Mean and Green, epilogue

Log Info

• Title: Mean and Green, Epilogue
• Emitter: Williwaw
• Characters: Ashes, Asmli, Delilah, Donna, Strike
• Place: A00: Alexandria Sewers
• Time: Monday, September 28, 2020, 7:33 PM
• Summary: Down in the sewers, in the aftermath of their fight with the worms and their meat-suits, the party questions the survivor of the other adventuring party. This produces more questions than answers, as the Leblanc's mission was set by a secretive guy that the survivor is afraid to cross. Unwilling to answer further, the party gathers the fallen member, Kalid, and heads back to the Turtle Guardians. They are debriefed, examine the rift, then head back to the Rift Busters. Overall, they are left with leads to follow, and little resolution, and the unsettling knowledge that several of the demon-worms may have escaped and are quite capable.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ashes        5'11"    177 Lb     Hobgoblin         Female    A somber arvec in grey clothes with a skull face
Asmli        4'2"     178 Lb     Storm Dwarf       Male      Blonde khazad-mornir, walking with a limp.
Delilah      5'4"     106 Lb     Human             Female    A golden haired human girl in white robes.
Donna        5'4"     106 Lb     Human             Female    A black-haired human girl in black robes.
Strike       5'11"    155 Lb     Half-Elf          Female    A dusky grey half elf girl in grey and black clothes.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  As the GM  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Williwaw                                                                 
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

As the last of the scarved foot demons falls and the last of the spider goblin demons is unceremoniously flushed down the pipes, the sounds of combat fade into the constant rush of a not-insignificant flow of soiled water converging into this nexus. The soul-rending screeches and oppressive caclking from your enemies is now a mere memory, though recent and no doubt still quite clear in the minds, a constant reminder that these creatures were not your typical antagonists, as strange as the sewers often are.

Which leaves a small dilemma. The creatures you have slain sill lay upon the ground, the bodies they wore deflating like, if you might forgive the term, meat sacks vacated by long, multiple tailed worms.. the most recent of which is still twitching in its death throes. Two of their number, however, had rushed after those other sewer explorers when the latter had fled, and the two who had been flushed are unlikely to have been killed by their less than valourous exit.

And of course there is the leathers clad woman who, having been prevented from leaving herself at the end of the fight, is now sitting, propped up against the wall on the upper ring of the nexus. She eyes the rest of you warily, but does not look in any danger of immediately bolting... she has even gone so far as to toss her weapon, a rather bland looking dagger, to the side and out of her reach. She's either leaving herself at your mercy or is biding her time.

Do you: Talk to the woman? Turn to page 6. Chase after the demons? Turn to page 9. Return to the turtle guardians who sent you here? Turn to page 18.

Ashlee is unsure what to do. She's glad the demons have been defeated, and interested in what the woman might say. Those shed bodies might have something interesting going on. She carefully makes her way to one, to touch and examine it. She watches the swirling bowl beneath her, in case the demon worms can swim against the current. Really strongly against the current.

"Okay," Donna says, loosing a long, heavy sigh as the magic fades from skin and eye. "Okay. So that was... yeah." Rubbing her face, the brawler drops to a knee next to the woman. "So... That was a hell of a mess y'all bolted on. Got a story to share, maybe?"

Perhaps it doesn't help the woman find her voice, that Donna's metal-spiked hands keep opening and closing, as if the brawler retains aggression that needs working out. Or, perhaps it does! But Donna is already clearly Done With This Nonsense.

"You alright?" Strike wonders of Asmli once their foes are... neutralized. A brow arches as the meatsuits lose air, and she checks the leftovers close at hand for lingering liveliness. A sweep about the area and, "What of the runners?"

Delilah's eyes and brands likewise lose their glow, and fade back to normal, as she moves to stand behind Donna's right shoulder. The sorceress adjusts her hat, and folds her arms across her chest. "Story? She's going to tell us a story? *Great*, I love stories. Please, I'd really love to hear what you have to say, too." She just... stands there, after that; arms crossed, leaning over her sister a bit, and very curious to hear what the woman has to say.

