room that appears untouched is a massive globe, floating idly in the center of the room above two halves of what was once a desk. The globe is an incredibly detailed replica of Eta, its surface prickly with the many spires and towers of the city world's Burrows. A small flag has been pinned in its surface, proudly displaying the number 23 in bold lettering.
Minnow stands, hand and stump on her knees, panting heavily. She looks up as you enter the room and her scarred face twists into a leering grin. You notice the tell-tale shine of recently spilt tears, and she makes no effort to hide them.
"Have I got one hell of a job for you!"

[Ganis]

Quietly making his way into the room, he surveys the damage, “ Did I miss all the good parts already? I think you missed a few coasters.” and proceeds to start picking up the shattered pieces around him, attaching them together as he does to rebuild the bosses office. Again.
Using mending as he goes.

[squidpope]

"You really think she missed them? pff. She has better aim with one arm than I have with two. My bet is that those coasters are the only things in the room currently not pissing her off." Jasper reaches down and picks up a broken piece of wood, handing it to LIX. "This goes to the table... or maybe the chair. It's hard to tell when she gets angry. I'm Jasper by the way, and-wait, are you made out of mahogany?" He stares at the wyrwood's face, looking at the carved features of his silhouette.

This is a link to the OOC, just for conveniences sake
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372485-Forgotten-Worlds-(OOC)/page2

[omnitricks]

A bleep was not the first thing that Sceel'd wanted to hear in the morning and the first thought that went through his that wasn't considerably grumpy went "A request?" followed by something Waylon told him about not wanting to make Minnow angry even if she didn't know he was a double-triple agent. "Yeah, I'll be there as ordered" he said into the headset whether or not anyone would care about how dissatisfied he was waken up like this before getting ready to leave.

In the end because this was going to be business, Sceele'd decided to go in disguise for when things turn up bad. Picking up the look of one of the many humans of Eta, the type someone would find on the way to a place like the Kicking Killbot as he did, Sceel'd pushed his way through the leftovers from the night before and took a seat on one of the sofas to continue the sleep he was interrupted from until the loud crashing noises that came together with Minnow's curses.

Sighing Sceele'd headed into the office when beckoned, saying just as he passes Waylon "I better be getting some hazard pay for this." While the tengu would not have been able to know Sceel'd was disguised as a human the familiar nature of the remark should be enough for the tengu to get an idea of who he was. And then while the other people he assumed were summoned along with him were busy distracted by the wrecked furniture a person of Minnow's position could easily replace he asked "yeah? What sort of a job is it then?"

[Ganis]

Tilting his head quizzically, “I’m not sure actually, similar grain I think, but haven’t had many trees to compare to lately. ” and rolls a sleeve up a bit to compare with the repaired pieces in his hands. “ The table seems to be more oak, the lamps are pine or a fir. I’ll have to look into it more once I find a data cluster on the subject. By the way, I’m LIX. Nice to meet you folks.”

[Gunhaven]

Caligun was late like always. He had stayed up late last night drinking away his sorrows in the bar below and comparing alcohol with the barkeep. It must have been damned near 3AM when he finally passed out in one of the booths that he had claimed as his own. His commset's chirp didn't wake him at first, the loud crash from Minnow finally awaking him from his drowse. With a grumbled response he rubbed his eyes and slinked off to the bathroom to freshen up before he moved upstairs to see what the commotion was about.
His skin shifted as he entered the waiting area and he instinctively stuck to the walls to hide most of his body except for the drab gray underwear to keep him somewhat decent and the leather bandoleers that crossed his chest to hold his ammunition and pistols. In a roundabout way he made his way into the office and whistled at the carnage Minnow had caused. His skin shifted again to the color of the sunset as he hiccuped and nearly hurled in his mouth as his hangover started in full swing. His voice was slurred as he said "Ish nice to meetcha! Cal *hic* Caligun'sh my name." He paused for a moment and muttered "I need to shober up..." as he looked for some Alchemist Kindness to fix this conundrum.

[gabado]

"I better be getting some hazard pay for this."

Entering the room behind Caligun, the Tengu clicks its beak at Sceel'd, moving to his shoulder, stepping gingerly over the wreckage around you.

"One, I could chock up to poor winds and bad flying," Minnow muttered rapidly, waving absently at Jasper and Lix. "Thanks boys. It seems I've run out of office to break." She sighs, turning to the globe and putting it into a gentle rotation with a shove of her stump.
"One, cost of business. Two, that'd be a coincidence. But seven raids! Seven gods damned raids!" With a roar she kicks one of the remaining halves of desk, sending it flying into the wall, where is splinters into a dozen shards.
"Thieving, spineless, lowlife, yellow-bellied-!" She rounds on your group, eyes burning bright, small tongues of white flame licking across the tips of her fingers. "Find them! Kill them!-No! Make an example of those mongrels! Exterminate every last one and make them pay for what they've taken from me!

[Exthalion]

"Is whatever they took the sort of thing we should look into getting back? If it is, where should recovery be on the list of priorities? Right now I am getting a 'set the house on fire with them inside' sort of vibe."

[gabado]

"Is whatever they took the sort of thing we should look into getting back? If it is, where should recovery be on the list of priorities? Right now I am getting a 'set the house on fire with them inside' sort of vibe."

Minnow turns from your question, withdrawing to behind the globe and pacing fiercely back and forth, kicking at the torn areas of carpet.
"It's our salvage teams," chirps the Tengu. "The last seven we've sent out haven't come back."
"They were after this," Minnow throws a leather tube across the room to Maya's feet. "We found an oracle a few weeks ago who, with some... encouragement, was able to tell us of its location." She points to a large crater on the northern hemisphere of the globe, clearly visible from where you are standing. The crater stretches what must be a hundred miles across. "The eye of Ra... we thought nothing dwelt there, I suppose we were wrong."

As you pick it up, a weight shifts within the tube and you hear a rattling sound as its contents slide down its length. You pop off a cap at the end and a small, white pebble drops onto your palm. It is cool to the touch, and as you watch it begins to vibrate, a small glow emanating from its surface. A shrill whine rises from the stone as it starts to levitate, floating just off your skin, and then, suddenly, a burst of color and energy shoots from the stone, swirling around the room, and coalescing about you, smears of color taking the form of pristine buildings and immaculate streets. You are standing at the base of a towering bronze statue. It is a depiction of Ra, father of technology and progenitor of civilization. In his right hand he holds a globe, you recognize the spires and towers of Eta. His left arm is extended downward, palm up, as if he is offering something to whoever stands at his feet. Looking up at his benevolent face, you notice a trail of smoke in the sky. Moving rapidly, the smoke moves across the horizon at a considerable clip, growing darker and bolder as it goes. After a moment, it vanishes behind some buildings, leaving a white trail in its wake.
Then suddenly, the air is rent with a massive boom. The ground begins to shake, windows splinter, spraying shards of glass into the air. A blinding flash of light and then the vision ends, the picture blurring and swirling, strings of color receding into the pebble which drops with a soft plop back onto your palm.
You are able to catch an unobstructed glimpse of the falling object. It is a massive spaceship, streams of fire lick the underside of its hull and as you watch it begins to separate, breaking into a multitude of flaming pieces, an explosion from within the ship tears the craft, sending large sections spiraling in differnt directions
You see a cube dislodged by the explosion, falling quickly behind the flaming Behemoth, unlike the other pieces of hull, this section appears perfectly cubic, and it shimmers with a silver sheen of protective energy as it plummets
The crater is the Eye of Ra, a massive, dangerous, irradiated hole left by the falling Behemoth Ra's Ire. The force of its impact, combined with the detonation of its enormous reactors obliterated everything for miles.The area is believed to be empty, a wasteland of black sand, storms of glass shards, and high levels of radiation make exploration almost impossible. Not much is known of the surrounding areas, but it is believed that parts of Ra's Ire remain intact, flung from the blast radius, brimming with oldtech and possibility. It is also rumored that mutant creatures crawl from the black wastes to prowl the bordering ruins.There was an item of immense power aboard the Ire. It was sealed in a vault in the heart of the ship, an impenetrable box designed to withstand even the most devastating of assaults. If any portion of the Behemoth survived, it would certainly be this vault.

[The Vagabond]

A tree quickly bolts into the room.
"Sorry I'm late!" it said in a panicked, running in, chainsaws in their sheaths.
"What did I miss!?" it asked.

I assumne that he can actually talk, if not, this will be edited.

[Ebon Dragon]

Kara snatches the tube from the floor with sudden urgency, ripping it open. The eye of RA, that has to be a clue... Her face goes blank as the vision overtakes her.

[roll0]

Her sudden tension dispersed.

"I think I just saw the world end, back in the day. Not all that helpful. Anyone else want a look?"

[omnitricks]

Geography: [roll0]+[roll1]
History: [roll2]+[roll3]
Sceel'd knew what the Eye of Ra was and as Kara was having her vision asked "you lost seven teams? Is it because of the radiation or mutants?" Well everyone would know about the radiation, most people would know about the mutants but it didn't hurt to know beforehand what he needed to expect. That and there was no wya to make anyone pay. Not the radiation, not the mutants and certainly not the teams that are most likely dead unless there was something else that Minnow was not telling them.

Then giving a shrug, he took the stone that was offered. Either Minnow already knew about the vault which meant she was going to have to tell them eventually or there might be a clue about it that Sceel'd can exploit on his own. Unfortunately since the vision gave him no clues other than the crashing ship, he asked disinterested "I assume that you want us to salvage whatever we can find in the crashed ship?" before handing off the stone to the next person if anyone wanted it.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun almost immediately sobered up at the mention of mutants, his skin shifting to match the wrecked office walls. With an almost unheard seriousness he said "When do we leave? Will you provide transport?" He took the proffered stone and closed his eyes as he concentrated. He saw everything, including the vercites on board that escaped the crash by some miracle.


Perception: [roll0]
If the result is 1-3 away from 35 then burn 1 point of inspiration (leaving 2):
[roll1]
Guess you can't explode dice...

[Ganis]

LIX looks at the tubs contents and pauses a few moments silently. “If it truly is at that crater, I would venture that anything surviving out there would be at the top of its food chain. We can only hope that nothing survived the crash and it is merely packs of mutants and radiation, but I doubt that all 7 teams would have succumbed to just like that. Unless they are organized. Maybe more than just packs, possibly tribes.” and hands the tube off to whoever is next.

