Outside 46

[billtodamax]

[Dragon Mountain]

Marshall will give Damon a second or two to get further inside before pulling a flare from his pocket and cracking it, bright red light spewing forth from the tip. Hopefully they haven't damaged it already. That could complicate matters. He says to Cass, before heading into the mountain after Damon. The earth spirit happily follows along.

[Arkhosia]

Clearing

Keiko shakes her head. "In my home, even the simplest of men and women can expect to fight at some point in our lives. It is just... the way of the continent, I suppose." She tries not to think about it, especially now that she is, at least for now, very much not in her home.

She watches Murasaki reveal herself, while attempting to keep an open mind. Obviously she was telling the truth about being the spirit of that sword, but it didn't make it sound any less strange to her ears. "Then I am glad to see you, Murasaki." She is seated, but still bows her head towards Murasaki.

Because I forgot to describe her earlier: Keiko has a deep tan skin, and a slim build. For the moment, she is only wearing her plain shirt and trousers, and her red plated armor lies beside her. Her brown hair only reaches her shoulders, and her grey eyes are trained on Murasaki's form and outfit.

Murasaki smiles before folding her hands together and stretching them to the sky with a soft yawn. "As am I; I've resided exclusively within there so long, it feels heavenly to finally slip free for a brief while." She then kneels down to sit across from Keiko, and while she looks fairly tangible, the warrior might notice that it's not quite the real thing; the dirt doesn't shift and displace under her form.

"So! Might I ask more about the woman who I have earned the honor of serving?" The spirit tries to keep her tone as calm and casual as before, but she can't help but let a bit of eagerness creep in.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Mountain]

Damon follows along the trail of whoever-it-is that can through here before them, running his hands along the stalagmites as he goes, leaving a little trail of black fire behind. He pauses once he hears the heavy breathing though, raising a hand to signal to the other two to stop. Regardless of whether they do or not, he crouches down and advances slowly, trying to get a view of the source of the breathing.

[Devixer]

Outside Chapel

Haar resists a little, but once he sees that the tribals are only trying to treat Faudre, he is quick to let up and allow them to help her. Some medicinal herbs are stored on the stachels on his back, but he has no way of communicating this to them, so they likley go unnoticed.

In any case, it isn't more than eight hours before Faudre's eyes open, and she rolls over with a pained groan.

Clearing

"I suppose you might, though I am afraid my tale is not an exciting one. I hail from Scaji, a nation built on the swamps of the west in my home. I have dedicated my life to proper walking of my Path, and in honing my skill as an artist of the spear." She glances at the sword Murasaki resides inside. "Though I suppose I shall have to expand my skillset."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside Chapel

The tribals are descended from feral children left behind by the apocalypse, with the occasional outsider joining the group (typically by marriage or adoption), so they don't have much knowledge of herbalism or medicine in general. They wouldn't know what to do with the herbs, except possibly season their meals.

When Faudre awakens, I'm assuming she's in the bunker. She's lying on a bunk, possibly naked, with her weaponry, armour and clothing lying nearby, though she's under an old and worn Thomas the Tank Engine blanket. There's an old lady sitting on a chair nearby watching. The lady has heterochromia, the same as the girl Faudre rescued, with white hair and tanned skin. It's the kind of tan from a lifetime of living and working outside. She's wearing a skirt made from the furs of small animals- rabbits and squirrels, mainly, but there's some cat in there too- and an old shirt, patched and repaired to the point it's more patch than original material. Sewn onto her clothing are beads and other small ornaments; gold rings, flashy costume earrings, coloured paperclips and similar things. She won't say anything until she's sure that Faudre's awoken.

Haar will be given an antelope after four hours, just to keep the giant flying death-lizard not hungry. He makes most of the tribals nervous.

[Rebonack]

[A Completely Innocuous Picnicking Area]

You know the sort. One of those grassy rest stop sorts of areas, festooned with tables, free-standing grills, and signs displaying educational information about the area. There are some bathrooms nearby, a squat brown building of the sort one might encounter at a rest stop or park. Not an Inside sort of park, mind. A bathroom at an Inside park would probably be full of ghosts or monsters or something. The most horrific thing in these bathrooms might be an overly large moth or a dearth of toilet paper.