His urgrosh covered in muck and what passes for blood with these creatures, Asmli stares down at the corpses at his feet with a wrinkled nose, then uses the pointed end to prod at a corpse. When Strike addresses him, he looks up, and flashes a cocky grin. "Yeah, been worse." He's covered in blood as well as muck, though, and some of it's his. "The hell _were_ those things?"

It seems to be rather definitively an evil outsider. DR to cold iron or good, immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid, cold and fire, as well as spell resistance. You witnessed the ability of the worm to eject itself from its host, and doing so has it rapidly consume part of that host to rejuvinate its own health somewhat. Spell like abilities; it was likely responsible for enabling the other demons to climb on the walls, and it also did mass inflict light wounds. Likely had the ability to summon weaker demons as well. It could have fairly rapidly taken control of another corpse as a host, and within that host have a fairly good chance of disguising itself as a member of the host's species. In its worm form, judging from its 'head', it likely has the ability to burrow as well.

"Oh." The ashen Arvec says once she's touched the meat suit, "This body and the worm that was in it have a lot of abilities. The most worrisome is it can take over a corpse very quickly to have a convincing disguise."

She looks over at the woman being questioned, "Either her or her friends might be very interesting."

The woman looks back at Donna, then Delilah.. and then a quick glance at the rest of you before she reaches up to push her bedraggled hair out of her face. Mere centimeters from her face, she reconsiders her hand... considering she'd been prone and dying on the lower level, it's not the cleanest looking of things. So she drops it to her side, held palm up in the common sign of 'hey, I'm no threat.' When she answers, her voice is a touch raspy. "My... friends.." She spits to the side with that word. ".. were just on a job. Same as you, I bet. We lost our map, though.. and then these things just started piling out of the tunnel you lot came from."

"Been some wild shit going down lately," Donna allows, straightening and offering a hand to help the woman up. "Could stick behind us, or we can get ya pointed the way out. Either way, if those assholes ditched you, you ain't gonna want to stick around here alone."

GAME: Delilah rolls sense motive: (18)+1: 19
GAME: Ashes rolls sense motive: (2)+7: 9
GAME: Donna rolls sense motive: (8)+5: 13
GAME: Strike rolls sense motive: (8)+11: 19
GAME: Asmli rolls sense motive: (7)+1: 8

Strike wiggles her fingers a little, flicking droplets of spilled blood from their tips before she closes her fist, knuckles popping, as she starts to make her way toward that end of the walkway "The job. Yes. Very wordy, until the talk of a 'job'." she calls back, "Elaborate." She doesn't say please.

Ash stares at Asmli, he's nearby, he expressed an interest and he would make a good captive audience. She lectures at him in monotone, "They were Outsiders, vulnerable to cold iron or good, resistant to acid, cold and fire, immune to electricity and poison."

She takes another breath, "And spell resistance. It can eat the host to rejuvinate before an ejection. It burrows. It can do spell like things, like inflict mass wounds, summon minor demons, and help them climb on walls. Also, it can burrow."

As Asmli exits the landing and heads over to the prisoner, other adventurer, potential threat, Ash looks the woman over. She senses nothing, "She seems fine."

"Hey, wait, I still want to hear a story," Delilah interjects, moving out from behind her sister to stand alongside her, arms still crossed as she looks down at the woman they've more or less rescued. "I was promised a story, that's what I want! Surely we've got a few minutes to hang around here and hear a tale of daring-do and betrayal." She perks an eyebrow upwards, and nods to Strike, before looking back at the woman. "Yeah, like she said. You hardly said anything about the job, we want to hear about that. What were you down here for, anyway? Obviously it wasn't a guild-accredited job, 'cause adventurers don't just run off on each other."

