The passage goes east-west. The west passage smells a bit musty.

Charlie looks down the dark and musty passage with his pistol raised.

"Is there anyone who hasn't been shot who want to take the lead?"

”No thank you!”

A voice echoes back.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 17:20, Wed 01 Feb 2023.

Charlie pauses and blinks blankly. He hadn't really been expecting an answer from in front of him. With his pistol still pointed down the hall, Charlie calls out to the unknown voice.

"Are you with the madman who shot us?"

”Madman? Oh certainty not! Are you referring to Captain Hellroff?”

Litton puts a hand on Charlie's shoulder, pulling him back a bit behind cover.

Charlie doesn't resist Litton and pulls back while asking the others in a hushed voice:

"Shit. Did we actually just kill a Captain?"

With a mild expression, Thomas called down the corridor, "Am I to take it that Captain Hellroff is a known madman?" It was very difficult to tell whether he was making a genuine inquiry or being ever-so-slightly sarcastic.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:14, Thu 02 Feb 2023.

”He did seem a bit…unbalanced. We offered to help him, but he refused. Such a pity.”

”Yes, such a pity, Brother. But a brain can’t be replaced, modified perhaps.”

Litton looks at his companions and says in a low voice,

"Two voices but it might as well be one. Do we want to try and negotiate with them to get down this passage? It won't do for us to go in guns blazing. We almost all got smoked just now."

"Yeah, I'm with you. Talking this one through is better than getting shot. Again."

Litton gestures to Thomas.


"Did you want the honors of responding?"

Thomas decided to take that matter into his own hands by calling out, "I don't suppose that you've noticed any exploration parties passing by recently, Captain Hellroff and his quirks notwithstanding?"

"There appears to have been some struggle back here recently."

"Yes, there's a lot of blood on the floor. Someone seems to have been dragging bodies and launching them down the pipes."

"Such a waste! We could have helped them!"

Litton speaks up,

"Could have? What do you mean?"

In reply to Litton Yarn (msg # 15):

"We are monks from the Temple of the Jade Bringers of Mercy!"

"Yes, we are highly skilled in the healing arts!"

"Uniquely so!"

"And what are you doing...down here? In the dark?"

”Oh! You can’t see in the dark! How inconvenient!”

”We heard gunshots! We wanted to see if anyone needed help!”

”It’s our duty to help!”

Charlie puts away his pistol and lets Litton take over the discussion with the monks.

”May we approach?”

”Our enlightened states may seem unusual to you, but we are peaceful by nature.”

Litton looks to the group with his one, good eye.

"Do we let them? I'm not sure what we should expect to see here. Perhaps we try to keep our eyes low and not directly on them, should we fall under some dark influence."

Charlie looks between the hall and the others in the group.

"I don't see why not. They couldn't be any worse than the madman with the bomb, could they?"