Unearthing Technologists - RPLOG
Participants
Date
5/7/477
Log
Awaiting a group to assist in the investigation, a red breasted robin taps a talon against the ground. He waits where the normal, easily marked path joins with the rough, unimporved, and relitively unexplored way that the team had taken. He wasn't looking very happy, looking down the way, which was quite step, narrow, and unwelcoming. Picking up a small stone, he tosses it down, causing a small slide of a few much bigger rocks.
Siyu phews a little as he manges the climb up. The rodent will shake his head and whipe his brow. A bit warm, but he's dressed in his leathers and mail, carrying a large pack with medical supplies, rope and what not. If they need Freesword help no sense in going out and about unprepared. The short rodent pauses to catch his breath at the summit and bows his head, "Greetings and salutations. You needed help?" he inquires.
Camille makes her way up the incline, looking to her steps an carefully attending to each detail she comes across, eyes going from spot to spot and looking at the different people as they pass. She comes up to the Robin and very quietly puts down her shield, point low and waiting, offering a polite nod of greeting and waiting while Siyu comes up, declaring "Greetings and salutations.." her eyes growing a bit warmer while one strong-furred paw reaches up to slip her hair back behind her ear with an attractive smile "Hello as well." she nods again, not much to say, and goes back to taking in more details.
The robin gives a slight bow, "Oh, thank you both from coming, yes, I'm with Skylark and Feench, and indeed we put out a call for help." She looks over the pair, giving a close look to Siyu, "I don't recognise that as a house or military crest. What exactly is that?" He asks, before looking back to the path, "Down that way, I'll follow as long as I can, but I'm not sure that I'd make it all the way down. I'd be careful either way. Payment will be complete when you have some evidence as to what happened, or recovered our team. Please, some of them were close friends of mine." He explains. The path looks treacherous to say the least!
Siyu hmms a bit and he looks down at his breast, "Oh, a new group, dedicated to healing and advancedment..." he taps the twin hands holding the sun, "Hands of Dawn, I'm here to help." he headbobs. Looking down the path though he coughs, "really? no idea what happened?" he asks and winces a bit, setting down his pack and pulling out a hank of rope and some iron pinions. He looks over to Cam, "I am Gang Xi Siyu by the way. Siyu is fine. Hi, you're a Freesword too?" he inquires as he gets out his climbing gear. Being cauations as he doesn't feel like falling to his death looking for the lost.
Camille looks over the valley and the trail, her eyes shifting up to the different points along the path that offer high-points of natural cover and then further up the mountain, noting the possibility of an avalanche and then back to the trees, seeing if they're of a hardwood or not. This all takes less than a second and her eyes focus on the invitee, her host of the evening, lips parting in a warm greeting while her eyes dance with excitement "OH I'm looking forward to helping in any way I can" she turns to see Siyu as she finishes "Please, my name is Camille and until I finish a certain task, I have no family name which I may speak. My references have been checked, but my oath remains." she nods and sighs "This is, I hope, easier to accept than it was the last time; this oath is turning out to be more of a pain than I expected" she suddenly looks both very young and very wise at once, it's...unusual and more than a little striking. Her eyes seem to swirl, both green-blue and gold pupiled while she looks back to the trail "We were called to care for an event? What transpired?" her excitement rolls off her in waves an she avidly listens for more, her head cocked gently.
The trees in the area seem close to what would be called oaks back on the creator home world farther down, and closer to the top of the paths, evergreens. For the most part. Siyu's attempt at using the rope to go downward is a bit unsteady, a few rocks sliding here and there, but he doesn't fall.
The robin looks over to Camille, "No real idea what happened, we were getting daily reports of things from their runner, but then, five days ago, the reports stopped entirely. We came out here to try and find something, but all we could figure out was they went down that way, then nothing. You gifted seem to be much better off in such situations, which is why we decided to try and seek your aid." Farther down, it is easier to see that Siyu isn't the first to recently come down the rocky path.
Siyu nods his head a bit at the Robin, "It's all right sir, we'll do our best. There's no promises though, I don't think I'd risk my life unless there are survivors. If there's no way to tell we'll try to find out what happened, but we can't promise anything, only our best." he says with a sympathetic nod. he looks over to Camille and he tilts his head, "Oaths?" he asks and he huhs a tiny bit, and then just nods, "If you're a Freesword you're a Freesword, I'll take your word for it, and no worries about anything else. We're just here to help, so I'll trust you." he offers a bow of his head and he smiles as he heads down the path. The sliding making him uneasy under his boots, but he makes sure to secure the rope at safe posistions. Doing it the safeway as he wanders along the path. "Well they did defintly come this way"
Camille looks out over the scene and nods, looking to see how long ago the last snow-fall was and checking the powder to see how loose, if it was pakcing or not. "Hmmm."
