Dena rises up and stretches, popping her stiff spine and flexing her arms as she wakes.
"We have got to get some facilities, sleeping on a rock is no way to live." she grumbles.  "Right after we find a supply of food.  So, you said you were going to scout Turtle.  I'll head the opposite direction you choose and do the same.  I've done some smithy work before, mostly making chains and nails, so I'll be able to recognize a decent forge if I see it."
Pulling her tight muscles one more time, Dena unravels the jade staff she'd taken earlier and tosses it near to Danae.
"This thing just doesn't suit me, it isn't flexible enough.  I guess I just don't work well with rock.  So I'll give it back in case anybody else finds it more to their liking."
Dena spends her time searching for tools, and if they are found switches to working with metal bits to help Danae.

OOC~ Little Lore and Survival, Craft Earth and Fire, and good but not astounding social skills.

Now--first order of business now that she wasn't in a horribly unpleasant position anymore...  Danae was quick to patch up Tycho's most egregrious damages--admitting freely at several points that 'She's not really good at fixing PEOPLE', but her skills utilizing a rock, two pieces of twine, and a great deal of panicked prayer, was good enough to fix the worst of the mechanical damage.

Still, once she had a few minutes to herself though, she was quick to drag over the scraps of magical material she had 'Acquired' into a relatively out of the way corner of the room, and immediately began work at putting some reasonably useful trinkets together for the rest of the group--dragging any smiths or other workers who were able to work along for the ride.  Truth be told, artifice normally took a long time, and a number of useful tools...

But as soon as they began--with a quick flashing of golden essence, Danae seemed to physically grasp the pieces of metal, practically shaving off the bits she needed with a combination of willpower and good old fashioned hard work.  That some of the shavings could be used to fashion some primitive tools for everyone 'Else' to assist by grinding down the metal was a nice bonus...

OOC:
((Aside from combatty stuff, Danae has high Craft in Air, Fire, and Magitech, as well as some backing in Craft: Earth.  She also has the Charms to back all of these :D))

[Private to Gatekeeper: And a 'Spectacular' opening roll for my crafting!
13:20, Today: Danae Adela rolled 6 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,10,10,6,8,5. Craft: Fire (-2 for 'Poor Tools').

+4 successess for Second Craft, +1 for an extra WP, and (If there are enough helpers), +1 for the mortal helpers, and +4 if Dena decides to spend the week helping, totals to an initial success rate of a whopping 16 before stunt is added!  I'll use this to make the first Orichalcum Fivefold Harmonic Adaptor, leaving me with 8 successes left over, allowing me to crank out the Moonsilver adaptor as well!  (Diff 3 leaves the 5 successes needed after the fact)]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:25, Tue 03 Feb 2009.

Higura has spent most of his awake time speaking with his fellow escapees, forging links and establishing connections with as many of them as possible. He gets to know them, their names, and the stories until this point, or at least an abridged version of it. He mostly listens to others' tales, and is a good conversationalist. He makes certain to mention he will be available to those who wish to speak of their mental conditions, although he never mentions it more than once, and does not push the matter in the slightest. Those who would ask for his advice will do so completely willingly. That is a perk that freedom grants him, and he is more than happy to be able to fulfill his work this way.

AS everyone wakes and start to state their areas of expertise as well as their goals, Higura makes his first priority to organize this effort into a coherent whole by collecting everyone's needs into a single list, organized by order of priority. He makes sure to leave he roughly carved list out for everyone to access and add to, so that all can see what needs to be taken care of, and add their own thoughts as well. This is the beginning of a collaborative effort, the first breaths of a new collective, and Higura does his best to make certain that the people who used to be strangers learn to function with each other as best as possible.

He spends the rest of his time helping Saffron with healing duties, as well as keeping the refugees in high spirits, and taking some time to speak with anyone who would wish to speak with him. Otherwise, he also helps Third with his assessment of the area, takes care of some scouting duties, and supports Dashu's investigations by providing counterpoints and observations of his own.

OOC: High Awareness, Medicine, good lore and investigation. Stealth, and some bureaucracy and socials.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Tue 03 Feb 2009.

Nanaret stretches, taking some time to fully wake, listening to the others.