More than a few families are gathered her, but they're mostly the sort that are just passing through. A quick pit stop to stretch the legs before moving on. A place of liminality. People didn't usually come here to come here. They came here because they were going somewhere else.

But one person? One person came here. She keeps coming here. She keeps coming back. There's just something about this place that resonates with her.

A totally normal human child clad in an adorable kangaskhan hoodie approaches the table, a paper bag clutched in her hands. She hops up onto the bench and fishes out half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Mister Nutters is already scampering down a tree in that jerky, start and stop way that squirrels do.

"Hi Mister Nutters," Khannie calls out as she begins peeling the crusts off her sandwich. She doesn't really like them, but she always insists that they stay on because Mister Nutters likes them. She isn't really sure if Mister Nutters is a mister or not, but that probably doesn't matter any. A few crusts are tossed on the cement for the squirrel. She eats half the sandwich, then hops down, skipping along the well worn trail past the big sign that talks about different sorts of birds. Khannie holds her hands out to either side as she walks, feeling her fingers rustling against the dry grass and listening to the bugs droning at each other. She smiles at the crisp scents of approaching autumn. They're nice. They mean her birthday is getting close.

But she hasn't gotten that much bigger.

She should be.

But she hasn't.

It's an uncomfortable reminder that she isn't human, not really. She doesn't get bigger and tougher unless she works at it.

And that's why she's here.

The three granite pillars loom before her, their surfaces pock-marked with little craters. The stream is just behind them, lined with great big alder trees, their yellowing leaves swaying in the breeze. The sun is shining. The birds are signing. What a beautiful day for a kid like her to be punching some rocks.

Khannie drops her lunch bag atop a smooth stone and retries some hand-wraps from them. She winds the bandages around her knuckles, briefly centers herself, and then yells.

"Yreeeaaagh!"

CRACK!

Again.

And again.

And again and again and again until she loses track of time.

Chips of stone shudder off the monolith as she pulls her fist back, a little bit of red showing through the bandages. It hurts, but its a good sort of hurt. She slumps against the implacable stone, reaches into her bag, and retrieves the other half of her sandwich.

The second half always tastes so much sweeter.

[Deathkeeper]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Somewhere, a bell rings.

When Khannie looks up from her sandwich, there is a dog there. A large dog. Tall as a child, and black as the inside of a sealed tomb. It stands there, its head perfectly aligned so it blocks the sub from Khannie’s eyes, the bright light behind its head like a halo. Its pointed ears turn at noises heard and unheard, regarding Khannie with calm, pale eyes, taking in the sight of her, her meal, the r-

Squirrel!

-the red on her bandages, which, minus the blood, seemingly mirror a set of deep purple bandages wrapped around its ankles.
But much more importantly, it regards the food. Which it gazed at intently, before issuing a command with the subtlety of a knife and the finality of death itself.

BOOF.

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Khannie freezes, mouth open and sandwich hovering a few inches away.

This hasn't ever happened before.

Well... no, that isn't totally true. Someone's dog came wandering down the trail and begged for food that one time. But this is pretty different, since it was just a normal dog as opposed to an... abnormal dog.

She quickly chews and swallows the bite already in her mouth and sets the rest of her sandwich in her bag.

Then the dog barks.

Khannie starts a little.

"Umm... are you hungry?" she asks, eyes turning to the bag again before rummaging around inside. "Do you like... um... do you like salami or string cheese?" she continues, holding up the proffered items. She was going to be putting that stuff on some crackers after she was done with her workout, but something tells her that presenting an offering of food to the strange dog is a good idea.

"Can you talk?" she asks, almost as an after thought. "You aren't one of those fairy dogs, are you? Not like snubble or whatever, one of the scary magical ones that steals people's names and stuff."

[Arkhosia]

Clearing

"I suppose you might, though I am afraid my tale is not an exciting one. I hail from Scaji, a nation built on the swamps of the west in my home. I have dedicated my life to proper walking of my Path, and in honing my skill as an artist of the spear." She glances at the sword Murasaki resides inside. "Though I suppose I shall have to expand my skillset."

