Dashu goes out immediately looking for civilization, striking out in a mostly northeastern direction. His path is the most dangerous one, as the risk of running into Dragon-blooded or loyalists to the Five Coils regime is higher the closer he comes to any populated area. As such it is assumed he remains in stealth for his initial foray, at least.

He finds, perhaps to his disappointment, that Floor B25 is not very highly populated. It is largely a storage floor -- mostly raw materials, ores and metals extracted from the earth, brought toward unoccupied storage areas or moved upward by freight elevator (of which Dashu sees only one, so far.) When he does find people, they are people at work: laborers, working with Five Coils machines and loyalist foremen. He might shadow some of them when their shifts are over to see where they go to, continue to search on his own or start heading back to the others to report.

[Private to Peleps Dashu: Whichever you choose, roll me Dex+Stealth and Perc+Awareness, just in case.]

Turtle follows his instincts and ambles about foraging for food. The first thing he discovers immediately is that he's very unlikely to find any sources of meat in these parts. There aren't even rats around. Nothing mammal, avian or reptilian, no markings or droppings indicating such creatures would be about. Much as Nanaret discovered, though, there are several species of insect around, though again that is not exactly the best and most edible of food.

He decides to follow the underground river, moving mostly northward. Water is life, after all, and where there is an abundance of water there is surely food to eat. Initially, he discovers tuber plants and some varieties of fungi. Eventually his path takes him to a part of the cave where the underground river opens up into a small, cold and rather deep lake. Looking closer, he spies some sort of cave fish swimming around in the water, which hopefully proves to be clean for consumption.

Harvesting enough food and water from these sources for everyone is a laborious and daily task. He could do so for the whole week or tell others to help the harvesting and move onto looking for foundries, forges, and so forth.

[Private to Grinning Turtle: Also make a Wits+Survival roll (I'd made your initial one but now you need to see if any of this is edible/drinkable!)]

Dena follows a series of caverns branching off southeastward. After a time the caves start to appear less and less less man-made. The markings on the walls Dena sees indicate that large insects must have dug these caves with their mandibles and forearms. She believes that this part of the caves did not belong to humans but to this unknown species. The further she goes, the more the cavern walls become ornate and decorative, carved with pleasing whorl like patterns, packed with a wax like substance in a variety of gorgeous colors, even decorated with bits of shell or semi-precious gemstone for texture. Whatever these insects are, it seems they have been bred as crafters.

The corridors appear mostly deserted, though Dena does not get the feeling she is alone -- rather that the denizens are attempting to monitor her movements without actually confronting her. She gets glimpses of them now and then though: beautiful insects, perhaps the size of a small horse, with iridescent carapaces of sapphire and emerald, ruby and obsidian. At one point one of the emerald ant-like creatures approaches, very cautiously, and leaves something for Dena before scurrying off. It is jar large enough to be cradled in two arms, full of a sweet substance that looks and tastes like a mix of honey and cream: some sort of insect secretion, but quite edible and delicious.

Dena can take the gift or leave it, explore this cavern more on her own or return to help with Danae's crafting. [Private to Tervila Dena: You'll actually need to spend 5 days of the week helping Danae for her to benefit from it.]

Dashu plunges forward into the caverns trying to stay as quiet as possible.  He steps lightly so as to reduce the echo of his footsteps.  He doesn't move as swiftly as he would like sometimes, but he reminds himself that this is a mission of stealth, not speed and people's lives might depend on him not being seen.  To that end he, he tries to imagine Xurizu's anima banner and how it literally wraps shadow around him, and Dashu does his best to imitate this, staying in darkness as much as possible.  Fortunately, his own anima has traits that could help with not being detected.  Still caution is the name of the game here, and he stops whenever he hears the slightest sound until he is sure he is not being followed or detected.  [Private to GM: Trying to stunt stealth here.   Spend 10m to use Dashu's anima to increase the difficulty to detect him by 2 (Essenece /2) + 1m to mute the anima display. ]

As Dashu progresses, thinks that Danae will be pleased to know that there are plenty of raw materials for more mundane devices about.  As he comes across the workers, he decides that caution in order and he hangs back, ducking behind a large stalactite.  Still cloaked in shadow, he picks out the most clumsy and unobservant looking worker that he could find.  He decided to tail this man from the shadows to see if he could find the human population of this floor. He was, however, growing increasingly worried that it might be so small that strangers could not go unnoticed.

[Private to GM: 07:11, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 5 successes using 9d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,2,3,5,4,10,10,2,8. Perc + Awareness.
07:11, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 2 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,3,9,1,2,2,7,3. Dex + Stealth Roll. ]

Turtle starts off cheerfully in his exploration.  He doesn't appear terribly upset to be providing the sustenance for the group as a whole.  Dealing with the others has the pleasure of novelty, but he's been alone for long periods of time since his Exaltation and subsequent imprisonment.  The solitary task gives him time to order his thoughts.

Finding a shallow ledge of the underground lake to stand on, Turtle spends much of his time quietly watching the fish, waiting for them to become accustomed enough to his presence to begin catching a few.  His hunts appear based more on patience - he stands entirely still, hands inches from the water, waiting for the darting shapes to get close.  Once they do, he strikes quickly, snatching them up before they have a chance to sense his movement.

He also takes the time to consider the tubers and fungi closely, and is especially interested in watching how the local insect life deals with the plants.  He takes and consumes a small sample of whatever the insects are obviously feeding on, checking himself for any obvious side effects before risking feeding them to the more fragile mortals, or even the other Exalts.

For the moment, he avoids feeding directly off the insects.  Though the Lunars, and probably most of the other Exalts, could probably all handle such a diet, the mortals would probably fare less well.

[Private to Gatekeeper: 6 successes on the Int + Survival roll.