She raises her brows at the jade staff Dena discarded. "It would be useful to me. A shame it is Jade." She picks it up anyway, testing its weight gingerly.

"Those of you who wish to explore mine facilities, I show you there." She nods at Third and Xurizu, already stretching and rising. "Please come with me. Turtle, Dena, Dashu, you go separate ways, yes? We spread out, we find more. But still, maybe better go in pairs... bad if you get caught alone, unless you are good keeping out of sight." Her brow furrows at that thought, but she is not enforcing, merely suggesting.

When she is not exploring the mines, she talks with Higura. Their 'therapy' sessions have already been established since before their escape, though she keeps insisting that she is fine, and Ranavalona is under control.

Rana, of course, dislikes talking to Higura at all and that turns the Changing Moon's mood rather dour. If the doctor tries to push too hard at her mental defenses, Ranavalona lashes out in anger. Her bursts of anger are now and then heard echoing in the corridors; fortunately, that sort of occurence is rare, but more than enough indication that Nanaret's mental state is more volatile than she lets on.

Nanaret will also use at least one and up to three days training, depending on how much time she can spare.

OOC - well Nana is good with Dexterity, Manipulation (her best attribute, actually), Wits. Good Perception, mostly with hearing, also has night-vision. Ability-wise she's best at MA, then Performance at 4 (she's a great liar :P), then Awareness, Athletics, Larceny, Survival at 3.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Wed 04 Feb 2009.

The first week of freedom is a busy time for new discoveries.

Dashu, Turtle and Dena begin their individual scouting missions. (Go to: Floor B25 - Exploration and Civilization)

Xurizu, Third and Nanaret start together, to explore the nearby abandoned settlement and hopefully make it livable and safe. (Go to: Floor B25 - The Old Mining Settlement)

Tycho, Saffron and Higura begin shaping up the refugees. (Go to: Floor B25 - Building a Revolution)

In the meantime, with help from Dena and a small group of mortals tasked to her, she completes some of her minor crafts. She can distribute those, then decide whether to continue crafting (thus spending her second of three crafting attempts for the next two weeks) or use the last couple days this week to involve herself in what some of the others are doing. [Private to Danae Adela: You can just post more craft rolls here unless you think you'd like another thread for that, that can also be arranged once people find a suitable workshop for you]

---

OOC: Post back here if you want to report to others what you did/found in the subthreads listed above. This is more or less the 'congregation and planning' thread for everyone, so people can regroup, request aid or set off on a different task.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:07, Mon 09 Feb 2009.

"Well... That's a decent start then I suppose" Danae concluded, holding up the little circular chip of Orichalcum she had scraped out during the greater portion of the past week, and carefully traced on several geomantically sound designs on it.  "A bit kitbashed, all things considered...  But several of us 'Are' waving around Jade, and this should go a long way towards drawing out the full power of that particular metal...  I've got a matching one in Moonsilver coming together, and should be done in a couple days--after that, I'm going to spend a little time arming those of us who haven't upgraded to magical metals...  And if we're still buttoned away when I'm done with that, I'll get started on putting together gear for any of our little refugee group who needs it--at least that shouldn't take terribly long though..."

After the first day's exploration, Dena returns with a huge jar full of some sort of creamy sweet confection, enough that she elected to use her stronger warform to carry it back after a short distance.  Finding Danae largely to busy to examine jars at the time, she decides to go bother Tycho, Saffron, and Higura instead.  At any rate the refugees are likely to need the lion's share of anything edible anyway.
"So," she explains, "This food was given to me by gigantic brightly colored insects that have apparently built their own city nearby, the tunnels do not look like Five Coils where they are living.  I am unsure of why they gave it to me, but they seem quite skittish and tended to avoid contact, which I did not attempt to force.  I have not been able to guess if it is tribute, a bribe, or an offer for trade.  It is my intention to return shortly and use my spirit form, which is more insect-like, to see if they will be forthcoming to that shape.  I would also like to give them a gift in return but have not thought of what might be useful to them yet.  Are any of you able to learn clues from the jar itself as to why they might offer it to me?"