"The Path? I am afraid that is not a ideology I am familiar with." the spirit responds, tilting her head. She was not terribly well versed in the many different codes and concepts that have sprung up around combat over the years, her knowledge limited mostly to just Bushido.

Murasaki couldn't help but blush a little as Keiko comments on her blade, a little flattered that the woman was willing to go through the process of learning how to wield her.

[Deathkeeper]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

The dog does not reply. But it does not consider the cheese. Cheese is not good for dogs. It happily takes the meat though, devouring it in a very much doggy way, before immediately straightening back to its impassive look.
But its tail now thumps against the ground, oblivious to the serious image.
BOOF.
Khannie’s offering has been found acceptable.

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Khannie briefly considers all this. The possible meanings. The implications. How she might respond.

Firstly, she should go to the bathroom and wash her hands before she eats the rest of her sandwich. If her dad found out that she was eating food with dog slobber all over her hands she would get in trouble.

"I'm going to be right back, okay dog?" she says, quite certain that the dog will probably reply with another boof and maybe follow her. She's not sure what to make of these happenings. It's breaking her stride! She quickly hurries back down the path to the bathroom, slipping inside past a few older girls that cast a sarcastically appraising look her way. She does her best to ignore it as the warm water runs over her hands. She ignores the mean spirited laughter as she rinses the soap of.

They think her hoodie is dumb.

She doesn't correct them. Doesn't explain that it helps ground her. Makes it easier to draw on her moves when she's human when she's wearing something that reminds her of herself. She certainly doesn't punch any of them.

Dad has been very clear on that point.

No punching people. She could hurt them really badly, really easily.

Khannie hurries back outside, face a bit red, as she heads for the stream.

Once she's on the other side, there are plenty of things she can punch without feeling bad about it.

[Deathkeeper]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Khannie might be observant enough to note that while there’s still some red encrusted onto her knuckles, the skin is perfectly whole once it’s washed off. Isn’t that nice?

On the other side of the shore, the dog is waiting for Khannie. It stares at her, expressionless, before it turns with a nearly silent echo of a distant bell chiming, and disappears into the trees.

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Khannie has concluded that this dog is really weird.

Did it have something to do with the goblins that were always lurking around the forest here? She hadn't ever seen it before, but with the weird sorts of things that lurk around the Nexus, one can never be sure.

She steels herself briefly and then hops over the creek.

There are always weird things in the woods here. Things that don't seem quite right. They don't usually bother the people at the rest stop and she likes to think that's because she keeps beating them up to make sure they can't. She had originally came here because one of her classmates had talked about the creepy goblin things that had over-run the rest stop. No one was resting there anymore. So Khannie had done the only reasonable thing and rode her bike here to beat them up.

She hasn't been able to figure out how they keep coming back, though.

Things get dark in a hurry under the forest's dense red canopy, the only light coming in little neon pulses from twists and fissures running through the ground and trees. Everything about this weird place seems artificial and surreal. So old and yet so advanced. It makes for an uneasy feeling. Soon bits of architecture begin to appear, ruined buildings and little shrines holding ghostly flames. Khannie pushes a weird blue shrub aside as she delves deeper, careful to step around the skeleton the gnarled branches have grown around. He had really startled her the first time she found him. You don't usually expect to find random skeletons in forests.

And he wasn't the only one here, either.

Khannie freezes behind a large monument when a distant howl cuts through the forest, soon answered by two more.

Not close.

She should be okay.

A pack of those wolf-things had ambushed her the first time she ventured into the deep woods. That had been a bit touch and go.

The girl releases a breath she hadn't realized she was holding before venturing on. That squat little building should be nearby... Hopefully the goblins haven't repopulated the glade it's sitting in yet.

[Hattish Thing]

[Dead Pine Lake - Mysterious Meteorite]

By seven, the lingering light of the multicolored sunset had been obliterated by the rapidly falling night, shrouding the ancient woods below in darkness, the once brightly-colored sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black. Reflected upon the calm, cool waters of the cold lake below, a canopy of luminous stars can be seen, twinkling islands within an overhanging ocean of blackness. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then, but combined with the light of the full moon, the shimmering stars proved an adequate source of light, illuminating the night.