For now Turtle will handle the food alone, assuming he can do so and feed the entire refugee group.  Once he's figured out what's edible, he'll probably teach some mortals to handle most of it instead.

Also, if any of the fish or the insects he spots is at least as large as a housecat, Turtle takes a day off to perform a Spirit Hunt.  I know they're out there because of what you posted for Dena, but it doesn't sound like anything horse sized is showing for Turtle.]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Thu 05 Feb 2009.

Fortunately for Dashu, his Night Caste nature makes him a natural at stealthing about, even if the circumstances end up subpar. He finds much of the area he is scouting to be flooded with spotlights while the laborers continue to toil with moving, stacking and storing crates of ore. There are mining rail tracks and even conveyer belts that run through long stretches of the floor, making it easier to move heavy loads across distances.

Still, no one sees him... not even the stationary sentries, which in the Earth levels take the shape of large, hulking insectoid golems. Their eye-sensors now and then pass over, but not directly on Dashu, casting beams of ivory white light. Dashu also sees the smaller mobile sentries, shaped like little spiders crawling along walls and ceilings; he isn't exactly sure if they've seen him or not, but they do not raise any alarms. One of them appears to be following him, though, which may be less desired.

The man Dashu chooses to follow looks as if he's part drunk on the job. He mutters to himself, stumbling now and then; it's slow, precarious work following him. But in time Dashu reaches a more expansive lit area. Not really a city, barely even a town, the sign marking its outer limits reads "LABORER'S CONCLAVE B25". There are a smattering of buildings and many more hovels, and alleyways carved in between them. Men -- mostly men, in these parts -- resting from work crouch near bonfires, in seedy looking common rooms, or crowd over at the official distributing the end-of-work measure of food and alcohol.

Dashu's 'lucky' pick immediately stumbles over to the distributor's line, grumbling and grousing and fiddling in his pockets for the vouch tickets everyone in line is holding. [Private to Peleps Dashu: OK, well, give me an idea of who or what you might be looking for in the conclave, if it's something I've not described yet I'll give you more description. At this point no one in town's really noticed you yet... I may require another stealth roll if you intend to stay hidden, so feel free to stunt that also (possibly even stunt to lose the mini-sentry trail). Or Larceny if you are going to pretend to be a laborer or some such.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:58, Thu 05 Feb 2009.

Having ascertained the contents of the jar, Dena spends a several hours sitting on her haunches in the cavern thinking this unexpected situation over.  The jar itself is more interesting that the food inside, an indicator of tool use and likely intelligence.  Unfortunately this only poses more problems, for while the instinctive behavior of the beast can be understood, intelligent creatures act on all manner of irrational ideas and Dena cannot decide whether the jar is an invitation to trade, a tribute of respect, or a bribe the strange people hope will make her go away.

In the end Dena decides to take the jar back to the rudimentary camp and share the food with everybody else, and incidentally get the advice of other, potentially more intelligent, Exalts who might be able to deduce clues from the jar's making or markings.

Turtle is definitely in his element, foraging for what edibles the cave has to offer. The fish, he finds, are edible and safe so long as they are properly prepared; the aquatic creatures are blind, but have a poisonous gland that must be sliced away before consumption. Fortunately for Turtle, he noticed it without learning about the poison the hard way.

The tubers are harmless and quite nutritious. There appear to be two types, one that's bitter and one that's sweet. The insects are very fond of the leaves of the sweet ones, though have less success actually eating the insides, as the tuber has a tough skin around it that needs peeling.

As for the fungi, there are a couple varieties of note. One is a large, flat one that is a little bland when raw but yields plenty of edible flesh, and the other a round cap variety that grows in clumps. The round caps are more tasty but also more difficult to pick, as they have evolved to appear very similar to another species that is distinctly psychotropic. Turtle is able to tell the difference, noting a faintly mottled appearance to the hallucinogenic variety.

Turtle spends a good amount of time in this area. The insects that come this way don't eat on the spot, rather they appear to be collecting food, and leaving on a trail going mostly southward. Larger ones come rarely, though they do, sometimes. These ones are black and perhaps a foot or two long, no more than three. They see Turtle in their tuber-collecting spot, though, and mostly skitter off. [Private to Grinning Turtle: Well, you can roll for the spirit hunt. Both the fish and the bigger black insects could be a target, so you could choose to hunt one, or both. The big fish would require you actually plunge into the icy cold water though, which may incur some rolls to resist the cold.

Oh, yes, and you are able to find a good amount of food here, it ought to last short term at least (a few weeks), foraged daily to ensure freshness. The water is also suitable for drinking.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:56, Thu 05 Feb 2009.

Dashu doesn't like being followed but he tries to not indicate that he knows about the sentry following him.  Instead, he walks deliberately down a passage way and scoops a hand full of loose dirt off the ground.  Seeing that the dirt had something of a red tint to it, Dashu smiles and thinks to himself, "Perfect."  He spits a large volume of saliva into the dirt and makes a reddish mud with it.  Dashu then rubs the dirt into his hair trying to give it a more reddish tint, or at the very least, look like he's been hard at work with the others.  He then took the remainder of the mud and brushed it lightly on his cheeks, in such a way as to perhaps blur his features some.  Given the extreme fighting and exertion he did the day before, he figured he already had the haggard appearance of a manual laborer, so the purpose of this little exercise was not to make himself look more like something, as much as it was to make him appear less like himself, in case he needed to leave and come back later with the other Exalts.

Dashu then made certain that his Dragon Claws were well hidden in his coat, and then walked into the camp.  With full knowledge that the mini-sentry was following him, he did his best to duck and weave through the foot traffic.  At on point, he stepped in front of a large, slow, staggeringly drunk worker.  It appeared to Dashu that he now knew what the favorite pass time in the compound was.  Knowing the drunk stood between himself and his tail, Dashu thought quick.  While watching the man's movements in the reflection of a nearby metallic canister, Dashu was able wait for the man to stagger slightly towards the closest building. When this movement came, Dashu moved with it deftly ducking into an ally while using the man as a shield from the sensors of his watcher.  Once in the ally, Dashu knew he had but a few seconds to take in his surroundings and hide.  Fortunately, several large boxes containing mining tools were nearby.  He swiftly moved behind the boxes.  And waited for the sentry to go by.

