Duvors

"Hmm? A drink? Well I think the pizza place over there has some fizzy drinks available. Or you could try the potion stall over there, but he's not exactly reputable." "Now hold on there," it's the man you saw talking to someone, apparently this woman, "Y'don't just barge into a conversation between people like that without makin' introductions!" he holds out his hand, "Hector McCloud, pleasure to meet you. And this lovely lady is-" "Helena Morrigan. I can introduce myself Hector. In any case I don't think this man wants to stick around for a conversation." Decker Perception Check (DC 1): (4,2,3,3) One success. The Adamite seems to be operating a 'stall' (to use the word generously) selling old electronic equipment. The elf doesn't seem to be buying anything, simply 'window'-shopping, oblivious to the Adamite's desperate desire for them to leave. The Adamite is watching both you and Ronin worriedly, their gaze flicking back and forth nervously. They seem to think you're about to come over to their stall, and that worries him somehow.

MM Note: Technical Difficulties made this take longer than expected. Even as you push off the manhole cover, you can already hear the sound of voices nearby. Thankfully not too nearby, as then you'd have to deal with people standing in your way and confused questions and all sorts of similar nonsense. Standing up, you take a look around: You find yourselves in a sort of dead-end gap off a small street, from whence the voices seem to issue. The only people you can see immediately however are a man who seems to be talking to someone you can't quite see and a very small Elf conversing with an equally diminutive Adamite. The Adamite in particular seems to be looking over the Elf's shoulder at you. Both Heroes Insight Check (DC 1): Decker: (2,4,4) Two successes. Ronin: (1,6,1) One success. It's not hard to see that the Adamite is perturbed by your presence, nervously glancing back and forth between you and the elf, desperately trying to get his customer to leave quickly and having little success. With nowhere else to go but forward, you decide to take the plunge and step out into the street. The sound of the market swallows you like the sea. It is growing increasingly late, and fewer people are around at this time, but life never truly pauses in Blackcoin, it merely takes a different timbre. Both Heroes Culture Check (DC 1): Decker: (6,5,6) Three Successes. Ronin: (5,2,2) One success. Even though neither of you are very familiar with the station's 'geography', both of you know enough to instantly recognize this place: Temple Row, one of the most (in)famous of Blackcoin's many streetmarkets. What will you do? - Heroes - Decker DaCabe (Endgame)24 year old male HumanCharacter Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 2Strength: 4Skill: 3Smarts: 1Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 1, Short Range Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Perception 1, Athletics 1Credits: 52Equipment: Double Barrel Voltaic Shotgun (Calibrated Energy Short Range Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration: Allows its wearer to breathe in toxic environments Inventory: Unloaded Pistol (Calibrated Kinetic Melee Weapon), Sandblasted Cuirass (Standard Kinetic Armor), Flashlight (Tool) Reduces nonmagical darkness-based Obscurement by 2 steps, -1 Stealth successes, Old Wolfclaw Veteran's Shield (Substandard Kinetic Armor) Dented Iron: This shield isn't as badly damaged as it looks, the first three upgrades to it are half price, and this quality disappears afterward, Telescopic Stock - Weapon Attachment (Spend an action to change this weapon's optimal range by 1 category), Plasma Potion 2x Ronin (Yzalirk)[REDACTED] Male [REDACTED]Character Points: 0/19Vitality: 7/7Velocity: 3Strength: 1Skill: 4Smarts: 3Spirit: 0/0Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Artillery 1, Deception 1, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1Known Spells: NoneCredits: 322Equipment: Cloaking Generator, Hard Light Katana (Calibrated Energy Melee Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration: Allows its wearer to breathe in toxic environments Inventory: Gator Tooth (Can be converted into either a Kinetic or Elemental Standard Melee Weapon by a craftsman), Ion Laser (Calibrated Energy Artillery Weapon), Flashlight (Tool) Reduces nonmagical darkness-based Obscurement by 2 steps, -1 Stealth successes, Hardened Sealant (Object, disappears at end of mission), Rocketpack - Armor Attachment (+1 to Velocity when wearing this armor)

Sorry to hear you haven't been doing well, I hope there's no permanent lung damage. And I'm sorry the tunnels are a little boring at this stage, there's a thing that'll become active once you pass through the grate though, and going up manholes will lead to encounters I think you'll find interesting, so I don't think the current state of affairs will be permanent. I think I'll also start providing you with a map, so you can tell where you've been. For now however enjoy this short update as I take the photos for what you find at ground level. For clarification, the flashlight is considered 'on' as long as you have it equipped, it's just really dark here. In future I'll try to be more clear with information. Deciding that the benefits outweigh the risks, you decide to pluck one of the mushrooms. Shuelj Shroom: (Consumable) Restores 10 Vitality, deals Stunned. Decker Perception Check (DC 2 1 [Repeated] Heavily Lightly Obscured [Flashlight]): (4,3,1,1, -2) Zero Successes. Subconsciously knowing you missed out on something, you tun your steps back to the manhole, and prepare to ascend...