--

A faint wind brushes against the lake's surface, ripples ruffling the stillness of the surface, shattering the starry reflection just as something appears overhead, blazing in the heavens. Though difficult to tell at this distance, the celestial body overhead appears to be some sort of meteor, a brilliant streak of white tinged blue soaring above.

An hour or so passes before, finally... Impact.

The crater is enormous.

---

[Ralton Falls]

The elder halfling grumbles to herself for a few seconds before responding, her voice low and conspiratory. "Well... at least you seem enthusiastic, trch. It's not safe to simply stride down there, they'll see you! But, never you worry, freakishly tall one."

"There is... a secret path to the town."

[Deathkeeper]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Well if they have, they’ve certainly had a tough time of it today. In a clearing in front of her lie four very suspicious piles of glowing purple dust which quickly blow away in the breeze. In the middle is a man in red and black robes and a ridiculous golden jackal-helmet, pondering over a large blue dodecahedron.
”Hrm. Worth keeping it? I haven’t seen a cryptarch in months. Nah, it’s a blue. Worthless.” The figure crushes it like a soda can, and it crumbles into little blue cubes.

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Well.

Of all the things Khannie could have found in the glade, a guy with a silly looking dog helmet sure wasn't what she was expecting. It kind of reminds her of that weird black dog she met earlier. Maybe they're connected, somehow?

She couldn't be sure if he was nice or not. He probably blew up those goblin things that were always lurking around in the glade, but that doesn't mean he's a good guy. Bad guys blow up other bad guys sometimes, too. She could just keep hiding and wait for him to leave, maybe... She has the key to the funny elevator that goes down into the spooky underground place and she's pretty sure they dog-hat guy wouldn't be able to follow her. But... maybe he would be able to help? Or maybe he wouldn't.

Khannie wriggles behind the shrub for a few moments, waffling over whether or not she should stay hidden or reveal herself.

As the stranger is about to leave, she finally finds the voice to speak up.

"Umm... are you a good guy or a bad guy, mister?" she asks, trying her best to sound brave.

She's pretty good at sounding brave.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ralton Falls]

"Secret, huh?" Anika's plan had been to firebomb the town from above by shooting sunfire at it from above and then kill the infected fleeing the burning town, but maybe this might lead to something better. "Tell me more. I should mention though, I can fly. Shapeshifting is kind of my thing besides punching stuff."

[bc56]

Mysterious Meteorite

Someone approaches the meteor. A horse and rider approach the edge of the crater, cautiously at first, then more boldly. The horse is a fiery red, a majestic animal and clearly of noble stock. The rider, in stark contrast, is clad all in black, wearing a black steel helmet and a black gas mask with polarized black glass eyepieces on his head, as well as a long black trench coat, black leather gloves, and black hobnailed boots. A huge cavalry sabre is strapped to the rider's back. Trailing behind the horseman, a small number of skeletons in tattered uniforms from several armies can be seen pushing through the forest. The horseman reaches the edge of the crater and gazes into it through the glassy black eyes of his mask.

[Hattish Thing]

[Dead Pine Lake - Mysterious Meteorite]

Once beautiful, the area itself has suffered greatly due to the force of impact sustained by the meteorite. The crater itself, fortunately, has not yet fully flooded despite its proximity to the once-pristine lake. The meteorite at the center of the crater appears to have cracked somewhat, and radiates with a sickly, bright green light.

Steam rises from where water has begun to press up against the space-rock.

[Rebonack]

[Mysterious Meteorite]

Earlier...

Red Velvet had managed to irritate the princess.

Again.

She couldn't help it, being the sort of person that she was. Making people around her uncomfortable was par for course for a blood reaver like herself. Was it really her fault if some stuck up dignitary didn't get the joke and roll with It?

Apparently the Princess thought so.

And so here she was.

Patrolling out in the middle of nowhere.

Alone.

Because of some vague report that there might have been undead sighted near here. Maybe.