After ducking the tail, Dashu backtracked to find the drunk.  "First things first," Dashu thouht, "I need some basic information so I don't give away my disguise too easily."  He approaches the large man with a smile on his face, saying "Hey!  How ya do'n?  I'm new here, just got here today, actually, and I'm a little turned 'round.  Think ya could help a guy out? I was look'n for the foreman, I'm supposed ta report to him.  He's supposed to tell me what all's go'n on here and I what my job is."

[Private to GM: Stunting the disguise roll, the ducking of my tail, and starting my interrogation.  My plan is to squeeze at least a minimal amount of information outta this guy, then possibly find a sober person to talk to, then head back.  I'm looking for what they're mining for, where their sending it, who's in charge, if there are any other towns on this level and any news this guy might have dealing with the Water Level.  I'm saying all this up front in case you want to speed things up.

I'm going to be using my investigation excellency to buy 2 sux.

13:29, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 3 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,8,9,4,4,2,4,9. Chr + Invest.
13:28, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 2 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,1,9,2,9,6,5,3. Dex + Stealth Roll.
13:27, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,7,5,1,5,2. Int  + Larc (disuise).

Disguise: 1 sux
Stealth:  2 sux
Investiation: 5 sux

I've got bad dice karma today.]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:21, Fri 06 Feb 2009.

Dashu slips into the alleyway, covered by the bulk of the drunk laborer, and ducks behind the boxes, all quite smoothly. The mini-sentry moves right by, losing his trail as intended.

The Night Caste's disguise is rather simple, though it's good enough to fool a drunk. The man grins broadly, getting a little too chummy with the 'new guy' - apparently he was an affectionate drunk. Better than an angry or emotional one, though having this big, sweating, drunken guy too close is an assault on the olfactory glands.

"Heeey kid!" he slurs happily. "Yeah, you wanna talk to Mnemon Ummir -- no wait ya said NEW new, eh? Then git over to Ironbeak, over in Conclave B25-4E, or is it B24-5E, geez, whatever... it's over there!" The large man waves vaguely in the direction of one of the main cross-streets; the building there has the name 'INFORMATION CENTER' as well as a sign with a caricature of a shrugging man in a hard hat with a question mark over his head. For those who can't read, Dashu guesses. Another nearby station proclaims 'NEW GEAR HERE' and a picture of a hand accepting a pickaxe.

"Ironbeak'll get you your new gear and assign n'all that... heheh... mebbe we'll be workin' chums? I'm over in far eastside, the White Crescent, pal, they have us pokin' at the REAL hard stuff there. Got a jade vein there I betcha! It'll be double payday then!"

Dashu gets the feeling he ought not to push it, though, unless he can think of a way to improve his disguise before finding someone else to question. [Private to Peleps Dashu: You can try to risk going into the information center or anywhere else, and/or see if you can do another stunt to improve your disguise first. In any case, my next post will be the last you'll do here for the week.]

Early on the second day of watching the fish circle slowly in the underground lake, Turtle falls into a strange trance.  Hypnotized by the strange patterns the blind creatures swim in, he hardly notices that he has shifted into his war form before an overwhelming hunger comes over him, threatening to overwhelm his rational mind.  Rather than fight the hunger, he embraces the strange primal instinct, sliding effortlessly into the chill water.

He floats silently near the surface for hours, studying their blind patterns and only surfacing every few minutes for breath.  Eventually the hunger becomes too much for him to endure, and with lightning speed his neck snaps out, massive silvered beak first killing, then dividing, and finally consuming a particularly vigorous specimen, poisonous gland and all.

Slipping into the strange new form, Turtle spends another hour or so relaxing in the water, learning the ins and outs of navigating blind as an underground freshwater fish.  By the time he emerges, he has swum far upstream, ending up near one of the main trails the insects use to gather tubers.  Upon spotting one of the hesitant insects, Turtle calls out to the strange hunger, inviting it rather than waiting for it to call to him.  This time, rather than hiding in the open, the hunger calls for him to locate their path, locating a hiding spot where even a large creature could easily observe one of the skittish insects.  Finding such a position takes an hour, and Turtle takes an hour longer to watch the bugs move before snatching out, again swiftly tearing apart and consuming the animal before it can react.

Again he tries out his new form, this time using its senses to trace whatever path it is following from its central lair to the gathering spot, trying to determine how the strange creatures navigate the total darkness successfully.  Once he is finished with his experimentation, he heads back to the main camp, apparently content to satisfy his hunger and allow the refugees survive off the rations found by Nanaret for the day.

[Private to Gatekeeper:  Spending 2 Willpower on Spirit Hunts, on both the fish and the insect.  The first got 3 successes, the second 5, so the hunts take 4 and 2 hours, then giving up the rest of the same day to get the hang of his new bodies.

Taking his war form for the duration of the Spirit Hunts, Turtle just takes whatever damage the fish's poison can deal, trusting his healing Charms to recover from it at about the same rate as it is dealt.  The same is true if the insect is poisonous, as well as whatever damage the cold water can put out.  If he's got to roll against something other than straight damage (disease or serious dice penalties), he'll use the Second Stamina Excellency to help shrug those off.

How are we handling Willpower expenditures?  Roll Conviction to recover once per week, day, or just assume they return by next week?]

Turtle finds his body more than capable of handling the unknown toxin of the fish and the coldness of the water. The insect turns out to be non-poisonous, and even somewhat sweet, but Turtle's instinct tells him making a habit out of eating them may anger the larger insect community, of which he has only seen a fraction.