Camille says, "I don't know how long they've been off this trail, but if there was a sudden thaw as sometimes happen, we might have buried evidence of a battle under the snow." she used the bottom edge of her shield and turns over a snow-boulder, looking for blood."
Snowfall was rather stagnant on the path, no new for quite a while, but also very stable, the tempratures keeping things quite calm and peaceful. A good deal of the beasts didn't even take this trail. A bit farther down however, Siyu finds a potenial cause. A foot hitting a rock that looks sturdy, but passes drectly throught it as if it weren't there! A quick wit and a faster hand saves the Kangaroo Rat, able to grip the rope more tightly to make up for nothing under his feet! The rope going so tant causes the robin to look over, "Is everything alright down there?" He asks, looking over to Camille, "It couldn't have been more then a few days, and the weather has been good, but I think the good mouse has stumbled on something."
Siyu feels the bottom drop out of his stomach, and nearly his pants, giving a ghasp as he clings to the rope and the pinion holds, swinging around to get back to the path and landing on his wide rump. Ofhing, and staring, waiting for his heart to start beating again, "Damnation!" he huffs a tiny bit as he looks down in front of him, "What magic is this?" he sticks his foot down into the "fake" rock, seeing if it dissappears.
Camille looks up at the outcry and smiles "Did you find something" Camille stretches her arms and adjusts her gear to better fit, looking left and right for ambush and then back up, her eyes and ears trained on any signs of watchfulness "I don't think there's much down here to be found however, just trying to decide how often it's snowed since the messages stopped coming." she looks to their host, glancing again the trail and overhead "Do you know off-hand? If there haven't been thaws or snows, how I search will change."
The sounds of pawsteps, light and careful can be heard as another being approaches, muttering something to himself about directions from fools. Hearing a noise the being, now visible as a weasel picks up the pace, even hitching up his robes, as he closes the distance at a light run. "Hello, are you also here due to request for assitance? I heard a shout, is everything well?" The weasel, Chance Furtif, calls out as he draws near
The rock still looked as if it were there, but Siyu's foot passes through it once more as if it were nothing. Passing through without effort, and without mutilation. The robin looks to Camille once more, "No new snows or rain since, no, and good mouse! What have you found down there?" He asks, looking over as another approches, "No, not all is well, our team is still missing, but some of your fellows have already started in. If you could help however, we are welcoming anyone who could offer it." He says, "We are most concerned with their safety." Gives the robin before looking down the steep path to Siyu once more!
Siyu huffs a little bit, "There's some damnable magic on this path." he looks back to the other,s "The whole mountain looks as if it's a solid path but it's..." he motions, "It's air, it's empty an illusion, I nearly fell all the way down it..." he grunts a bit and pulls out some extra pinions. He begins to hammer in just in front of the "gap" that the illusion holds, "I guess that's hte most likely place to start looking, at the bottom of whatever is under this deception." he grunts, though he feels out with magic to see if he recognizes any of it.
Camille grins as Chance comes up, brushing her hair back and offering a paw "Camille, and my pleasure I think." she chuffs and looks up to the rocky lookout "I'm curious too, but..." she looks to the weasel and points with a stick she picked up, indicating what's going on and filling Chance in on the most recent events "...so not too much to say yet."
Chance nods sharply to the robin and to camille, "Ah, pleasure to meet you, Chance Furtif, and hello again Siyu." He smiles briefly during the introductions, "Hmmm magic, an illusion, well then, no time like the present to work on figuring things out." He'll start to help with the pinions if needed, studying the magic when able.
Looking over and hammering the 'rock' proves just a fruitful as trying to stick a foot through it. However, thinking about spell craft proves to be more useful, as is the thinking of tactics. The robin awaits the investigators work, "Do you have something? Anything? Perhaps they feel through the fake rocks there?" Asks the robin, looking over to Camille once more, "If not weather, then what else could have cause this misfortune?" He asks the feline.