It's entirely fair and reasonable, I'd be worried by glowing sewer mushrooms too. By the by, you'll get a second pass at that perception check since you chose to physically grub around after mushrooms.

MM Note: @Endgame, @Yzalirk, are you actually enjoying this?

This isn't really a tenable assumption. If a fight breaks out while one player is unavailable, their character will still actually have to be present at the scene.

Decker Nature Check (DC 1): (3,6,1) One success. Looking down, you see that your meter is indeed red, but it's not immediately obvious if it's the fungus or not. The last dead end was like this too, so it might simply be the lack of airflow. Looking closer, you actually think you recognize these 'shrooms - they're Shuelj Mushrooms, a species native to Phaejhar and quite harmless. They like dark, damp conditions and the glow is produced by symbiotic bacteria. They're also edible, though they do odd things to you. Decker Perception Check (DC 2, Lightly Obscured): (6,6,5,2, -2) One success. You also see... nothing. Nothing at all. Definitely nothing interesting to find here. On the other hand, you do gain a better understanding of how flashlights work. Flashlight (Tool) Reduces nonmagical darkness-based Obscurement by 2 steps, -1 Stealth successes.

After a moment of deliberation, you decide to take a look down the side passage before continuing forward. Possibly remembering the shield you found and hoping for more... useful junk. The tunnel ahead of you seems almost pitch black, but as you continue you see a dim ghost-glimmer at the end. Arriving at your destination, you see the source... ...mushrooms!

Normally what happens when a player can't post is that their character is assumed to be present, but not doing anything of note. In battle their actions are chosen either by the party leader or another player they delegate beforehand.

Ronin Melee Weapon Check (DC 5 1[Calibrated Energy Weapon]): (6,4,3,2,1) Two successes. You have no difficulty in cutting away enough bars to make a hole big enough to pass through. The spots where you cut through are glowing with a dull orange heat, but getting past them without burning yourselves should pose no difficulty. There are now four paths open to you, the manhole, the blind corner, the path beyond the gate, or back the way you came. Alternatively, you could stay here a little longer and make a second attempt to gain some insight about what happened here - it's not like the evidence will grow legs and walk away. Or you could attempt something I haven't considered. What will you do?

The flashlight is indeed broken and unusable, the lens has come off completely and is currently in two pieces. Not dented per-se, but you see the chinstrap is slightly damaged as if it was yanked off. Feeling it in your hands, it seems sturdy enough to take a blow without denting - probably why it was torn off in the first place. Decker Insight Check (DC 1,?): (4,3,2) One Success. Judging by how stagnant the water is, and the fact that it's entire surface is covered in a mat of puke-green algae, you don't think there's been a serious flow here in years - hence no flooding. That makes sense, considering it never rains on Ebria, what with it being a space station and all. Still, you can't help but wonder why Greg was grabbed here. The whole thing seems a bit... random? Why would anyone be here right when Greg came along? And it has to be an anyone rather than an anything if they thought to close the gate behind them.

Unfortunately, you cannot see any exposed wiring, indicating that they must be safe in the (sadly undamaged) walls. Ronin Insight Check (DC 1,?): (2,1,6) One success. However, you think that you could possibly use your katana to cut through the bars. It may not work though, and you'd be abandoning the opportunity to see what's down the other passage or above the manhole - there might be something important there! Still, no harm in trying, right? Still, you can't shake the feeling there's something... off about this scene, something you're missing. Perhaps a second look would be in order before you rush headlong in all directions.

There isn't any way to concretely tell how long the flashlight has been here. It certainly isn't steeped in sewage, considering it's sitting in the walkway. However, it seems that Greg went here directly from where you entered, so this would've happened when he first came down here a week ago. That would be consistent with the fact that the prints are dry. Decker Perception Check (DC 1): (4,3,6,6) Three successes. As you are looking around however you spot two things; a little spot of dried blood near the flashlight, and a discarded hardhat sitting on a pile of muck in the river of sewage. Decker Perception Check (DC 1, 3): (1,5,6,4) Three successes. Crossing over on a plank that has been laid across the gap, you approach the grate for a closer look. Upon closer examination, you see that it is some sort of gate designed to slide into the ceiling, but the control mechanism is nowhere to be seen and lifting it by hand would be an arduous task. However as you look around, you just barely spot something in the beam of your flashlight. Quickly turning it back, you see another spot of dried blood - on the far side of the gate. OoC: @Yzalirk?

