OOC: Sorry, busy indeed. I had cataract surgery on one eye last week, with the other this coming week. I’m sharing my dad’s old pickup because I hit a deer with my Prius and it’s been in the shop for weeks. I was a pallbearer for the mother of a good friend earlier this week, the same day my dad turned 80. Plus family drama over who’s going where for the holidays. One thing after another!
IC: Jack raises an eyebrow at the fresh horror of an undead Elder Thing, but after firing the flaregun, he turns his attention back to Spider, who is alone with a friendly-for-now shoggoth and some unknown hostile force. He maintains careful concentration on the Deflect Harm spell, and tries to move laterally to get a better view of (and shot at) whatever is approaching from the tunnel.

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 9

-----Spider, in the tunnel below------
Spider turns Matilda loose, the blast of the rifle in close quarters being enough to temporarily deafen him and make his ears ring for well after that.  Whatever it was seemed to move backwards, tumbling into the darker shadows.  Beside him, the Shoggoth lost its shape and sagged to the tunnel floor, the eyespots wincing, its amoeboid mass quivering like gelatin.   Distantly, Spider can hear some rapping sounds, but his ears are ringing, and something smells very rotten and scorched.  Jack eventually looks over the edge of the tunnel.  Everything above them seems all right, though the smell is horrific.


-----Jack, in the tunnel above----
Jack fires the flare into the Elder thing a split second before Bruno leaps at it.  Jack notices that his reaction time is good - better than even Fritz's, and that he feels very awake.  The Hellhound shreds the putrid flesh, liberally splattering the tunnel, himself, and Thorne, who started swearing.  The Elder Thing sagged down to the tunnel floor with the Hellhound's added weight and gestured vaguely with its few good tentacles, then Fritz fired on it.  It deflated and fell apart more, revealing a organometallic wire mesh flailing in vain to try to make it move again.   Ben stowed his .45 and went to pull Nolan away from the mess, while Fritz laughed at Thorne and the Hellhound chewed on the rancid, burnt Elder Thing.  Below him, Spider and the Shoggoth seemed to be fine, but rather hard of hearing; the Shoggoth had lost its shape and was splashed out on the tunnel floor, eyespots nearly shut, the most amorphous suggestion of a headache ever seen.

-----A few minutes later-----
The Elder Thing had clearly been controlled by some kind of wired device, which Ben insisted on packing up and loading into the sled.  Bruno was already horking up the bits he'd eaten, Nolan wasn't much better, and Thorne was livid at the mess of his fur coat.  Fritz was unpacking something from the future, which was another of the vivid winter coats the Temporal Agency wore, for Thorne to change into.  "You complained in the journal for three pages about that fur coat," Fritz said to Thorne, "So make sure you still complain."  Spider was settling Matilda back over his shoulder.

"You are even more dangerous than I thought," the Shoggoth told Spider, after it had recovered and reformed a human shape.  It seemed impressed.  "That creature was not very intelligent.  It has gone away.  Both this tunnel and the one above will lead into the lower levels, but this one may have more creatures in it, and there is water."  It indicated a new trickle of dirty water splashing down the wall, where a recent crack had formed.  "The ice is melting through the cracks."
"Hey," Ben said, leaning over the hole next to Jack in order to look down at Spider, "We ought to get moving.  There's water dripping from the wall now.  I think this structure's unstable."
"Your herd leader is not wrong," the Shoggoth agreed. "It will be very difficult to squash me, but not so much for you."
"Shoggoth, which is the quickest path to the lower levels ?"  Ben asked It.
"Both of these corridors lead downward.  This one has water in it also, and may have more creatures.  Probably not intelligent ones, though.  Above, there may be more traps.  The Elder Things had enemies.  Choose, and I will go with you."
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GM:  Now, decide which way to go - the tunnel above, or the other one below it.  Hope you have a great Holiday Season !  Jack, Sorry about Life, think how great it will be to not have cataracts though.  We are going to have our two week holiday with the next post due on Saturday, 7 January, 2023, next post 8 January, on Sunday.
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Once Spider was able to join the conversation intelligibly he said, "I'd rather deal with creatures, than traps we don't know about.  And if we take the upper one we still might need to come down to this level.  Maybe there won't be an easy way down ahead.  That's my vote."