Siyu eps as he nearly goes over the edge again when trying to hammer in the pinion, the rodent dissappearing into the rock for a moment ghasping and pulling himself back, "The whole edge of the mountain is a fake!" he stares up at it, and he just shakes his head, "Damnation..." he tries to stand up again now. And he begins to try and feeeeeel around the edges with his foot, seeing if there's a hidden ledge, "It has to be some sort of creator tech. Anyone have priest training?" he inquires.
Camille continues to look around the area, eyes going over everything and midn working over the clues while she moves forward and peers down, seeing if there were any disturbances below as if something person-sized were /thrown/ from the trail, and then looking up as Siyu speaks, taking in the scene at a glance and then looking about again...
Chance looks to the robin and frowns, "Seems to be a simple trick, like using a waterfall to hide a cave, likely a trick using light or something, I'm not fully sure." Chance frowns and thinks it over, speaking to the robin as he does so "If not weather, malice and malevolence, never forget what a being might do when certain things come up." He frowns and operating on a hunch of this being some trick of the light will try to use what water magic he knows to creat a thick rolling mist to try diffusing the illusion.
Said mist rolls up, the rocks shift, change and alter. Shadows with a flickering lantern near. The mist causing the rocks to disappear here and there, different spots disrupting as it all moves. Within, a few beings can be caught through the gaps, Siyu's leg able to catch a ledge just a bit farther down. "By the Creators, what is going on down there?" Cries the Robin, to which the barely seen figures look out, spooting the dangling Kangaroo Rat!
Siyu grunts a little bit, "I found a ledge! here, right here, come and put your feet on it, I'll keep going first. That did it Chance, that did it." he chitters as he tries to slide along the edge that he's feeling. He spots a few figures here and there, "Ho! Ho there!" he expects its the expedition, after all who else would be mucking about here?
Camille looks up "Can you help me climb? I could use a hand." she starts to move then, slipping her shield onto her back and securing her gear and weapons, going to th cord and looking to it "What should I do?" looking around "Never climbed in such icy conditions before..." she eyes the hand-holds, some of them showing a definite rime of ice.
Chance grins widely as he notices the changes his mist brought on, climbing down behind Siyu. "I thought it was something like this, saw one like it at the academy." He is very careful of his climb down, taking hold of the staff he had on his back just in case. With his family, the weasel learned to be a little less trusting of unknown beings than Siyu seems to be.
The beings do not seem too happy to have been discovered, quite a few shots from pistols ringing out toward Siyu. After that is done, they quickly collect what they can and run off, the illusion completely falling out as they do. Within, there are many paths, four that can be seen, through the mist not entirely easy to see which go where however! Up above, the sounds of armored feet can be heard below, in the tunnels, the clanging of equipment, and much hasty movements. Inside is lit up with torches, seems that they have been there for a while!
Siyu squeeks a little bit as he'll stop climbing! Instead he backs up across the ridge especially as shots ring out, he squeeks as a few ricohets ping off nearby, "Ah damN! Damn! Bandits! Well now we know what happened!" he ghasp, "I don't know if we should go donw there on our own..."
Camille follows behind, her hand on her weapons and silently drawing them from their well-oiled sheaths, dagger left spare in favor of her shield while Camille moves with the group, coming forward and then climbing, using her natural athletics to make it
Chance Yelps at the sound of gunfire. "Dammit, figures we'd have to wander right into bandits." The weasel grits his teeth, taking firm hold of his stave in ne hand, and drawing his parrying knife in the other. "I'm not sure but it sounds like there are some either way."
Looking down the paths, they are all lit up by lanterns, however, on the walls are written various things in an almost unreadable language. It looks almost like the common tongue of Promise, but, some dialect that is either too old to be remembered, or entirely made up. Aside from the crude writing, torches, and paths, there isn't anything of notice in the cave opening, except for the footprints darting into the cave paths.
Siyu holds his posistion then, "Um...so. We got a choice then guys. Do we continue, we have a couple of paths, and people with guns who like to shoot at us. Um...what...what should we do. Should we go back and get help, should we press on?" he inquires, he hesitates.
Camille looks over at the language that is written on the walls and more, looking at all of it in the light and seeing if she can recognize any of it, "Hmm, maybe I have something that might help..." taking out a notebook marked "First People: A primer" and opening up to see more of the same writing inside along with the modern equivalent beside it. One of the new-fangled pens in hand, Camilld starts to write what was on the wall, finger moving quickly and flying over the paper. "I'll need a little while after to go through this, but the book should make things possible. I still have to study it..."
