Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 1

-----Spider-----

"You're welcome Dad.  This is the first time I've been here, the paradox guidelines for this event are pretty dodgy." Dave said, tapping his wristwatch a few times; it too was a black rectangle shape with a glasslike facing.  "Everyone is back that way.  We seem to have destabilised the city structure.  You'll need to hurry to get to the main floor.  Three levels below here is an operations area for the Elder Things and it has some items you will need in 1937.  I sent a map to your plex with pictures.  You may want to draw the original today." There was a beeping noise from his watch.  "Instability spike....  Oi, Dad -"  his son tossed the flamethrower to him, and disappeared in a blur of shadow.  There was noise back towards the entrance, voices and footsteps, then a glowing light.  Bruno's ugly bulk loomed out of the shadows, definitely the worse for wear, near a slim person in clothes like Dave's.   They were standing by the corridor that Ben, Jack and Thorne had been trapped in.

---Nolan------

Nolan mentioned secondary falls just before a chunk of stone the size of a suitcase came out of the ceiling and smashed on the stone floor about twenty feet from them.
"Damnation," Ruby Rae muttered, stowing the black device into her coat pocket.  She didn't hesitate beyond putting up a cloth gaiter over her mouth and nose, and ran into the tunnel back towards the explosion site.   Fritz likewise hurried onward, with the masked 'TJ' and the German in furs.  There were definite cracks in the stonework and the stone floor was broken in places.

---Jack, Nolan, Spider ------

The stone wall had cracked in precisely the same pattern as the cord, and tumbled loose onto the floor.  The dust was settling, a white glow shining about three feet off the ground, with shadowy shapes around it.  There was a deep grinding sound of stone on stone, and dot-marked panel fell off of the wall, shattering on the floor.  There were footsteps from another section of the corridors.  Somewhere in the trap room there were coughing sounds and the whining of a very large beast.  Fritz stepped into the room, shining a tiny but powerful flashlight.  "TRIP !" he yelled.
"Hellfire," Thorne coughed.
"TJ -" Ruby Rae all but shoved the masked time agent into the room, then called, "Here, Bruno, good boy !"  Shaking off rubble and dust, the battered hellhound limped towards her, with a slight wag of his scaly tail.  The dust was clearing, revealing Ben and Jack prone, by the smallest sled, Thorne on the floor with TJ opening up his gear bag to reveal what was no doubt medical equipment, and Fritz, who was glaring at Thorne.   The stone ceiling above them all made a deep grinding sound and seemed to settle again with a fresh spray of stone dust.

Jack suddenly felt a lot better, the load lifting from him as fresh but dusty air rushed into the room, though the echoes of sound of the explosion were still ringing in his ears.  The blast had knocked him back towards the ground, but whatever barriers had been made, they had protected the agents against the worst of the blast.  Ben's badge on the floor stopped glowing and fell over, tarnished and scratched, but Ben was sitting up.   "Yes, the cavalry," he agreed.  A masked man had come into the room with Fritz and had some kind of medical gear, and a woman's voice had called to Bruno, and the hellhound had responded, leaving the room.
"Fritzi, I apologise," said Thorne, as the masked man sorted through his bag and came up with something that looked like an injector, and set up a lantern with strong white light.  Jack was suddenly aware that he was covered in splashes of black ichor and stone dust, and had several stinging reminders of stone shards, but nothing seemed serious.  Ben looked in similar shape.  Thorne looked worst of all, having been covered with Bruno's blood and slobber as well as tar and stone dust.