If Turtle returns to the underground lake area later he finds that none of the black insects return there, having diverted their food-collecting efforts elsewhere.

[Private to Grinning Turtle: The fish poison stats would be roughly equivelant to coral snake venom. Basically a level that'd probably kill an unsuspecting mortal but an Exalt could have a chance at surviving.

As for Willpower, you'll replenish with the new week (which I'll announce for everyone when the time comes, in any case). I'd only have individual rolls if I thought someone was spending huge amounts of willpower daily, which you seem not to be.]

Dashu decides that he's collected enough information on the settlement and heads back to town.  If another excursion is made, he thinks, he should make a better disguise before he goes.

Having delivered her jar to the burgeoning camp, Dena returns to the areas frequented by the builder bugs, this time sticking to her wasp spirit form to see if she can make an easier contact there.

In order not to seem as if she's sneaking in, Dena makes sure to buzz her wings periodically and make soft noises that will prevent her from startling one of the other insects.  Periodically she takes care to emit pleasing pheremones that will satisfy most comers to her good intentions.

Several of the gemstone-hued insects come to observe Dena. At first there's mostly emerald and sapphire ones that come by, watching at a distance, following her a short while. They seem at ease, much less skittish... even pleased. As a larger group starts to gather, some of them communicate with one another, tapping with their antennae or forelimbs, or exuding chemicals invisible to the eye. A few of them break away, most likely to inform the rest of the hive.

One of them, Dena recognizes as the one that left her the first gift. Its language, though wordless, is quite understandable to Dena in wasp spirit, who understands the language of insects. "More food?" it seems to be querying. "Long time since visitors come here." It seems to recognize instinctively that the wasp form and the human form from earlier are the same entity. "We would make friends," expresses another, and there is a shiver of consensus among the gathered bugs, though also an undercurrent of worry.

After a moment a hum goes up among the insect host, some sort of signal or fanfare. Coming down a nearby tunnel is a smaller, but more attractive member of the species, its carapace a golden hue with a marbled texture to it. It is escorted by a pair of oversized ruby-hued builders who appear to evolved to grow natural weaponry, their forelimbs more like blades.

"Yes." Dena agrees.  "Friends.  I want to be your friends as well.  I come from a hive much deeper in the earth." Inwardly Dena winces at this.  She should have thought not to use 'I' or mention the others at all.  Things are moving faster than she ever expected, and she hasn't planned at all to contact the decision makers of the insects on the second day.  Had she been in human shape the stress of it would have made her feel as if her throat was closing up and the air too thick to breath from having to improvise without knowing each consequence of her actions.  But there also was no escape from continuing at this point.
"We are migrating, we hope to reach the surface some day.  We do not have much food and would like to trade for more.  What can we give to you?"

The insects seem conscious of Dena's nervousness, and hunch together humming and chirping, making noise by rubbing limbs, clacking mandibles. The blue species appears to have once been capable of flight, and they fan their atrophied wings, adding to the chorus.

Finally the golden one speaks. This one also has wings; they appear more like a diaphanous ceremonial cloak, draped down its chitinous back. Unlike the others it appears fully capable of producing speech -- using first Old Realm, then High Realm, then Low Realm, whichever Dena seems to most understand. (Likely High in this case.)

"We are not hungry. Our food is from the earth and there is plenty. The royal confection you have been given was once produced by our people for the Humans. It is inedible for us. Our stores have grown too large... waiting for Human friends to return." The humming from the insect host gains a nuance to it that Dena interprets instinctively as sadness or wistfulness. "What we wish is information. Since the Cataclysm of Dark Smoke we have cut off from the Machine Masters. We have kept to ourselves. But we are languishing without Humans to create and build for."

"You have others with you; we have felt them. Our Queen would meet with yours. Organize and return, and She shall meet with you formally. But please... do not eat more of our brethren?" There is a warning hum from the red ones, and then hushed silence from all as they wait for Dena's reply.

"Ah, my apologies.  We will not consume any more of the small black creatures." Dena answers slowly, moving towards the floor a bit and folding her legs in a submissive posture.  "I will return and prepare for a meeting soon.  There are many in our hive smarter than I am." A final thought occurs to her as she mulls over the conversation.  "Are the eyeless poisonous fish also your brethren?"

"No," replies the golden, wing-mantled insect, "We do not count the aquatic ones in our hive. However, the Onyx are our workers, and any Insect in this area is considered under our protection."

"We look forward to your return, and good relations with the Humans."

The gathered insects make a last, collective buzz of goodwill and hope, and begin to disperse, leaving Dena to her own devices. After a certain point within the builders' hive she will find the ruby ones barring her way further in, but otherwise she is allowed to roam the outer caves freely, or leave.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:16, Mon 06 Apr 2009.

Two weeks after Dena's first contact with the builder bugs...

With the main entrance into the mining settlement now blocked by Dena's rockslide, those interested in searching the caverns a bit further gather at the newer, narrower exit. The long tunnel beyond it is still quite rough and in need of reinforcement, but all that is work that can be done in time, if necessary. For now, it holds securely enough, and provides a starting point for further exploration.

Danae and Talia are the first two to arrive. Until they step at the other end of the tunnel, they are still within the Lost Corridors, so may discuss among themselves any plans or preparations before plunging into sentry-patrolled areas. Without Third along it may be more difficult to find the staircase, but it has at least given them a good idea of where to look, and how to deal with the sentries.

---

OOC: Those of you exploring, you can roll Perc+Awareness when you're ready to get going.

"So, you ready for a little trip out into the caves?" Danae asked with good cheer, yawning once while she did a few stretches to make sure she was as limber as possible.  "I know we haven't had an opportunity to talk a whole lot--but it's nice to meet you--I hope we can get along decently well for this upcoming little expedition."