Chance frowning and shaking his head as he looks at the writing "I can't tell what this writing is, but I don't like this." Chance looks to the rop then the caves, "I don't know if we have the time for the climb, and if we don't and they get a volley off at us." He shivers at the thought. "I'd rather not imagine that," Chance stands his ground thinking things over, "I'd favor the path up over going downwards, but that's just me." Chance then nods to Camille, wishing he had though to bring some books along, he moves to watch the area beyond her, hoping Siyu will watch the other end.
As Camille takes notes on the writings, the sounds of shuffling feet die down, allowing another sound to be heard. It is almost a whimper, or maybe pained moaning, coming from the left most tunnel.
Siyu hears the pained moan and he grunts a bit, "Damnit, someone is injured in there...and I didn't fire any shots." he flattens his ears and looks to the others. He gives a nod and then begisn a slow, very slow, walk along the edge to sneak and try to peek into that left most tunnel.
Camille finishes with her work before anything else "Be careful; it might be a ruse. If this is what I think this is, they might be expecting a compassionate response, and then who could you help?" Camille grins "Better to take the threat out before it gets here. Expect to be asked to hurry when it's the most foolish thing, no?"
Camille says, "I have to finish, almost done"
Camille Scribbling furiously, Camille makes a fully legible copy while she listens for danger, glancing to the wall and checking her work, while making /exact/ representations of position and /exact/ copies of any drawings there might be.
Chance blinks as he hears the whimpering, frowning lightly and looking over the others, the weasel nods and moves closer to where siyu is heading, also trying to avoid notice. "I'll try to watch you back Siyu."
As Siyu makes his way down the path, Chance working on trying to keep him covered, around a bend in the tunnel, SIyu manages to run face to face with a few of those trying to make it out. "Well, seems we will have to fight our way out instead!" Calls one of the, brandishing a sword toward the rat, all three of them making ready to get out one way or another!
Chance frowns as he readies several cantrips, preparing to fling them at the advancing foes with that techniqe he had picked up no long ago.
Siyu grunts as he's suddenly face to face with a couple of tech warriors, and he gives a ghasp and raises up his medical bag, "Wait I'm here to HEL-" and then he catches a boot, tumbling and scrambling back up, he's quick wit ha knife, looking to fight and knock them out. He doens't know a damne thing about these guys so he's just looking to not end up being shoved off the cliff. Pulling when he can.
Camille moves forward as she slices quickly in an underhand sweep, pulling back when they slash and at the curve of the blow coming forward with a stab, running the enemy through before dropping her sword and moving on to take a knife in hand, wrapping her cloak bout her wrist while her shield is up, moving left and then fast! Forward with the shield she bashes the enemy in the face, and then six quick stabs through the chinks in their armor and they're coughing up blood, she kicks their throat once to be sure and moves away from their reach on the ground, facing the third as she watches, saying "Hey!" distracting them from Siyu by clanging her shield on the knife and reaching down to pull a free sword up that matches her own, knife slid into the sheath on the back of the shield.
Chance snarls as he sees the attack on Siyu, snarling as he flings his left paw back and brins it forwards in a fierce arc to his right, then back to his left, overhead, then in straight jab. He may not be a mage adept, but even a humble scholar knew where to fling a few good cantrips to smack foes around! He focuses his efforts on one of the three, hoping to rattle them enough for them to submit. Using his knowledge of Divine mathemagic to aid and protect his allies, and to hamper and hinder foes.
The beings, battered and brused, slump back. The warrior, kneeling and coughing blood, looks up, "We knew all.. along what the.. ma.. chines were, and now.. w.. we alone... will.. have..." and out he goes with those worlds all three off to the land of dreams and darkness for the time being. However, just a bit more down the path, it is easier to hear those same pained sounds once more.
Siyu gives a pant as he goes to his knees, and he drops his bag, shaking his head out and trying to swallow, "Ugh.That hurt..." he looks up towards Camille and winces, "Well at least tehre's one warrior amoung us, thanks for your help." he glances at Chance and gives a nod, "And your magic too Chance...uhg. Anyone too injured? I have some medicines here, I can try to patch you up, what I'm good for..." he nods as he stands up slowly, "I say we tie these blokes up and see what we can get out of them later. Machines...really if they have creator artifacts might be worth interrogating them...but for now..." he winces and begins to walk towards the back of the cave, leaving some rope to tie up the bandits and seeing who's whimpering.
