Outside 51: It's just a weather balloon

[bc56]

Shuttle to L1
As mentioned, Lizzie is too trapped in a necklace in a safe to speak. Sekhmet releases the safe and watches it fly out of the ship. There. She won't trouble, uh, either of us again for a long time.

[Earl of Purple]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

"Why tell me this? You've got his nephew right here." Boada goes up to the jars and grows into her more human size, though it requires her to stop glowing. She'll then open the jars, starting with the sprite and pixies. The pixies flitter around the room quite happily once freed, and the two in bark armour and the sprite quickly fly over to a nearby table, where they pick up various things. One of the pixies takes an atlatl and a collection of spines from some prickly animal in a tiny quiver, whilst the other grabs a bark shield and a small halberd made from a toothbrush with the bristles melted around a razorblade. The sprite takes a wand; Yuvan can tell it's a wand, it's made of wood and ends in a star. The star is painted on, however, and the wood is wider at the far end than the handle, looking altogether more similar to a baseball bat than a traditional faerie wand. The leprechauns are released next, spilling out across the floor and mostly disappearing.

The woman, about twenty five centimetres tall, calls out and waves at Yuvan, trying to catch his attention. "The cat down there is dangerous, sir! If you're going there, be careful!"

Abandoned Battlefield

The two guards follow, not entirely happily, and when behind the building they throw down their rifles, kicking them towards Almoner. One has an assault rifle made from spare parts, the wooden stock carved from a table leg, whilst the other has a bullpup carbine fitted with a broken torch. They'll hesitate a moment, then the one without the handcannon pointed at their head reaches into a pocket and pulls out a single-shot smoothbore pistol made from scrap, the copper barrel clearly once a piece of plumbing, and offering it as well. At which point the one held will withdraw their own pistol, an ornate revolver with ivory grip.

[Meowmai]

[SPOILER]

Spoiler: Quotes

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[The Ossuary]

Not sure anyone in this group can strictly be counted as a 'hero'.

Dena makes sure to look strictly at Cantata before she shakes her head to make sure that Pania didn't think the gesture was meant for her. "Cantata, as a rule I don't scout ahead before the rest of the team arrive. If say, its one of the dungeons where the door closes behind you as you enter it would make things rather awkward." She gestures at the doorway.

Then she turns to Pania and gestures to her as to really get the point across who she was addressing at the moment. "Cantata suggests that we move inside, do you want to take the lead, Pania? I'm going to suggest to her." She points at Cantata but keeps being turned to Pania. Though Catata should still be able to tell that this is meant for her too. "To use symbols instead of texts. Like, arrows and such. Also, if she can change the color of her text we could use green for 'go' and red for 'stop'. Does that sound doable?" Now Dena looks between them.

Spoiler: Quotes

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The Ossuary

At the moment, the literacy barrier wasn't too frustrating. How things play out might change that, but for now it hadn't caused any discord. If some disaster happens from it, well, they'll deal with it then.

In response to Dena's suggestion, Cantata taps a couple settings on her wrist-comm and uses her finger to draw rather than type, prompting the image of a thumbs-up to project from it. Communicating to Pania how their powersets differ might be a bit trickier, though. Nodding to convey that she understands what Pania's describing, She opts to try and communicate her own style of combat by pointing to herself, raising a finger to her lips and then miming the use of a garotte. She keeps her demeanor friendly and studies Pania's expression for recognition, hoping to avoid the gesture being mistaken for some kind of active threat.

Turning back to the trunk, Cantata holsters one of the shock batons into her belt and slings the shotgun over her shoulder. She unfolds the mancatcher and, after a brief test of its heft and balance, looks back towards Pania and offers it to her. If she looks confused, the woman will gesture to indicate their quarry, point from her eyes to the weapon, and then tap the side of her head and gesture to the slave collar in her other hand; They'll see [you with] this, and think we are the slavers.

The Ossuary

"Sure, I can do that." Pania had no qualms about taking the lead. It made perfect sense after all- she was the frontliner, so of course she should be in front. As for Dena's suggestion to solve their communication issues? She shrugged. It was better than nothing. "It'll have to do for now." Might get a bit tricky in the heat of battle though.

The warrior tilted her bed as Cantata tried her best to communicate through gestures. She tilted her head a little when the saboteur tried to describe her combat style. Fortunately, her demeanor was enough to show that she wasn't threatening Pania, but the warrior didn't quite get what she was trying to say. She thought it might just mean that they should stay silent in general. "I can try to be silent," she replied, if that's what you're asking."

When the mancatcher was held out towards her, Pania didn't immediately take it. In fact, she took a step back slightly, and her expression got dark. Cantata would almost certainly feel a sense of disgust radiating from the woman at the sight of the weapon. However, after a few awkward seconds, Pania would reach out and take it. She hadn't been able to read Dena's briefing, of course, but she had been told the gist of the mission when signing up for it, so she did know what it was for. After nodding curtly, she would turn, and push her way through the doors into the Ossuary.

[Morty]

[Riverbank]

Nak nods.
"Yup! They're made of meat. I haven't hunted 'em, though. Dad says it's okay for me to not hunt until I'm older. But I do hunt frogs sometimes."
Batu might have seen Nak eat frogs. It's slightly unnerving if you don't see reptiles eating prey often.

