IC: DH The Purity of Sacrifice

[Wyndeward]

Arl stood silently, keeping a watch for anything threatening behind them, knowing his lack of social skills would not aid in this negotiation.

[Bennosuke]

"Whoa, steady on there, big fella. It ain't you. Say, you wouldn't have seen some of our friends lurking around? They got shiny coats like we do. Seen any fellas like that lately?"

The giant stops its quivering, casting its many eyes down at the floor. "No," it mutters with embarrassment, "no upworlders down in these tunnels... only Ants live down here... except the shadow lady..."

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marcella furrowed her brow.

"The...what?"

[Bennosuke]

The mutant's eyes raise from the floor to look at Marcella. Each globe is fully open; a round white circle penetrated by a black whole, each one staring deep into the psyker. "The shadow lady," the giant says in a whisper, "No one can see her, or some say she's just a blur. We only know she's around by smell. But they say she stalks the halls of the deep under, looking for Ant children to steal... so that she can eat them!" The mutant relates this story with dead seriousness and stern fear on his face.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella


Marcella didn't know how much she could buy into this flight of fantasy. It was entirely possible that some entity dwelled within these sordid, fetid lower pits at the base of the hive. In fact is was nigh on a statistical certainty. But what form it took to the uninitiated, uneducated or even downright suspicious was another matter entirely. It was quite possible this mutant was witnessing some type of native predator species that had survived all these millennia by scratching out a living at the base of the hive, before one of its members had grown too large to be ignored any longer.

Or, alternatively, there were...other entities out there that were as mysterious as they were malevolent.

"I see," Marcella nodded, her colorless expression hiding her scepticism.

"Well we would very much like to avoid any encounters with the...Shadow Lady," she nodded.

"Our habitat is near a place called The Squats Behind. It's a drinking den. Do you know how to get there?"

[Bennosuke]

The mutant casts his gaze downward, and shakes his head in the negative. But after a moment's contemplation he looks up with his hundred eyes and says, "I am sorry my Lady, but I don't know any of the upworlder... places. But I can take you to the tunnels that lead to the upworlder city, if that would help."

[dojango]

"Your kindness is a warm fire in the winter," says Luis, bowing. "We will stay far away from the Shadow Lady."

[Morovir]

Watching what the others are doing, Xerros-926 bows his head in respectful acknowledgement to the creature. The sooner they were out of this place, the better. They needed to retreat and re-evaluate.

[Wyndeward]

Arl bowed his head in thanks.

[Bennosuke]

Before anyone can do anything else, one of the giant's massive clawed hands reaches out towards Luis. The thing's arm seems to reach across nearly two meters before snatching the cooked ryder meat out from the man's hands, and whips back to shovel the greasy morsel into its slit like mouth. A sickly series of wet chomping noises follow as more oily saliva dribbles out of the mutant's mouth. It swallows as its many eyes seem to mist over with the joy of the feast.

After a quick belch, the mutant says, "Ah, that was.... so delicious. Thank you. Okay, follow me." The giant leads the acolytes back through a series of tunnels, which slowly become wider and appear more stable. After nearly a half hour of navigating through the tunnels, the mutant stops at a passage where overhead electric lamps glow. It hisses as it holds its a massive hand up to its face to shield its many eyes. "This is as far as I can take you," the mutant whines, grimacing in pain, "you just need to follow this tunnel back, and turn right, rather than left at the wall of skulls."

Sure enough, the path ahead does look familiar and the acolytes get the sense that they just might be able to navigate back to their hab block from where they stand with the giant.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Pursing her lips and nodding as she peered down the dank, cavernous hallway before them, Marcella thanked the mutant.

"Thank you," her words were simple and gentle.

"Stay safe."

[Bennosuke]

The mutant places both hands over his chest in a loose approximation of the Aquila salute, before bowing low at the waist. "Stay safe... norm friends," he says, still stooped to the ground. He rises and adds, "I am Gruck," before turning and walking away.

(OOC: Not sure if anyone else wants to respond or ask questions before leaving the mutant, but will give people a chance to respond. Let me know OOC if you just want to move on)

[dojango]

"Stay in good health, Gruck." After the mutant disappears into the shadows, Luis muses, "He wasn't bad for a horrible mutant. On my world we would have set him adrift on an ice floe and sent him to the embrace of the ice spirits. Well. Any thoughts on what next? Head back to the upper hive and look into the fate of the other batch of credit guilders?"

[Wyndeward]

"Stay in good health, Gruck." After the mutant disappears into the shadows, Luis muses, "He wasn't bad for a horrible mutant. On my world we would have set him adrift on an ice floe and sent him to the embrace of the ice spirits. Well. Any thoughts on what next? Head back to the upper hive and look into the fate of the other batch of credit guilders?"

"I think we should do some research on the noble that Boss Half-Face named..."

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marcella nodded to her compatriots.

"The other Credit Guilder team, and the noble. Why didn't the others mention an initial Credit Guild team when we arrived?"