"We will discuss it later," Fritz said, with cold venom in his tone.
"Who the hell are you, and what do you think you're doing with that thing ?"  Thorne queried the masked man, batting away the injector.
"Eh, Sir, stop moving, please," the mysterious TJ said, trying to level the injector with Thorne's neck. "I'm a field medic.  I'm here to help."
Thorne's response was to fake a punch at the man and then wrench off his mask with the other hand, sending the field medic sprawling.  Even in the swirling dust, with harsh green of the glowsticks tinging the light in the room, it was notable.  The field medic was a dead ringer for Thorne, just about thirty years old.
"Touch him again and I'll shoot you myself," Fritz said, having drawn and aimed his Luger at Thorne with uncanny swiftness.
"Papa, it's okay, he'd figure it out," TJ said, rolling to his knees and rescuing the injector from the floor and facing off with Thorne.   He had the same accent as Thorne, too.  "I'm trying to give you a chemotherapy cocktail.  It won't cure you.  It will just help you live longer.  Then I'm giving all of you some stimulants and performance enhancers.  We can't stay long.  Just wanted to meet you."
"Opa," the woman's voice called, "I'm keylocking soon.  Dave's gone."
"Say hello to your grandfather, Ruby Rae," Fritz said, slightly lowering the Luger.
"Oh, my," Thorne said, looking more surprised than he'd ever been, looking at TJ, who took the opportunity to slam the injector into Thorne's neck and fire it.



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GM:  Everyone is together now in the same area.  Actions, please, for the next few minutes of game time.  Please respond by Saturday 22 October, next post Sunday.
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Nolan studied the underground chamber they were in, looking in particular at the available exits and the state of the roof, trying to work out if any of it was going to further collapse, either trapping them here or crushing them to death. "Are we safe here?" he asked aloud as he looked at the crack in the stone wall. "Or do we need to get moving? And where do we go next? I was promised an underground city for a start."

He held his Thompson ready but pointed at the floor. The last thing they needed in here now was gunfire. Actually that wasn't true. The last thing that they needed was more explosives!

“We thank you, Great Athena,” Jack says in relief. As he pulls himself together, he clumsily retrieves a handkerchief from his inside pocket and offers it to Ben.
     “Are you all right? Here, wipe off some of that dust and.. that other stuff. Let’s make sure the flying bits of wall didn’t cut us up too badly.”
     Jack eventually gets to his feet and wipes feebly at the dust and goo splattered on himself, hoping the feeling is returning to his hands. Having met his own future self, he is rather blasé about the transtemporal family reunion going on. He continues to stand near Ben, making the Director’s well-being his priority.
     “Let’s get going as quick as we can,” he says to everyone in general. “The sooner we get what we came for, the sooner we can leave this place.”

Spider grabbed the flamethrower and donned it, adjusting the straps as best he could.  Dave was a little taller than Spider, but he had the same disproportionately long arms and legs.  He made sure he recalled the instructions to fire the thing and moved towards the others.  He just heard the tail end of some remarks indicating that his progeny was not the only one among their rescuers.  "It's a pleasure to meet you all, for at least my first time.  But I know you might, er, vanish at any moment.  So we need to move fast.  My boy says we need to go down 3 levels, to the Elder Things Ops Center, and grab some items we will need in 1937.  Let's go now.  The longer we're here the less I like it.  And that's saying something!"  As they began to move out he wondered how he would reconcile all he had learned about himself, his future and that of his children, with his promises to Cressida to keep them, and himself, safe.

Expedition Stage 4: the Secrets of the Elder Things

"Safe is relative," Fritz said to Nolan. "We will go soon, and we will be heading downwards."
He was all business now, the icy tone gone, the handgun put away.   Ben accepted the handkerchief and made a token attempt to clear the gunk from his face; he looked tired.  Jack was relieved to find that the wand still had a faint glow, but had not drained him of all his mana.  It seemed his worship of Athena had been noted.

The odd family reunion was a strange counterpoint to what had already been a weird day.  After Thorne was finished swearing, he accepted a hand up to stand from TJ.  Ruby Rae slipped into the room, satchel over her shoulder; she swung it down and set it on the floor by Thorne's feet.  "Um.  Grandfather ?" she said, taking down the gaiter to look at Thorne.  Fritz took the explosives satchel and went to get the small sled.

TJ moved on to help Ben and Jack stand up, and handed over two packages of some kind of medication to Jack.  The similarity to Thorne was uncanny, but his manner was professional and calm, unlike the polished mannerisms of Thorne.
"Red ones for Stimulant, good for four hours; Blue for Performance, metabolic stabliser, good for four hours.  Do not use more than four each per day.  Apply the patch to your neck.  Side effects include dizziness, tremor, nausea.  Director Weintraub, Director Sterling, pleasure to meet you in person."  TJ also threw a white box with a red cross onto the sled as Fritz dragged it outside the corridor.  Something beeped, and TJ looked at his wrist.  "Keylocking out."
"Take this," Fritz passed him an ancient-looking leatherbound notebook, as TJ faded into a wash of dark shadow.  Thorne suddenly recalled his manners and bowed to Ruby Rae.
"Ruby was my grandmother's name," he said to the young woman.
"I know," she said.  Despite the dirt, blood, slime and dust covering Thorne, she hugged him, then disappeared as her watch beeped.