"Oh yeah. I guess crocodiles are big enough to hunt boars in the wild. My people ride on them, because they're kind of crazy. And frogs are a start. You're still pretty small."

As they talk, the water gets deeper and the river gets wider. Nak might realize that there's something underwater. Looks like a piece of a stone roof, overgrown with weeds and covered in silt.

[Ironsmith]

Shuttle to L1
As mentioned, Lizzie is too trapped in a necklace in a safe to speak. Sekhmet releases the safe and watches it fly out of the ship. There. She won't trouble, uh, either of us again for a long time.

[Shuttle to L1]

"Praise be." Miranda sighs in relief, her shoulders sagging, as though Lizzie's presence on the ship had physically weighed her down. "Now we just need to set the autopilot and make our way back to the Nexus proper, and we're all good."

Fortunately, setting the autopilot doesn't rake very long, and Miranda's all ready to go within the hour.

Pixie Grinder's Compound

"Why tell me this? You've got his nephew right here." Boada goes up to the jars and grows into her more human size, though it requires her to stop glowing. She'll then open the jars, starting with the sprite and pixies. The pixies flitter around the room quite happily once freed, and the two in bark armour and the sprite quickly fly over to a nearby table, where they pick up various things. One of the pixies takes an atlatl and a collection of spines from some prickly animal in a tiny quiver, whilst the other grabs a bark shield and a small halberd made from a toothbrush with the bristles melted around a razorblade. The sprite takes a wand; Yuvan can tell it's a wand, it's made of wood and ends in a star. The star is painted on, however, and the wood is wider at the far end than the handle, looking altogether more similar to a baseball bat than a traditional faerie wand. The leprechauns are released next, spilling out across the floor and mostly disappearing.

The woman, about twenty five centimetres tall, calls out and waves at Yuvan, trying to catch his attention. "The cat down there is dangerous, sir! If you're going there, be careful!"

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

"Perhaps she is." Yuvan concedes as he makes his way to the hatch, prodding it with his foot. "But as you have no doubt noticed, so am I."

And with that, he throws open the hatch (if it's not locked) and jumps down, so he can take care of the grinders once and for all.

[Earl of Purple]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

The hatch is not locked, and nobody follows Yuvan down. The dangerous cat seems to have scared Boada, too, though she wasn't really OK with violence before Yuvan dragged her out here without any choice otherwise.

Down the hatch is what was an underground garage of some kind. One wall doesn't exist, opening out to the base of the hill the compound is built atop- though it wasn't visible from outside, so presumably it's hidden somehow. There's a ladder up, and shelfs against the far wall still have some rusty and abandoned tools resting on them. Most of the space consists of a large nest, constructed primarily from shredded books and parchment. Curled up on the pile of paper is a very, very large cat. It's got deep purple-black fur, a long tail, slender legs, and a leonine face framed by a braided lilac mane and a massive pair of horns. Three eyes stare at Yuvan, as the Sphiranx attempts to rummage through his thoughts and memories, trying to corrupt them. If it's successful, then all of Yuvan's memories of his wife will be replaced, the giant cat taking her place- and all the emotions associated with her instead applying to this vast beast, even though he's never seen it before.

[Shadowcaller]

The Ossuary

At the moment, the literacy barrier wasn't too frustrating. How things play out might change that, but for now it hadn't caused any discord. If some disaster happens from it, well, they'll deal with it then.

In response to Dena's suggestion, Cantata taps a couple settings on her wrist-comm and uses her finger to draw rather than type, prompting the image of a thumbs-up to project from it. Communicating to Pania how their powersets differ might be a bit trickier, though. Nodding to convey that she understands what Pania's describing, She opts to try and communicate her own style of combat by pointing to herself, raising a finger to her lips and then miming the use of a garotte. She keeps her demeanor friendly and studies Pania's expression for recognition, hoping to avoid the gesture being mistaken for some kind of active threat.

Turning back to the trunk, Cantata holsters one of the shock batons into her belt and slings the shotgun over her shoulder. She unfolds the mancatcher and, after a brief test of its heft and balance, looks back towards Pania and offers it to her. If she looks confused, the woman will gesture to indicate their quarry, point from her eyes to the weapon, and then tap the side of her head and gesture to the slave collar in her other hand; They'll see [you with] this, and think we are the slavers.

The Ossuary

"Sure, I can do that." Pania had no qualms about taking the lead. It made perfect sense after all- she was the frontliner, so of course she should be in front. As for Dena's suggestion to solve their communication issues? She shrugged. It was better than nothing. "It'll have to do for now." Might get a bit tricky in the heat of battle though.

The warrior tilted her bed as Cantata tried her best to communicate through gestures. She tilted her head a little when the saboteur tried to describe her combat style. Fortunately, her demeanor was enough to show that she wasn't threatening Pania, but the warrior didn't quite get what she was trying to say. She thought it might just mean that they should stay silent in general. "I can try to be silent," she replied, if that's what you're asking."