[roll0]

[squidpope]

Jasper snatches the tube and holds stone the it for a moment, trying to interpret the scene around him. He sighs, and hands it to the next person. "So.... We don't even know what we're up against?"


My dice rolls aren't working. Will try and figure out the problem later. So sorry for the random post

[gabado]

“We can only hope that nothing survived the crash and it is merely packs of mutants and radiation, but I doubt that all 7 teams would have succumbed to just like that. Unless they are organized. Maybe more than just packs, possibly tribes.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Minnow’s face is grim. “You will be leaving as soon as you can, and preferably sooner than that, by way of the Old Road.”

The old road was one of the first tunnel routs dug out from the city. It dives into the core and winds underneath the Burrow wall some four miles before making its way back up to the surface again.
The tunnel is still used by Minnow for missions of dire importance, as it is much faster, and far more direct than the other, roundabout routs from the Burrow.
the tunnel exits at the base of the Skyshard, the splintered remains of a massive tower. From the top of the Skyshard, the PLF launches its salvage teams aboard (relatively) fast-moving blimps.

“I know, I know, I don’t send you down that path lightly, but I believe you’ll be able to navigate it without too much trouble. Time is of the absolute essence and the Old Road is the fastest way to your transport.”

“You will be taking a blimp to these coordinates,” the tengu holds out a piece of folded paper. “This is the location of the statue you saw when holding that pebble. Turns out it was a pretty famous plaza back in the day. This is the same location we sent the last teams to.”

“They took 35 men from me. 35 good salvagers. 35 investments of my time and money and effort. Take their lives as they took 35 from me. That halfing,” she points in the direction of the departed halfling. “He was the only person yet to have survived. I got nothing but gibberish and riddles from him, no matter how much I… persuaded him to tell me the truth. Perhaps you could get something more substantial from him.”

The tengu moves to the door, holding it open behind you. “If you have no further questions…”

[Gunhaven]

With a stretch he moved out of the door, letting someone else take the coordinates and lead them to the blimp. He was more interested in the halfling and getting some Kindness and Grog. He picked up a few doses of Alchemist Kindness from the barkkeep as well as a keg of grog to keep him buzzed on the journey. After a moment of thought he also purchased five shots of Dragon Punch. After some haggling with the barkeep since he was such a regular he left his grog and Kindness in his Haversack and moved over to the halfling. He sat four shots in front of the halfling and one in front of himself before sitting across from his new friend with a smile, his skin shifting to a soothing blue robin color with a peach face and hands.

"Have a drink on me, friend. I understand you had a hard time and I know I always like to have a drink when bad things have happened." If he took the shot then he smiled and downed his own before continuing in a calm, friendly voice "I'll wait until you're ready to speak. Consider the shots my thanks for anything you can tell your friend." He then sits back and waits for the halfling to speak.


I got a trait for haggling, let's use it! Now...
Step 1: 75% of price for booze and Kindness = 50 (Whiskey) + 2 (Kindness) + 5c (Grog) * .75 = 39.0375 or 39g 4c
Step 2: Bluff Check vs Sense Motive? [roll0]
Step 3: Undercut Percentage: 2% + 1% per point above his Sense Motive. [roll1]
Step 4: Determine Asking and Initial Prices based on previous rolls
Step 5: Actually use Diplomacy to haggle finally! [roll2]
TLDR: This seems pretty complicated for 10 gold, 9 silver, and 6 copper off. Discounts for supported business and using it to grease up the Halfling?

As for the halfling: Halflings who drink four cups of Dragon Punch Whiskey in the space of an hour take a –4 penalty to Dexterity but gain a +4 alchemical bonus on saves against fear for the next 10 minutes.
Diplomacy: [roll3] and a point (of 3) of inspiration tacked on! [roll4]
In case that exploded: [roll5]

[omnitricks]

History: [roll0]
Local:[roll1]

Giving a shrug Sceel'd admitted that "eh the Old Road, doesn't sound that fantastic when there are so many other tunnels we could use to get out which are better." Due to the nature of the mission he was more interested in whether or not if "are we going to get any equipment to protect ourselves from the radiation? Because I am really not looking forward to becoming another statistic in this salvage mission."

[Redi]

A small figure comes up, running, bumbing into the halfling "I'm so sorry" he says
"Sorry, i am late, what did i miss?"


Knowledge local : [roll0]

[gabado]

"are we going to get any equipment to protect ourselves from the radiation? Because I am really not looking forward to becoming another statistic in this salvage mission."

"Well normally yes, but we... ran out," the tengu scratches its neck, avoiding your eyes. "We had plenty five teams ago, but, well, we never expected to loose this many men. I've got a possible lead on where we can get some more, if you'd like to accompany me, we can discuss it in greater detail downstairs."

In the bar bellow:


"Have a drink on me, friend. I understand you had a hard time and I know I always like to have a drink when bad things have happened." If he took the shot then he smiled and downed his own before continuing in a calm, friendly voice "I'll wait until you're ready to speak. Consider the shots my thanks for anything you can tell your friend." He then sits back and waits for the halfling to speak.


"Th-th-thanks," the halfling mumbles, reaching for the first shot and trembling so badly he must use his two hands to steady the glass and bring it to his lips. He coughs at the violently bitter taste, a bit of color returning to his pale face. "They call me w-worm, they call me rat, hey you, swine, pigface, thimble, runt, t-take your pick." He reaches for another shot and looks up into your face, fighting back tears of desperation. "W-what do you want with m-me?"

[Exthalion]

When he had rediscovered teleportation magic a few months ago Minnow had spent a lot of resources on archive trawls to learn everything they could before they started testing. Even then, they spent a great deal of time testing it before they actually started putting it to use. It was clear why she didn't suggest it for the departure trip, too much uncertainty. But for the way back...

Maya resolved to stay after the briefing was done and have a few words about what the true goal of the mission was. Small differences in objectives could lead to major differences in implementation. That was why most of his government escort to the Core hadn't come back out again. Oh they came out of it smelling like roses (well he came out of it smelling like rancid oil and sewage [and had never smelled a rose] but the people who did the talking took care of the suspicion) but there was still a body count larger than strictly necessary when all was said and done.

"This is big Minnow: bigger than any of us, maybe all of us. You don't waste people on small things. But... are we sure this is something we want to find? When the game changes too much no one knows the rules anymore, and knowing the rules better than the Spires is why we are all still here."

[Gunhaven]

Gently Caligun motioned to the shot and said "First drink, friend. I only want your time." With an easy smile he sat back and waited for the Halfling to drink the shot. Calmly he said "See, isn't that better? In drink we can find strength, you and I. Us two survive to have another shot, no matter what others say." He handed the third shot to the Halfling and waited for it to be downed before he asked in his same friendly voice "Who called you runt? You look like a mighty warrior to me, friend."

[Ganis]

[QUOTE=gabado;18149045]"Well normally yes, but we... ran out," the tengu scratches its neck, avoiding your eyes. "We had plenty five teams ago, but, well, we never expected to loose this many men. I've got a possible lead on where we can get some more, if you'd like to accompany me, we can discuss it in greater detail downstairs."

“Seven teams is a bit much to have lost. How can we help with this lead you speak of? I would much rather have a few extra supplies if needed than be wanting when the mutant hoards come like a wave.” and after pondering a few moments, pipes back in, “I have some skill in moving things discreetly if needed.”

[omnitricks]

The humanized Sceel'd stared at the tengu eyebrow raised when he was told the gear to protect them from radiation ran out so many salvage missions ago and his eyes never shifted even when the tengu tried to look away. After a few moments he let up with a sigh and said "it better not be stealing from people with big guns, like the cops because you know how much I'd rather not."

"Anyway I agree, we have some things to discuss about this mission" Sceel'd admitted. A lot of things about the mission didn't feel quite right with him and he needed to talk about them. Waiting for the tengu to take the lead Sceel'd stood at the side while eying up the weird construct thing that wanted to tag along.

[gabado]

"it better not be stealing from people with big guns, like the cops because you know how much I'd rather not."


"Yes..." the tengu shifts uneasily. "We have much to discuss."We have much to discuss."

It moves past you, striding quickly, bobbing its head with each step like a bizarrely large chicken.

"Well, is there anything else you lot need from me?" Minnow appears to have calmed slightly, the flames are but white-hot outlines around her fingertips. "I have much to attend to, 35 new recruits aren't easy to scrounge up, even in these times."

Descending behind it into the bar, you are greeted once again by the stale aroma of dead air and the soft lullaby of a multitude of drunken stupors. In a booth near the bar you notice Caligun sitting with the halfling from Minnow's office. The small fellow braces his shaking hand as he methodically downs the shots that are placed before him.
The tengu leads you behind the bar, chirping dismissively at the grumpy barman, and through a door to a storeroom. Amid the casks and racks of wine stands a small, round, wooden table. Spread across its surface are many sheets of thin, semi-translucent paper, and as you approach you realize that they detail an incredibly exact topographical view of Burrow 23.

"Gather round, gather round," the tengu moves to the other side of the table, shifting through the papers before pulling out one labeled "4". "First off, my name is Waylon. I frankly will not remember your names, so there is little point telling me. Nothing personal, you just all look... well it'd be like asking you to distinguish between two loaves of bread. As for the rad suits. We've sent out our sniffers to track down what they can, but as of yet, the leads are none too promising." Waylon pauses, looking down at the map and gesturing with a hooked talon. "We're here, from this point the PLF controls almost everything that happens on this layer of the burrow. but down here," he pulls out another map, labeled "3". "This layer is almost entirely out of our control. There are two major gangs, the Gutter Rats and Moralon's Heart. One of our guys said he heard rumors that Moralon's Heart was doing some excavating in the core and was using rad suits to protect from the sludge. It's worth looking into, but they are heavily fortified, and it's a tenuous lead at best."
He pauses to clear his throat, closing his eyes and breathing a deep sigh before looking back at you. "We do know where we can get all the rad equipment we need, and more. I know you said no police, but the Burrow's dispatch office is near here, and relatively understaffed. It also has access tunnels, here and here," He points on the map, indicating two small tubes that snake their way through the 4th layer's streets. "That connect to lower layers. They've been sealed off from their end, but down below, who knows?"
The Gutter Rats are a brutal band of cutthroats. They hold down a small area in the 3rd layer primarily through extreme acts of violence and intimidation tactics. They are sworn enemies with Moralon's Heart, a shady group who's symbol is eerily common across the burrows many layers.Moralon's Heart is a cult based around the worship of an ancient deity many believe to be an ancient incarnation of Wee Jas.Moralon's Heart is bent on the complete control of Burrow 23, and most likely of Eta's other Burrows. They practice ritual sacrifice to the Black Maiden, and believe that through ritual scarification and mortification they become stronger and more invulnerable.