She was still armed with sword and her firewand (Though notably, her usual breastplate had been left behind, something along the lines of 'If we run into a drone and can't evade it, then I'll want to be as quick as I can to get rid of it, right?')  Also, she had a bundle wrapped up on her back beside the firewand, containing the completed frame of Impeccable Spark, as well as the remaining components needed to finish the magitechnical construction (In case this trip wound up taking a while anyway)

OOC: 5 succs on the perc + aware

"Ready enough, I suppose."  Talia is travelling light, carrying only a bag with basic supplies; she has attached weights to the end of her sash to serves as a more effective weapon.  "I'm still amazed by everything you've all done down here.  I never imagined there were so many free Celestials; I wish I'd found out sooner."


OOC: 21:36, Today: Talia Zerith rolled 2 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,4,1,7,3.

Danae and Talia both see the large shape of a Hulking Armor Sentinel passing relatively close from their vantage point at the edge of the tunnel. Not quite close enough to sweep its red-eye beam sensor over the position of the tunnel itself, but it would probably be a good idea to wait until it passes, first.

Danae's eyes are sharper, and she notices some other smaller shapes scuttling about. [Private to Danae Adela: You see a pair of the Spider Eyes that Third mentioned, snooping relatively close. One of them is a hundred yards or so away, engrossed in inspecting the outer walls of the cavern... another is within 20-30 yards away, so could be a security threat. You remember Third saying that one way to handle the small sentries is to distract it in another direction, though to do so you need to move away from the tunnel.

Again, you could possibly just wait for it to pass, too. If you step deeper into the tunnel you could have decent cover to help avoid notice. Or you could try to destroy the spider eye but you'll want to do it relatively discreetly and in a single attack, or it'll set off an alarm.]

Beyond the tunnel, Danae and Talia can see that the area is quite dark. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage, because the darkness obscures the vision of others trying to see them, but it also makes it more difficult for the explorers to move or act without decent lighting. (-1 external penalty for most actions)
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:33, Wed 08 Apr 2009.

Third, rather at the last moment, approaches the others just as they're leaving, quietly moving along after them. It makes its presence known silently, surreptitiously, to the two others- but otherwise is quite inobtrusive as it follows. The daiklave slung over it's shoulder serves as it's primary defense, though naturally, much of it's Essence is still bound up in the Dragon-Blooded's collars. It quietly peers into the night, seeing one of the HAS models moving by, staying pressed against a wall as it passes.

[Private to GM: You rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((7,3,10,3,3)). Prolly doesn't matter now, but at least it can see the Hulking Armor Sentinel.]

The HAS eventually passes while the group remains still. It takes several minutes but the hulking machine traces its beam sensor in its usual programmed patterns and moves on.

During that time the more distant Spider Eyes has started venturing further west from the tunnel opening. The closer one is starting to move toward the group, though. It seems a good time to hide, think of a diversion or run for it.

With Third around, at least, the group will not be lost on its way to where the stairs should be. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: You are pretty sure you need to be heading eastward from the exit of the newly dug tunnel out of the settlement, skirting the wall until it slopes north. If you want more info you can roll Int+Lore to refresh your memory further.]

---

OOC: Just trying to spur things along. Roll, let's see... Wits+Stealth if staying still. Dex+Stealth if moving. You have about ten ticks or two actions before you may be caught.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:00, Sat 11 Apr 2009.

Third breathes out as it slowly begins to move, slipping out from the cover they have, beginning to creep it's way towards the east exit, motioning for the others to follow it... Unfortunately, luck doesn't seem to be with it, as it steps on a loose rock, fallen from the ceiling. It assesses things for a moment. It may need to get violent, now.

[Private to GM: Well, 6 successes on the Int+Lore check... And then none on the Stealth check. There's a sticky wicket. :-p. If worse comes to worst, Third can quickly give them directions and take off, leading security on a wild goose chase.]

Being newly arrived to the group, Talia chooses to let the others take the lead.  She remains motionless in the darkness when Third begins to move.  When the loose rock shifts, she freezes, tensing in readiness for a fight.




[Private to GM: 17:11, Today: Talia Zerith rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,1,2,2,7. Wits+Stealth. ]

"That's a problem..." Danae whispered a bit harshly, pulling out her Firewand and looking around--it was a bit of an overly obvious approach--but the one with the best possibilitiy of shutting a drone down long enough to escape...

"I get the feeling this may not have been one of our better ideas..." She muttered, keeping her eyes peeled for something that might try to investigate the noise, and preparing to take it out quickly.

Talia miraculously manages not to make a sound to alert the Spider Eye. Third, however, does... and it is the only one that bothered to move. The little machine scuttles toward the dark haired Twilight's position while Danae and Talia look on.

Then, unexpectedly, the automaton pauses midway between the tunnel opening and Third's position, momentarily stuck in a decision loop as it realizes there are multiple targets to investigate. The eight legs tap on the earth, then start moving toward Danae, the multifaceted eyes swiveling toward her direction...

At this point the Exalts remember two things about the Spider Eyes. One, that it will not raise an alert if it has no reason to consider its target is outright dangerous or criminal; rather its first directive will be to follow the suspicious individual(s) to gain further information. Two, it needs a few seconds to scan and successfully identify its target, so if spotted there is still a short window of action.

---

OOC: Roll Join battle so I can figure out the order of what occurs. Remember if you're going to go with attacking the automaton you'd best overwhelm it quickly. If you don't think you have a good chance at taking it out in one shot, Third's idea of attracting its attention and leading it away may be the better one.

[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Whoops! Almost forgot--I'll apply the results of your great Lore roll after the Spider Eye is dealt with.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:07, Mon 13 Apr 2009.