When the mancatcher was held out towards her, Pania didn't immediately take it. In fact, she took a step back slightly, and her expression got dark. Cantata would almost certainly feel a sense of disgust radiating from the woman at the sight of the weapon. However, after a few awkward seconds, Pania would reach out and take it. She hadn't been able to read Dena's briefing, of course, but she had been told the gist of the mission when signing up for it, so she did know what it was for. After nodding curtly, she would turn, and push her way through the doors into the Ossuary.

The Ossuary

"One more thing, the color blue can signify 'I don't know', since I think that might be a common answer here." Dena glances at Cantata. "No offense of course, just a valuable way to reply." She then holds up her hand as to signify for them to stop. "Now, it seems to me that the simplest way to do this is to find the necromancers. Wait for them to find their prize, then attack and steal it from in under their noses. If we play our cards right no one even has to die. Could even capture one of them and pretend we're going to... well, you know what slavers do." She makes a dismissive gesture. "Though I think that would get far too complex. Let's start by finding them and start from there, shall we? We know they're in the area after all."

[bc56]

Shuttle to L1
Once that's done, Sekhmet opens the portal. I'm opening the portal now. This should be a quick trip. A portal opens, offering breathable air and warmth.
But Sekhmet may not be as correct as she hopes about the trip being quick. She has been gone for a whole week.

Abandoned Battlefield
"Now lie down there. Face down. Hands on the backs of your heads." As the guards are lying down in a place out of view of their comrades, he draws the stun rifle. As long as nothing unexpected happens, there will be two unconscious bodies there and Almoner will be sneaking off to look for an opening to use against the guards near the tunnel entrance.

[Ironsmith]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

The hatch is not locked, and nobody follows Yuvan down. The dangerous cat seems to have scared Boada, too, though she wasn't really OK with violence before Yuvan dragged her out here without any choice otherwise.

Down the hatch is what was an underground garage of some kind. One wall doesn't exist, opening out to the base of the hill the compound is built atop- though it wasn't visible from outside, so presumably it's hidden somehow. There's a ladder up, and shelfs against the far wall still have some rusty and abandoned tools resting on them. Most of the space consists of a large nest, constructed primarily from shredded books and parchment. Curled up on the pile of paper is a very, very large cat. It's got deep purple-black fur, a long tail, slender legs, and a leonine face framed by a braided lilac mane and a massive pair of horns. Three eyes stare at Yuvan, as the Sphiranx attempts to rummage through his thoughts and memories, trying to corrupt them. If it's successful, then all of Yuvan's memories of his wife will be replaced, the giant cat taking her place- and all the emotions associated with her instead applying to this vast beast, even though he's never seen it before.

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

Unfortunately for Yuvan, he's no less vulnerable to mind-altering magic now than he wad when he first arrived at the compound. The cat's gaze pierces him like a bullet through butter, and his memories are putty in the creature's paws.

...Though maybe not to the desired effect.

"Divines curse it!" Yuvan snaps at the cat. "We've talked about this, Taarie! I am my own man! I can't spend all of my time with you, it would drive me utterly insane!" He growls as he approaches the cat, his voice escalating in volume. "How many times do I have to say it? DO NOT FOLLOW ME! It's bad for my health and worse for yours!"

Shuttle to L1
Once that's done, Sekhmet opens the portal. I'm opening the portal now. This should be a quick trip. A portal opens, offering breathable air and warmth.
But Sekhmet may not be as correct as she hopes about the trip being quick. She has been gone for a whole week.

[Shuttle to L1 => Scorching Depths]

Miranda steps toward the portal cautiously, momentarily grateful she's wearing an environmental suit. As Sekhmet had warned, the location on the other side did not seem especially suited for human life, and that was ignoring that it was supposed to actually be hell, or something hell-adjacent.

But it still seems friendlier than the void of space. And they'll only need to be there for a minute.

With that, Miranda grabs her Hotbox and steps through the portal.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Battlefield

Nothing unexpected occurs, and the two guards are knocked out. Might be an idea to tie them, too, just in case they wake up.

Back at the train station, after a few minutes, the guard at the entrance calls out to the other guard. "Hey! Full bladder, keep an eye on 'em, yeah?" The other guard turns and nods, looking at the route used by the labourers to leave the husk of a building and the spoil heap of rubble they're emptying from within. The first guard walks a short distance away and turns his back on everything except a wall, as he starts to relieve himself.

Pixie Grinder's Compound

Not the effect the Mindstealer Sphiranx was expecting, but a potentially useful one nevertheless. The giant cat stands up, hunching its long neck to fit in the enclosed space, and tilts its head sideways. It steps forward, and starts to purr before rubbing its face against Yuvan- with enough force to knock him over.

[Rebonack]

[The Ossuary]

And so our heroes (I'm going to keep calling them that you can't stop me) move into the necropolis proper, weaving their way between the bone-built mausoleums that dot the landscape like boils on a plague-riddled corpse. The air is still here. Deathly silent. Even the birds and the insects seem loath to break the hush that hangs over the Ossuary.

Finding the necromancers doesn't prove to be too terribly difficult.

There's one of them now with her back turned to the party!

She's standing in a circle traced from bone dust, her hands raised above her head and cloaked in a greasy black miasma of magic. She's definitely chanting something, but the words are difficult to make out from a distance. A similar cloud of greasy darkness is hanging over a nearby mausoleum with its doors open. No doubt her buddies partner is inside checking for the remains that the necromancers are searching for.