"Hmmmm..." Though Dena's inquiry wasn't directed at her, Nanaret overhears anyway and interjects. "The caves I am searching, seems people there kept insect as livestock or pets, strange. Perhaps kept them for food-making? But these seem more intelligent than to be kept in pens."

"I am not best at socializing, though. Better at bluff than honesty." She shrugs, giving the jar a cursory inspection, then sampling a bit of what's inside. "Maybe good idea come back with small diplomatic party? Plus combatants, in case they become hostile."

During the week, Nanaret also makes reports of what she and others have found in the mining settlement. First of all, she lets people know that she and Third and Xurizu are working on making sure it is safe to live in, but she also tells them of the facilities available there: a mundane blacksmith's forge, a clothcrafter's shop (containing a weaving loom), a small hospital, a kitchen and mess hall. Once they have the place cleaned up and inspected it would serve as a good base.

She mentions all the supplies found as well, including mining implements that could potentially double as weapons, water-tight containers for water or food storage, kitchen utensils, lamps and tinder, some basic medical supplies, etc. She'll help distribute them when needed, or at least point people in the right direction (especially those with better organizational skills than her.)

"Well, I guess I can take a week to produce some decent weapons" Danae admits after things had been referred to as having some raw materials on that line--and the note that there was an actual workshop was an additional bonus.  "It's not really my first choice, and it'll cut in on my output of the more advanced devices, but I can probably churn out a good number of armaments if they're desperately needed for training purposes."

On occasion, when Tycho has a free moment from his work with the mortals in the evenings, Third takes him aside for the purposes of studying the maps that the Exalt has been continually working upon, planning out routes that, in case of emergencies, the mortals and Exalted alike will be able to use to escape to the next level of Five Coils. The walls near their temporary camp are now decorated with the endless delicate maps of Five Coils, drawn with a hand as steady as the movement of a blade through air, growing outwards from a central point like an exceptionally strange work of art.

Over the course of the week, Tycho periodically takes time out from training the mortals and leaves them in Drachma's care while he goes to find out what sort of progress everyone else is making and update them on their own. So far, the training has been going as well as can be expected. Without weapons, he's been teaching most of them to throw stones and weave through mobs, while drilling the few who still carry spears while simultaneously teaching a handful of others how to work in pairs to take those spears away. They're learning fast and, though he does not show it to them, with his great approval.

"I'll be right with you, Third," Tycho acknowledges the other Solar's request with an upraised hand, then turns to Dena with the same hand outstretched. "Here, let me see the jar?"

When he has it, he brings it over under his nose and breaths deep, feeling a deep pang in the pit of his stomach at the sweetness of the scent. Not that he would ever taste it, safe or no. Neither his tongue nor jaw were deemed necessary to the end result of his procedure, a fact which the heavy respirator thankfully hides from sight.

Tycho has at least some experience with chemicals and alchemy though. He was more use to working with manufactured compounds. Substances pumped out of factories, produced from something natural but refined past the point of being recognizable. Which is why - he holds out the jar and peers inside, dipping a metallic finger in and testing it with a brief stir - he hopes that maybe he can at least tell if the stuff is a natural substance or manufactured one. Perhaps even catch the old familiar tang of danger he'd learned once lurks in anything that you should have care when handling, the heady chemical odor that left an acidic aftertaste deep in your throat or the gritty sandy feel to it scrapping across your fingers.

[Private to GM: His chance is pretty tiny, but would like to try for a Perception + Occult/Lore to try to analyze the substance and see what it's made of. Or at least find out if it's dangerous]

As he tests the substance in the jar out, he tilts his head with the whir of neck servos spinning. "Livestock? That still seems like a rather strange coincidence, given what Dena found. Heh, maybe the bugs grow minds of their own and ran off."

Coming back from one of his excursions, Turtle looks both cheerful and quite well fed, but suspiciously low on food.  Hearing Dena's story, his expression falls, and he asks hesitantly, "Ahh... these insects, just to be clear, they are large, yes?  Not little black things, about so big?"  As he asks, he holds his hands about two feet apart.  "I ask because, I saw some, gathering tubers, and, well... I, well, I ate one."