Talia glances from Third to Danae.  "What are the odds we be too boring for it tto bother with us?" she mutters.  The best-case scenario is that the automaton decides they're unimportant and ignores them.  Worst-case, they have to destroy it and the struggle attracts more attention.  Talia is ready to back up the others, whatever they choose to do.

[Private to GM: 21:30, Today: Talia Zerith rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,7,6,4,1,8. Join battle]

Third is momentarily put out of sync by the misstep as it processes possible solutions. It cannot remember at the moment if SES automatons are capable of sound-recognition, or recording, or the records it will have available on  so for the moment, it slowly takes out it's sword, and facing perpendicular to the Spider-eye, begins a simple kata from the Even Blade style. The simple clothing, jade daiklave in its hand, and lack of threat MIGHT be enough to fool the spider-eye into believing that Third is merely a wandering Dragon-Blooded or mortal who has chosen a secluded area to practice its style. At the very least, it can draw the spider-eye away from the others, as it begins to think of a way to communicate the directions towards the stairway.

The Spider Eye hesitates and finally moves toward the source of the greatest motion, scuttling toward Third as it begins its katas. It pauses to focus on it, on the motions of the sword (which it notes almost immediately to be jade), and attempts to analyze the situation. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Incidentally it can record both voice and visual, but the visual is more reliable.]

There do not seem to be any other automatons in close enough proximity to notice the situation near the tunnel exit.

---

OOC: actions
tick 0 - Danae
tick 1 - Talia
tick 4 - Spider Eye

(Third starts his katas at tick 4 so it will not act again until tick 10, assuming there is still a conflict by then :P)

Danae pauses in thought for a moment--then lowers the firewand--thumbing instead at her sword.

"Actually...  Are we in a particular rush?" She whispered to the others.  "I just had a rather interesting idea...  And I think we can help things along...  You mind pulling back after I'm done here?"

As soon as the Spider Eye begins to focus on Third then--Danae was quick to act--her sword flashing out of it's scabbard and striking, a silent staccato of blows aimed to disrupt it's functions in as thorough a manner as possible...  While admittedly, the steel of her own weapon was already suffering a great deal of fatigue by this point--and ramming it through four blows when it was built only to strike three strained it to the breaking point...

But as the attacks faded, Danae's sword still shaking, on the precipice of shattering entirely, she nodded, and added.  "Let's bring it back with us, I think I've figured out a way we can get around the security..."


12 motes personal on Peony Blossom Attack, spending a willpower on the final blow.

21:43, Today: Danae Adela rolled 7 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,7,6,7,8,2,10,10,1,2,2,5. Swordspam the fourth.
21:43, Today: Danae Adela rolled 5 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,1,8,6,2,5,10,4,2,3,8,7. Swordspam the third.
21:43, Today: Danae Adela rolled 3 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,5,5,4,8,1,4,5,2,10,6,1. Swordspam the second.
21:43, Today: Danae Adela rolled 7 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,10,3,8,1,1,6,7,3,1,9,10. Swordspam the first.

7, 3, 5, 8 successes prior to stunt then--should be enough to beat it--though whether it costs me another weapon or not is up to you.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:52, Wed 15 Apr 2009.

Against Danae's flurry of attacks the surveillance automaton does not fare well at all. Three out of four sword strikes damage the Spider Eye, taking out its visual capabilities, then its recording device and finally powering down the Essence generator with a last decisive blow.

The Spider Eye isn't outright wrecked to pieces (it might have been should Danae have been using a daiklave and not an ordinary sword), but it'll take some examination to see if the right parts are salvageable for whatever Danae is planning.

Her sword still remains intact but the blade is starting to warp a bit, and the edge starting to dull.

---

OOC: Well that was quick! Third if you want you can abort your kata so you don't actually spend the essence.

[Private to Danae Adela: Didn't roll damage because you did more than enough of it. You get 2 motes back from your stunt. As for your sword, I don't really want to deprive you of a weapon completely before you're done forging your new one, though you could go back to camp and take one of the short swords the acolytes had... Anyway, your sword lost either 1 accuracy or 1 damage, take your pick.]

Third stops the kata as Danae strikes the SES, and nods. "This trip may prove more useful than we have thought... Third would have to do some tinkering, but we may be able to work on some ways to make them less effective. If we can find out how they raise alarms, we may be able to modify the device to work as a damper, disrupting the communication... It would make our lives infinitely simpler, to be sure." Third looks around quietly, and considers. " Third doubts that the stairway will be going anywhere soon, and if we are able to somehow rig up a defense against the SES automatons, it will make our trip that much easier." it says, clearly not terribly bothered by the idea of getting to study one of the automatons up close. It sheathes the daiklave again.

"I had a similar idea" Danae admitted.  "Actually, I hope to rebuild this thing to act as a vector for a virus to get them to ignore us...  Let's head back for now, this'll probably take a bit of work to get done"

"This should be fun," Talia says, quietly but with obvious enthusiasm.

Danae, Talia and Third gather the pieces of the deactivated Spider Eye and return for the moment to the lights and relative safety of the settlement. By now both Celestials and refugees alike have already packed up what little belongings they have, and toil to sweep away, bury or incinerate the last traces of their existence in the area. The group returning from the tunnel exit knows they ought not to delay their task too long, as everyone will have to be moving soon, before the Immaculates come looking for their comrades.

The blacksmith's workshop that Danae has been using for the past few weeks seems to be the best place to work with the surveillance automaton. Once they have the machine body and broken pieces they gathered arrayed on one of the work tables, the hard work of assessing the Spider Eyes' complex functions begins.

---

OOC: Roll Perception+Craft(Magitech) if you'll do a more hands-on examination, Int+Lore if you'll do a more theoretical one. Since the automaton functions both with a hardware and software component, I'd recommend both approaches.

You can either split the tasks between you, have everyone do both separately or use teamwork (have the person with highest pool roll, with the others contributing +1 die each). And of course stunts are welcome!