Welcome to The Scene of the Crime. We hope you enjoy your stay. Be sure to check out our special Street-Level experience.

The trail leads away from where you entered the maze, down the tunnel across the water. It is easy to guess that Gregory was following the right-hand wall, a tried and true tactic and one that doubly makes sense considering that the other way would've involved surmounting a difficult obstacle that could also have prevented him form being reeled back in. As you move away from the other unexplored tunnel, your toxicity detectors go green. It seems that the source of the choke is down that way. You follow the footprints down a straight passage, keeping the flashlight trained ahead to see through the darkness. You can already see orange light ahead, and soon you reach another junction. Despite multiple lights being broken, you can easily see the trail ends just ahead, an object lying amidst a group of footprints under a manhole. Concerned by this, you rush toward the scene. As you reach the spot, you take a quick look down the passage across from the manhole and see that it's blocked by a large grate. As the flashlight illuminates the scene, you can see that the object in the midst of the footmarks is a broken flashlight of the same kind Arno gave you. What will you do?

You choose to head back to where Ronin left his first X, ignoring the entrance to the parallel tunnel, and find yourselves back where you started. This time you choose to take the other passage, turning left only to immediately come face-to-wall with a right-hand turn. Turning again you follow a short straight passage to find yourselves in a long tunnel. To your right is another passage just down from where you are that continues in the direction you were just walking. And beyond that a corner that, if you're right, must be the passage that was on your right when you entered. Both Heroes Perception Check (DC 3): Decker (1,5,1,6) two successes. Ronin (6,5,4,1) three successes. Decker doesn't see anything despite being the one holding the flashlight. Ronin however is able to see a small brownish puddle under some suspended pipes - and marks leading from it. On your left, another passage curves back around out of sight. As you step out into the tunnel however, your air toxicity detectors, having been green for the past while, turn red.

MM Note: I'm sorry I forgot to mention earlier, but you cannot equip the rocket pack as the armor you're wearing already has a special quality. As Decker looks down, he can clearly see that the grating to drain the water is blocked by a pile of indeterminate filth. As he looks down, he notices that his air toxicity detector has tuned red, no doubt the the blockage has allowed a gas pocket to build up here. He also spots what looks like a discarded shield sitting on top of the morass: Old Wolfclaw Veteran's Shield (Substandard Kinetic Armor) Dented Iron: This shield isn't as badly damaged as it looks, the first three upgrades to it are half price, and this quality disappears afterward. MM Note: Substandard is an item quality one step below Standard, meaning it adds no successes to relevant combat checks. I can't respond to the rest of your actions at the moment, so hang tight.

The floating piece of plastic doesn't seem to have any particular relevance, or even any clear purpose. Which is probably why someone threw it down here. As you pass by the T-way, you see that it leads through into another pipe running parallel to this one. Eventually turning the corner by the broken light you discover... another corner. turning in the same direction no less. With no where else to go but ahead, you turn again and find... ... a dead end.

Decker and Ronin Strength Check (DC 5): (4, 4, 4, 4, 1) Four successes. You can feel the tetanus emanating from the wall as you begin to gouge, batter, and slash the rusted metal away. You feel immensely thankful for the full body protective gear you're wearing. As you rip away at the wall, you get to see just how deep the rot goes. Behind the initial wall structure there is a mess of pipes, wires, and supporting beams, all of which are severely eaten away by rust and covered in oxidized matter. After half an hour of concerted effort however, you're only able to make a space big enough to both look through and shine a flashlight down, discovering to your chagrin that the space behind the wall is only a foot deep, with another, rust free, metal wall behind it. However, looking at it closely, it seems to be of a different composition than the tunnels you've been walking in. In fact it seems to be comprised of... ...lead. The walls are lined with lead. What maniac built this place? Both Players Engineering Check. (DC 0): Pass. Regardless, you can tell that, even if you had been much more successful in bringing down the rust-damaged wall, you wouldn't have accomplished anything, aside from maybe making yourselves a bit more buff. The fact that this patch of wall was damaged enough to do this was pure chance to begin with, and you've already spent a lot of valuable time on this as it is. Furthermore, you'd have to continue tunneling through yards and yards of undamaged conduits, pipes, and supporting structures, which would require heavy industrial equipment, several more people, and hours, possibly days, of work. Additionally, tunneling in this direction would take you away from the maze, vaguely back in the direction you came from. Also, there's a passage leading in the same direction less than a foot away from where you were digging. If there's one positive to all this, it's that you're in a position to see down both directions available from the left-hand passage. You can see behind the pipes on this one that there are... yet more pipes, thought they don't stretch across the entire tunnel. Also, one of the corner lights seems to have burnt out. Down the other passage, you can see both right and left hand turns, as well as a floating plastic square, a broken corner light, and a thin trickle of water continuously pouring down from a pipe in the ceiling.