Dena thinks this over a moment but even for her it's easy to parse.
"No, these creatures were not black, at least none I saw.  They are akin to gemstones in coloration and beauty.  Also I have doubts you could eat one easily, they are as large as my warform though they go about close to the ground rather than upright."
She looks at the jar more closely.
"Is anybody able to tell how the jar was made?  Perhaps if we know if the insects made it themselves, or if a human did, that might provide a clue as to how advanced the insects are, and if they already trade with others."

Turtle's good spirits return quickly, grinning widely at Dena's description of the emerald insect, "Hmmm... good... didn't want to think, I ate a friend of yours..."  Apparently set at ease, Turtle hums quietly to himself as takes a few long moments to consider the jar, tapping it carefully at one point while listening with his ear on it, then running a finger along its rim, and ending by carefully trying to scrape a bit off and taste it.  After these basic tests, he moves off a bit and sits quietly for a few minutes, carefully considering every aspect of the jar's creation before offering an opinion.

[Private to Gatekeeper:  5 successes on Int + Craft Earth.]
This message was last edited by the player at 07:53, Sat 07 Feb 2009.

Third takes a moment after Turtle finishes to inspect it itself, studying the pot silently, rolling it in its hands, inspecting the styles used, the shape of the pot, what information it can glean from the basic properties of the pot, what sort of lineage that these things would suggest, appreciating the brief break from endless carving of maps.

Between the three of them, Tycho, Turtle and Third discover that the jar is just a jar. It's not dangerous... it's not magical in any volatile manner. It's just an inert container, and the food inside is safe for consumption. It isn't actually overly sweet, even -- it's rather nutritious energy food, but nothing any of them have seen a normal insect produce.

More interesting is the make of the jar. Turtle's examination makes him certain the material is not a ceramic, but a wax resin that is organic in origin -- another secretion from the bodies of the insects themselves. Similar to beeswax, actually, but harder and more durable. The shape of the jar appears to have been constructed from the bottom-up: the bottom of the jar was laid out, then concentric circles built atop its circumference, widening or narrowing as need be to form a pleasing rounded shape.

Tycho makes the next connection, backed up by Third's memories of Five Coils lore. This jar was definitely made by a species of manufactured life known colloquially as 'builder bugs'. These creatures had been a part of Coils even before the Dragon-blooded came, deployed in vast colonies around and within the bowels of the great machine to help maintain its structural integrity. Since then their numbers have depleted but the Terrestrials with their Celestial 'help' have attempted to expand on the species to produce a wide variety of materials.

The resin-crafters are only one common form. Evidence so far indicates there are at least a couple other subspecies: one a food producer, another a silk producer. It is unsure yet how the black ones that Turtle had met could be related to the builder species, but they do not seem intelligent the way the bigger varieties are. A rough estimation of their intelligence would be equivalent to at least a human child.

Dashu arrives back after his first day of scouting and relates what he's discovered.  He found a human settlement filled with mostly male miners.  He doesn't think that they would be able to easily hide the women there.  If they need to, then he believes that he could sneak back in and do business to get tools, necessities, and information, however he would need to put together a better disguise to do so.  However the mining town has both stationary sentries and mobile ones and is well lit so it would not be an excursion he would recommend for a large group to undertake as it would be incredibly suspicious.  Finally, he did discover that one of the miner's, drunk though he was, believed that they were getting close to a jade vein because the material was incredibly hard.

After he summed up his adventure, including shaking a sentry off his tail, Dashu retired to practicing his katas and taking his turn at watch.

Tycho, pausing now and then to let Turtle and Third fill in the gaps in his own knowledge, relays to the others what he gleans from his examinations.

"Builder Bugs," he wonders out loud, looking at the jar once more before handing it off to the next person. "I didn't even think there were any of those left around."

"There was a nest of them, we heard tale on my end of the district, who actually sided with a labor movement that was working up towards unionizing. Bulls broke them up before that could happen. Never heard what happened to the bugs themselves."

As Dashu returns, the mechanical Solar listens to his report broodingly. Something is bothering him about what everyone who has gone exploring has come back saying. Not what they've found, but what they haven't seemed to find. "So do we actually have any idea yet what the Terrestrial presence is on this floor? Is there nothing here? No one has mentioned seeing any Dragon-Blooded, any Peaceforce, any anything."