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 10

Spider's suggestion was duly noted and considered, as Thorne handed off a handkerchief to Fritz, where the unconscious Djinn was resting, and changed his besmirched fur coat for the fancy future one.   Ben leaned over the edge to discuss the choice.  "All right by me; we'll take the lower tunnel.  Bruno can probably jump down, we'll lower the sled.  Jack and Fritz can anchor for me and Thorne.  Nolan - go back out to the surface when you feel able.  It's too risky for you.  Spider, how much fuel do you have left in the flamethrower ? And....Shoggoth, how long will it take us to get to the lower levels ?"

"As far as I can grasp your time reckoning, one twentieth of one planetary revolution."  the Shoggoth replied.
"And you know other ways to the surface ?"
"There were many ways to the surface, but I have not been in them for a very long time."
"We'll need all the help you can give us, then.  Is there anything you want from us ?"
The Shoggoth thought, blinking twice.
"I want to see what you creatures do next."  It said.

With the application of a few medical patches, the agents revived enough to get their gear and themselves transferred to the lower level.  Powerful flashlights from the stash on the sled cut through the darkness; the glowing fungus was not growing down in the service tunnel.  The Shoggoth had personally taken charge of the sled, and was in the front with Spider, with Bruno sulking along at Thorne's side, at the back.  Ben and Jack were in the middle, with Fritz trailing to keep an eye on Thorne.

Some small scrabbling things like fat, multi-legged mice fled from the light, and a few puddles were forming  near cracks in the tunnel walls.  The tunnel sloped steeply downwards, so much so that a couple of times the Agents had to slide down for a while, bracing on the walls and floors.  At one point, something larger took notice of them and fled into a side tunnel.  About an hour and a half of dark tunnel, dripping water, sliding down sudden slopes and jumping at shadows, the Agents found themselves in an immense dark cavern, where a lake of icy water was covering a quarter of the floor.  Dark rock menhirs were stationed around the cavern in a five-pointed pattern, and a bank of black stone benches held some metallic structures - series of boxes with five sides, and a big cannon-like object festooned with large metallic rods, the same metal as the type used to shackled the Shoggoth.  Pale things like four-winged bats skittered around on the ceiling, easily two hundred feet above their heads.  Metal plates were set into the walls and in the menhirs, which were about thirty feet high, and these plates were full of the dot-writing, with some symbols besides.  There was movement deep in the shadows, but nothing came into the light the Agents used to sweep around the cavern.

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time ?  Please respond by 14 January, Saturday, next post is Sunday.  Welcome back: this game has now been running for 25 years.  Yes,  25 years, beginning on quadrunner listserve in 1998.
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OOC: Sorry, I guess I took off an extra week. But 25 years, what a great milestone — Huzzah!
IC: Jack is unsure which route to take, so agrees with Spider and Ben.
     “I confess the water worries me, though, regardless of which way we go.” He decide to try out a name for the shoggoth in the hopes of further putting its alienness out of his mind: “Vince, was there always water here, or has something just started producing enough heat to cause this melting? Can you tell how long before the tunnel is flooded?”
     When they reach the cavern, Jack quickly looks for any equipment small enough to take, but doesn’t touch it yet. He also briefly looks for any other passages entering, and checks them for obvious threats. [Or if the room is too big, he just checks near where they came in.]
     “Do you know the functions of these machines, Vince? Are there portable weapons nearby? Please remember that we cannot tell what is on the other side of walls, and we don’t always recognize doors and moving panels that might be between us and what we seek. Any guidance you can provide will be most helpful in speeding our exit from this place. I imagine you are eager to leave and see what else our people have created during your long stay here.”

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 10

The Shoggoth didn't respond to Jack's question right away, but seemed intrigued to have a name.  "For a long time, there was no ice, then the land mass shifted and the ice formed.  There have also been - shaking times.  The land shook...what's it called; earthquake.  I saw a crack in the tunnel when I was being taken to be chained a long time ago.  The City is old, abandoned, with no maintenance.    The water will likely fill this tunnel in about one half of one rotation of this planet."

Far below, the Agents looked at the cavern, trying to determine what to plunder.  "That is a weapon," the Shoggoth said, indicating the big cannon-like object.  Fritz and Thorne hurried over to it immediately.  "This was a manufacturing...there is not a word I have for it, perhaps control factory ?  There should be power indicators, power storage.  From these...machines....the servitors were made.  But much is missing.  The growth vats are also gone. The tools are gone."  The Shoggoth turned around slowly, taking in the sight.  "There is another cavern this way, it was used for storage."  It walked towards the South East wall, past the counters, and touched the wall; there was no discernable door.   "There is water there now, a lot of it," the Shoggoth reported.  "It would not be safe for you creatures."

