What you smell is brackish swamp water, which isn't too surprising.

What you hear is occasional Children speech, from the other side of the wall, around the doorway you found.  Unfortunately for whatever you have in mind at the moment, they've constructed it very well, such that you cannot find anywhere to be able to see through the wall.

Is there anything we could use to try to pry it open?

You could scrounge around for a good rock, or risk one of your blades on it, or maybe even break off a piece of the seashell stuff...

I'll let you declare what you use as your tool, then choose one of your virtues and roll against difficulty 4.

I’ll try breaking off a piece of the seashell stuff.


22:20, Today: Geezer Ridire rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice ((1, 1, 1, -1)). This should modify to a 3.

This message was last edited by the player at 02:20, Wed 17 July 2024.

which stat are you using?

Prowess.

Okay, I'll give you a choice - either it doesn't work and you have to come up with a new plan, or it does work but with some unintended consequences that you're not going to like.  What'll it be?

I vote for the unintended consequences.

You break off a piece of the seashell lattice and get to work using it to wedge open the gate of the fortress.  Both of you focus closely on the task.  In the backs of your minds you half-notice that the speech from the other side seems to have stopped, but it doesn't really register while you are working.  Eventually you succeed in creating enough of a gap that you can then get your hands in there to continue the task, and from there it's only another minute or so of effort until you are able to fit through yourselves.

And the main thing that occupies your attention now is the dozen Children with spears at the ready, forming a wide semicircle around the spot where you just broke into their fortress.

"Ah, there you are!" I say while grinning big.

I stay quiet for now, attempting to look friendly and easy going til I figure out WTF Geezer is up to.

No one says anything in response.  Instead, the Children slowly (gingerly?) close in on you and gesture with their spears for you to walk into the fort with them, at their pace.

I march cheerfully along with them as though this was what I’d intended all along.

The soldiers lead you into the central keep.  From outside it looks like a hastily assembled wooden tower, but inside you see that it is carefully divided into neat chambers.  Little light leaks in from outside; most of the illumination, such as it is, comes from stripes of blue and yellow luminescent lichen.

You are led into one of the chambers, where the soldiers escorting you prod you up to the wall.  A moment later one more enters the room.  Its skin is the darkest shade of blue you have seen yet, and as soon as it arrives, all of the other soldiers rapidly turn a pale blue-white.

Geezer stifles a laugh as he checks out the skin tone on the latest freak to drop in.  If he were any bluer he’d get sued for ripping off Robert Johnson.

While he makes it a point not to laugh, he tries desperately to come up with a plan… even a bad one.

You're still at the mental crossroads when the dark blue one begins speaking in a croaking tenor.  In your language.

"Make this easy, save yourselves some pain.  Why are you here?"

“To make you the offer of a lifetime.  Are you interested?”

Again, I let Geez take the lead. I try to look unthreatening and keep eyes and ears peeled.

There is a quick flash of red in the color-changing scales, starting at the speaker's neck and then flowing in a ring down the length of its body.  It replies in a snippy tone "What do you think you have to offer?

“What if I told you there was a device you could purchase that would suck of the filth right out of any covering, no matter how sullied?  How much would you expect to pay for such a miracle?”

For now I stay quiet and try not to lapse into my game show hostess impression.

It walks up close to you, close enough that it's suddenly all you can do to breathe through the briny odor you hadn't really even noticed until now.  It says "I would say you are wasting my time."  And then it puts a hand on your chest and hits you with an electric pulse that stops your breathing altogether for just a moment.

Geezer, take 1 stress

As soon as I recover, I gaze upon him with infinite pity.  The poor fool!  Does he have any notion of the unique opportunity he is passing up?  Better were it for him to lose his soul than pass on this marvelous contraption!

When it is clear that the shock has had an insufficient effect on Geezer, the Children leader raises its hand toward Rosie and says "And what about you?  Are you just as uncooperative as your friend, or do you want to live to see the sun again?"

“I’m not uncooperative - and neither is my friend here. We would both just hate to see you lose such a wonderful opportunity here. Why this kind of thing could even earn you a promotion!”

I put on my best super salesman smile whilst looking around, letting them see my obvious concern for our safety.