Dashu (and anyone else who struck out to explore the floor beyond the 'lost corridors') would have seen some Peace Force patrols, but mostly it seems to be automaton sentries taking care of guarding the area. Unfortunately, Dashu didn't stay long enough in his initial visit to the laborer camp to discover very much. And most people had concentrated their first week's efforts more on training, foraging, crafting and generally staying put.

[Private to Alus Tycho: One might interpret that to mean the Peace Force is deliberately staying low key. It would definitely be their 'style' to keep the events of the Water District as hushed as possible, as it appears more or less business as usual even just one floor above. The districts are often disconnected from each other, and its very rare an ordinary person moves from the one they are assigned to. After all, it's much easier to control an ignorant people ...especially one kept content with alcohol.]

While the others discuss their findings, Danae has the time to start up on another project; she may also continue to fit in time for Tycho's maintenance if necessary, as it would only take a fraction of an hour from her day. Tycho finds she is quite skillful at it despite her initial lack of confidence, so as long as she is willing to take the small amount of time to help him, she will be able to take care of any maintenance his basic knowledge doesn't cover. [Private to Danae Adela: By the way, if you do nothing but craft in the next week... you can make *two* more craft rolls, though you can post them separately if you prefer. I should have also given you a couple of stunt dice for the first attempt; unfortunately I rolled it and it gave you no more successes. :(]

---

OOC: round out your conversations and actions for the week, if you have anything else to add. Tomorrow I will post a last summary of week 1 and prompts for week 2.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:39, Sat 07 Feb 2009.

Well, with all that said and done--Danae was left in a position to continue with her prior work--now in a position of much greater comparable comfort then scraping pieces off with her bare hands and hoping for the best--as such, she's quick to polish off work on the moonsilver Harmonic Adaptor--and has an opportunity once again to get cracking on some more scratch-built devices...

Of course, she's not 'Totally' absorbed in the task at hand--when Tycho requires maintenence, she's usually able to set the work aside for the few minutes it requires--but for the most part, unless the situation was critical, she was spending what time was available at producing more and more things...

Right now, for instance, she was busy on something for one of the Lunars of the group.  Assuming she could get Dena to come along as a helper for the week to remain attuned to the materials, so they would properly manipulate in Danae's hands--it would go quicker...  But still, making the interior of the serpent staff out of highly pure moonsilver, as well as several of the striking surfaces, and borrowing a little bit of the honey-resin stuff from the food to melt down to a wax as a 'Grip', it should ideally work out--especially with the actual striking surfaces made from a slightly less pure alloy.

The idea was to get a multi-segment staff that could actually stretch 'Out' somewhat at the user's command, and in doing so, strike from unusual directions, and get the same effect as a more generally hardened weapon...  Hopefully, it would do the trick.

Nanaret decides not to contribute any more to the jar inspection, finding the others are more than sufficient at doing so... She does find the jar's contents to be quite tasty, though, and after taking another sample, she brings it to Higura and Saffron so that they might discuss how to incorporate it into the diet of the people in their ragtag camp.

"Anyone else has found source of food?" she inquires. "Most my time is spent in the close settlement. There are still rations left for next week, but with how many we have, it will not last. Please, if you find anything, should bring it to Doctor Higura or Healer Saffron, they best know of nutrition and organization." The Lunar nods in confidence of their skills, having witnessed them for herself many times before.

"Next week, though, I will help searching this floor. I am good for keeping silent, even help make disguise. I may join one who returns to the human settlement, or a search for a way above."

Turtle nods at Nanaret's question, providing a number of small samples of what he has spent most of the week gathering, "Hmm, I've found some edible things.  Also, some dangerous things, to be careful of.  River fish - good, but prepare carefully, there is a gland, that is very poisonous.  Fungus, the sheet kind, bland but edible.  The mushrooms, one kind edible, the other very similar looking, but will make you sick.  And tubers, all edible.  Insects, also edible... but I think, they would defend themselves, if we made a habit of eating them."

Turtle pauses and considers for a moment before continuing, "So, there is food, for a while.  But I would like to take some time to look for other things, and also consider what I've learned.  Starting soon, I think I will teach some of the mortals, where to look, for food."

