"Just a moment... I'll check to see if anything is active..." Alberic pauses for a moment, and checks a small screen embedded in the twisted flesh of his left arm.

[Sense "Magic" - detect whether the Numenera are active nearby].

As they walked he was taking in mental notes of any notable landmarks or points of interest to get the lay of the land.  As they approached the area of the cavern and seeing the dead bodies about a hand mindlessly went to rest on the whip, "looks quite inviting."


He wasn't overly concerned as he waited for Alberic to complete what he was doing given the general area should be secure enough, but just in the off chance something wasn't he would be ready.

Alberic senses nothing nearby active.  There may be pieces in the floor of the crevasse that no longer function.  No kind of large-scale excavation has been done here.

The entrance to the tunnel is equally unremarkable, although the air inside seems colder than Alberic and Mhari remember.

With her eyes adjusted to the dark Rob looks ahead to see what perhaps the others cannot. If nothing obviously requires attention she methodically scans back and forther in case there are anything she might be able to salvage (Numenara-wise).

======
OOC: 18:03, Today: Roberta Shadowprancer rolled 7 using 1d20.  Perception (Specialised); Eyes Adjusted.
so I think that's a result of 13 and takes illumination as if in bright light
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Wed 29 Mar 2023.

"I don't remember it being this cold last time we were down here." Alberic notes, as Rob scans the darkness. "What's changed? Time of day? Something else?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:25, Thu 30 Mar 2023.

Rob's keen eye has picked out a bit of dirt which is actually a crust on a metal object beneath.  Chipping away, the salvage operation takes a couple minutes, but she's eventually able to liberate a cypher, a couple parts, and a few shins.

It is not immediately clear (at least to Alberic) why the temperature is so different.  Did Buojrez mention something about that earlier?

"That's dinner tomorrow paid for," mutter Rob to herself. She turns the ptrts over, obviously unsure just now what they're from. She tucks the bits away and continues, jogging along to catch up with the others.

Alberic stops suddenly as if a thought has occured to him.

"You remember, er, when Buojrez warned us about spores on the way back... she mentioned fighting a monster..." He muses, largely to Mhari, as the only other member from that particular expedition. "And, ah, didn't she describe it as a 'freezing tentacle monster'? Er, did she mention whether she had killed it or just driven it off...?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:56, Tue 04 Apr 2023.

In reply to Alberic (msg # 226):

Mhari pondered Alberic recollections...

"I'm not sure... Buojrez did not speak to me much and seemed to have some personal grudge against me... she did not share info with me."

Rob shrugs, not really recalling much, if anything, about monstrousities around the area.

"Hmm." Alberic thinks, then remove his pipe, carefully stashing it in a pocket, where a small column of blue smoke continues to vent for several seconds, before finally stopping. "I say we should be ready for a confrontation. I suspect we are not the only people - and I use the term loosely - who are interested in the portal."

He presses some of the buttons on his left arm, and several of the more exposed sections of circuitry on his electromechanical body shift behind armoured plates, and several sections of his scarred skin fold over unpleasantly to reveal metal ribbing. Alberic winces, but at last nods, and grasps his large clock hand staff between both hands. "To the portal, then."


OOC: Quick Armouring: +2 Armour for 1 hour. Costs 4 Intellect (With 3 Edge = 1 Intellect cost), requires 2 Io, but they are not consumed.

Farther down the passage, the stone hallway curves gently, obscuring the last of the direct light from outside.  The path becomes darker and grows colder as the team progresses deeper.  The way is only about 5 or 6 feet across.

OOC: Please make a roll for a task to notice things.  Difficulty 4

Alberic is clearly on edge with the prospect of frosty tentacle monsters. He glances this way and that, his left eye - the blue orb - pulsing with light. He has rolled back the sleeve of his coat so he can keep several blinking LEDS embedded in his left arm in view while he holds his staff ready. There is a faint smell of warm solder.

07:45, Today: Alberic rolled 7 using 1d20.  Notice Roll, 2 Levels of Effort (5 Intellect - 3 Edge = 2 Intellect).

Glad I put those two Intellect points in!

Rob looks around, seeing into the darkness as if it were daylight.

OOC: 12:11, Today: Roberta Shadowprancer rolled 4 using 1d20.  Perception (Specialised); Eyes Adjusted.

Mhari will again take point his glowglobe mounted on the inside of his Transparent Plastic shield, Stormheart gripped in his left hand the keen edge of the gleaming azure steel rapier catching the light and scattering blue distortions of light about the tunnel as the party proceeds warily down the tunnel of the cavern system.

The glaive is alert looking for anything that could potentially be a threat...