There was a sloshing sound in the water, ice chunks bobbing; a fresh influx of cold water.  The fluttering in the cavern's roof became more agitated; the creatures were about the size of seagulls, pale grey, with four wings dotted with red eyespots.  Bruno growled, eyeing them.

"Ow !" Thorne yelped as he jumped back from the big cannon. "It shocked me !"
"Oh good," the Shoggoth said, "That means it still has a power supply."
"Where are the records, information on the Elder Things...and their enemies ?"  Ben asked.
"Stored in the crystals in these machines," Vince the Shoggoth replied. "I can extract the crystals for you."
"Yes, please, thank you," Ben said.  "What machine can show the crystal's information ?"
"The flat one over there, next to you."
Jack mentioned leaving.  "Three of the tunnels will no longer be safe, they will be under water," The Shoggoth said, now looking upward.  The nervous bat creatures moved away from It, a few of them winging off into the tunnel the Agents had used to enter the room.  "There is an access tunnel up there, but it is steeply angled.  It will lead into the top level by a service doorway.  That is the fastest path upward."  It pointed up at a place on the cavern wall, about forty feet high, on the South wall.  A hatchway was there, partly open.  "You could also go back the way we came in; once there, there are three different ways to get to the surface using that tunnel.  I am pleased to be helpful, since you creatures released me from confinement, and yes, I will have a look at this world that has grown so well from the seeds of the Elders."

The Shoggoth turned to the nearest pentagram machine and pressed a few buttons on the dot-patterned panel.  A section of it popped open, revealing a clear tray of flat glasslike discs.
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GM: Actions, etc, for the next ten minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday, 21 January, next post Sunday.  I uploaded a new map of the cavern for you to look at.
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Spider, still unnerved by the entire adventure, once again found comfort in seeing something where he knew he could contribute.  He quickly roped up and grabbed some spike and his hammer and said, "I'll get some ropes up to that hatch.  The fastest way out sounds too right to me."  While the others began collecting information and equipment to take back, he worked on their exit, including a way to lift heavier items up to the tunnel, including the four-legged companion.

“We appreciate the help,” Jack replies to the shoggoth’s comments.
     Curious about the Elder Things’ pentagonal systems, Jack walks to the area roughly in the center of the five menhirs. “Was there anything here in the middle, Vince?” he asks.
Aside from that, he keeps an eye on the direction where the sloshing noise can be heard, and joins Ben in looking at the disks. “Can we take the.. player? reader? … with us?”
     Finally, he asks out loud, “Can we lift that cannon-thing? And will it fit through that hatch up there?”

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 11

The Shoggoth was dismantling one of the hexagonal machines, opening hidden panels and pulling out flat, glasslike discs, which it was stacking methodically into a bag Ben had set out for It.  It paused to watch Spider scale the wall, the weird bats fluttering out of his way, and again as Jack asked about the middle of the five menhirs.
"That was a Gate," the Shoggoth said, gesturing awkwardly to where Jack now stood.  "The summoning platform is gone.  It would take a great mage to use it now."    It slid open another panel and stacked up more discs into the bag.
"Oh, really ?"  Ben asked.
"Yes.  You have almost no mana left, but you seem skilled enough creatures.  I can fit the reader onto your...sled."  Vince the Shoggoth effortlessly lifted up the reader machine and carried it to the sled - it probably weighed about a hundred pounds.
"Jack, take this; press the button marked "Set Point" and keep it pressed until the screen flashes "Set Point Accepted."  Ben passed Jack the tracking device they had been given by the Temporal Agents.

More water sloshes in, chunks of ice bouncing around in it.  Bruno's attention shifts to the water, although the odd grey bats are still moving around, but not in any threatening way.