Also surrounding the necromancer?

Three skeletons.

Skeletons armed with modern tactical gear rather than the typical corroding chain mail and rusted iron swords.

This pair of necromancers is one of three two-person teams searching the Ossuary.

Will our heroes wait and watch and trail them?
Or attack the lone necromancer casting the spell?
Or assault them when the second necromancer finishes whatever they're doing inside?

Or maybe something else?

Stay tuned to find out!


[Selmora]

The obnoxiously nimble imps are pretty difficult to hit.

This results in three of them getting caught by the force wave while the third flits out of the way and lobs another lightning bolt at Yuvan.

Only for it to be intercepted by a ward that flashes into existence in front of him.

Apparently Fenris knows how to project wards around party members. That's pretty handy!

Given that these imps are purely focused on magical attacks Fenris has decided to play the defensive, holding a ward to protect herself with one hand while maintaining a second barrier in front of Yuvan with the other. With her blocking hostile magic it'll be quite a bit easier for Yuvan to go on the offensive without having to worry about being zapped.

And speaking of being zapped!

The stream of lighting begins cooking one of the downed imps in a hurry. The others quickly flap to the air with disconcerting haste, though they're still a little groggy from that last attack and aren't shooting their own lightning just yet. Within a few seconds the first imp is toasted! That just leaves four left, one of which is still aetherial.

[Ironsmith]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

Not the effect the Mindstealer Sphiranx was expecting, but a potentially useful one nevertheless. The giant cat stands up, hunching its long neck to fit in the enclosed space, and tilts its head sideways. It steps forward, and starts to purr before rubbing its face against Yuvan- with enough force to knock him over.

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

"No, no, stop that, you're not sweet-talking your way out of- oof!" Yuvan falls flat on his backside and reaches up to gently stroke the creature's muzzle, giving it a good-natured chuckle. "Oh ho... oh, my dear, you know I can't stay mad at you." He pulls the guitar out from his inventory and smiles. "Oh, all right. I suppose I still owe you a little tenderness for coming all this way. But only a few hours; after that, I have other business to attend to. I'm certain you can understand that." She always has before, after all.

[Selmora]

The obnoxiously nimble imps are pretty difficult to hit.

This results in three of them getting caught by the force wave while the third flits out of the way and lobs another lightning bolt at Yuvan.

Only for it to be intercepted by a ward that flashes into existence in front of him.

Apparently Fenris knows how to project wards around party members. That's pretty handy!

Given that these imps are purely focused on magical attacks Fenris has decided to play the defensive, holding a ward to protect herself with one hand while maintaining a second barrier in front of Yuvan with the other. With her blocking hostile magic it'll be quite a bit easier for Yuvan to go on the offensive without having to worry about being zapped.

And speaking of being zapped!

The stream of lighting begins cooking one of the downed imps in a hurry. The others quickly flap to the air with disconcerting haste, though they're still a little groggy from that last attack and aren't shooting their own lightning just yet. Within a few seconds the first imp is toasted! That just leaves four left, one of which is still aetherial.

[Selmora]

Hm. Master-level Destruction spell in his hands, Fenris shielding them both from harm, and a number of challenging-yet-durable targets. It seems Yuvan was right about reclaiming the initiative; this has gone from a fight for their lives to a carnival game. Not that Yuvan knows what a carnival is, or would ever participate in such a thing, unless maybe it was on behalf of his daughters, who also don't know-

The point is, he's going to keep toasting imps, totally carefree.

[Deathkeeper]

[Riverbank]



"Oh yeah. I guess crocodiles are big enough to hunt boars in the wild. My people ride on them, because they're kind of crazy. And frogs are a start. You're still pretty small."

As they talk, the water gets deeper and the river gets wider. Nak might realize that there's something underwater. Looks like a piece of a stone roof, overgrown with weeds and covered in silt.

Riverbank

Batu will presently be finding out why Sobek is very picky about making sure is empowered demigod son still has babysitters. At the first sight of something unexplored Anaklusmos makes a delighted squeak and dives straight for the ruin without a word. He's in no danger of drowning but he probably needs supervision...

[Gullara]

[A Hunter must Hunt Kows]

"Hey!" Anika declares as she takes a step backwards while moving her hand as if swatting a bug. Of course, she doesn't intend the hand to come anywhere near Mimi. It was more of a gesture to make the pixie back the heck off.

"A single one of my steps is like a giga-step for someone as tiny as you! You'd have to flap those moth wings like crazy to ever keep up." Anika insists as she puts her hands on her hips.

But there was only one logical solution to this.

"And I'm gonna show you that in a race." Anika gestures to the northeast. "Somewhere in that direction are the kows. The first person who touches a kow wins, got it?"

[A Hunter must Hunt Kows]

"Pfft, easy. I'll show you the meaning of speed." Mimi turns in the direction indicated. "Readysetgo!" And she's off with almost no warning. She's absolutely very fast and it takes her little time to get up to speed either. Anika better hurry.

...Never mind that Mimi doesn't know what a kow looks like.