"That was our only assistance on this expedition," Fritz said, checking his own watch.  "Lucius and Phyllis will remain for as long as they can but they will not enter the city.  That's their best chance to avoid timeline instability."
"And that's all you want to say ?"  Thorne had to ask.
"We will discuss it LATER, Thomas.  Bruno, where are you ?  Ah, what the hell did you do to Brunnzie ?"  Fritz fussed over the giant spiky scaly beast, who amiably slobbered and wagged his tail.  "Very well, I will pull the sled.   I also want to go, now.  Spider, David was to give you the map."

Without delay, with Spider leading, the agents headed towards the less ornate downward corridor.  Fritz followed next with the sled and the explosives, with Bruno limping beside him, and then Thorne, Jack and Ben brought up the rear.  They moved carefully past the charred husks of the Things that had chased after Spider; the rest of the corridor was empty.
"Where's my Ginny ?" Thorne wanted to know.
"She was sent to deal with a Navy spy plane," Fritz said.
"And why was my granddaughter here ?  This is no place for a woman !"
"She won the competition.  LATER, Thomas.  For now, be content."
"But -"
"Enough, Thorne," Ben said.  "Listen."
The corridor sloped gently downwards.  The grinding sound of stones cracking had abated, but there was another sound; running water, or some kind of liquid.  Above them, patchy pieces of the glowing lichen provided some light, though not enough to see further along the hallway.  There was another sound, too; something moving stealthily, out of range of their sight.

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday, 29 October, next post Sunday
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Spider signaled a halt by holding up a hand, then muttered softly, "Let's shine a bit of light on things," and sent a stream of flame forward...

Using a flamethrower to provide light was a little unorthodox but it seemed to do the job, although briefly. Nolan scanned around, looking for whatever they had heard moving stealthy off in the distance, his Thomspon held ready to engage any threats that he spotted.

(OC: Sorry I’m so late. Recovering from a Halloween party last night.)
Jack sticks close to Ben, and keeps a wary eye on the walls, floor, and ceiling, looking for more traps or other unusual features. He keeps the wand in his left hand, and keeps his right near a holstered flare gun. He draws the flare pistol when they hear stealthy movement, but he does ask, “Could that be the one we freed?”

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 2

Spider happily deployed the flamethrower, sending something pony sized with way too many legs skittering backwards with an eldritch screech.  Bruno, heeling alongside Fritz, added a few guttural barks.  Nolan, observing this from the back, jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder.  It was a fur-dressed, dark-skinned woman with golden eyes, the one who had shapeshifted into a falcon.  "Pardon me," she said. "I want a word with someone."
"Oh, hell," Thorne muttered, spotting her as he looked back.
"Shush," Ben said.  He backed off as the woman pushed her way past Nolan, and let her pass him by, which put Ben next to Nolan and Jack.   She went to Thorne and began whispering in his ear, by physically grabbing his ear and dragging him down to her level.  Jack asked about the Shoggoth, noticing that the lichen in this part of the corridor seemed to be in better shape, giving off a faint glow, and the floor was very clean, apart from recent dashes of stone dust or small bits of stone from cracks in the ceiling and walls.
"I was wondering about It," Ben said quietly to Jack.  "But I'm not sure where It went."

"Nolan, I must apologise again," Ben said to Nolan, softly.  "We didn't know if you would recover, and it was too risky to drag you along with us on a sled.  So we left you with supplies and a dog.  I'm glad to see you back."