"So, how do we want to do this?"  Talia asks, idly turning over a loose piece of the sentry in her hands.  "You're more familiar with these things than I am."

"Well..." Danae began, rummaging through the things and clearing a space.  "Third's good with the theoretical business--and I'm good with the mechanical side of things...  You can help one of us out I suppose, but if we split our efforts, we should be able to meet in the middle... Or something like that anyway..."

Putting the rest of the pieces together, Danae takes a deep breath, then begins to rummage through it, systematically assembling, dissassembling, and otherwise determining how exactly this thing happened to tick.

OOC:
20:51, Today: Danae Adela rolled 3 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,5,9,3,9,3,5,7. Perc + Magitech (+5 succs).

+4 succs from Second Craft and a WP, total of 8 succs
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Fri 17 Apr 2009.

Third quietly nods as it stands by the other two at the workbench, and begins to study the pieces, it's mind slotting the parts together, studying serial numbers, easily sliding them together in its mind. " Third will work on its theoretical knowledge." it says, and begins to contact Harmony. Third requests your help on processing powers. If you are able, Third would request your aid in studying these parts. Third is attempting to figure out the communication system for these machines, and a way to properly counter it. Additionally, discovering the proper method for introducing a viral meme into the Automaton's network conciousness, to make it ignore us, to create a blind spot for them. Third converses with the Intelligence, even as it thinks smoothly.

OOC: 01:05, Today: Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge rolled 6 successes using 20d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,8,5,8,10,3,3,8,4,3,4,5,6,4,4,2,8,2,3,5. Charmed Int+Lore roll, heavily boosted.

6 total successes. Not TOO bad. I don't know if the Specialty applies there, if it does, GM can include it with any stunt dice.

It doesn't seem that either Danae or Third need much aid, at least for the moment, though simply watching the two work gives Talia a crash course on both magitech automata and artificial intelligence programming.

By the time Danae has assembled, disassembled and reassembled the Spider Eye, she is quite certain of its basic function. This includes its eight legged locomotion, the range of its sensors (up to 30 yard radius reliably, up to 50 if it focuses on a specific target), the sight, sound and motion sensors (no smell or taste here), recording functions, and its few means of combat (a pair of spinnarets that emit a sticky web-like substance, and its mandibles which can deliver an essence venom; relatively low damage, but aggravated.) The spinnarets and venom containers can be removed safely.

Its essence battery is in a plate embedded into the bottom of the spider body, but Danae and Third unpleasantly discover a second, low power battery near the SES's Central Processing Unit, which continues to power certain basic functions even if the main power is deactivated. One of those functions seems to be to trigger an alarm should the recording device, the 'black box' at the heart of the Spider, be destroyed or removed prematurely. The alarm trigger is in the base of the spider's neck, which also contains the circuitry that connects it to the District of Earth Surveillance Network and the unit's serial number (SES-005-036).

Neither Danae nor Talia can see Harmony directly, but when Third connects the orb containing Harmony's consciousness to the automaton's exposed CPU, all three Exalts see the yellow-gold Essence lines tracing through the previous dormant circuitry, indicating her influence. She begins to feed Third knowledge about its BIOS and operating system, projecting lines of code to it mentally so that it may memorize pertinent lines, in particular the protocols by which it communicates with the Network.

Harmony claims that she would be able to 'ride' the automaton personally, basically take control of it, move it around and use its sensors and functions. Possibly she may even be able to go 'deep cover' if Third were willing to relinquish her, or at the very least serve as a virus carrier. They would not be able to communicate with each other at all while she's away in the Spider Eye's body, though.

---

OOC: Ok! Both hardware and software checks passed. Now you'll want to write the virus (which is another Int+Lore and I'd recommend Third rolls it with teamwork from the others. It'd have to write by dictating through Harmony as there's no keyboard to insert code with.) The roll will get a +2 success bonus due to your previous successes.

Also start thinking on how the virus will be conveyed: remotely or through Harmony.

"Okay" Danae began, making sure to avoid prodding anything in a way that would cause it's second battery to activate.  "Here's the big problem as I see it--no matter how powerful we design this virus--if it acts openly, we'll be announcing our presence in a way that we may not like...  It needs to disseminate across the network in a manner that would be inobtrusive--but still allow us to move about relatively freely...  Ah... Harmony, was it?  Your aid so far has been exceptional--but I can't help but think security on the Earth District and above has been tightened heavily since the Water District was subverted-it might be dangerous to send you directly inside--if the powers that be have 'Any' reason to believe that the network has been comprimised, they'll do an extensive sweep, and it'll turn things around on us...  Then again, we 'Could' design a back door to get you in quickly when we begin work on subverting the Gatekeeper of Earth eventually...  Or at least figure out how to insert you inside."

So, she sat back, and tapped a finger on the table.  "The way I see it--we shouldn't just 'Shut Down' the network entirely--nor should we rewrite the protocols they have entirely...  Rather--we should create a minor exception--in the same way that the Automatons 'Already' ignore figures such as the Dragon Blooded...  Maybe have it that a certain design or symbol borne by the viewer is to be disregarded?  It's simple, but it's not likely to attract a great deal of attention--and I can rig up some badges to allow this pretty easily...  But that's just my call, AI work isn't really my specialty--though I'll provide what help I can..."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Sat 18 Apr 2009.