OoC: Form this point onwards, I'll simply consider you to be automatically marking your path. Decker Strength Check (DC 5) Automatic failure. While the section of wall is weakened, it's still a thick wall. Knocking it down would require a combined effort from both of you.

There's probably one for every room, you'll be fine.

Decker Engineering Check (DC1): (4,5,4) Three successes. It's trivially easy for Decker to determine that, although some of the walls are beginning to show worrying signs of deformation, the only spot damaged badly enough for the two heroes to break down by themselves would be the massive streak of rust to their left.

In honor of recent events.

Decker Athletics Check (DC 3): (1,6,5,2) Two successes. Ronin Athletics Check (DC 3): (5,1,2,1) One success. Climbing over the pipes proves harder than anticipated. The highest is at about neck height, and they're devoid of any handholds. Decker goes first, trying to vault himself over the obstacle. Unfortunately, there isn't enough headroom to be leaping about down here and he clocks himself on the arch of the tunnel. Thankfully the helmet he's wearing prevents him from suffering any injury. Sadly, it doesn't prevent him from falling into the water. Ronin's more sedate attempt doesn't fare much better, he barely manages to get his chest above the highest pipe before losing his footing and following Decker into the water. The pair, suitably chastened for their hubris, continue along the corridor. It proves a good thing that Decker chose to use the flashlight, as this passage would prove pitch black without it. However, even now they can see lights at the far end of the tunnel, and it isn't long before they reach a new junction: What at first appears to be a simple t-junction soon proves more complicated as they peer around the corners. On the right things seem relatively simple. A standard corner turning away into the darkness, though you can see a spot where the edge of the walkway has crumbled into rust. Speaking of rust... ... There appears to be a far more severe case to your left, originating from a leak in the ceiling and leaving deposits of congealed oxidized mass. Beyond that, there's another t-junction, some white mushrooms and... Oh no. The pipes, they're back!

Start: +10 CP It had been a long time since Enson had properly attempted to cultivate his inner strength, and he could tell it had suffered from this neglect. He had been spending long hours in the meditation garden, focusing on a single point and allowing himself to be absorbed in the weightless floating sensation of the meditative trance. As much as he wanted to force the process, he knew deliberately pursuing the sensation of being All-in-Nothing would simply drive it further away. And so, every day, at the appointed hour, he came into the garden and practiced stillness. He had been doing this for some time now, and he was beginning to reclaim some of the strength he'd lost. Spirit: 2 -- 3 (2 CP) That wasn't what he was doing now however. At this moment he was quite busy with another aspect of his training. Enson entered the room. It was a simple area - four walls, some weapon stands, and a mat in the center of the floor - and he was very familiar with it by this point. Roderick was already there. Not surprising to tell the truth, he always was. What was surprising was the odd mechanical object behind him, seemingly a pair of arms on a stand. "Well Roddy," Enson said, eyeing the object behind the Adamite quizzically, "what do you have planned for today?" "A bit of a test, something to see how far you've come. And I'm also introducing something new to these sessions." "That contraption I assume." Enson said, nodding towards the arms. "Correct! I've been letting you have a little 'natural advantage' up till now, and I thought it's time to take the kid gloves off." he said, raising his arms and backing toward the contraption. As he approached, the machine whirred into life. The arms folded outwards to let Roderick step into the frame, before folding back in and attaching to his sides with a whirr and a hiss. "Ah." said Enson. "To be honest, I don't think you really need those, do you?" Roddy simply smiled as he stepped away from the frame, his new arms flexing. With a deft movement, he unhooked a hilt from his waist and tossed it toward Enson, which the Quo'ri easily caught. They weren't fighting with real weapons of course, that would be too dangerous. Instead these blades merely had the magnetic field emitters of the real swords, with a hologram emitter replacing the plasma torch. They didn't hiss and burn like the real thing either, the only sound they emitted was an odd, hollow whomp when they struck something. Enson swiftly ignited his and assumed a one-handed stance, his other arms assuming guard positions. For his part Roderick took his own sword up in a two-handed pose, his other arms spread wide. "Diving right in I see." "Well, no sense in wasting time." "Can't say I disagree." Melee Weapons: 1 -- 2 (2 CP) End: +6 CP