"OK, we go - carefully," Fritz suggested to Spider.  He clipped a flashlight to his weapon, some kind of Thompson - the light had to be from the future, as the beam was as strong as a lighthouse.  This tunnel was far less ornate, and the murals continued on a 'serve your masters' theme.   Quite a few of them had been defaced.   Cracks showed in the walls, also, with some small trickles of dust now and then, but the main shifting of the edifice seemed to have stopped.  Nothing more got near the strong beam of the light.  The downslope seemed more steep now, also.  After a few careful moments, they came to a junction point with three more corridors.  Two of them seemed level, and one sloped downwards.  Of the three, the leftmost one showed the most disturbing signs of damage, the middle and right one much less so.   It was the metallic panel inset in the downward sloping middle tunnel that was something to look at, though.  Thoroughly inscribed with the dots of the Elder Things language, it was clearly some kind of message or warning, and had some indentations in it that might be buttons.  The metal was a strange dark blue, with no sign of corrosion or patina, and had one raised area on the bottom left corner of the plate; it was about two feet wide and two and a half feet tall, and set about five feet up in the corridor.  (see uploaded pic, under Game Map, drop down box Select another map to view, click View button to see the panel)
"I'll take a picture of it -" Thorne said, looking happy to step away from the still-irate djinni.
"You wrote it in your journal," said Fritz quietly.
"Did I say what we did with it ?"
"No, you didn't.  We should all take a quick rest, anyway, while you write all that down," Fritz said, in a low voice.  "Food, water, and rest."
"He's right," Ben said quietly.  "We'll rest."  At his nod, Thorne got out his leather notebook, the much-newer twin to the one Fritz had been carrying, and began sketching out the panel.
Nothing seemed to be stirring, though the air seemed fresh and chilly.  A slight breeze rose from the lower level, then abated.
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GM: Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday, 5 November, next post Sunday.
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Jack is glad of the chance to rest. He examines the red and blue medicine patches given to him by TJ curiously, noting the futuristic packaging as much as the meds themselves. He carefully applies one of each, on either side of his neck, and sits down on a clean section of floor where he can lean against a wall for a bit and watch the tunnel they just came down.
     After a while (assuming no adverse effects from the meds) his curiosity gets the best of him and he walks over to the unusual panel and examines it for a while, then speaks to the group in general. "Controls or communications of some kind, perhaps? Or maybe a recording? This rectangle in the corner looks to me like a power switch. I am inclined to press it and see what happens. Any thoughts?"

Expedition Stage 4: Secrets of the Elder Ones pt 4

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Jack settled down to rest, and looked at the patches as the rest of the group drink from canteens and munch on rations. They were some sort of flexible tin foil, the writing on them in three different languages; English, Chinese, and some kind of glyphs.  As far as he could determine, the Stimulant and Performance patches were military issue, with an expiration date of June, 2087, and they were to be distributed by licensed medical personnel only.  He tries one of each, while Ben tries to speak to Nolan, as Fritz checks over Bruno, putting some kind of ointment on the beast's injuries, Thorne scribbles down the panel information, and Spider looks at the signage.  With a tired sigh, Bruno settles down on the sled and falls asleep.   Ginny sits down on the sled next to Bruno and watches Thorne draw in his notebook.  There is still a faint sound of water trickling, somewhere farther down the tunnel.  Fritz checks his ammo.

Jack, however, suddenly feels just fine, full of energy.  His heightened awareness also gains him the initiative; he has the feeling they're being watched, and turns his head quickly to see a small eyespot on a pseudopod extrusion hiding in a crack in the wall.

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GM: Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday 5 November, next post Sunday.
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Spider stares at the panel for a minute or so, then shakes his head.  "You know, with that star in the upper right, I had a thought that this is some bizarre form of a map.  The star has five points, so it might represent that big 5 junction spot.  And if you know how to read it, the assorted lines and dots might give us directions.  But if so, I can't figure it out.  I only know we need to go down another level, from what a future version of my son told me.  So I guess we head down."

OOC:  If Jack points out the eyeball, Spider will bring up the flaming end of the flamethrower and move it closer to the eyeball...
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 23:04, Fri 11 Nov 2022.

Jack readies the wand and speaks directly to the eyestalk, making sure Spider and the rest of the crew can hear him: "Come out and join us. We can help each other further. If you don't, we will assume you're hostile."