"That's not okay, yeah," Asmli agrees, although he moves with a little bit of a limp as he joins the others, but otherwise, he leans on his urgrosh and listens - and keeps an eye out for anything that might run back into the room. Those demons did run out, and he hasn't forgotten that.

"Some do," the woman answers first, though it's barely more than a mutter made during brief eye contact with Delilah, her nose curling just a little bit. Not quite a sneer, but maybe the larval form of one. "'Guild accredited' doesn't mean squat." Then she eyes the rest of you again before looking at what remains of the creatures you slew, and that brief moment of spine seems to snake out of her. "Look.. part of the job was not to tell anyone about the job, alright? And I know I owe you lot my life.. but this guy is not the kind of guy you cross. So just.. let it be, alright?"

"One question," Donna says, "then *I'll* let it lie. Is not hearin' about this job gonna get people killed? Cos if you don't talk, an' folks die..." The brawler trails off, but even then makes it very much clear what she feels would be the result of that outcome.

"Well," Ashlee says, continuing to stare at the woman, and speculates. "If he is a secretive man and he knew about this, he's likely the cause. If he was the cause, he knew the strength. If he sent an under-strength party, he was hoping you would lose, and become the meat hosts for those worms."

She stares at the woman, "If you want to protect that, well, what she said." The mourner gestures at Donna.

Strike hmm's softly, stopping close to hand should the woman bolt, but she tries to keep an eye on the entrances. That would be a pickle to be in, "Did the creatures say anything, or just attack?" she'll work the corners to try and get what she can without... or the others can lean on her.

"So wait, who's _he_?" Asmli continues to keep a watch, but interjects a question of his own./

"Actually," Delilah interjects, "I want that you should tell us who your employer is, 'cause I think the important thing for all of us to do," she gestures to the rest of the group, "As soon as we get back topside, is to find this guy and cross him. Like, cross him off the list of people causing trouble in Alexandria. I'm sure the courts would *love* to have a chat with him, if he behaves like you describe."

The woman presses her lips tight together at what she obviously interprets as an accusation from Donna, but she isn't immediate with a retort. It's not as though she is unaware of the balance of power here. So she at least takes the time to, or appears to, consider what the dark haired pugilist and the skull faced mourner have to say. Strike's query gives her a chance to delay that answer. "They screeched and screamed at us.. if they were talking, I don't want to know what language it was," she admits. Then sinks down as Asmli and Delilah chime in as well. "Look! I don't know if people might die from me not saying... I know people will definitely get hurt if I do say something! It isn't like some of you 'guild' types haven't ever hurt someone before just because they didn't do what you wanted! I owe you my life. But I don't wanna spend the rest of my life hiding from this guy, alright? Nothing I did down here was illegal. And I could have run too, you know."

Ash loses interest in the questioning. Dead bodies are much easier to deal with, and as things would have it, there is a dead adventurer nearby. Partly because she couldn't get close enough to heal in time, which leaves her feeling a little guilty. So, she should tend to the corpse and makes an effort to do so, heading down to the lower level to collect it and drag it back to the side.

Just a reguar human corpse.

"All right," Donna says, flexing the fingers of her outstretched hand. "I said that was the last question I'd ask, an' I meant it. So: You stickin' with, or you want directions out? Cos an extra pair of eyes might help, but if you wanna cut an' run, don't much blame you. We got our own job to do, an' we gotta get to it ourselves."

Strike continues to try and watch the entrances, weighing the woman's word. She nods at last, then moves toward the body the Mourner is examining, "I can help carry him."

GAME: Ashes rolls diplomacy: (14)+0: 14
GAME: Delilah rolls diplomacy: (1)+13: 14 (EPIC FAIL)

A khazad with a weapon near as tall as he is not the best diplomat, the moreso when it and he are both covered in blood. Like Strike, he opts to watch entrances rather than listen to the questioning at hand.

"Thanks," Ashlee says, as Strike assists her with the body. They get to the edge, out of the way. She holds up her hand. "Smoke break."