"I don't know, them, everyone. My whole life I've been pushed around, 'go fetch this,' 'go get me that.' Curses and hatred, that's all I've ever known for a name!" the drink seems to have greatly improved his mood, and he speaks with anger and burning confidence, and a bit of a slur. "Ain't nobody ever bought me a drink before. I thought 'join something, rise up, if you've got money and power then they'll have to respect you, have to call you by your name.' If only I'd stayed a nobody"

[Gunhaven]

Caligun waved dismissively and said "Don't mind those people. I've been called all sorts of names by all sorts of people. You and you alone decide what you're known as." He moved the shot to him and waited for him to down it before he continued. "Your last mission for instance. You and you alone survived. Why don't you tell me what happened then. How a hero like yourself survived when everyone who thought they were stronger than you died."

[squidpope]

"Well, you know I never say no to taking from the police. It's been a while since I broke into a restricted area." Jasper pauses and looks up, thinking. "Ok, so It's been a week. But still, A whole week? Way too long."


[roll0]+8 for knowledge history

"Though you know, If we could stir up some animosity between the gangs down there, we might cause enough of a distraction to be in and out without any of the other gangs even knowing we were involved."

[Ganis]

Descending behind it into the bar, you are greeted once again by the stale aroma of dead air and the soft lullaby of a multitude of drunken stupors. In a booth near the bar you notice Caligun sitting with the halfling from Minnow's office. The small fellow braces his shaking hand as he methodically downs the shots that are placed before him.
The tengu leads you behind the bar, chirping dismissively at the grumpy barman, and through a door to a storeroom. Amid the casks and racks of wine stands a small, round, wooden table. Spread across its surface are many sheets of thin, semi-translucent paper, and as you approach you realize that they detail an incredibly exact topographical view of Burrow 23.

"Gather round, gather round," the tengu moves to the other side of the table, shifting through the papers before pulling out one labeled "4". "First off, my name is Waylon. I frankly will not remember your names, so there is little point telling me. Nothing personal, you just all look... well it'd be like asking you to distinguish between two loaves of bread. As for the rad suits. We've sent out our sniffers to track down what they can, but as of yet, the leads are none too promising." Waylon pauses, looking down at the map and gesturing with a hooked talon. "We're here, from this point the PLF controls almost everything that happens on this layer of the burrow. but down here," he pulls out another map, labeled "3". "This layer is almost entirely out of our control. There are two major gangs, the Gutter Rats and Moralon's Heart. One of our guys said he heard rumors that Moralon's Heart was doing some excavating in the core and was using rad suits to protect from the sludge. It's worth looking into, but they are heavily fortified, and it's a tenuous lead at best."
He pauses to clear his throat, closing his eyes and breathing a deep sigh before looking back at you. "We do know where we can get all the rad equipment we need, and more. I know you said no police, but the Burrow's dispatch office is near here, and relatively understaffed. It also has access tunnels, here and here," He points on the map, indicating two small tubes that snake their way through the 4th layer's streets. "That connect to lower layers. They've been sealed off from their end, but down below, who knows?"



"So, we go down there, Bang Bang Bang Bang, walk out with rad suits, sounds easy enough. And we get to take on the law as and added bonus. What could possibly go wrong?" You don't see it, but you're sure there has to be a smirk to go with that side of sarcasm. No one could be this crazy. Right?

[gabado]

"So, we go down there, Bang Bang Bang Bang, walk out with rad suits, sounds easy enough. And we get to take on the law as and added bonus. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Well quite a lot actually," your sarcasm is clearly lost on Waylon. "There's the quite substantial risk of getting caught. Executions or exile all around, not to mention torture. And of course, they'd want to know what you wanted the damn things for in the first place. Whatever's out in that blasted waste we sure don't want it falling into the possession of the Burrow's 'finest.'"


"Though you know, If we could stir up some animosity between the gangs down there, we might cause enough of a distraction to be in and out without any of the other gangs even knowing we were involved."

"Excellent thinking," Waylon clucks in appreciation. "If you could pull it off the risk would certainly be lower than attempting to lift the suits from the police. The sticking point is that we don't know for sure weather or not Moralon's Heart has what we're looking for. Perhaps doing some recon of your own could be useful. We tengu have a saying 'a worm in the beak is better than two in the earth.' Rushing into anything blindly will mean certain failure."


Caligun waved dismissively and said "Don't mind those people. I've been called all sorts of names by all sorts of people. You and you alone decide what you're known as." He moved the shot to him and waited for him to down it before he continued. "Your last mission for instance. You and you alone survived. Why don't you tell me what happened then. How a hero like yourself survived when everyone who thought they were stronger than you died."

"I'm not a hero!" the halfing downs the shot, grimacing before straitening up in the booth, waving his hands emphatically. "I'm a coward! That's how I survived. We saw one, two, four, six. Flew over wreckage and ruin. No bodies. I-I begged the captain. 'If we turn back, we'd only face Minnow, whatever she's got in store for us is better than this!' Kept-" he hiccups loudly. Clasping a hand over his mouth he waits till the hiccups subside before taking another shot and continuing. "We kept going. A day of drifting over that forgotten place. And then it found us. I heard-no I felt it coming. Out of the sun it seemed to dive. Straight through the canvas of our ship. I... I fainted from the fear of it. When I came too, I was wrapped in a shred of the canvas balloon, tucked behind the shards of a crate. I saw it..."
He stops, his voice trailing off as he relives the crash.
"Black, with skin like glass. Leather sails of painted pitch. Three braces of knives, swords really, dripping green death. Captain was before me, he saw my huddled form and called for me, hand, his hand, stretched out. I could have taken it! I could have saved him! But I hid. Because I'm not a hero like you. I'm a coward, I don't deserve a name."



"This is big Minnow: bigger than any of us, maybe all of us. You don't waste people on small things. But... are we sure this is something we want to find? When the game changes too much no one knows the rules anymore, and knowing the rules better than the Spires is why we are all still here."

Minnow regards you carefully, it's clear she is carefully selecting her next words. "Much will change. Nothing we now know will be saved from the entropy to come. Completing this mission, discovering what lays at those coordinates is of the utmost importance. We cannot control the winds of change, but we can ensure we have a sail set to tack into them for when they begin to blow."

[Gunhaven]

Caligun again waved his hand dismissively and shifted the color of his skin to match the background. He shifted back as he said "Hiding isn't cowardly. It's how me and mine survived." He shook his head and offered his hand, saying "Come, let's see if you can't draw what you saw. In the meantime you never mentioned your name so I can get you a promotion in this organization of yours when we get that shielded piece of wreckage." He looked about for something to draw on so that he knew what to shoot at.

[Exthalion]

She knows, or at least strongly suspects, what's in the vault. Why hasn't she chosen to share that information then?

"What is it you want me to be doing to prepare. I could get suits produced as fast as we can obtain them from elsewhere, faster maybe. That means you have bigger plans for me."

But am I the end or the means in those plans?

[omnitricks]

Local: [roll0]+[roll1]
History: [roll2]+[roll3]

Sceel'd didn't need to think much to say "yeah I'm going to prefer stealing from the Heart. Even if its understaffed going after the police is too risky and I don't need the heat." Not really the entire truth but the other people do not need to know that and at least Waylon gave more reasons to not do it. After processing the plans and what could happen Sceel'd suggested "I could go into the Heart, get some intelligence or even try and lift those suits myself. Other way is I get them fighting with the other gangs? Don't know how that is going to happen though since there has to be better reasons for gangs to have an all out war against each other then whatever we could think of right now."

[gabado]

"Come, let's see if you can't draw what you saw. In the meantime you never mentioned your name so I can get you a promotion in this organization of yours when we get that shielded piece of wreckage."

"Aurn, I've always wanted to be an Aurn," the halfling smiles, clearly enjoying a form of attention that didn't come with a boot attached. "Here, I've got a scrap of paper or two, not much to write with I'm afraid."
He looks around, taking in his surroundings in the keen, wistful, and woozy manner of a well-boozed troll. His eyes light upon a pencil nub tucked firmly behind a sleeping patron's ear, and hopping lightly off his chair he winds his way across the short distance, gracefully avoiding imaginary objects and sliding the pencil lightly from behind the man's ear.
"He-hic-here you go," he takes a deep breath, readying himself to relive the event. Staring unseeingly into the space between you, he begins slowly. "I, I didn't get a great look at all of it... but what I saw, and what I can remember is this... It had glossy, glassy almost, black skin? scales maybe. It was massive. As big as mastodon, and it had these giant black sails for front legs, wings I guess you'd call them, but they weren't like any wing I've ever seen, no feathers, just leather... Like what batwings are supposed to look like I guess, but way way bigger. And it's maw... It was split into three sections, opening like a triangle, it's breath was... was pleasant. Honestly. It was like fresh fruit or air fresheners. Flowers really. And wherever its saliva dripped, grass, grass sprang up, with little blue and yellow and red flowers... When the saliva touched you, it, it, it ate through you, the roots, or sprouts or whatever dug through flesh," he pulls up his left sleeve revealing a massive, blotchy patch of hashmark cuts and poorly executed stitches that weeped yellow fluids along their ridges. "I caught a stray glob when I was hiding, and, well, lets just say it was the most excruciating pain I've ever endured, nearly passed out again from the agony of it. It was all I could do to stay conscious."
Here Aurn pauses, reaching for another shot and grimacing after it goes down. "I cut it out. All of it. Used floss to 'dress' the wound..."


"What is it you want me to be doing to prepare. I could get suits produced as fast as we can obtain them from elsewhere, faster maybe. That means you have bigger plans for me."