[Earl of Purple]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

The cat sits back down and then lies, sphinx-like, next to Yuvan. Its three eyes are looking straight at his face, and it continues to purr. Its legs are warm against Yuvan, since it's sitting so close. It's happy to listen to his music; it's bound to be better than the discordant sound of the Grinders using instruments, trying to make as much noise as possible to trigger a response to their hedonism-dulled senses.

[Rebonack]

[Selmora]

We'll cut to the chase, here.

Between Fenris' mastery of defensive magic and Yuvan's so much lightning the imps are steadily fried one after another.

When the last of the bolt-tossing nuisances are dead Fenris yanks her disc back to herself and heaves a sigh.

"They seemed significantly more formidable than the first flock we encountered," she muses. "I have no trouble seeing how these creatures slew miners and forced an evacuation."

Especially due to that paralyzing lightning spell.

If she had been here alone there would have been precious little she could have done to stop them.

They would have just kept shocking her until she expired. It would have taken some time, of course. Fenris is exceptionally resistant to magic. But with her body ridged the imps would have had all the time they needed.

"We should be careful on our approaches. Be certain that we can strike the first blow to prevent another debacle."

Not too far away our heroes will find a rickety old flight of wooden stairs leading deeper into the mine's second level. Apparently that's where the imp infestation is the thickest.

[Arkhosia]

The Ossuary

Spoiler

Show

The Ossuary

"Sure, I can do that." Pania had no qualms about taking the lead. It made perfect sense after all- she was the frontliner, so of course she should be in front. As for Dena's suggestion to solve their communication issues? She shrugged. It was better than nothing. "It'll have to do for now." Might get a bit tricky in the heat of battle though.

The warrior tilted her bed as Cantata tried her best to communicate through gestures. She tilted her head a little when the saboteur tried to describe her combat style. Fortunately, her demeanor was enough to show that she wasn't threatening Pania, but the warrior didn't quite get what she was trying to say. She thought it might just mean that they should stay silent in general. "I can try to be silent," she replied, if that's what you're asking."

When the mancatcher was held out towards her, Pania didn't immediately take it. In fact, she took a step back slightly, and her expression got dark. Cantata would almost certainly feel a sense of disgust radiating from the woman at the sight of the weapon. However, after a few awkward seconds, Pania would reach out and take it. She hadn't been able to read Dena's briefing, of course, but she had been told the gist of the mission when signing up for it, so she did know what it was for. After nodding curtly, she would turn, and push her way through the doors into the Ossuary.

The Ossuary

"One more thing, the color blue can signify 'I don't know', since I think that might be a common answer here." Dena glances at Cantata. "No offense of course, just a valuable way to reply." She then holds up her hand as to signify for them to stop. "Now, it seems to me that the simplest way to do this is to find the necromancers. Wait for them to find their prize, then attack and steal it from in under their noses. If we play our cards right no one even has to die. Could even capture one of them and pretend we're going to... well, you know what slavers do." She makes a dismissive gesture. "Though I think that would get far too complex. Let's start by finding them and start from there, shall we? We know they're in the area after all."

[The Ossuary]

And so our heroes (I'm going to keep calling them that you can't stop me) move into the necropolis proper, weaving their way between the bone-built mausoleums that dot the landscape like boils on a plague-riddled corpse. The air is still here. Deathly silent. Even the birds and the insects seem loath to break the hush that hangs over the Ossuary.

Finding the necromancers doesn't prove to be too terribly difficult.

There's one of them now with her back turned to the party!

She's standing in a circle traced from bone dust, her hands raised above her head and cloaked in a greasy black miasma of magic. She's definitely chanting something, but the words are difficult to make out from a distance. A similar cloud of greasy darkness is hanging over a nearby mausoleum with its doors open. No doubt her buddies partner is inside checking for the remains that the necromancers are searching for.

Also surrounding the necromancer?

Three skeletons.

Skeletons armed with modern tactical gear rather than the typical corroding chain mail and rusted iron swords.

This pair of necromancers is one of three two-person teams searching the Ossuary.

Will our heroes wait and watch and trail them?
Or attack the lone necromancer casting the spell?
Or assault them when the second necromancer finishes whatever they're doing inside?

Or maybe something else?

Stay tuned to find out!

Cantata pauses for a second, and Pania may get the impression that she didn't read her gestures correctly - but the woman shrugs a little, nods and turns her wrist-comm towards her to display a green light. It's not quite on the mark, but it'll work for her just fine. She hands over the mancatcher with a brief shiver, letting it go and drawing her hand back like it had been covered in some ugly slime.

------

The group enters the ruins and Cantata takes up the middle, her footsteps as silent as the grand graveyard they've entered. Her eyebrows raise as she spots the trio of tactical skeletons - it was certainly better equipment than she expected to see on them. She would have expected such cheap undead to be considered far too disposable to equip in such a manner, and even beyond that all the lacking of muscle and motor control cannot be good for controlling the recoil on firearms. Regardless, it just means she'll have to be that more cautious on approach. She wasn't used to dealing with undead constructs, but it was likely the same issue she found came up with mechs - no brains to deceive in there.