Camille moves over the bandits and uses her skills to find whatever marks or tatoos they might have had in life or death, carefully seperating the mage from any documents they might have had and then turning to the book in her hands, opening it and placing it down, unfolding one of the giant pieces of paper she had transcribed the information from the wall onto and smiling, first looking over the books newly in her posession, the Tigress, smiling in delight, sharp teeth glinting while she purrs solidly in her chest "I think I could get used to this..." her hands longing to touch and open this new mystery as she keeps eyes on the entrances. "We have to go further in and see what that suffering was about. But now that we know they have a tech-priest, I'm inclined to search their body for keys, clues, papers with numbers written down, specifically. Anything thatl looks like the corner of a page, let me know!" She smiles and moves forward, placing the "Clues" close together. "No doubt this won't be the last fight, especially since..." Camille writes down the words she had translated so far, referencing the instructions on the cave wall "This might have been a long-term storage facility of some sort. Why, I don't know. I think they were dealing with some of the more powerful creator artifacts, maybe even ship-components for their voyages through the stars."
Chance smiles and moves to give Siyu a hand up as they rise "Don't seel yourself short, even if you are small, without you keeping us in the fight we wouldn't have brought them down." He smiles and leans on his stave panting lightly from exertion. "Agreed, always good to find more creator works to study and learn from, I erm suggest someone else do the tying, I'm not much good with knots after a fight. Mathmagic tends to numb my fingers when I toss cold into it." He chuckles lightly and moves along with siyu, knowing that it may be best for the little guy to have someone watching him.
Back in the back part of this cave are some more beings, tied up, and evidently badly treated! The look like they haven't had food or drink in days, many passed out, though a few groan now and again. Their clothes speak of being miners, and badges proclaim them workers of Skylark and Feench.
Siyu gives a grunt and he looks back at the pair and he nods his head, "These guys are bade news. Tie them up, we're going to have to haul them toe Sweetwater. They're part of a cult. Bad ones at that. Interrogation and the Kings Justice will be in their future. Still it's the KING'S justice..." he looks to the miners, "And I think we've found the missing expedition..." he chitters and undoes a cantee. Everyone gets water. If nothing else, at least enough to get to their feet. Water and and untying happens.
Camille Holding up her sketch book, Camille points out what she's translated "The instructions for the Fleshcrafter, Mindswitcher, and Illusioner. I mean, if they're /literally/ what they sound like, we should be careful. I wish I'd paid more attention in the basic class that was mandatory in school." she growls "I hated Miss Stenchki." she sighs and faces the entrance, casully supporting shield and sword while writing. "Hmm, okay, we should be good." she slaps the book closed and starts folding her diagram, carefully stowing everything that she got off the corpses into seperate bags, "Will have to look this over later. We need to find what they were working on."
Chance nods and looks about "Maybe that illusioner was what was hiding the place." He frowns and begins to work on helping the miners upwards, before other things must be lifted.
The miners struggle to their feet, most needing help being walked out, though one looks to Siyu first, next Camille and Chance, "Thank... you all... who.. are.. our saviors.. and from.. where... do they hail?" He asks, "We.. owe you.. our lives..." he manages to choke out as those who can walk along.
Siyu blinks a little bit at Camile, "wait...what...instructrios FOR the flescrafter and...what!" he squeeks as he helps the people get up, "I think I'm going to have to copy down all those runes too. Yes I will, those sound very important!" He looks to the others and gives a chitter, "We're Freeswords, don't worry, and I'll fix you up, I'm a healer. So don't worry now..." he nods and helps them out. It'll be some clean up now. Taking the prisoners, helping the weak, and recoridng all that informatioN! That's value! If nothing else he'll at least speed read it to impress it into his brain.
Camille collaborates wiht Siyu after confirming that the information could be disseminated with the Robin overseeer "I think this might be the best bet to finding the lost items after al." eyes going forward as she hands paper to Siyu "A couple huge pieces like I have, and you can make a copy for yourself. The Church is likely going to be coming up here soon, after all."
Chance smiles and helps the miners up if needed "Well they're free swords, I'm not really, but I'm not some thug." He'll look over some of the notes, "Hmm, I may need to ask about getting a look at that sometime, always loved learning about the creator artefacts. Here let me help you with your copy." He pulls his pen from a sleeve of his robe, and sets about transcribing some of the info for Siyu, just to cut the time it takes a bit.