"That I do..." Minnow lets her voice trail off as she searches one of the doors on the remaining desk for something. Straightening she holds out a piece of paper with an address hastely scribbled on it. "Here, this is the address of the oracle. What you saw, that was only part of what she showed me. I could tell you more, but honestly it'd be better if you saw it first hand. And, you should know, what we, what you find, if you find it in that desert, well, it will be useless unless you can complete the task the oracle will set before you."



"I could go into the Heart, get some intelligence or even try and lift those suits myself. Other way is I get them fighting with the other gangs? Don't know how that is going to happen though since there has to be better reasons for gangs to have an all out war against each other then whatever we could think of right now."

"Yes, yes, these gangs are well established and quite frankly would have much to loose and little to gain from an all out war. I think infiltration is perhaps the best option, at least given your specific talents. Infiltrating the Heart will be difficult however," Waylon ruffles his feathers indignantly. "Why couldn't they be more like those damned Gutter Rats, all it takes to infiltrate them is a bandana and a psychosocial disorder! No, the Heart will be a difficult snail's shell to crack, pardon the idiom. I myself don't know much about them. The PLF has had few dealings with them in the past, and I've never been much for cults. going down to the 3rd layer and having a talk to some of the rabble couldn't hurt. Well actually it could... Be careful who you talk to down there, the wrong word to the wrong person and you could be on the Heart's most wanted list faster than a peregrine falcon on his lunch brake."

[Gunhaven]

Caligun sketched the description given to him as best as he could and whistled at the wound. He said "That's quite the wound, Aurn! Trying to pass yourself as weak all this time and you survive something like that." He chuckled at the halfling trying to pass himself off as weak. When he finished the sketch he showed it to Aurn for his approval, fixing it as needed. He looked for his allies and attempted to wave them over to show them what Aurn experienced if he saw them.

[Redi]

"So who's in to see this oracle, maybe it can enlighten us a bit ?"
Gosh, i'm still alive. Note to self, never, ever drink this much on the evening.

[squidpope]

"Well, if we're going to snatch a few things from the Heart, I've got a few things I need to check on. Is that beggar who used to run messages for us still living out in the irradiated field by the junkyard? I'm willing to bet that he would know a few things about what they've been up to, Pelor knows he works for everyone." He looks around at the faces of what might be his new team. "Anyone here particularly good at uh... persuasion?" He says, cracking his knuckles and grinning.

[omnitricks]

With an amused look on his way about the many ways to infiltrate the Heart and how to mess it up, Sceel'd finally spoke up that "all I'll need is a hat and one of them to get some details out of. I'm not too good with ah...persuasion" he admitted while looking at the cracking knuckles "but I have a few ways of getting information out of people." Then thinking for a while about the idea of going into the third layer "they probably won't know who I am to get me on the wanted list if I get in and out fast enough but I'd prefer if there are other people you know of we can use. Maybe someone else higher in the ranks that isn't a disposable mook that we could talk to that isn't in the heart of the Heart down at the third layer. Know anyone that might fit the bill?"
Just in case I am going to roll a knowledge check as well to see if there is anyone like that. Maybe someone like a preacher, recruiter or something in that cult or even their assistant.
Knowledge local: [roll0]+[roll1]
Knowledge religion: [roll2]+[roll3]

[gabado]

Caligun sketched the description given to him as best as he could and whistled at the wound. He said "That's quite the wound, Aurn! Trying to pass yourself as weak all this time and you survive something like that." He chuckled at the halfling trying to pass himself off as weak. When he finished the sketch he showed it to Aurn for his approval, fixing it as needed. He looked for his allies and attempted to wave them over to show them what Aurn experienced if he saw them.

Aurn smiles and blushes at your compliment, hiccuping violently and begging to sway as the alcohol catches up to him.


"So who's in to see this oracle, maybe it can enlighten us a bit ?"
Gosh, i'm still alive. Note to self, never, ever drink this much on the evening.

"That's the spirit!" Minnow beams at you, eyes dead over a glorious smile. "Now get the hells out of my office! I've had quite enough of talking this morning and quite fancy breaking something more! And remember," she points at the scrap of paper with the oracle's address. "What she'll show you is top secret, in fact-"
Minnow breaks off to rummage amongst the wreckage. She stands and holds out a simple silver necklace, a gray pendant hanging from it. "Give her this, she won't believe you, or trust you at first, may even try to attack you! But if you give her this she'll know I sent you."


"Well, if we're going to snatch a few things from the Heart, I've got a few things I need to check on. Is that beggar who used to run messages for us still living out in the irradiated field by the junkyard? I'm willing to bet that he would know a few things about what they've been up to, Pelor knows he works for everyone."

"Dirty Jack Manyfingers? Yeah he's still out there. He'd be a good place to start. I normally don't deal with his... sort," Waylon shows visible discomfort at these words, it's clear the Dirty Jack isn't on his list of favored individuals. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't have something useful to say..."


"they probably won't know who I am to get me on the wanted list if I get in and out fast enough but I'd prefer if there are other people you know of we can use. Maybe someone else higher in the ranks that isn't a disposable mook that we could talk to that isn't in the heart of the Heart down at the third layer. Know anyone that might fit the bill?"

"I've heard something about a... missionary I guess would be the best word. Enforcer might be a better title. Big, Hulking bear of a man, with mountains of muscle and a brain the size of a walnut. Browbeats people into paying their dues or staying out of turf, not a thinker by any means, but someone is behind him. He might be able to lead you to your inside man."

You've heard, courtesy of your knowledge local check rumors about this man, horror stories really. They call him the Taxman. Waylon is right, he's a bully and a thug, and certainly affiliated with the Heart, but he's no independent thinker, someone else is certainly calling the shots.

[The Vagabond]

A tree begins to walk around the city streets, lost and confused, it's roots like feet upon the cold ground.
It looked around, dazed and confused, chainsaws swaying from it's branches.

[Gunhaven]

Sensing a conclusion to the end of the negotiations, Caligun got up and offered a helping hand to the halfling. With a reassuring smile he said "Come, let's see if we can't get you that promotion now." He briefly considered Minnow but decided against it, instead heading to the storeroom with Aurn if he decided to go with him. If there was a look of concern then he continued to smile and said "Relax, I'll vouch for your valor and help in us getting this thing that Minnow is after." He remained patient until Aurn decided to tag along, a force of calm in these troubled times.

When he got into the storeroom he motioned to Aurn as he spoke to the tengu. "Aurn here has been a big help. Thanks to him we know what defends the area and what to expect otherwise. I'd appreciate if he could be rewarded for his cooperation." He flashed that winning smile of his at the tengu and shifted his skin to match the feather's of the birdman. After a couple seconds he added, offhandedly, "What's been decided in here and do you need my help?"

[Ganis]

Sensing a conclusion to the end of the negotiations, Caligun got up and offered a helping hand to the halfling. With a reassuring smile he said "Come, let's see if we can't get you that promotion now." He briefly considered Minnow but decided against it, instead heading to the storeroom with Aurn if he decided to go with him. If there was a look of concern then he continued to smile and said "Relax, I'll vouch for your valor and help in us getting this thing that Minnow is after." He remained patient until Aurn decided to tag along, a force of calm in these troubled times.

When he got into the storeroom he motioned to Aurn as he spoke to the tengu. "Aurn here has been a big help. Thanks to him we know what defends the area and what to expect otherwise. I'd appreciate if he could be rewarded for his cooperation." He flashed that winning smile of his at the tengu and shifted his skin to match the feather's of the birdman. After a couple seconds he added, offhandedly, "What's been decided in here and do you need my help?"

LIX nods at the new comers, “Just discussing options. I would say talking to Jack would give us information, but it will also let them know we are looking into them. I may be best to ask about all the gangs at once and get all the information. Then it will look like we are just sizing up some competition.” LIX then pauses in thought for a few moments. “This Man Mountain may require special persuasion to hand over the information, I hear alcohol works wonders on loosening your peoples tongues and inhabitations. Or if he really is as dense as you say, we may be able to lure his keeper into action and find an even better source. Do we just want to follow him and see where he hangs his hat after his rounds?”

[omnitricks]

After some thought a faint smile appeared in Sceel'd face. "Yes I think I heard of him. The Taxman right? All muscles no brains. Easier to use actually..." The human started to think a little more before continuing "yes...and I think we could easily get to him by...getting him to come to us...hmmm..." Satisfied with what he figured out, Sceel'd said "we could go and get Jack after we gotten everything we wanted to know from the Taxman, that way at least we would know enough to know if Jack is lying and we won't have to worry about persuading the Taxman either. Give me a minute or two with him and he can't help but tell us everything he knows."

Giving it a little more thought, "I could try going at him on my own but I'd rather not take any chances. The more of us the faster we can take the Taxman and with less complications."

[Redi]

"i'm off to do something for minnow, anyone wants to join me ?"

[gabado]

"Yes, well," Waylon looks around the room. "It seems you've got a good handle on the situation. I'll leave you too your own devices then. Come with me, master halfling, and we'll see about rewarding you for your service."
He leads the halfling out to the bar again, turning back he says, "if any of you need me, I'll be tending to business in the bar, good luck with Jack and for goodness sake, don't get yourselves lost or killed, we still need you to deal with the raiders."

People ease out of your way, casting you alarmed looks, they're not very used to seeing walking trees, especially walking trees with chainsaws. Ahead of you, a small group of children are gathered about something on the ground. As you approach, your shadow falls across them and they look up, screaming with fright at the sight of you, and all scurry off down separate alleyways.
On the ground, at your roots lies a quivering bundle. After a moment, the creature raises its head, revealing two wide, glossy eyes that quiver with fear. It's is covered in dirty, rust-colored scales and its muddy, torn clothing bears the unmistakable marks of violence and abuse.
The kobold stares at you a moment, then extends one tiny, trembling, clawed hand. "Th-th-thank you."

[The Vagabond]

The tree stares down at the kobold. It's chainsaws hanging from it's branches, it picks one off, and places it on the ground. It holds out a prehensile branch to the kobold.
"FRIEND?"
Using it's other prehensile branch, it points to the ground, then the general area.
"Place. Where?"

[Exthalion]

"i'm off to do something for minnow, anyone wants to join me ?"

"I am, though not without misgivings. Most prescients can't see very far ahead. If this one can..."

