Born of the Deep: Game Thread

[wynblade]

Berlin sees the one scorpion single him out, glaring at the monster he practically slides into a crouch to re-orient himself on the one following him. “Well okay then you armored bastard lets play!” there is a slight grin on his face, almost as if he enjoys the challenge. As he focuses in on the beast the night seems less dark, his sense of movement become more acute though things may be slightly blurry, with almost a growl he lunges towards the scorpion weapons bared!

He plans to use his size, or lack there of against it. A smaller target moving quickly he feels that he can dodge that nasty stinger of it's. If he can get in close enough his first target is going to be the joint just below the stinger itself and hopefully the pincers next.

[Elendil's Heir]

Sydney is pleased his electrical charge seemed to do the job so well. He will quickly decide which of his comrades is either closest or in the most immediate danger, and zap the creature which is threatening him or her.

[OneCentStamp]

Well, that wasn't the best idea, Halifax thinks. Feeling the numbness creeping up from his envenomed arm, he chooses the better part of valor and steps back towards the fire, allowing his companions with better range to manage the remaining scorpions. If a scorpion breaks free to menace any of the less physically inclined party members, or any of the ladies in particular, he will rush to intercept, wounded or not.

[Zuul]

Recife's grenade handily destroys one of the scorpions, as well as the tunnel it was crawling through. There is a spray of sand across the party, partially smothering the fire, but otherwise most of the explosion is contained in the hole.

Athens' quick thinking pays off. The makeshift "hammer" disables the scorpion quickly. It collapses against the sand and twitches in death throes.

As soon as Millie begins to work on the horses, they calm themselves. They seem confused and shift restlessly, but are no longer panicking. The scorpion approaching her pauses briefly when she attempts to use her power on it, before coming forward again.

Hassan has apparently caught on to what she's doing and puts himself between Millie and the scorpion. "My guns are useless, but I can try to hold it back with my knife if you want to try again," he tells her.

While he's small, Berlin is also remarkably quick and has all the grace of an acrobat. When the scorpion's stinger comes down, he easily dodges it before neatly sliding one of his many knives through a joint and disabling the stinger. Luck is with him tonight, as he next disables the scorpion's pincers with his knives. (How many knives does that man have? A lot.)

Another scorpion advances on the injured Halifax as he moves back toward the fire. Luckily, this is the one that Sydney next targets. Again, his electrical charge strikes home. This time the creature bursts under the heat and oozes a bit into the sand.

Six scorpions remain. One is completely helpless before Berlin. One is attacking Hassan and Millie. One each has gone for Bristol, Hong-Kong, and Dulce, who may be frozen in terror as they haven't moved.

And one very stupid one is rushing at Sydney, stinger raised and ready.

[Cluricaun]

Now this is what I signed up for, thinks Athens. Spinning quickly around from his dispatched scorpion he repeats the same crushing hammer blow onto the head of the scorpion now threatening Dulce.

Athens will continue assisting anyone else who needs it with his flaming hammer until all of the currently present scorpions have been killed. If possible, he'd also like to scavenge at least one intact stinger from one of the dead scorpions at the finish of battle.

[OneCentStamp]

Reflecting that Bristol and Hong Kong both look like fellows what can take care of themselves, Halifax moves to help Dulce, if his body allows.

[What Exit?]

Recife looks for a vulnerable spot on the scorpion nearest him to use his most powerful pistol and trusts to his luck to assist in disabling or killing it.

[Orual]

Relieved (and a little surprised) that she's not being kicked in the head by a rattled horse, Millie nods to Hassan and redoubles her efforts at calming the scorpion

[Elendil's Heir]

Sydney will again unleash an electrical charge against the scorpion which is attacking him, and then do so for whichever of his comrades is in the most immediate danger.

A reminder: he can do this ten times daily, and will be very tired afterwards.

[Zuul]

Now this is what I signed up for, thinks Athens. Spinning quickly around from his dispatched scorpion he repeats the same crushing hammer blow onto the head of the scorpion now threatening Dulce.

Athens will continue assisting anyone else who needs it with his flaming hammer until all of the currently present scorpions have been killed. If possible, he'd also like to scavenge at least one intact stinger from one of the dead scorpions at the finish of battle.