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 5

Jack and Spider square off at the eyespot; Jack challenges it.  It blinks once, then slowly flows out of the crack, and begins constructing a human shape from the boots up.  "You are very dangerous creatures," the Shoggoth declared, once it had reformed as the Scot. Bruno had retreated behind Fritz, but the hellhound's bulk was not easy to conceal.  "I won't eat that thing," the Shoggoth said.  "It can stop worrying.  I ate so many proto-forms I want to sleep for a year."

"It's part of the contract that you don't eat 'that thing'." Thorne pointed out.  "Now, didn't we discuss with you about providing knowledge of the city ?  Such as, read this sign out loud to us in English."

The Shoggoth turned awkwardly and looked at the plate on the wall.
"This commemorates the glory of the Elder Things, building this city in the epoch of - I have no way of translating the time period, it was when the land mass was all one big piece - when this planet was seeded with the creatures who would serve the Elders.  There are four levels dedicated to their purpose.  There is a list of Elder names that do not translate into anything close to your language, who were the overlords of this place.  The last part is a warning that the planet is becoming inhospitable due to an asteroid collision and this base will remain closed until it is required - and that it has been given- what is the word...snares ?"

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GM:  Actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, please respond by Saturday 19 November, next post Sunday.
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Spider frowns.  "So does it say what needs to happen for the base to be re-opened?"  He pauses, then says, "I guess it doesn't matter much.  We still need to find the stuff we came for, and get out of here.  There's still much danger from the tarps and shoggoths, not to mention the giant blind penguins and the cold.  Let's go!"

Jack nods at the Scotsman (Shogsman?) when it reappears, and says simply, “Good.”
     He listens carefully as their (possible) ally answers Spider’s question and deciphers the plaque for them.
     “I guess I would have looked foolish trying to activate it, then. Anyway, Spider is right. We need to keep moving to our goal.”
     To the Scotsman, he adds, “Snares, yes. Like the moving walls. ‘Traps’ is what we call them generally. Please advise us if we approach any more of them that you are aware of. Also, how would you prefer to be addressed?”

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things

The Shoggoth attempted a shrug, failing to approximate a human gesture in a way that was completely unnerving to watch, the ersatz shoulders reaching high above the 'head'.

"I have not thought of a mode of address," the Shoggoth said. "This form was called "Vince'.   It was with a herd of creatures like you, including the smaller creatures with fur.  It followed a creature named 'Scott'.  Twenty-three revolutions of the star have occurred since then."

"The Discovery Expedition ?"  Ben asked. "Robert Falcon Scott ?"

"Yes, that was what it knew."  The Shoggoth ambled down the corridor, then abruptly dropped out of sight.  About thirty feet away, a hole was in the corridor flooring, with some dot writing on the walls next to it; the hole stretched from one wall to the next.  From the darkness below, the Shoggoth's voice drifted up.  "This might be a trap, I think."

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GM:  Please respond with actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, by Saturday, 26 November, next post Sunday.
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Spider exhaled almost with relief, that at last here was something where he could contribute.  He quickly readied his harness and climbing gear and had the others belay his rope.  "I'll give this a quick look-over.  Maybe it will get us down where we're headed quicker."  With his helmet lantern on he began to descend the wall of the pit.

Wand at the ready, Jack moves cautiously to the edge and peers down to see what is below. If Spider's plan seems feasible, he will help belay him, while making sure Ginny and Thorne keep a sharp lookout both ways.

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things

Spider happily got his climbing gear ready and took a look at the hole.  It was dark down there, at least thirty feet down, with a section that looked like it had broken away recently - but had been engineered to do so.   The edges of the floor were defined and the stone dust was fresh.  A murky ooze of darkness reacted to his helmet light, edging out of the way.  With Fritz and Ben being the anchor, Spider belayed down to the next level.  Tunnel stretched to the left and right, and the Shoggoth amused itself by reforming into the Scot.  It threw aside some long metal tines with a clatter, pulling them from its body with a distinctly unnerving squelch.  "They were supposed to harm me, but they didn't work," It said.  "At one time, they may have held a...power...if that is the correct word.  I was wondering how you creatures moved around.  Most interesting."  The Shoggoth looked up at Jack and flopped one arm around in what was supposed to be a wave.