Turtle concentrates heavily on bringing back edible materials for the mortal population, but he does also bring back a sample of the hallucinogenic mushroom, on the off chance that either Healer Saffron or Doctor Higura can figure out a medical use for the substance.

He's also careful to show each of the Exalts and any of the mortals who appear inclined to assist in cooking duties how to remove the poisonous gland from the blind fish, as a mistake in preparation could easily kill a mortal.  Like the psychotropic mushrooms, he gives a few of the extracted glands to Saffron and Higura, thinking that they might be able to produce some sort of antivenom from the potent gland.

   Saffron accepts Turtle's finds with wonder and maybe a little excitement, although she doesn't show it too much. Although she strings multiwords together as she thanks Turtle. When time permits, she begins the process of making a preliminary examination of the mushroom and glands. She sketches them for future reference. She doesn't grind them up or mix them with anything during the first week. She'll spend more time on them, as time permits the second week.

While not busy speaking with anyone wishing to talk with him, Higura helps Saffron with some of her own duties, and uses the late-night hours to transcribe his observations to a more polished form. During conversations, Higura is the most likely to be spotted taking notes on what people have seen or experienced. The records he keeps are quick-written and often difficult to understand, hence the necessity to re-transcribe such reports into a much clearer form.

Higura continues to assist Saffron as best he can with the medical duties, especially so when Grinning Turtle introduces the poison gland to them. He is not nearly as skilled as the healer to create tinctures, antidotes and remedies, but he has a very analytical mind, and observes the process closely and intently. He might not be able to reproduce the results Saffron will likely get by himself, but at least he would be able to explain the process and why it works.

The sessions the doctor holds with Nanaret leave him a bit perplexed and worried. It seems the Queen is pushing the spirited young woman further into a relationship of inferiority - the Queen becomes the strong, powerful persona, while Nanaret is relegated to the host who needs Ranavalona's help more and more. Although he cannot yet stop it, Higura recognizes the Queen's tactic; by unbalancing her relationship with Nanaret, she will tip the scales more and more in her favor, until the moment where Ranavalona might be needed at all times. At this point, it will only be a matter of time before Nanaret's personality is completely eradicated by that of her previous incarnation.

And that is something Higura will not allow. He keeps a low profile for now, and continues to play his cards calmly and cooly. The Queen despises him, but she thinks nothing of him, and believes that she can stand up to him with ease. It is this sort of thinking that Higura cultivates, so that when the time comes, his interventions will not be easily defended from.

At the end of the first week...

The training among the refugees has been vigorous but fruitful. Tycho's drills continue to toughen and discipline them into a more organized force, while Higura and Saffron work to strengthen them mentally and emotionally. Higura's attention to Nanaret allows her greater freedom from Ranavalona, increasing her ability to resist the Queen's dominance so long as he keeps up their private sessions or remains in close proximity.

Food sources are plentiful, with fresh food found by Turtle and the so called 'royal confection' brought by Dena to supplement the dry rations. Tubers are common enough, though with their tough skins they require peeling before cooking. Their leaves are also edible, though somewhat bitter. The cap mushrooms are good raw or boiled, while the flatter ones are great pan-fried, and the cavefish requires some boiling to separate the oily fat and reduce its strong aftertaste. Everyone has enough to eat their fill -- the concern now is to provide nutritional variety, and to ensure they do not eat more than needed so that the food lasts as long as it must.

Nanaret, Third and Xurizu's investigation of the abandoned mining settlement deems it safe to live in. Whatever event had killed the people there was not a trap that could be triggered -- no evidence could be found of that. The conclusion is that it was a one-time cataclysmic event likely brought upon them by whatever deeds had led their master foreman to flee. The area has been safe ever since the 'lost corridors' have been cut off, but no one has figured out yet exactly how the area was brought offline.

Gratefully, the group abandons the notion of camping on the hard earth floor for the humbly furnished caverns and facilities of the old settlement.

---

OOC: Closing this thread, the main thread is now "Floor B25 - The Lost Corridors, Mining Settlement". More info for the coming game week will be detailed there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:51, Mon 09 Feb 2009.