The "hammer" severely wounds the scorpion this time, though it's not instantly killed. It switches its attention from Dulce to Athens as it attempts to strike the man with its stinger. It hits him in the right thigh, slicing into his flesh but not managing to inject any poison.

Athens' next blow kills the scorpion. Since he's intent on killing all he can, he goes after the one that Berlin was toying with. As it was already severely wounded, it's easily dispatched.

Reflecting that Bristol and Hong Kong both look like fellows what can take care of themselves, Halifax moves to help Dulce, if his body allows.

As Athens has that scorpion under control, Halifax has little to do and can continue to try to recover from his wound.

Recife looks for a vulnerable spot on the scorpion nearest him to use his most powerful pistol and trusts to his luck to assist in disabling or killing it.

Recife's luck kicks in. The bullet manages to miraculously go straight through the mouth of the scorpion attacking Hong Kong. The creature twitches and thrashes, likely dying.

Relieved (and a little surprised) that she's not being kicked in the head by a rattled horse, Millie nods to Hassan and redoubles her efforts at calming the scorpion

This time, Millie successfully calms the scorpion. Bizarrely, the giant arachnid settles down in the sand and looks to be at rest. It's difficult to judge the emotional state of what amounts to a huge bug, but it appears to be...peaceful.

Sydney will again unleash an electrical charge against the scorpion which is attacking him, and then do so for whichever of his comrades is in the most immediate danger.

A reminder: he can do this ten times daily, and will be very tired afterwards.

Sydney's blast kills the scorpion, causing it to burst and ooze as before. With the other creatures largely taken care of for the moment, he focuses his next attack on the one going after Bristol. The first hit is lethal this time as smoke and steam hiss from the carapace.

There is a dying scorpion left twitching in front of Hong Kong and one looking as though it should be purring before Millie. Nothing further seems to be coming from the tunnels.

[Elendil's Heir]

Sydney is relieved the attack seems to be over. He sits down to take a rest and says, "Everyone all right? Maybe we ought to consider moving our campsite...."

[Cluricaun]

Grimacing a bit at his recently punctured thigh, Athens frowns down at his torn pants. While no stranger to dirty work, he still prefers to try and at least keep materially clean. Making his way back to the fire, he puts the head of the hammer back in the fire to "recharge" and retrieves it after finding the fire sufficiently burning again. Calmed down or not, there's still one of these damned beasts left and not trusting the motives of a giant killer scorpion anymore than he'd trust his usual associates back home he turns from the fire and looks at knowingly. There is no real peace in the mindless rest of a killer, so he makes his way, hammer in hand, over to Millie and the horses intending to dispatch this last potential threat.

[What Exit?]

Recife eyes up the situation and is ready to fire again but hopes not to.

[OneCentStamp]

"Hey, bit of help, gents?" Halifax grimaces. "It's a devil of a time trying to tie a tourniquet with one hand and your teeth. Especially if you don't have any eyes."

[Elendil's Heir]

Sydney goes to Halifax's assistance. He knows a little bit of battlefield medicine and will do what he can.

[Orual]

Seeing that Athens has the last scorpion well in hand, Millie goes to help Halifax.

"Hong Kong? Are you all right? We probably could use your help about now."

[wynblade]

Berlin having taken care of all the deadly bits on the scorpion guards it. He wants to play with it a bit more and see how the big thing ticks. It's not in much shape to do much of anything but he would hate for his prize to slink off while he wasn't paying attention.

He would have killed it if he absolutely had to, but by the time he was done dismembering it the others had been pretty much dispatched. So perched with his prize he remained grinning from ear to ear. That is, before Athens comes flying up and smashes his kill with his flaming glory. Berlin frowns slightly while jumping back from the shower of glowing ash that billows off of the weapon. He decides to let it go. Not worth arguing with the big man for something as slight as finishing off his kill.

"Well that pretty much takes care of that eh?" he grins up at Athens before grabbing up one of the severed pincers and following the big man back towards the fire, taking it over to the fire he places it in the coals to bake. Who cares if the others look at him oddly, not like he isn't use to that anyway. The fight worked up his appetite and Scorpion is supposed to be good eats.

[RabbitMage]

"I'm...fine." Hong Kong replies. 'Fine' is far from a word he'd use after being attacked by giant desert scorpions. But he is uninjured at least.