Spider is anchoring pitons into the masonry.    The tunnel is indeed steeply angled, round, about six feet in diameter; a tight fit.  But nothing lurches out of the darkness at him.  Most of the bats scramble out of the way as he sets more hardware into the stonework, though one of them is watching him curiously.  The bats make almost no noise, apart from faint chirping sounds.  The tunnel is dry and dark, without the luminescent lichen.  It was going to be a pain to lift the sled, which had about two hundred pounds of gear now tied to it, and Bruno besides.  Forty feet up was a long way to haul something heavy, and only Jack and Fritz would have enough strength to really help; Thorne and Ben were both poor climbers.  Spider begins to run the rope through the pitons and secure them.  (OOC: Spider, please make Climbing Roll, d100)

Jack asks about the weapon, which looked like a cannon of some sort.  Fritz and Thorne have been trying to move it.  "It's too heavy," Thorne complained.  "No wheels.  No skids."
"I think this is the control panel," Fritz said, looking at a part of the thing that seemed to open like a cabinet.  "Not sure how we can drag it upward."
"It uses magnetic....force.  It is anchored to the floor." Vince the Shoggoth said, still unloading crystals while Ben used some rope to tie the reader machine down.
"Can it be moved as far as there ?"  Ben asked the Shoggoth, pointing to the middle of the menhirs.
"Yes, if I can unlock it." the Shoggoth replied, glancing that way as It continued to pull crystals from the machines. "I have never done that task before, but I can read the writing of the Elders."
Jack, noting the extra interest Bruno was giving the water, saw something dark shifting the ice in the water as another wash of bitterly cold water came into the cavern.  Bruno's growl rumbled deeper and the Hellhound's hackles were bristling.  (Jack, please make Spot Hidden roll, d100).

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday, 28 January, next post Sunday.
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Spider continues with his preparations, making sure he can add his strength to lifting the heavier items and team members.

(rolled a 58)
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:41, Sat 28 Jan 2023.

Jack does as Ben asks with the temporal gizmo. When Vince mentions the gate, Jack pokes around the central area quizzically. But he was keeping an eye on the ice-clogged pool, and something caught his eye as it moved [Spot Roll: 11, you should have received it by email].
     "Heads up, fellows!" he yells so everyone can hear him. "There's something moving under the water out there!"
     He instinctively starts backing towards Ben, whose safety is his priority, while continuing to watch the water. He draws the wand of his own volition, before it can leap into his hand unbidden, and prepares to put a protective barrier between his comrades and anything that emerges from the frigid water.

Expedition Stage 4: Getting out with the Loot pt 1

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Jack's shouted warning alerted everyone to the motion in the water; he backed up to stand near Ben, as both Thorne and Fritz drew weapons and trained them on the area.  The batlike things flapped about, blocking Spider's view, but other than being annoying, they seemed harmless.  Only Vince the Shoggoth seemed disinterested in the potential problem, as It continued to pull discs from their storage slots, swiftly tossing them into the bag.

Spider worked on securing the ropes, though he had to shove bat creatures out of his way more than once.  Finally, he was sure that the pitons would hold, the pulleys were secure,  and they could begin lifting.  It would not be easy, but he'd had plenty of practice.

Jack's wand gleamed in his hand, feeling warm, the tip glowing a bright white.  Ben tried to take back the device and key in the information as another wave of frigid water swept into the room, this time nearly to the middle of the cavern.  This time, a roil of black tentacles swept in with it, whipping in the water, reaching out towards Jack and Ben.   Gunfire echoed around the cavern as Fritz fired his rifle and Thorne fired a shotgun.  Bruno, barking ferociously, lunged forward at the closest tentacle, jaws agape.  It flowed into a oval shape and batted the big hellhound aside as if it was a kitten.   Bruno hit the cavern wall with a yelp and slid to the floor.

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next minute of game time, please respond by Saturday, 4 February, next post Sunday.
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[sorry so late]
Jack throws up a Deflect Harm around Ben and himself and anyone else he can fit in it, while calling for aid:
“Great Athena, your servants humbly beg assistance against this unholy foulness that is rising from the depths where it belongs. We ask in the name of all humankind as we work to protect them from these servants of chaos.”
Aside,  he says to Ben, “Can we use the central gate somehow, if there’s no other way?”

Expedition Stage 4: Getting out with the Loot pt 2

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Jack casts Deflect Harm, invoking Athena, and notices that Ben is obsessively trying to make the future gadget work.   "I have almost no mana left," Ben said, finally shoving the gadget inside his coat.  "I couldn't cast a Gate Spell, I was hoping to lock this location so that Trevor's project might be able to - Hellfire, that's a Shoggoth !"  A huge black pseudopod splattered hard against Jack's spell and bounced off.