[omnitricks]

The entire discussion was about how the group was going to get the suits but not about the question that was nagging at Sceel'd's mind. Just before the tengu left through the door, Sceel'd asked right behind him. A nice opportunity Waylon gave him since he said "raiders? I thought we weren't sure what got the previous groups? Is there something we should be looking out for besides the radiation and mutants? Any other specific parties that know about this salvage mission besides us that wants it for themselves? Or maybe just our enemies that want to stop us regardless of what we do?"
I will be using sense motive to see if Waylon lies about the next answer. If Sceel'd thinks he is bluffing he will use one inspiration to use his empathy skill that works as a detect thoughts on Waylon (DC 19 saves) and push him further with something like "are you sure" to get Waylon thinking about it.
Sense motive: [roll0] or [roll1] + [roll2] or [roll3] + 14 taking the better values of each and adding them up.

Total for sense motive is 36 but since I was awesome with a double crit can I have a freebie here? XD

[squidpope]

Jasper steps out of the bar and onto the street, pacing slowly up and down the street and waiting for the rest of the party to file out of the bar. He glances up and down the city street, mostly just to entertain himself while he passing the time. He whistles, and from underfoot a clockwork fox creeps silently into view, sitting at Jasper's heel. I know Flint, you're tired. but we have work to do. He pats Flint on the head and sits down next to him, slowly winding his friend up while the two watch people pass by.
This is Flint, Jasper's familiar. He is of course purely mechanical, a creature of Jasper's own making. He is also analog, running only on mechanical energy from being wound up. Flavor is different, function is the same.

Perception roll: Take 10 for a 28 to know whats happening on the street outside.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun pulled out the paper with the drawing and said "He could mean this. It's got leathery wings and a mouth that parts three ways as well as black, glassy skin. The worst part is its acid; it causes plants and the like to grow and eats through flesh. Aurn here was injured by it in his observations of the creature." He paused for breath and continued on. "I'll get some more ale before we go if someone can carry it. I'm not that strong unfortunately and could use the help."

[Ganis]

Caligun pulled out the paper with the drawing and said "He could mean this. It's got leathery wings and a mouth that parts three ways as well as black, glassy skin. The worst part is its acid; it causes plants and the like to grow and eats through flesh. Aurn here was injured by it in his observations of the creature." He paused for breath and continued on. "I'll get some more ale before we go if someone can carry it. I'm not that strong unfortunately and could use the help."

"If you really want to move some, I could convert a few barrels into a more manageable form for transport, for about a week a pop. Its how I normally move large quantities for Minnow. All it takes is the container to be 18 cubic feet or less and it can be travel sized for you." he follows this up with some hand gestures indicating about general steamer trunk sized area.

[gabado]

The tree stares down at the kobold. It's chainsaws hanging from it's branches, it picks one off, and places it on the ground. It holds out a prehensile branch to the kobold.
"FRIEND?"
Using it's other prehensile branch, it points to the ground, then the general area.
"Place. Where?"

"Friend," the creature looks up at you, taking your branch in its hand. "What do you mean 'Place. Where'? Like what street are we on? Are you lost? I'm Marco, I'll help you find your way!"


"raiders? I thought we weren't sure what got the previous groups? Is there something we should be looking out for besides the radiation and mutants? Any other specific parties that know about this salvage mission besides us that wants it for themselves? Or maybe just our enemies that want to stop us regardless of what we do?"

"W-Well, I mean" the tengu is clearly agitated by your question and he stammers to answer it. "It's just, well, I just assumed raiders you know, but I mean-"

It's quite apparent that he's lying to you, or at least not telling the truth. Even across species, it's easy for you to spot a lie, and you see clearly through his lie. Before he can finish his fib, Caligun interrupts him.


"He could mean this. It's got leathery wings and a mouth that parts three ways as well as black, glassy skin. The worst part is its acid; it causes plants and the like to grow and eats through flesh. Aurn here was injured by it in his observations of the creature."

"A monster! And quite an impressive one from the sounds of it!" Waylon sounds surprised.

You detect relief in his words, and sense that he's still not telling you something.

"That must be what's been picking off all our men! You'll have your work cut out for you, but the reward will be high. Something that powerful doesn't hang out around just anything. Take it from a bird who hoards shiny trinkets for a hobby, there's something in that desert worth getting!"

The road has filled, and people slowly trickle by you. Far down the street to your left you catch a glimpse of, no, it can't be. Your eyes must be playing tricks on you, there's no way a tree could be here!

[The Vagabond]

"All. Odd."
It gestures to the buildings around it, then looks at the kobold.
"Things. What?"
It gestures to the chainsaws hanging from it's branches, "Trophy. Here?" it asked.

[squidpope]

Jasper stands up as a group of screaming children filter by him. Walking slowly forward with Flint creeping silently behind, he approaches the... tree? My goodness it really is a tree. A ragged and worn down looking Kobold stands at the foot of the tree and- The foot of the tree is actual feet. He stood quietly, watching as the gargantuan plant spoke in a voice that was wholly unlike any sound a tree could make. Jasper continues to approach it, with Flint standing just beside him, sniffing at the tree's roots.

[Redi]

Seeing that nobody is answering to him, leska go alone to see the oracle

[The Vagabond]

The tree looked down at the animal, and silently used it's roots to push Flint away from itself.

[Gunhaven]

He nodded and continued the tengu's thought with his own theory, adding "Probably that large object that broke off and was protected by some sort of magic. We can hunt for it when we draw closer to the crater." He turned to the Tengu and politely said "I'm sorry I cut you off, friend. Please, say what you were going to say."

[gabado]

"No problem, I was just saying we don't really know what's out there."

He's definitely holding something back, and when you press him he begins to stammer and splutter out more.
From detect thoughts:
"Blast me with a ray gun and call me a fried egg, I figured the reports were wrong... a dragon Minnow'll be sending them to their death... sure hope these guys know what they're doing.
From your knowledge check:
A dragon... could be, Legends say dragons are formed from the raw, elemental power of their environment. It's unlikely that there would be any bit of actual nature left on Eta, but maybe the wasteland grew wild enough to generate such a monster.
Dragons are incredibly rare and have not been seen on Eta during the span of its life as a city world. They usually arise from some incredible natural phenomenon or calamity. Not much is known about dragons' size or shape but it is said that they reflect the chaotic wilderness around them.
"Well-I mean, it's just that-well, we, I mean I, we just..." Waylon looks around desperately at you. "We assumed wrong I suppose! Sounds like a beast, I'll just be away to speak to master Aurn here!" He hurries out of the room.

"Yeah it is a weird place I guess," Marco laughs, but stops abruptly, staring at the clockwork fox approaching the tree. "Woah... I've never seen... That's incredible! Look mister tree! It yips and everything!"

Your trip through the streets will take about an hour. The path indicated by the hastily scribbled map Minnow gave you winds through a busy market square and down through a small tunnel system in the 3rd layer before emerging at your destination, The Tumbling Tenements.

[squidpope]

"Yeah it is a weird place I guess," Marco laughs, but stops abruptly, staring at the clockwork fox approaching the tree. "Woah... I've never seen... That's incredible! Look mister tree! It yips and everything!"

[/SPOILER]

"Oh yes, Clearly the fox is the strange thing here. never mind the fact that there is a FREAKING TREE. HERE. Jasper stares up into the branches, and noticing the chainsaws, looks to the everwake amulet around his neck. "I really ought to get more sleep, I'm starting to hallucinate again."

[omnitricks]

The amused look he had on his face from knowing he caught Waylon lying yet again turned into befuddlement when Sceel'd realized what the lie was about and what it could mean. As soon as the door closed and he was sure Waylon left a word unmistakable for being one of the worst curses escaped his lips as he soon explained in a calm manner after that "either we're dead while trying to do this mission or we're dead by the time we're done with it. Waylon probably knows who picked off the previous teams and knows what this creature is" pointing to the picture the vercite produced. However unwilling to cause any problems with what he learned, he suggested "we might have to do some research about this creature as well. Its pretty rare but any information we find out about it in case we end up in its face will probably increase our odds of survival."

After thinking a little bit more he felt "maybe we should do some research on this first. If we went after the Taxman now either the Heart will be alerted to our activities or will become more of a problem to us than our solutions to them unless you think there is a better way to proceed?"

[The Vagabond]

The tree pokes at the fox, then looked at the man.
"Hello. Am new. Tour? Guide? Teach?" it asked, confused.
It looked to the Kobold to help him out.

[Gunhaven]

Slowly Caligun nodded and said "It would be good to know what exactly we're facing. Where would one go to look up such a thing? Some sort of wizard academy?" He paused and thought on that for a moment before he turned to LIX and continued "You seem like a magical fellow. Where did you learn that handy tactic to shrink down barrels of ale?" His thoughts then turned to his own supply of ale and held up one finger as the general 'one moment please' gesture as he went to purchase enough booze to cover the area that can be shrunk by the mage and came back heavily burdened by the extra ale. With a smile and a wave of his hand he finished with "If you could perform that trick and if it would last a while then I'd appreciate it. That way I can pass the time while we search more about this guardian we have to face and grease up wheels when needed."

[gabado]

The tree pokes at the fox, then looked at the man.
"Hello. Am new. Tour? Guide? Teach?" it asked, confused.
It looked to the Kobold to help him out.

"New? Are you from a different burrow?" Marco looks confusidly from the tree to Jasper then back to the tree. "I'll be happy to look out for you here, I mean I don't really have a home or anything but... I owe you for saving me from those," the kobold raises his voice shouting in the direction of the fleeing children. "Sniveling pieces of rat droppings!"

You don't need to roll anything to know that the only substantial amount of information on ancient species would be kept in one of the Burrow's Arcanum spires. Unfortunately they are heavily warded and are policed by the feared Arcanomancers.

Feel free to formulate a plan, make rolls, knowledge arcane, nature, history, local are all ideas. You do know that whatever the monster is, it's not common and any myth or legend is likely to be highly erroneous.

Dirty Jack may be a good resource for procuring information about the spire. Minnow as well may be a good place to start if you wanted insider info, she being (as the story goes) the only person in the 23rd Burrow to have escaped a spire.

[Redi]

Leska enter the office
"Hello there, i'm coming from minnow, here have this" he says, handing the necklace.

[The Vagabond]

"Yes. New. From forest. Place wierd. Teach."
He points to Jasper.
"What is place like?"

[squidpope]

"This place is a city. Lots of people. very few trees". Jasper paused for a moment, trying to keep his sentences short so the tree would understand him. "Where is this forest?"


knowledge nature [roll0]+4=8

well guess I dont know anything about trees.