Stepping forward in a crouch, the cloaked woman turns her head towards Pania, looking for her to take the lead. She will hang back and stay hidden unless otherwise directed, finding what cover she can to blend in with.

[Ironsmith]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

The cat sits back down and then lies, sphinx-like, next to Yuvan. Its three eyes are looking straight at his face, and it continues to purr. Its legs are warm against Yuvan, since it's sitting so close. It's happy to listen to his music; it's bound to be better than the discordant sound of the Grinders using instruments, trying to make as much noise as possible to trigger a response to their hedonism-dulled senses.

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

Yuvan smiles and gives the cat and affectionate rub on the neck before strumming on the guitar, the opening lines to one of those serenades he'd played for her while they were courting; the affirmation of his love for her should help patch things up after their rocky introduction.

Listen friends, your ears to me lend
I've come to confess my heart
Is beaten and bent, in twain nearly rent
Free of release, it may come apart

Who can it be, what devil is she
That holds my soul in hand?
'Tis the tailor Taarie, who has captured me
Before whose window I now stand

A maid of gold, such a sight to behold
And her soul a fiery lash
My being stung, by her unerring tongue
Has burned my pride down to ash

So began my design, to reclaim what is mine
And hold my head high again
But such is her charm, to return any harm
Seems to me the greatest sin

And bested so, let this whole world know
What a blow to me she dealt!
But relieve-ed of this, such heavy hubris
Comes more bliss than I ever felt

So I thank Taarie, for the wound done me
And have but one request
My heart to suture, with a long future
Of nights as my dinner guest

This I have planned, to win your hand
And to hold your amber gaze
For if in one day, you heal me that way
All I crave are still more days

Thank you, friends, for the ears you lend
To my confession of the heart


Of course, as the song goes on, Yuvan starts noticing a certain... dissonance. The cat didn't match the description of his lover, physically or in terms of disposition; it wasn't what he had in mind when he wrote this song. Could he be remembering wrong?

[Selmora]

We'll cut to the chase, here.

Between Fenris' mastery of defensive magic and Yuvan's so much lightning the imps are steadily fried one after another.

When the last of the bolt-tossing nuisances are dead Fenris yanks her disc back to herself and heaves a sigh.

"They seemed significantly more formidable than the first flock we encountered," she muses. "I have no trouble seeing how these creatures slew miners and forced an evacuation."

Especially due to that paralyzing lightning spell.

If she had been here alone there would have been precious little she could have done to stop them.

They would have just kept shocking her until she expired. It would have taken some time, of course. Fenris is exceptionally resistant to magic. But with her body ridged the imps would have had all the time they needed.

"We should be careful on our approaches. Be certain that we can strike the first blow to prevent another debacle."

Not too far away our heroes will find a rickety old flight of wooden stairs leading deeper into the mine's second level. Apparently that's where the imp infestation is the thickest.

[Selmora]

"That is never a guarantee." Yuvan points out. "The best we can do is ensure the first blow does not decide the battle." He goes to stroke his chin, momentarily forgetting that he's wearing a dwarven helmet that covers his whole face. "...Hm." He frowns. "How well can you maintain a ward?"

[Earl of Purple]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

The cat doesn't know the link, and so isn't aware of the dissonance building up in Yuvan's mind. It might increase that, however, as after the line about dinner guests it leans over, opening its mouth wide, and tries to bite off Yuvan's head. Maybe singing about food to a giant cat is a bad idea.

[Ironsmith]

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

Probably not. Fortunately, at this point in the song, Yuvan realizes he's been deceived, and has shuffled so his mace is in easy reach. Not easy enough, though; he still needs to get the guitar out of his hands in a hurry, and he needs to dissuade the cat from trying to take a chunk out of him. The two necessities seem to have an obvious correlation.

twung!

Damn. It was a nice guitar, too.

[Morty]

[Riverbank]

Batu sighs and dives in after Nak. Fortunately his were-crocodile shape grants him increased mobility underwater and the ability to hold his breath for a long time. The little crocodile will find that the submerged building seems to be a tower of some kind. In the shape of a hexagon, with a flat stone roof. It might have had crenellations once, but they've been worn away. There's a small hole in the roof, that once led into the inside of the tower. It still might, but the interior is likely full of sand and mud.

[Recaiden]

[Bone Hills - The Maw of Akarkhentkats]

The beam of heat melts the child's gold and burns a hole through its skull, so it freezes (though not literally) and falls over with a thud.

Now the gold-clad skeletons have been defeated, the gold food can probably be safely looted. Or the adventuring party can head through to the spherical room half-filled with dust or to the temple room. Or they could poke the desiccated corpse with something, or try taking the simple crown on its head.

"That wasn't the sort of curse I was expecting." The manticore comments, stretching and looking herself over. Those blows from the gold-plated skeleton should just be bruises. And there's no reason to suspect that she couldn't bite through them, so no information gained there.
"Everyone okay?"

"Barely." The foxgirl complains.
The elemental says that it's fine. What's a little flammable matter between friends?

"I just wonder why the bird on the table didn't attack too."