He joins Millie next to Halifax, surveying the damage. "Be still," he advises gently. He reaches out, carefully examining the wound. On his own arm, Hong Kong's fingers move against the skin, perhaps tracing a symbol. As he exhales, Halifax might feel his wound grow hot as the skin mends together and some of the numbness fades.

"You may feel a few lingering effects of the venom, but nothing fatal."

[Zuul]

As the creature is completely stationary, Athens has an easy time dispatching the remaining scorpion. No further attacks seem imminent at this time, though as night wears on in the desert it is growing colder and nothing can be seen beyond the light of the fire.

Berlin will find the scorpion to be edible. It has a faintly fishy taste with a hint of something sour, almost like lemon.

Hong Kong's healing of Halifax is largely successful. The numbness rapidly fades, though a dull ache remains for now.

"These creatures are not natural," Hassan states as he pokes at one of the bodies with his knife, in case there was any doubt.

[What Exit?]

Recife, "This of course brings up the question; do we check the tunnels?"

[OneCentStamp]

"I think we should," Halifax says. "Better that than walk away from them not knowing if something else is going to come crawling out and follow us after we're gone."

[RabbitMage]

"I would recommend not," Hong Kong chimes in. "If there are more, then we'll fight them out here. I see no wisdom in venturing into their territory to challenge them."

[Orual]

"I agree with Hong Kong," says Millie. "I don't really see how less ability to move freely, or less light would be a benefit in fighting these things - do you really think it's wise to be eating that, Mr. Berlin? Are the rations that unsatisfactory?"

[wynblade]

Berlin crouched over the fire chuckled at the look on Millie's face when she asks the question "Have no concern miss, I tasted it first, no obvious negatives or numbing... quite good actually! I always enjoy trying new things, and it would be such a waste of perfectly good meat."

Widening the crack in the pincer he slices off a small piece of the firm flesh underneath with his knife and pops it into his mouth. Then offers a slice to Millie.

[OneCentStamp]

"All right. If we don't want to go down the holes, that leaves us two choices that I can tell: stay here and try to get some more sleep, or move on someplace else. Which will it be?"

[Cluricaun]

Satisfied that all of the present threats have been addressed, Athens snuffs out his hammer in the sand, keeping it close at hand. Making his way over to Hong Kong he gestures at his wounded leg and asks if he could do his magic on him as well.

Hearing the conversation about the camp he tosses in his two cents. "Going down into the tunnels would be foolish. There are bound to be more of these 'things' down there and our destination is not to be reached through those tunnels anyway. We should get what sleep we can manage now to rest up, at least we know we can defeat the enemies here well enough, were any more to show up. Who knows what waits out there?" as he points into the blackness surrounding them.

[What Exit?]

Recife, "I am uneasy about not moving the camp at least. It seems like we are inviting troubles staying put."

[Cluricaun]

Athens nods at Recife and says "I will go where you say to go, but I feel trouble was invited with us the moment we stepped on that boat. We know we can kill those bugs, but who says the next camp will be any safer?"

[OneCentStamp]

Halifax says, "I heard some grenades go off during this recent scrap, didn't I? Do we have an ample supply? Would it be worth trying to roll one down a hole?"

[What Exit?]

Recife, "I have only small supply and would rather not use them up to fast. However I do have explosives and we can mix up small tunnel buster if you like."

[OneCentStamp]

"It's worth considering," Halifax replies. "I don't want to tell you what to do with your explosives."

"I'm just saying I'm not comfortable trying to go back to sleep within sight of those holes as if nothing happened." He looks over the entire party as he says this, making it clear he's not just including Recife.

[Elendil's Heir]

Sydney says, "I would rather not go down in those tunnels. Blowing them up and moving on makes sense to me. We still have our assignment from Mr. de Graeff."

[Zuul]

"I'd suggest a decision be made shortly. It's only going to get colder and darker," Hassan points out.

[Elendil's Heir]

"It seems to me we need a leader for when we might otherwise just talk and talk; someone to take into account any consensus that might develop, but otherwise to have the last word. I nominate Recife," says Sydney. "He seems like a good bloke, and he obviously has Mr. de Graeff's confidence."