[Morovir]

"Affirmation: We have many questions that need to be answered and many avenues of inquiry to follow up on."

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: OOC:

Show

So someone please state where we are going next. Also, just FYI, there have been several mentions so far to the fact that everyone notices how this is a different group of Credit Guilders than who normally comes.

[dojango]

"Right. Let's head back uphive and start looking for these other guilders. Maybe we can bribe the guards at the elevator to let us know if they try to come down again. And, uh, if they got a good look at them the last time they came this way."

[Wyndeward]

"Right. Let's head back uphive and start looking for these other guilders. Maybe we can bribe the guards at the elevator to let us know if they try to come down again. And, uh, if they got a good look at them the last time they came this way."

"Good -- let us hit the hostel, get our belongings and be done with this place, at least for a time."

[Bennosuke]

The acolytes return to Url's hab. Zeik is gone, but Url is home, and opens up the Hab's door the moment the acolytes arrive (despite the many many locks he has to undo). It's clear he has been anxiously awaiting the return of the group. "How did it go?" Url asks hastily, "How was Boss Half Face?" He watches with confusion as the acolytes begin filtering in, rushing to their rooms to get whatever equipment they are gathering.

(OOC: Are the acolytes collecting all their belongings and leaving???)

[Wyndeward]

The acolytes return to Url's hab. Zeik is gone, but Url is home, and opens up the Hab's door the moment the acolytes arrive (despite the many many locks he has to undo). It's clear he has been anxiously awaiting the return of the group. "How did it go?" Url asks hastily, "How was Boss Half Face?" He watches with confusion as the acolytes begin filtering in, rushing to their rooms to get whatever equipment they are gathering.

(OOC: Are the acolytes collecting all their belongings and leaving???)

"He was the soul of kindness -- he even let us leave.

[Bennosuke]

An ugly grin spreads across Url's square face. "Well that's something," he says with a hard chuckle before asking, "Where's you's heading off to so quickly after ya' just got back?"

[dojango]

Luis pauses to consider the man for a moment. He reflects on a few things. They'd been spied on for their whole time here. Luis had thought it was Clan Sabay, but Boss Half-Face had no idea they'd killed some Clan Tora guilders. Who else knew their movements? And where was the son? Thinking quickly, he shifted his body and placed his hand on the butt of his pistol out of sight from Url. He said, "It's funny, Boss Half-Face didn't like our terms. Seems he's got a new partner? But as a sign of respect for our past dealings, he told us something interesting. He'd caught a spy following us. He said he'd had the spy tortured to death, horribly. Horribly. Thought it rude that someone was sticking their nose where it didn't belong." He watched Url carefully for a reaction.

[Bennosuke]

Url shrugs. "I always gots the feeling, that Half-Face was dealing with someone wealthy through the other Guilders; the ones who normally come here," he says casually, "though I know that you's guilders can't talk about that sort of thing and all." He listens as Luis talks about the spy and asks, "A spy? Down here? This ain't really the land of courtly intrigue."

[dojango]

Luis relaxes a bit. His initial hunch may have been wrong. "We don't talk about that sort of thing, aye. But you can talk about it.
That last group of Guilders... tell me about them. Who they met, where they went, what their names were... "

[Bennosuke]

"Well, dreck on a ryder," Url says with a chuckle, "I figured you'd know who your own colleagues are. Just like a bunch o' uphivers to not know nothin'." He grins at Luis and slaps him on the back, saying, "Like I told ya' before, they mostly came down here to speak with Boss Half Face. Used to drive the Tora crazy, which is why I think your friends Short Stick and Leetus were so keen on making your acquaintances. There was four of your fellow guilders. Wore robes just like yours and all. The leader was a tall git, went by the name Sir Drimmle. It was him and Guilder Jen, Guilder Ollof, and Guilder Kimpler."

[dojango]

"I grew up in a clan of less than fifty souls... and in the Credit Guild there a thousands. Maybe even tens of thousands. Very few souls, though. Full of villains looking to screw each other over just to get a step ahead of the competition... We're just curious to learn more about who's trying to screw us over. It ain't the gangers, it's our own colleagues. The last group... was they the usual group, or was that the new group of gits?"

[Morovir]

"Addendum: Credit Guild not unified - individual teams seek to gain most lucrative deals, many work their own angles."

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Having been quiet in the back, as was her nature, Marcella furrowed her brow in curiosity.

"Why didn't you mention this to us when we first arrived?" she directed towards Url.

[Bennosuke]

Url shrugs off the explanations provided by the acolytes, seeming not to scrutinize their explanations too heavily. In reply to Luis' question, he replies, "The last group was de regulars. In fact, yous is the first new group o' Guilders in a long while." He chuckles at Marcella's question and reiterates with a shrug, "But I did lil' miss."

Looking a little more uncomfortable with all of the sudden questioning Url asks, "Is there anyting eyes can do to help?"

(OOC: Again, this was brought up several times to the acolytes earlier on in the game. Just for reference, see post 94 on page 4)