"Get Bruno !"  Thorne yelled to Fritz, and pulled a grenade from his coat.   Fritz did not hesitate, slinging his rifle and running towards the downed Hellhound, while Thorne moved into position to throw the grenade at the threat.

Vince the Shoggoth looked up, took in the situation, then closed the bag of discs, tossing it onto the sled.  A few more of the discs fell out of the casing It dropped as It turned to face the threat of another large Shoggoth.

The grenade went off as Fritz dragged Bruno away from the water, showering everything with ice, bitterly cold salt water, and fragments of Shoggoth.   The sound echoed, ringing in their ears, and the waters stopped churning so much.  Vince the Shoggoth stomped over to one of the menhirs and grasped it, plucking it easily from the stone floor.  It hurled the menhir in the direction of the gap in the cavern floor.  The impact shook the cavern floor and splashed more water and ice around.
"Tekeli," Vince said, making it sound like an insult.

The thrown menhir rocked, as the shoggoth on the other side tried to move it, wrapping thinner pseudopods around it to try to get more leverage.  "Go, now !"  Vince the Shoggoth said, pointing towards Spider.   "It is not intelligent, it is made to eat you !"

The ropes were hanging from the tunnel mouth, with Spider in position to brace for the weight being lifted, despite having a few weird bats flapping around.

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GM:  Please respond with actions, etc, for the next minute of game time, by Saturday, 11 February, next post is Sunday.
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Spider first suggests that a blast of the flamethrower might clear the bat-things out (can't recall if Spider has it or someone else), then prepares to help hoist everyone and everything up and into the tunnel.

If he can do it while maintaining the Deflect Harm spell, Jack will grab the disks Vince dropped and put them in a pocket.
In any case, he will stick with Ben, moving toward their escape route, bringing others inside the spell as they come in range. He is unfazed by Vince’s display of strength — “Good job, throw another one on top!” he encourages.
[Keeper: FYI, I did not see an email if you sent one. I was a bit concerned eventually, so I came to RPOL and found your post as usual.]

Expedition Stage 4: Getting out with the Loot pt 3

Spider couldn't flame the batlike things and manage the ropes at the same time, and had to settle with swatting at the annoying creatures.  One dove into his coat collar and hid, while the others fluttered away, as he readied the biner and ratchet.  Down on the cavern floor, all kinds of chaos was happening.  He gave the signal, "Ready to haul !"

Jack scooped up dropped discs and shoved them in his coat pockets as Ben hurried for the sled and tried to hook up the ropes to it.  Fritz was faster, though Bruno wasn't helping any.  Thorne went to help Ben with the sled as Jack maintained their defenses, while Vince the Shoggoth shuffled to another menhir and threw that on top of the first.

"Okay, Spider, haul away !"  Thorne yelled to Spider, hauling on the ropes to pull the sled closer to the exit.  Fritz was making some kind of lifting sling for Bruno out of canvas and rope - the Hellhound was feebly moving.  Spider hauled on the ropes, the pulleys singing, and the sled tipped upwards.  "Hold !" Thorne yelled, and steadied it, testing if the knots were truly secure.  "Haul away !"  (and the GM rolls 9% for Spider's success).  The sled steadily rises, its progress at a good pace thanks to Spider's skill with climbing.

At the far end of the cavern, the toppled menhirs were shaking as the shoggoth tried to get past the blockage - then it began extending tendrils of pseudopods forward, which puddled onto the cold wet floor, apparently trying to bypass the obstacles by using its natural abilities to change its form.   A couple of thin tentacles got too close to Jack's Deflect Harm spell and drew back as if singed - the wand was glowing with strong white light.

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GM:  Apologies about not copying the email to both of you, it was just an oversight on my part.  Please respond with actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, by Saturday, 18 February, next post Sunday.

During the brief hold while Thorne adjusted the ropes, Spider tried to shoo the creature out of his coat, then once more turned his attention to their sled and its ascent.  He had to make sure he was also ready for Bruno, then the others.

Jack moves close to Ben. He continues maintaining the defensive spell around everyone and monitoring the shoggoth’s attempts to get through the piled menhirs. He also glances at the other entrances to the cave in case anyone else is coming to join the party.