Third considers quietly. " Third agrees. While Harmony may be able to be effective in the system, Third does not wish to risk her existence at this time... The Dragon-Blooded will likely be wary after losing control of the Gatekeeper of Water. Third will leave it up to Harmony, if she feels confident in her ability to avoid detection, then Third will be willing to send her in." It speaks in the third person for Harmony, bowing its head. "A badge system sounds wise. A small, innocuous symbol that will trigger the automatons perception filters, something we can keep on our clothing... It will be much easier to insert a small section in the code, and if we make redundant copies, then the commands will be that much more difficult to eliminate completely. Do you have an idea for a design? Third will begin dictating code to Harmony, but we will need to think of something helpful." It considers, and closes its eyes, beginning to string together the divine symbols in it's mind, the strings of specialized language that determine the behavior of an automaton. It strings the syllables together, taking the example given by a prohibition against following or studying certain Dragon-Blooded and other individuals, carefully tailoring the words to look as much like those as the others, to keep it innocuous. After it finishes an initial write-up, it looks towards the others, sharing the code with them, to give them an opportunity to check through it, before compiling the first version. "The smaller the differences we make, the easier it will be to keep it hidden."

OOC: Going to let Talia get in a post before I roll my dice. ^_^ I'll edit said dice-roll into here.

Edit: 18:38, Today: Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge rolled 12 successes using 20d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,2,2,7,7,3,8,5,2,6,10,5,7,1,3,7,10,9,10,3. Int+Lore for coding. You rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((1,10,7,2,7,1)). 18 successes with the extras. 10 motes spent on First Lore Excellency.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:44, Sat 18 Apr 2009.

"A symbol...it'll need to be something distinct enough to be recognized by the system, but simple enough to be easily reproduced, and inconspicous enough that it won't be easily identified as a symbol by living veiwers."  She begins to trace simple shapes on the work surface with her finger tips.  Circles, crosses, stars, she runs through various configurations in her mind.

Harmony, when addressed, reroutes some of the Spider Eye's battery power to briefly take a translucent but visible shape: that of a six armed female spirit with her legs crossed in lotus position. Her face is covered with a pale, eyeless mask that covers all but her mouth. The form is not solid, and flickers now and then as the imperfect and quickly hacked connections struggle to maintain the image.

"I-AM-CALLED-HARMONY-OF-ENLIGHTENMENT," she confirms to Danae in her feminine but otherwise inflection-less speech, this time aloud for all to hear. "YOUR-POINT-IS-TAKEN. SECURITY-RISKS-ARE-TOO-GREAT-FOR-SOLO-INFILTRATION-WITH-CURRENT-PARAMETERS. ESTIMATED-SUCCESS-RATE-ONLY-35.7-PERCENT. CONCLUSION: IMPLANT-VIRUS-INTO-REACTIVATED-SPIDER-EYE-AND-RELEASE-IT. IT-WILL-INFECT-THE-NETWORK-THROUGH-ITS-NORMAL-DUTIES."

With Danae, Talia and Harmony's aid, Third manages to design a virus that all of them feel is both foolproof and innocuous. It does, however, take some time to write. Normally, something of that complexity, programmed with only theoretical knowledge of the network, would take about a week to complete. However, Third is an exceptionally skilled programmer, and it is possible it can sacrifice some quality to speed up the process.

The symbol to use is more of a cosmetic choice; anything relatively simple to scan, but unique enough not to be mistaken for anything else, will do.

---

OOC: 18 successes is great. You can choose to raise the difficulty of the roll in order to reduce the time it takes to program this. Difficulty 5 would be to do it in a day, Difficulty 10 to do in less than an hour. The trade-off will of course reduce the final net successes, so it's up to you.

Suggestion for the symbol: a sunburst disc, with a crescent moon and a star inside? Maybe?
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:12, Tue 21 Apr 2009.

"My own call?  Let's take our time with this" Danae says when the possible responses come up.  "We're not likely to get another shot at this, and I'd like to make it as absolutely effective as we can.  It'll also give me a little time to finish up my weapon and get some badges hammered together with what materials we have left.  Once this is all taken care of though, we'll have much more freedom--enough to make a serious attempt at taking the Earth Districts at the very least."

She stands back a bit, and taps her chin.  "You know what though?  I think this'll come together quite nicely--it'll help us move the others around as neccessary as well--and we're close enough to the Fire District to cause trouble as well--we're going to need the extra manpower."

"I can make badges; a simple design shouldn't take very long at all.  But I agree, it's better to do this right than to do it right now.  If something went wrong, we could end up worse off than when we started."  Her fingertrips trace out one more shape on the tabletop; a circle, an arc, three intesecting lines.


OOC: Gatekeeper, your symbol idea was pretty much exactly what I was trying to think of; I'm breaking it down to pretty much the most basic form to make it less obvious as a significant mark and also easier to reproduce in various matierials.  I'll try to draw it up and scan it (or maybe break out MSPaint)

Third nods quietly. " Third would certainly prefer to take advantage of this spare time that we have been given. Third shall be careful." It bows its head to Talia. " Thank you, Talia." it says, and studies the symbol. It is both innocuous, and unlikely to be made by accident. " That should be ideal." It begins the lengthy task of its design...

OOC: I figure, haste makes waste, I'm willing to take the long time and get it done right. We can hurry when they find us.

Third has to spend at least eight hours a day working on the programming to complete the task in a week. This does, however, free it some time during the day to participate in other activities.

Danae may of course use the tail end of the week to finish more crafting while Talia works on the task of making the badges. The badges themselves are a relatively simple work of forging, at least compared to the complex weaponry Danae spends her time doing. Getting the initial design done will take perhaps a day, and after that one hour per item would do. [Private to Talia Zerith: I don't think you'll need more than 3 successes on an int+craft(fire) roll (1 day duration) to get the badge design right. Then you could just do a series of int+craft(fire) rolls (1 hour duration) at difficulty 2, to represent producing enough of them for everyone. There's plenty of metal to work with for something that small, so that's no issue even if you mess some up.]

---

OOC: If you do decide to be in the hive queen scene after all, keep in mind that Third is already there, so would make more sense that this scene happened before or after that one, not simultaneously. (Time paradox!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:18, Tue 21 Apr 2009.