[wynblade]

Berlin decides to put in his two sense worth in, turning around from the fire and Millie he addresses the others "There may be enough dead wood and such to just place small smoldering fires at the entrances of each hole. That way we don't waste any ammunition. But can, in essence smoke any that remain out."

[Orual]

"I think collapsing the tunnels in some way would be the best plan," says Millie, after grimacing at Berlin's offer.

[Cluricaun]

Athens gives a little grunting laugh at Berlin, "I guess he doesn't like them steamed, he'd rather try them smoked instead."

Addressing the others he says "Do what you will with the tunnels, I'm going to sleep. Wake me if something interesting happens." and with that he lays out next to a palm tree and nods out with his Thompson cradled in his arms.

[What Exit?]

Recife starts making a small bomb to lower into the tunnel and when ready will see what happens, warning everyone to stand back and be ready.

"I don't think I am qualified to be the leader of this group, even on my boat I leave it to the Skipper to run it."

[Zuul]

Recife lowers the explosives down the tunnel. After a few moments of waiting there is a muffled sound which isn't quite a boom. Maybe it could be described as a "biff."

Half a second later there is the sound of sand coursing rapidly as the tunnel entrance expands into a sinkhole approximately six feet across. By the time it ends there is a hole four feet deep, but no apparent tunnel. Nothing has crawled out of the other holes either.

[What Exit?]

Recife says, "Well I feel safe staying here now. Let's get some sleep, in this climate I prefer to be riding before the sun has risen all the way."

[OneCentStamp]

"It's still my watch, isn't it?" Halifax asks. "It feels like an eternity since those things showed up, but I have the feeling it's actually only been a short while."

[Zuul]

...it appears everyone fell asleep without comment after Halifax's question.

The rest of the night passes quietly without any further hint of danger. Athens and Halifax are recovered from their injuries by morning and Berlin doesn't appear to be suffering any gastrointestinal distress from eating the scorpion. Athens will have a bit of trouble retrieving that stinger he had been interested in, but eventually manages to get one intact. It may serve as a useful weapon or simply a souvenir.

The remainder of their journey to the mysterious point on the map is without note until their arrival at some limestone hills jutting out of the sand. Hassan checks his map, then decides to do his searching "spell" for the day to verify.

The hills are the place.

"Now if only we knew what we were actually looking for," sighs Hassan.

[Orual]

Millie relaxes and tries to ... feel something. (Like she felt the atmosphere back in Rosetta).

[Zuul]

Millie feels great sadness and loneliness around the area. It seems to be coming from only one individual, though, and it isn't a member of her party. Curious. The feeling grows stronger the closer she gets to the hills, until it draws her to a spot where what looks like an old stone overhang has collapsed, so that a slab of limestone is leaning against the hill. She can just barely see behind it to see a straight vertical surface.

[Cluricaun]

Athens walks over to the slab of limestone that Millie was drawn to and pushes his hands through the stone, pulling them apart to make a hole big enough to see through.

[Zuul]

Through the hole that Athens made is what appears to be a stone doorway set into the side of the hill. It's covered in hieroglyphics which boldly state:

basket, vulture, lips, open mouth, arm, squiggle
hand, vulture, open mouth
viper, quail chick, lips
twisted rope, vulture
quail chick, quail chick
vulture, squiggle, open mouth, vulture, lips, some sort of hook shape
twisted rope, vulture, lips, vulture
quail chick, leaf, open mouth
arm, squiggle
leaf, owl, funny looking square, quail chick, lips, vulture
twisted rope, vulture, lips, open mouth

[Cluricaun]

Guessing that this is what they were looking for, Athens sets about removing the rest of the stone slab to make a clear passage to the door behind.

[Zuul]

Whatever the door had said, one would think it had simply been an invitation as Athens is able to remove it so easily. Behind is a dark passage that winds downward. It's too dark for most of the party to be able to tell how deep it is, though if Halifax looks he may be able to get an idea.

A moment after clearing the way, there is a sound from deep within the passage. A soft, hissing rush as if air was being rapidly pulled into a vacuum.

[Elendil's Heir]

"Halifax, would you mind having a look?" Sydney asks. "Then I'll go first, if we're going in... unless someone else is eager to take the lead."

[Cluricaun]

Athens quickly steps backwards from the open space and picks up his Thompson. He motions at Recife to do the same.