[gabado]

"This place is a city. Lots of people. very few trees". Jasper paused for a moment, trying to keep his sentences short so the tree would understand him. "Where is this forest?"


knowledge nature [roll0]+4=8

well guess I dont know anything about trees.

"Yeah! Wow! A forest!" Marco looks up incredulously at the tree. "How did you....?"


The room is dingy and dark, thick drapes hanging over the windows cast lazy shadows, red, green, and brown across the floor. The air is still, and as the door swings shut behind you, eddies of dust are thrown into the air.
A heavy stench of rotting fruit and pungent perfume fills the room. The only occupant is a large toad sitting atop a plush pillow on the counter. It croaks in response to your entry to the room. Before long a short, plump woman bustles into the room from a backdoor.
Winding through the clutter of boxes and footstools and books that spans the floor, she approaches you. Her face is harsh and warn, her eyes milky white scan the air before her, seeing something invisible to you. She raises a trembling hand and takes the necklace from your outstretched hand.
"I see..." she speaks softly, her voice low and calm, and gestures to a cluster of orange and grey cushions. "Come sit, both of you, I will show you much, but first, I must know, why have you come? What is it you seek? Why has my daughter sent you?"

[Exthalion]

Discretely, so as not to shame his companion, Maya whispered,"Next time the boss hands over the trinket that keeps the plot together, make sure you have a spare before you offer it to the toad."

He took a moment to be seated, not used to anything this soft and nervous about how he was supposed to act. "Minnow's got it in her head that gang leader isn't an ideal retirement strategy; up and decided the lost, ancient treasure racket might be more her thing. But its not like I'm telling you anything you don't already know. I mean comeon, your the oracle. Your probably annoyed already that my lines in the script go on for so long before you can get to tell us how this is all going to end." he said.

I'm really annoying when I'm unsettled...

[Ganis]

Slowly Caligun nodded and said "It would be good to know what exactly we're facing. Where would one go to look up such a thing? Some sort of wizard academy?" He paused and thought on that for a moment before he turned to LIX and continued "You seem like a magical fellow. Where did you learn that handy tactic to shrink down barrels of ale?" His thoughts then turned to his own supply of ale and held up one finger as the general 'one moment please' gesture as he went to purchase enough booze to cover the area that can be shrunk by the mage and came back heavily burdened by the extra ale. With a smile and a wave of his hand he finished with "If you could perform that trick and if it would last a while then I'd appreciate it. That way I can pass the time while we search more about this guardian we have to face and grease up wheels when needed."

After dragging the ale back to a more, not in the middle of the tavern area, he seems to bend space and after what seems like en eternity in a single moment, he has what looks to be a soft felt version of the barrel. " That should last about a week. Toss it like you mean it to change it back to normal." and looks Caligun up and down. "So, I'm more of a supporting type person when it comes to groups. I tend to help others be better at what they are already good at with my gifts. What kind of stuff does Minnow keep you around for?"

[Gunhaven]

Caligun looked over the piece of cloth and with a shrug he put it into his bandolier. With a smile he pulled out his sonic pistol and said "I have skill with this pistol here..." He pulled out his stun baton and continued "...fairly competent with this, although I prefer to stay away from things that are trying to kill me." He returned the baton and pistol to their holsters and took out his last two pistols, saying "This is my backup plan. Beyond my weapons I'm as good at sneaking as any Vercite and can hold my liquor better than anyone I've met." He said the last bit with a joking tone and pointed back at Aurn.

[The Vagabond]

"Short: Magic. Long: Adventure, Princess, taste for wood, alcohol, magic." it said.
"Tour?" it asked.

[squidpope]

"Short: Magic. Long: Adventure, Princess, taste for wood, alcohol, magic." it said.
"Tour?" it asked.

"Umm..." Jasper stammered at the tree. "Yeah sure. Would you like to wait just a few moments for me to gather my friends and then we can all leave for a uh... Tour... Together?"
Jasper turns to the Kobald. "you to know each other long?"

[gabado]

He took a moment to be seated, not used to anything this soft and nervous about how he was supposed to act. "Minnow's got it in her head that gang leader isn't an ideal retirement strategy; up and decided the lost, ancient treasure racket might be more her thing. But its not like I'm telling you anything you don't already know. I mean comeon, your the oracle. Your probably annoyed already that my lines in the script go on for so long before you can get to tell us how this is all going to end." he said.

The oracle chuckles, "I'm sorry, most people are put off by omnipotence, I find it kinder to let others tell their tales as best they can on their own, sets them at ease. But you are a person of business, a mechanical mind, I will ask nothing more of you."
She turns towards Leska. "Welcome, both, I will show you what I have shown Minnow, hopefully you can make good use of this gift. Take my hands."
She extends a soft, wrinkled hand towards each of you.

In a rush the room is ripped away from you, whistling color and roiling shadows surround you, the oracle's hand is your only point of contact, your only tether to reality, and then suddenly it slips from your grasp and your vision reals as you find yourself in the midst of a massive room. Computer monitors surround you, their holographic screens casting dancing lights across the crumpled forms at their controls. The floor shines a glossy black and as you look you realize that it is covered in a thick pool of blood, spreading through the control room, oozing from wounds on the backs of the corpses at the keyboards.
striding through the blood, three figures stop short of a massive, central display. The display depicts a large wring, a large tube extending from its center, encircled by a glowing coil. Flashing rapidly before your eyes, the contraption is stripped down, built up and stripped back down again. It appears to be some sort of schematics for a construction of some sort. In the top write corner, a label simply reads Omega.
"Bring us to earth," one of the three speaks, and at his words the leftmost figure reaches for a keyboard, imputing a short command code. "Let us burry this atrocity, drive it like a stake through Eta's heart, that the maggots might know the error of their ways."
As quickly as the vision began it is over, you find yourself once again in the dusky room. The toad croaks softly from the countertop.

"Hardly longer than I've known you," the kobold holds out a hand. "Marco. You've got friends?"

[Ganis]

LIX produces a well used rifle from one of his many pouches, "I tend to use this primarily, and my other abilities to turn the tides for given scenarios. I never really got a good answer as to why, but it seems to be something to do with my engravings that sparked the whole thing. Optical cloaking helps with not being seen, or at least that's basically one of the tricks I can pull off. I can also induce an adrenal boost, comes in handy under the right circumstances."

[Gunhaven]

Caligun let out a low whistle and said "Good to know we can shoot at whatever it is with some success then!" He looked at Skeel'd and smiled, saying "I can guess you're a smart fellow that's sneaky too. We could probably just follow whomever we needed to in order to protect ourselves. After we visit a library of course." He looked about and said to no one in particular "Best get going now..." he looked at his companions, smiled, and added "You two ready?"

[gabado]

The old woman smiles at you, crooked, yellow teeth shining brightly in the dim light of the room.
"Quite a thing to behold is it not? Final moments of a starship's maiden voyage."

With your substantial check you were able to glean quite a bit of detail from the schematics you saw flashing on the screen. The object appears to be a massive cannon of sorts, the coil providing a substantial magnetic field to accelerate a projectile to incredible speeds. The scale of the thing is another marvel, from what you could see, its power source was the ship its self, the Behemoth's engines providing the enough power to safely fire the gun. From what you could see, the cannon was hard-wired into the hull of the ship, turing the alleged interstellar cargo ship into an awesome weapons platform. What's more, with enough time, and the right parts, you believe you could reconstruct the gun, sure it would be the size of a skyscraper, and pointing it at anything close by would be quite difficult, but perhaps you could improve on the design, engineering a more portable version of the weapon.

The crowded street bustles and brims with activity. Shopkeepers shout from open stands, eager patrons brave the early morning air to collect their various sundry items, and animals and beasts of all varieties bray, screech, hoot, and jabber for attention.
Walking down the street, you notice above the heads of the people in front of you, the unmistakable shapes of leaves. Leaves. The crowd begins to thin, and you emerge into a vacant plot of ground in the middle of the street, people streaming past you, parting like water around a rock, and staring open mouthed at the talking tree before you.

[squidpope]

"More like co-workers really." Jasper turns to see a number of his new team mates oogling at his new found... friend? companion? pet? It was hard to tell.

"Actually, here they are now. And If they would shut there mouths and not be so flabbergasted at my friend, I would appreciate it."

[The Vagabond]

The tree looks around at everyone gaping at him, and waves. He looks at his kobold friend.
"Ride in Branches?" it asked.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun recomposed himself and smiled at the tree and Jasper. After a couple seconds he shifted his skin color to that of tree bark and said "Hail and well met friends! We were going to investigate further on what exactly we should expect at the crash site. Would you two care to join us?" He looked about and waved with the tree at all the people treating the little group as a rock in the stream of traffic as he awaited confirmation on them joining or not.

[gabado]

The tree looks around at everyone gaping at him, and waves. He looks at his kobold friend.
"Ride in Branches?" it asked.

Not needing to be told twice, Marco gleefully climbs into the Tree's branches. Clambering higher and higher until his head pokes out from the top.
"I can see everything!"


Caligun recomposed himself and smiled at the tree and Jasper. After a couple seconds he shifted his skin color to that of tree bark and said "Hail and well met friends! We were going to investigate further on what exactly we should expect at the crash site. Would you two care to join us?" He looked about and waved with the tree at all the people treating the little group as a rock in the stream of traffic as he awaited confirmation on them joining or not.

"I'll go along with you wherever you want!" Marco calls down to you. "Where is it you're headed?"

[The Vagabond]

The tree nods, looking at the man. After Marco gets into it's branches, it looks at the humanoid.
"Will go. What is not-tree, though?" it asked Caligun, "I see not-tree take tree form. You Wizard? You like trees? You find trees 'Sexy?'" it asked, obviously slightly worried, and shockingly worried about whether or not he finds trees sexy.

[Ganis]

LIX would raise an eyebrow, if he had one, "Well, at least I wont be the strange one making us stand out now. We should go see what we can find. Who knows what eyes are in play already." and looks the tree up and down. "Hey Topiary, lets get a move on if your coming." and motions they way to the library.

[The Vagabond]

The tree nodded, and began to follow.