A quick look-round showed that the tunnel did indeed lead onward, into the deeper levels.  The walls were plainer stone, with only a few plates of dot-writing set in them.
"It is a service tunnel for the slaves," the Shoggoth said.  "At one time, I was down here, but in the early days, before I became Me.  Not all of the city was built then.  This passage leads to the deeper chambers, if you go this way.  The other way, I don't know, it says 'Temple'."  It pointed in the two directions, carefully working out how elbows were deployed.

The sound of dripping water was louder here, too, and Spider noticed a thin trickle of liquid along one of the walls.  Then there was a shuffling sound, in the direction of the 'Temple', as if something alive was moving in the tunnel.

Above, an icy gust of wind was riffling down the corridor, bringing with it an acidic stench.  Ginny backed up next to Thorne, who drew the Le Mat.  Bruno growled, a deep rumble of menace and raised spiky hackles.
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GM:  Please respond with actions, etc, for the next few minutes of game time, by Saturday 3 December, next post Sunday
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Jack tries hard to focus on the benefits of their new ally's form, such as withstanding traps and bypassing crevices, and suppresses thoughts of its unsettling anatomical oddities. He waves back half-heartedly.
     "Ah. Good work. That is indeed a trap, and it might have injured us.
     "We're here to retrieve the Builders' weapons and other useful equipment that we can carry away. Which direction will lead us to such things?"
     When something is heard moving in the "Temple" hallway, Jack will attempt to fire a pre-emptive flare into the mouth of that tunnel from his vantage point above, if he can do so without hitting Spider or "Vince." If the angle is too risky, he will instead ready the wand to place a protective shield around Spider. Not knowing how the magic might react with a shoggoth, he won't worry about shielding Vince, who can presumably look after himself.

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 8

The Shoggoth seems harmless enough, but understanding the motives of a creature that has admitted to being very old and a prisoner are less than easy.  As far as Jack could tell, the Shoggoth was happy to be in their company for now, perhaps just to see what the humans might do next.

"Materiel and equipment was stored in the deeper chambers," The Shoggoth replied to Jack's question.  It too reacted to the sound of something coming from the Temple side of the lower tunnel, producing extra 'arms' from its body and equipping them with long claws.  Jack could not see a clear shot that would not endanger Spider or their weird ally, and again finds the wand in his hand.  The Deflect Harm spell settles over Spider with surprising ease.

From the upper hallway, the horrific acrid smell increased, prompting Nolan and Ben to cough, Fritz to set up his rifle, and Thorne to laugh, as Bruno growled and moved in front of him, hackles raised.  There was a distant rattle of automatic gunfire from a large weapon, in several bursts.   It was as if the horrid stench of an Elder Thing went rancid and it was getting stronger.

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GM:  Please respond with actions, etc, for the next minute of game time, by Saturday, 10 December, next post Sunday.  Looks like we lost Nolan again, I've messaged him.

Expedition Stage 4: The Secrets of the Elder Things pt 8a

In the tunnel above
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The cold wind brought with it a horrific stench; Nolan gagged and dropped first, vomiting.  Thorne fired the Le Mat into the floating mass of rotten flesh, splattering the walls with it, and Bruno surged forward, jaws agape to attack.  Ben, to Jack's surprise, drew his .45 and aimed to fire at the thing, as Fritz took one look at it and raised his rifle.  It was an Elder Thing, but this one seemed already half-dead; one side of it was withered, rotting, and it moved clumsily.
Jack fired the flare gun with his off hand, the wand tight in his other hand.

In the tunnel below
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Spider hears the shuffling sound getting louder, just beyond the limit of his sight, and it seems large.  The Shoggoth crouches, apparently ready to attack.  Then the sound blasts them both, a high keening that rips along the nerves, producing instant headache.

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GM:  Penultimate post of the year, please respond by 17 December, Saturday, next post is 18 December, Sunday, then we will have our traditional two week holiday from Mythos.  Hope you are all well and just busy with the season.
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Spider grits his teeth and aims in the direction of the screech, hoping the massive report of the elephant rifle helps counter-balance the high-pitched whine that is causing him such agony.