She reaches into her satchel, takes out a clove cigarello. Torches and fire were used in the battle, so a smoke should be fine. She lights it up, takes a few draws, then blows the smoke out. She watches it curl up towards the ceiling. "We only have so much time before the other adventurers escape. Catching up with them is the best use of our time."

The woman watches Donna for a moment longer.. clearly she has trust issues, but at last she nods, begrudgingly if a little bit gratefully to the woman's willingness to drop it. And the apparently willingness of the others. Then she notices the body that Ashes and Strike are moving and she pales a little bit.. "Kalid.." she murmers, then shakes her head. "I'll.. if you have no intention to leave him here, I'll follow you. I don't want to leave him here for those.. things. I'll help carry him."

Meanwhile, Ashes's drifting smoke curls about, swirling in the air.. clumping a bit thicker than normal, perhaps. Then seems to dissipate, fading into the darkness.

The smoke shows nothing.

"Ok." Ash says, that makes things easier for her. She moves so the woman can help with Kalid. She holds her cigarello at her side, watching the smoke fade away above her, and shrugs, "Nothing all that good or bad will happen if we follow them. Do you want to return to the Turtles?"

Strike nods to Ashes, then glances over her shoulder toward their new friend while the Mourner gets her jones under control. The half-mul shifts positions slightly, to better distribute the load, "We should let them know what's happened at least, then complete the mission."

"Could be as they'll have somethin' to say about what we just fought," Donna drawls. "Problem is... Couple got away. So unless we follow 'em, an' follow 'em *perfect,* tonight's only gonna get worse." At the note of her fellow fistfighter, however, she nods. "Y'got a point. Still got our mission... Asmli, you saw which way they ran? Only might be as we'll wanna let the turtles know that."

Just before she turns away from the adventurer, Donna leans in close. "Sorry for the gnawin'. But, more sorry for your friend, y'know? Nobody deserves what happened." Patting the woman's shoulder, she moves on toward the entrance, and their eventual destination.

"Yeah, they went that way." Asmli fress one hand from the urgrosh long enough to point down the western passage, flashing a cheerful grin at Donna. "Want to go after them?"

The party makes the return trip to the turtle guardians without incident. Well, without malicious incident. It's a little harder going, returning with a body as they are, but by now they have become hardened sewer spellunkers and have the footing of a nimble sewer crocodile. The turtles themselves are disappointed that some of the demons escaped. However, after listening to a description of the battle and the foes faced, they don't begrudge their efforts and agree to accompany them to the anomaly they were sent to investigate what may seem like ages ago.. though was in fact only hours. Perhaps the better part of a day.

The anomaly itself is rather... unremarkable. Visually there is very little to see... those sharpest of eye might, MIGHT feel as though there are a little bit of a distortion in the air in the small alcove the alcove that Vonnegot leads everyone to. Detection magic, of course, yields an obvious trace that seems to possible link it to the greater magics that had once made a giant summoning circle beneath the city much in the manner that small fissures might be randomly linked to a greater earthquake. The scanner box they were sent with, of course, reacts quite energetically to the disturbance. It emits a rather annoying buzz and seems to vibrate in Victor's hands. Vonnegot remains with everyone while they allow the box to do its thing and when it eventually seems to stop its activity, probably done with its task, he leads the party back to his brother who has by now recovered quite nicely.

Then it's back to the two.. scholars? Artificers? Portal.. hunters? who sent the group down into this dark and stinky place. Their reaction is quite disappointing, considering the interactions with the turtles.. they seem much more interested in the box than anything the party might have to say about what they faced down there. And though they don't exactly ignore their report, there is a definite sense that they would much rather be spending their time analyzing the results of their box's recordings than worry about what might be sneaking out of the rift that was discovered.

The turtles indicated they will be remaining for a time, as the rift is still open. The two portal hunter guys seem to have a continuing interest in the rift as well. There may be more things to follow up on.