Expedition Stage  4: Getting out with the Loot pt 4

Spider, in the tunnel above, took a moment to pull the four-winged bat creature out of his fur hood.  It whined piteously and clung to the wall he threw it at, blinking its red eyespots at him, but didn't try to go back to him.  The sled came up smoothly and surely, and he braced it inside the tunnel with a couple of spikes, then made ready to haul Bruno up, as Fritz and Thorne hurriedly tied the ropes below.   His gift, the flamethrower, was now on top of the sled.

Jack, down on the cavern floor, maintains his spell as the enemy Shoggoth continued to spool itself into the cavern; Vince the Shoggoth picked up one of the empty disc racks and went to smash it onto a portion of the shoggoth, violently chopping at it, sending big chunks flying off into the depths of the cavern.  Ben seemed to have come to his senses and went back towards Fritz and Thorne, Jack moving with him.   "We need to go - Fritz, do you have any grenades left ?"
"Haul away !"  Thorne yelled to Spider, raising the groggy Hellhound's harness. "Good boy, Bruno, lay down !"
"Incendiary; it will burn underwater." Fritz showed Ben a can-shaped grenade from his jacket.
"Keep it ready !"  Ben said.   Jack's vision blurred slightly and he noticed a tremble in his hand, the wand quivering.

Meanwhile, Spider began hauling up the Hellhound and found out that the creature was much heavier than he looked.  At this rate, knowing that both Thorne and Ben were lousy at climbing and would need help, Spider was running a risk of fatigue.

Just as this was happening, a dozen thin tentacles whipped out of the icy water and latched onto Vince the Shoggoth, hauling the creature towards the hole in the cavern floor.....

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next minute of game time, please respond by Saturday 25 February, next post Sunday.

Spider grimaced and muttered a few choice curse words.  He grabbed his flamethrower and sent a burst down towards where the shoggoth tentacles came out from under the stones, hoping to force the creature back, and to release their 'friendly' monster.

(Ugh, sorry so late.)
Jack focuses on calming his mind and maintaining the protective field around his group, prioritizing the humans. (He knows the hellhound can weather a lot, and imagines the shoggoth will be able to shapeshift out of the enemy creature’s clutches. Besides, we’ve apparently met his future self, so he must survive this, right? Best not to think too hard — focus on acting as a conduit for the divine power of Athena…)

Expedition Stage 4: Getting out with the loot pt 5

Spider clicked the ratchet closed, suspending Bruno in the air in his sling, and took up the fancy flamethrower.  It had a setting for distance, and he turned it on full blast.  The flame washed over the menhirs and the pseudopods pulling on Vince burst apart and recoiled.  Vince the Shoggoth likewise jumped back, and raised its arms, uttering sounds that resembled horrible radio static and animal shrieks; the air seemed to suddenly fill with ozone and the other shoggoth shrivelled and slunk back into the watery depths.  "Tekeli-li," Vince said, making it sound like a curse.   It apparently cast the same spell it had once used on Ben.

Jack struggled to concentrate, aware that he was losing strength and focus.  He tried to think about his patron goddess, and only vaguely registered that someone was trying to pull him by his coat backwards.  It was Ben.   "We need to go now."  It was then that Jack noticed that the water had spread farther into the cavern and was now lapping at his boots.  Jack let the spell go and nearly fell backwards onto Ben, who steadied him.

"Spider, haul away !  Hurry it up !"  Thorne bellowed.  "Bruno, lay down, good boy !"
"I will go last.  Make sure they get out," Ben said to Jack, who felt bone-tired.
Fritz was rigging harness for Thorne, who was leaning on a menhir, looking weary.  There was a tremble in the floor, with a deep thunderous cracking sound, more felt than heard.

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GM:  Actions for the next minute of game time, please respond by Saturday 4 March, next post Sunday.
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Jack moves toward the lifeline upward, keeping his eyes on the cavern as he waits his turn. He silently prays to Athena for strength and tries to mentally prepare himself for a last-ditch effort to use the wand, should it be necessary to protect Ben while he makes his escape after the rest of them.

Spider slung the valuable flamethrower over his shoulder to free his hands and began hauling for all his worth.  Depending on his progress, he was willing to throw his weight on the lines as a counterweight to help Bruno and the others ascend, fully confident in his own inherent climbing skills to ascend after everyone else, even if the cavern were collapsing.