[omnitricks]

Too preoccupied after learning what waited for them out there, Sceel'd allowed the conversation to continue on while he started to think of where he could get more information. In fact, whatever that tree was in front of him it was definitely not as bad as a dragon. After giving an appraising look Sceel'd said "if you want to learn more about sexy trees, you can do it on your own time. As far as I or Waylon knows, we better be learning about dragons" and continued walking on to their destination until he realized the information he let slip.

[Gunhaven]

With a laugh Caligun shifted to that of a normal (or as normal as someone with mice eyes can ever look) peach skin tone. He said "I'm not drunk enough for that yet. Let's go get that information so we can know what we need to kill a dragon besides bullets and luck."

[Exthalion]

I know the right word was omniscience there, but as it an intentional slip to relieve me? If she really had omniscience, then she would know that I would be asking these questions and getting mildly freaked out by them, which would make such a slip a jab. Yet if it was a jab, why not go with a better one...

All those thoughts ended when he realized what he had seen. What replaced frustration was fear, and words came unbidden to his lips.

"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us..."

Where did that come from?

"This is too big to tell Minnow 'I told you so.", and I barely ever get to do that. Before I start loosing circuits to recursion from worrying about this, please tell me the vault isn't another surprise on this level? Scratch that, if it is another surprise tell me it is so I can worry properly."

[gabado]

"This is too big to tell Minnow 'I told you so.", and I barely ever get to do that. Before I start loosing circuits to recursion from worrying about this, please tell me the vault isn't another surprise on this level? Scratch that, if it is another surprise tell me it is so I can worry properly."

"Well that's the problem..." the oracle looks down. "When they built the safe, they warded it with a plethora of powerful spells. Unfortunately for you, at least one of those spells guarded the safe from prying eyes, separating it from the flow of time, and obscuring it from my vision. As powerful as I am, I am not nearly powerful enough to pierce through those enchantments."
She sighs, "I'm not even able to get an accurate idea of where the vault is. I'm afraid the only way we're going to be able to know what's inside is to crack it open ourselves, well yourselves. I'm far too frail for such adventure."


As you get closer to the large spire, the streets grow less and less crowded. The last few blocks look abandoned. It is as if the Arcanum Library tower has leached all life from the surrounding cityscape.
The large wrought iron doors stand ajar, a soft red glow emanating from within. A lone dwarf stands guard by the door, a rifle slung over his back, he smokes a cigarette at ease and makes no move to stop you as you approach the doors. He seems wholly unfazed by the large tree ambling past him.
The entry chamber is lit from above by a soft, diffused red light. Giant floating orbs glow softly as the gently bob up and down, hundreds of feat above your heads. The room is long and empty, the air is still and smells of mildew. The walls are entirely lined with doors, floors and floors of doors. Terraced steps along the wall rise from the floor, each one brimming with doors. Steep, iron stairs connect the levels, climbing all the way to the ceiling high above. The only object in the room is a rectangular rough granite desk, its center cut away and standing in the middle of it, pouring over ancient tomes is a gaunt, emaciated elf. He wears a heavy, purple robe, the hood of which falls across his face, so that only his thin, yellowing lips are visible. He does not look up as you enter.

[squidpope]

"Wait... the library? I thought we were going to go find Dirty Ja-" Jasper caught himself before he spoke to many words and gave away heir purpose. It was perhaps paranoia, but the eyes and ears of other gangs were everywhere, and they were not exactly an inconspicuous bunch

[The Vagabond]

The tree just stared at the library.
The tree takes the lead, waving at the man, and walking into the library. It looks around, walking forward, and eventually ends up in the room.
"HELLO! TALK OF DRAGONS, NEED INFORMATIONS!" it shouted at him.

[gabado]

"Dragons..." The man croaks, dragging the 's' out into an almost hiss. "Four-hundred forty nine."
He raises his hand to indicate the left wall of the room, and then resumes his work.
The doors are all uniform except for a small iron number emblazoned at the top of each lintel. You must climb four flights of steep stairs to reach the door he indicated.
The tree has trouble finding footing on the stairs, they are indeed so narrow that the rest of you struggle to keep your footing as well.
Marco looks relieved that the tree can't climb up. Sighing he says "Ah well, I suppose we could jusst wait outside... I mean we could do other errands and stuff as well."

You guys may want to split up for this, perhaps Jasper and the tree could go see Dirty Jack, or maybe go talk to the tax man.

[Ganis]

LIX scurries his way up the massive amount of stairs to the indicated door, keeping an eye out for others in the library. He will wait patiently for the others to make there way up to him before opening the door marked 449. No one to visit places like this that often, he is still curious about the doors and will pay attention to the workings of it when they open it.

[roll0]

[Gunhaven]

Caligun looked briefly into the room and said "Maybe we should leave LIX and Skeel'd to their books while we go talk to those other people. " He scooted around until he could head back down the stairs and prepared for a slip and tumble down. To those that followed him he said "Where to fellows?"

[The Vagabond]

The tree looks at the stairs, and sighs.
"Yes. Talks about meeting people. Tell me more." it asked it's allies.

[omnitricks]

Sceel'd knew he made the mistake as soon as he made it but when the tree started shouting about dragons, his hand went and smacked his own face part punishment and part to shield himself from any onlookers. "Ugh, lets just get this over with" he said making his way to the door he was pointed to to look for his information.

[roll0]

[gabado]

The knob is cold to the touch and turns silently. With a small sucking *pop* the door springs open, and for a moment, a rainbow of color assaults your eyes. Squinting against the visual barrage you see the room through the door come quickly into focus.
The room is very long, large bookcases reach to the ceiling. Scrolls, tomes, manuscripts, jars containing various specimens, and loose paper and parchment fill their shelves. A long mahogany table, covered in dust stretches the length of the room, creating two corridors of movement along its length. Stacked in the center of the table you can see a neat pile of books, spines worn and rotting, pages yellowed and blackened by mold.
There a five books, Incredible Creatures of This World and the Next, Natural Phenomena, The Wake of Westemporax, and two more whose titles are too worn to decipher.
These books will effectively allow you to take 20 on any knowledge checks related to Dragons. This will take some considerable time however. The writing is very dense, and there is a considerable amount of material to work through.

As you exit the library, you notice that the dwarf who saw you in is no longer at his post. His riffle is though, laying on the ground, abandoned.
The street is silent, and at first glance deserted.
Marco grips his branch tightly, holding his breath and scanning your surroundings.

[squidpope]

The knob is cold to the touch and turns silently. With a small sucking *pop* the door springs open, and for a moment, a rainbow of color assaults your eyes. Squinting against the visual barrage you see the room through the door come quickly into focus.
The room is very long, large bookcases reach to the ceiling. Scrolls, tomes, manuscripts, jars containing various specimens, and loose paper and parchment fill their shelves. A long mahogany table, covered in dust stretches the length of the room, creating two corridors of movement along its length. Stacked in the center of the table you can see a neat pile of books, spines worn and rotting, pages yellowed and blackened by mold.
There a five books, Incredible Creatures of This World and the Next, Natural Phenomena, The Wake of Westemporax, and two more whose titles are too worn to decipher.
These books will effectively allow you to take 20 on any knowledge checks related to Dragons. This will take some considerable time however. The writing is very dense, and there is a considerable amount of material to work through.

As you exit the library, you notice that the dwarf who saw you in is no longer at his post. His riffle is though, laying on the ground, abandoned.
The street is silent, and at first glance deserted.
Marco grips his branch tightly, holding his breath and scanning your surroundings.

Jasper raises his hand in a signal for the others to be quiet and stop moving. He looks around the seemingly abandoned lot, then, if the coast is clear, walks forward to gather the rifle.
perception check:[roll0]

[Gunhaven]

Caligun took the cue and shifted his form as he crunched down next to a wall, blending in with it. He then opened his ears and looked about for anything suspicious. If the coast seemed clear then he scooted forward and inspected the rifle without touching it before finally he picked it up and examined it.

Stealth: [roll0] including the racial bonus, hoping Bandoliers don't make me stick out enough to negate it.
Perception: [roll1] (Also checking for traps)

[omnitricks]

So I really have no idea who is here with me but I guess I'll just go for it

"Looks like its just you wand me" Sceel'd said before looking over the books and started to try and think what they were supposed to look for. "I think we should at least know what sort dragon we are up against if the books have any records of dragons in that area, what sort of attacks we are going to have to prepare for and how we are going to kill them. he suggested before flipping a few pages.

I am going to do it one by one just so we know how much time we are going to use. Not sure which knowledge rolls are we supposed to use specifically but all or mine are the same except engineering and nature which is higher.
[roll0]
Linguistics rolls of 17 and 26 to try and decipher the title of the two books.

[gabado]

The riffle is warm to the touch, having clearly been recently fired, in scanning the small street you notice some bullet holes in a wall about 20m away that could have very well have been left by the gun.
A sudden, rasping scrape of boot on shingle draws your eyes upwards as two massive robed figures leap from the rooftops above, landing silently on the pavement before you. They stand several meters at the shoulder and draw from beneath their cloaks hideous weaponry. The shorter of the two wields a massive black crossbow, its bolt barbed and connected by a length of rope to its belt. The taller brandishes two twisted broadswords and as it steps before you it shakes back its hood, revealing two identical heads, eyes burning red, nose drooping violently, teeth bared and yellowed. Its leathery green skin is knotted and worn, and it screams at you with a violent hatred.
We'll just do this post by post, each round will be a day, I'll try to post at around the same time every night, so that people are able to get their turns in. Feel free to make checks about the monsters, get creative, and have fun.

[Ganis]

*In door 449*

"I will be honest, I'm not the best when it comes to research, but I can try and help as much as possible." and LIX proceeds to try and get what he information he can in order to assist Sceel'ds efforts. He never really did study that much, except for some structural concepts.

Ya, 0 points in knowledge arcana, so not sure how helpful he is right now, but I do appreciate the flavor so far. Should probably assign those last 2 feats. He has +2 from int to knowledge if you allow him to assist.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun cursed quietly under his breath as he shifted and withdrew his smaller double barreled pistols. He aimed carefully and with a loud boom unleashed two shots into the bigger of the two. In a flash he reloaded the gun with two bullets from his bandolier and pulled out his prized sonic pistol, ready to fight. As the smoke rose he called out in a commanding tone "I can't let a mutant suffer any longer. Drop your crossbow and I'll spare you! That beast there must die however!"