08:05, Today: Mhari 'Stormbolt' rolled 7 using 1d20.  Perception - 2Lvls Extra Effort [5 Int, Edge '-2'; Cost 3 Int]. – 7
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Thu 20 Apr 2023.

All of you notice that the tunnel is continuing to get colder as you make your way deeper into the stone.  The path is gravel-strewn in a couple places, which marks a change from when you were here last.  The reason is unclear, until writhing shapes begin to descend from the ceiling of the tunnel where they had been camouflaged.  There is one ahead and one behind, with the trio in the middle.

OOC: please make initiative rolls, difficulty 4

00:04, Today: Roberta Shadowprancer rolled 16 using 1d20.  Initiative difficulty 4 (reduced to 3 by Speed Edge 3), so need a 9.

15:06, Today: Alberic rolled 10 using 1d20.  Initiative - Difficulty 4. No modifiers.

Now I wish I'd put some Effort in! xD

10:55, Today: Mhari 'Stormbolt' rolled 15 using 1d20.  Initiative - Difficulty 4 [Extra Effort/1 3 Spd, '-2'Edge = Cost 1]. – 15

Cost: 1 spd

With deceptively casual speed Rob turns within the cover provided by a deeper shadow.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:47, Sat 06 May 2023.

After Rob stealthily passes by in the tunnel, a pair of pale, tentacle-faced quadrupeds drop out of concavities in the ceiling.  Alberic and Mhari are trapped between them.  They exude a brutal chill, sapping energy from the pair.  However the glaive and delve are quick to respond.

OOC: Alberic and Mhari attack at difficulty 4, defend at difficulty 5, due to the chill. You also each take 1 point of ambient damage from the cold. You are both in immediate range of each other and the beastie nearest you.

Rob, at short range, can attack at difficulty 3, with one asset for flanking it.

Turn order is:

Mhari and Rob
Beasties
Alberic

Mhari is displeased with the sudden ambush and likes NOT the tactical disposition of things... he decided to change it .. immediately. Letting the Mass-Blaster Slugspitter drop on its sling and turns to grab Alberic and bodily hefts him onto his shoulder with only a brief ,"...Sorry.. not healthy for us right here, Right Now!!!"

As his body trails lightning, his motions almost faster then the eye can follow ~ his touch is electric as Mhari ~ Bolt Rides with Alberic vanishing in a flash of lightning down the passageway to reappear both solid again down the hallway some 20'ft beyond Rob's position!

Mhari places Alberic behind him as he again hefts his Mass-Blaster Slugspitter... but he can't fire just yet recovering from his Bolt Rider journey!

Action: Bolt Rider - 1 Action [4 Int, Edge {-2}; Total: 2 Int]

Question: Does Armor apply vs the cold damage?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:16, Fri 12 May 2023.

Spinning rapidly round Rob swings her crossbow to centre on the weird creature and lets fly a bolt.

OOC: 16:15, Today: Roberta Shadowprancer rolled 16 using 1d20.  Broadsword rapid attack Difficulty 3, 1 asset (flanking), Speed attack, Edge 3
Edited to crossbow.
Rob's heavy medium weapon normally does 4 damage
This message was last edited by the player at 23:53, Thu 25 May 2023.

OOC: Mhari, no, Armor does not apply to the cold damage (unless you have Armor specifically against cold damage).

Rob, I'm going to assume you rushed at the nearest one to get within melee range.  That's fine.  Please take one point of cold damage.  Also, make a Speed Defense roll, difficulty 5.

The tunnel illuminates with the flash of Mhari's bolt as he and Alberic streak past Rob, who is firing the other way  at the frigid, tentacled beast.  Her bolt gouges a shallow chip in the creature, who seems to be made of ... whatever it is (some sort of whitish, bluish stony substance)... all the way through. The creature shakes off the bolt as it advances.

The creature turns to lunge at Rob, while its twin closes the gap (that once held Mhari and Alberic).  Both creatures now stand between the trio and the way out.

OOC: Alberic, you're up.  You and Mhari are currently in short range of both.  Rob is in immediate range of one and will be in immediate range of both by next round at the current rate.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:09, Fri 26 May 2023.

"What-?" Alberic has only a moment before being whisked away by Mhari. Finding himself standing some distance from where he was he nevertheless eyeballs the nearest creature and twisting a small dial in his left arm, he fires a beam of concentrated light at the nearest creature.

20:46, Today: Alberic rolled 14 using 1d20.  Trigger Iotum Ray - 3 Damage. Speed: 1 Level of Effort (Cost 3)

I think that's a hit?