Their first priority is lugging all this gold out of here. It's a lot of treasure. Very heavy treasure. This will take several trips. But eventually, perhaps they will reduce it to the one withered corpse

[Temple Site]

"We cannot say how good their 'tracking' is. That information might have been in our pool of knowledge at one point but that's no longer the case and even if it was its likely horribly outdated as we suspect the angels have changed a lot since our last encounter." Jaccalish explains calmly, not that their tone have actually changed during the entire conversation. Their mannerism have however. "As for the location of their suspected appearance, we have actually not shifted anything within Inside. Instead, we suspected that its the fact that this light-phenomena coincides with the location of a suspected, yet unverified, fey grove that's relevant here. That scout was on its way to confirm this suspicion when this was detected."

The illusionary map briefly flickers to show over a dozen "fey groves", both confirmed and unconfirmed, all over this part of the nexus. One of the still unconfirmed ones happen to be exactly on top of the red dot.

"As for the rest, we don't want to speculate on the outcome yet. We still need to verify the arrival of the angels and their numbers before we can even start to do that."

Nathan studies the map for a while.
"Are all of these these fey groves connected to these angels? Or at least suspected of it? Or are there all different kinds of fey marked on this map?"

They don't sound disappointed or anything; their voice has some tone, but not very much unless they really try.
"We'll also be investigating the angels's numbers and disposition right away. I hope we can count on information-sharing there?"

[Deathkeeper]

Riverbank

Assuming something will be boring is the best way to make sure that it is. And that's awful.
Nak swims for the hole in the tower regardless of the very real possibility that there's nothing there.
Because what if there isn't?

[Rebonack]

[Selmora]

Yuvan stokes the fake chin/beard of the dwarven helmet contemplatively.

Now, strictly speaking, Fenris can make armor out of dwemer brass in other styles. Nothing is stopping her from fashioning it in typical Nordic motifs that would typically be associated with steel or plate armor. But you see, she really likes the dwemer style. There's a elegance to it that she finds attractive.

That's just how things are with these dwarf enthusiasts.

They tend to get a little enthusiastic.

Fenris considers the question.

"Perhaps not indefinitely but for an extended period of time at least," Fenris replies. "Longer if I'm using it to decay the magicka of hostile spells. Why, do you have a plan in mind?"

Probably good to discuss the plan as they descend down to the second level.

[Earl of Purple]

Pixie Grinder's Compound

Its mouth filled with shards of wood and guitar string, the sphiranx spits out and growls. It lashes out with one immense paw, claws out and aiming to disembowel Yuvan.

Bone Hills - The Maw of Akarkhentkats

The roast ostrich is lacking a head, and most of its legs. Also, it wasn't alive when it was turned to gold; the other skeletons were.

None of the gold at this point is fighting back or spreading, so they can empty the room of its golden treasures. The withered corpse will remain sat in its gold chair, holding its gold apple, as the rest of the room is emptied. If any touch the corpse, even accidentally, the curse will still spread, though if the crown is removed without touching the corpse, it becomes safe. Well, the curse remains; if it's put on anyone, they become cursed instead, but cannot remove the crown themselves. Somebody else would have to pull the crown off- without touching the head or hair underneath.

Ruined Motorway

The commander of the Tetrarch gulps and looks at the other girls. "This isn't sensha-do. Not any more. We... It's gross, but we know this place is dangerous and there's people who want us harm. We've met them. We need to defend ourselves, and... And I think we should take some guns from here. And fuel, if any of their vehicles are petrol. It's going to be gross, and icky, but... it's better than dying." The other two girls shudder but nod, seeing the sense. "Robyn, you stay with Vicky. Keep an eye out, see if they return." The gunner nods, and climbs back aboard the tank as the commander and the driver head off to search the bodies for- primarily- guns.

[bc56]

Abandoned Battlefield
Perfect, time to thin the herd some more.
Almoner walks quietly towards the urinating guard, raising the stun rifle.
This is almost too easy. But these guys are clearly not professionals, and he is. He takes the shot.

[Ironsmith]

[Selmora]

Yuvan stokes the fake chin/beard of the dwarven helmet contemplatively.

Now, strictly speaking, Fenris can make armor out of dwemer brass in other styles. Nothing is stopping her from fashioning it in typical Nordic motifs that would typically be associated with steel or plate armor. But you see, she really likes the dwemer style. There's a elegance to it that she finds attractive.

That's just how things are with these dwarf enthusiasts.

They tend to get a little enthusiastic.

Fenris considers the question.

"Perhaps not indefinitely but for an extended period of time at least," Fenris replies. "Longer if I'm using it to decay the magicka of hostile spells. Why, do you have a plan in mind?"

Probably good to discuss the plan as they descend down to the second level.

[Selmora]

"Then I'll take point." Yuvan replies pointedly, raising his hands to keep up a sturdy ward in front of them. "I can hold it out forever, which should give us an advantage in an ambush. When we are inevitably attacked, we'll switch; you hold up the ward and I take care of the threat. Then we switch back so you can rest between encounters."

In tandem, that should cover any threat that is courteous enough to attack from the front and not immediately down one of them. Which steal leaves some obvious weaknesses, but not as many as going in without a plan would.

Pixie Grinder's Compound

Its mouth filled with shards of wood and guitar string, the sphiranx spits out and growls. It lashes out with one immense paw, claws out and aiming to disembowel Yuvan.