Swift: Spend a point of Drunken Grit (I should have one from when I was drinking with the Halfling) to use Focused Shot to add Cha mod to these shots.

Move: Ready Small Double-Barreled Pistol and Sonic Pistol

Standard: Unload both barrels of the DB Pistol into Melee brute. (Assumed Point Blank Shot applied)

Free: Reload DB pistol for next round

Init if it matters: [roll0]
Also Intimidate? [roll1]

Shot 1 [roll2]
[roll3]
Shot 2 [roll4]
[roll5]

[Exthalion]

So she isn't omniscient. At the very least, if she is I will never be able to play at anywhere near her level. So I just have to act on the assumption that gives my life the most meaning to me.

"I feared as much. That being the case, I have two questions to ask you. If we embark on this quest, do we go to our deaths? Why did the vision you showed me not seem new to me?

If you answer these I shall count myself satisfied and trouble you no more."

[squidpope]

Jasper swears loudly, throwing the rifle they just found from the ground to the kobold in the tree branches and praying he has some experience. He then moves and draws his rifle, trying to get into a more suitable position to fire upon these two goons.

"I hope you know how to use this! "

[gabado]

Caligun's shots catch the beast in the chest, checking its advance and causing it to cough a vile spray of black blood from both mouths. It roars, advancing on Caligun and swinging its murderous weaponry. Behind it, the second brute levels its crossbow at jasper, letting loose a massive bolt.
Two headed Beast charges Caligun, provoking an attack of opportunity from the Tree (you've got long branches).

Attack 1: [roll0]: Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2]: Damage: [roll3]

Attack: [roll4]: Damage: [roll5]



As the abomination closes with you, you can clearly see the pleathora of entry wounds from your shots. To your dismay, the wounds appear to be closing rapidly, blood no longer flows from them and many have begun to close. The monster grins at you, an evil, double smile.

She is silent for a long time, staring deeply into your eyes. Finally she speaks.
"Life is full of upset, change, and possibility. There is truly only one thing that remains constant, only one destination to which all men will eventually navigate. Death. Every movement you make, every step along every road brings you closer to that ultimate end. You are on the verge of embarking upon the largest, and undoubtably most important journey of your life. It will bring you further down your path, further towards that destination.
"So to answer your question, yes. If you go, you go to your death. If you stay, your death approaches all the same.
"As to your second question, I cannot say. To my eye, the future stands crystal clear. The present," she waves a hand in front of her eyes to illustrate her poor vision. "The present is but a blur. As for the past, I see as little of it as you do of things to come."

Try as you might, you cannot decipher the two remaining titles. What is stranger still, a good deal of the content in these two books is indecipherable as well. You can make out the occasional sentence or noun, but the content is absolutely unintelligible. On the inside cover of each is a simple letter glyph, | on one and Ω on the other.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun spat out blood and cursed in his native, squeaky, tongue. With a quick backpedal he launched another barrage of shots into the beast, hoping that his pistols would down the beast before it did the same to him. With some showmanship he held his sonic pistol by the trigger while withdrawing two new bullets for his empty double barreled pistol before he gripped his gun with confidence in his crusade against the mutant.

Swift: Focused Aim again!
Full Attack: Rapid Shot Full Attack.
Sonic Attack 1: [roll0]
Sonic Damage 1: [roll1]
Sonic Attack 2: [roll2]
Sonic Damage 2: [roll3]
Sonic Attack 3: [roll4]
Sonic Damage 3: [roll5]

DB Attack 1: [roll6]
DB Damage 1: [roll7]
DB Attack 2: [roll8]
DB Damage 2: [roll9]

[omnitricks]

Sceel'd was cracking his head. "Ugh, what sort of a language is this? I've never seen it before. I can only tell a few words or sentences but I can't determine anything else" before shutting the book in frustration. "I don't suppose you know how to read it?" he asked before opening it again. Then he took out a vial and drank from it before going to reread the book one more time.

Did the previous take 20 on a knowledge check get anything though? Its result was a 33.

Also at this point because his linguistics roll could not decipher it Sceel'd is going to use his Comprehend Language extract to read the books.

[squidpope]

Jasper let out the smallest of cries. The bolt hadn't hit him, but it was way to close for comfort. Lifting his rifle, he fired at the grotesque creature attacking his friend, all the while trying to maneuver himself such that the two headed creature was between him and the crossbow wielding... whatever these things are.

"I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I don't know how to use this thing. But I'll give you as much help as I can!


Point Blank shot for laser rifle v.s. melee mutant's touch AC
[roll0]

[gabado]

The two sonic blasts from Caligun's pistol catch the creature square in the chest, moments later, Jasper's shot connects with its shoulder. It roars mightily before swinging at each of you in turn. Before its blows land you can see its fresh wounds begin to close.
Unable to draw line of sight to Jasper, the one-headed creature aims its crossbow at the cowering kobold.

@Caligun: Attack 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]

@Jasper: Attack 1: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]
Attack 2: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

@Marco: Attack: [roll8] Damage: [roll9]


Deciphering the book titles is a relatively quick process, but taking 20 will take much longer in-game (because you're reading 3 books). The other group is currently entangled with a small encounter, so I am going to wait until they're done to really get into the meaty information about dragons. I'm trying to avoid problems with chronology.

[Gunhaven]

Caligun managed to duck under the first swing and got cocky as the second one hit him square in the rib cage. He spat blood at the creature as he ducked back again, moving toward the library doors, and unloaded another barrage at the creature. His double barrels were hot as he popped it open on his thigh and quickly dropped two new cartridges into the gun for another round of fighting.

SoP goooo! At least I have a pool of 9-10 to play with right now.
SA1 [roll0]
SD1 [roll1]
SA2 [roll2]
SD2 [roll3]
SA3 [roll4]
SD3 [roll5]

PA1 [roll6]
PD1 [roll7]
PA2 [roll8]
PD2 [roll9]

[gabado]

The Two headed creature roars in agony, waving in a partially blind frenzy at the retreating Caligun. There is a violent rustling from the Tree's leaves, and with a sudden jerk, the second brute pulls taught a grappling line, wrenching Marco from his perch. The kobold falls with a wet crunch on the rough pavement below.

@Caligun: Attack of opportunity: [roll0] (partially blinded) Damage: [roll1]

[Gunhaven]

Caligun cursed again and coughed up more than his fair share of blood. One more strike like that and he'd be dead and he knew it. Thinking that the best plan is to fight another day, Caligun quickly back peddled away and withdrew away from the beast and toward the library's doors and into the structure if he could. If he broke line of sight he tried to find a place to hide.

[gabado]

With the wounded Caligun scrambling for the door, the two headed beast turns its attention on the animated tree, laying into it with a flurry of blows.

Attack 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack 3: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]
Attack 4: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

The door gives way to your push and you find yourself once again in the eery stillness of the library. The librarian at the desk makes no notice of your entrance.

[The Vagabond]

The tree, having been watching, lost, watched as the beast tried to tear into it.
And, to be frank, it did pretty well, dealing a solid 23 damage. (Or 17, if I have Hardness)
It then got annoyed, pulled it's large chainsaw out of it's branches, idly activating it, paying the beast little mind, despite it's wounds to it's bark, the roar of the chainsaw being loud as hell.

Move: Draw Chainsaws.
Standard: Activate it's chainsaw.

[gabado]

The two headed monster drops into a defensive stance, eyeing the chainsaws warily and with what you suspect might be a hint of fear. Behind it, the second beast reloads its crossbow, aiming hesitantly at the tree, not yet sure as to where the tree's weak spots may be.

Unsure as to how to fix a fleshy thing that's been broken, or even what it is that's gone wrong, you scoop the still figure up in your spare branches, handling him with care. You are unsure as to weather or not you've helped, but you certainly didn't make his condition worse.

Two headed takes total defense action.

[The Vagabond]

The tree then proceeds to Drill his chainsaw into it's arm absent mindedly, while beginning to walk to the crossbow one.
"Drop. Yield. Fix Friend."

Standard: Attack. To hit: [roll0] Damage[roll1]
(Note: Emergancy Crit Confirm, [roll2][roll]6d6+18
Move: Move 30 ft to the one headed one.

If you want a Intimidate Roll: for his request.[roll3] +(Whatever Circumstance Bonus you include)-(Whatever it is for rushing a Intimidate Check.)

[gabado]

In a scream of agony and a fantastic fountain of blood and gore, the two headed creature is violently ripped in half. The Tree's leaves glow deep red in the afternoon sun, its bark stained by arterial spray. The creature's halves lay close together on the bloody flagstone street, legs still twitching and wounds gushing fresh blood.
As the tree advances towards the second creature, it balks, shooting desperately at the tree's trunk, it turns tail and runs, dodging into an alleyway and out of sight.

Desperate shot: Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

[The Vagabond]

The shot pokes into it's trunk, as it simply does not manage to care. At all. It picks up the corpse, and walks back into the Library, walking up to Caligan, the corpse sling in his branches. He silently pulls out Marco, and lowers the tiny kobold down to the human.
"Fix."

[Gunhaven]

Caligun took a deep breath in before he calmed himself and eased his skin color into a peach color. He checked the kobold for a pulse and assuming he found one worked on stabilizing the little lizard guy. Once finished (or if the little guy was dead) he said "I've done what I can. The two of us could use a cleric or scientist that can help patch up the real damage though."

[The Vagabond]

He nods, picking up the little thing.
"We go see on way to Guy." it said. It began to walk out the library door, picking up the split corpse of the dead monster, and hanging it from it's branches. It continues to make it's way.

[gabado]

You are unable to find a pulse in Marco's arm, the bolt has pierced his stomach and as you feel his wrist the last bit of vitality slips from him and he goes limp.
The tree is truly a gruesome sight to behold, massive amounts of gore drip and trail behind it as in its branches, the two halves of the beast twitch violently, the monster desperately fighting for consciousness, its body healing and tearing repeatedly amongst the sharp branches.

So far the reading has been slow, most of what you've read so far has been descriptions of desolation and destruction at the whim and leisure of seemingly amorphous monstrosities. You've gleaned that dragons have no real set physical form, they seem to be as changing and evolving as the environments that spawn them. Most come about as the result of some great calamity or shift in an ecosystem. One thing holds true throughout the stories, wherever dragons appear, death and destruction are sure to follow.