[Pixie Grinder's Compound]

The creature's claws barely scrape the surface of the furious altmer's armor as he rises to his feet, mace in hand. If the sphiranx insisted on making this a physical fight, Yuvan has a handy advantage; the creature is little more than an overly large sabre cat, which registered to Yuvan as an annoyance at worst, barely worth the mace-swing it would take to brain them. Worse, the sphiranx made the mistake of making this a personal vendetta, and the mistake of leaving him temporarily powerless.

As the dryad upstairs could attest if she wasn't dead, that was a terrible idea.

"YOL... TOOR SHUL!" Yuvan belows at the creature, engulfing the room in a roaring inferno as he brings his mace to bear.

[Rebonack]

[Selmora]

"Very well," Fenris replies as she hooks the disc onto its mounting on her pack. This way she'll have both of her hands free to cast two wards at once. Keeping both herself and Yuvan covered will be vital. She doesn't particularly mind playing support. In truth, her skill set is well adapted to that role. "As soon as we're engaged I'll step up to relieve you. The spells these creatures are using are quite potent and while you may be using a strong ward it is, if I understand your specialization, unaugmented. The last thing we need is to have you dazed but a wardburst backlash."

It's a pretty unpleasant experience.

Definitely something Fenris has encountered in her adventuring career.

However, her heavy perk investment in Restoration means her wards are significantly more hearty than they would be otherwise.

That, and they regenerate their power rapidly.

As they round a corner and pass through a low archway they walk straight into a trap.

Three imps are set up near the ceiling, already channeling a spell, and when our heroes step forward a triangular cage of lightning springs into being around our heroes. Every few fractions of a second bolts of lightning leap from the inside of the barrier to lash out at the pair of Dragonrborn.

Fenris throws up her wards, narrowly catching a bolt aimed at her flank.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler: Quotes

Show

The rain comes down harder and the pink fog is collapsed into pools and rivers on the ground, underneath its descent.
Nearby, shoving another cloaked figure to the ground, Mari makes a hurried comment about concentrated pink being worse than the gas. It's a lot easier to avoid though.
Streaks of oily rainbow run through the pink, where the two fluids meet on the ground.

A strange, surrealist and dream-like quality seems to have settled in the air as the abhorrent creature of flesh and color in front of G'nichi takes yet another grievous wound from his weapon. It has been borderline bisected on multiple points now, but the splits seem to just make room for more flesh. More of that colorful tar.

One of its uneven, long-fingered limbs comes down on the ground nearby and lowers one of its mouths in his general vicinity, with something loosely like a mocking grin on it.
"You don't even understand what you're fighting, and the pointlessness of it. Like a toddler staring at calculus on a chalkboard."

The uneven shape and curves of the thing in front of him do no favors towards the growing sense of unreality in the chamber.

In the air behind Page's form, appearing in silvery, swarm-like dust, the words DO SOMETHING STUPID scrawl themselves into being.

ABAJ - ???

G'nichi flicks a pair of fingers in salute to the message. Something stupid? Why of course, that's his specialty.
With his options spent G'nichi summons the last of his physical and mental strength to step forward, sword aglow. The shirtless dragonborn probably looks rather dashing. Not the worst way to go out. With a two-handed heave he throws all his weight into a chop against the monstrous form before him, then reaching for his gladius to drive it into the horror with any energy it has left within it.
"A toddler can skip the derivation and guess the correct value if it's something as easy as 3." breathes our hero, knowing that quip only barely hinges on almost making sense. He's about a minute from blacking out give him some leeway on math jokes.

Both of his weapons wildly agree that this is an incredibly stupid decision.
The gladius is just more vocal about it, but frantically promising to try to do anything she can to forestall his imminent death.
Off to the side, Mari turns on her heel and runs for G'nichi, looking to tackle him away from his fate.
She is too far away for how fast the Page-thing is moving.

Flesh and bone is parted beneath the greatsword as easily as a shovel in snow, but it just doesn't seem to care. As the gladius is coming forward, the area around the greatsword swells into a greater mass of teeth and spikes, evidently preparing to simply envelop G'nichi for existing nearby.

The dreamy quality of the air worsens into straight smearing, like somewhat swiping a hand over a still-wet water color painting, freezing the scene itself as a very familiar fog rushes in around our scaly hero.

Emerging from the fog directly, instead of materializing her control room around them, Syncope looks worse than her previous visits.
There's a pale pink tint to her fingers, and little lines of the same crawling like circuitry along one side of her face. Her expression is taut, somewhere between frustrated and tired.
"This would have been easier if you broke her crystal core without also ticking her off, you know.
...but you did still do it, and survived long enough for me to wash away sufficient amounts of the curse to exert influence again. So, good job. Shame about the imminent death, huh?"

[Deathkeeper]

ABAJ - ???

"To be fair, that was the plan before she just decided to show up." G'nichi sighs.
"I'm not going to hold you against this particular case of imminent death. I mean, it probably would have happened even if I'd just run away." After all, he had nowhere to run to anyway. "I do trust this was stupid enough for your purposes?" he asks, sounding oddly resigned.
Perhaps he's simply had a long, long day.