That maybe meant Red now has mud sucking at her hooves and burrs stuck in her coat. And as if that weren't bad enough a meteor decided to slam into the earth.

Quick reaction time had saved her. Red had thrown out an orbiting array of blood wards that ablated away the worst of the shockwave. By the time she was done bouncing off shattered trees she was a bit worse for wear, but thankfully she was made of sterner stuff than most.

Now...

Red Velvet, looking a little scruffier than usual, is trotting down into the crater her cloven hooves carefully placed on the loose, blasted stone. From her position she has no view on the rider at the other side of the ruin.

She does, however, have a view on the space rock.

"Well hello there," she hums. "You've managed to make an unpleasant evening a little more exciting. I do hope you've got a few more surprises to make this interesting, too."

Red canters at a brisk pace around the stone, looking at it from all available angles.

"I don't suppose you're full of mana worms, are you? That would be a fun distraction."

[bc56]

Mysterious Meteorite

"Open it." The horseman gestures, and two skeletons move forth from the treeline, clambering into the crater and brandishing their submachine guns, moving carefully toward the meteor.

[Hattish Thing]

[Dead Pine Lake - Mysterious Meteorite]

Clambering into the crater is relatively challenging, for the crater walls have been smoothed out by the impact. Still, for undead, the task is less difficult, accomplished within a few moments. Once stepping within sixty feet of the battered meteorite, the skeletons will likely begin to feel very unusual, their bones weakening and becoming almost soft as their marrow proceeds to liquify, so severe is the harmful radiation put forth from the asteroid. Regardless, their nature as purely skeletal beings protects them from a majority of the damage, allowing them access to the meteorite,

A large crack runs across the meteorite, a bit of pressure might chip away at a considerable chunk.

[Rebonack]

[Mysterious Meteorite]

As she paces around the space rock, Red's ear twitches toward a rather distinctive sizzling noise. She casts a sidelong glance at one of the hemo-wards circling her, its surface frothing like a boiling pot full of noodles. Except these noodles are made of blood and little chunks of bone. It's pretty gross. But it DOES inform her that something is trying to gradually, or even somewhat rapidly, eat away at her. That just means she'll need to make sure to back off before all the wards fail and give them some time to recharge. And of course something to snack on would help in that regard.

And oh hey look!

Random undead snacks!

A predatory smile spreads across her face.

"Well hello there, boys. Looks like someone has been naughty recently," Red purrs moments before she gives a shuddering gasp as a fissure opens up along her back, gore welling out into a pair of tendrils. The end of one resolves into a crystalline sidesword, blood weeping from sigils along its length. The other coalesces into a vile looking bearded axe, black ichor dripping from the fanged maw engraved on its flat. Everywhere the tarry grime touches the earth begins rotting. "I'm a bit peckish after taking a tumble, think you can spare a few bites to satisfy a lady?"

Technically she's supposed to ask if they're sapient first before wantonly devouring undead she runs across. Find out whether or not they're a threat to the living, too.

But given that she's out in the middle of nowhere at the moment, Red really doesn't care.

With a somewhat unhinged laugh, she aims to pounce on closest skeleton in a flurry of inhuman speed and grace. The sword darts out to turn the skeleton's gun aside while the axe lashes out to crush through its sternum and spine.

[Deathkeeper]

An Innocuous Picnic Area

The man jerks around, but relaxes when he sees Khannie, walking over. Up close, she can see that his robes are decorated with a large tree insignia that goes all the way up from his coattails to his shoulders. His gloves and boots are plated. And something large bulges from inside his robe in suspiciously where a shoulder holster would be. A bronze khopesh hangs at his hip.

”Little girl, you shouldn’t be hanging around here; it’s not safe.” he tells her, kneeling down. His voice has an odd, humming sound to it.
”I’m a good guy, obviously. Oh, have you seen my dog? Pitch-black with pointy jackal ears? Very good boy? I think the boss-man was using him for something; he doesn’t usually wander off.”

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

Khannie stands up straight and tall when the stranger approaches her!

"I'm really tough!" she insists, loudly. Maybe too loudly. She winces a bit at the sound, casting a furtive look over her shoulder on the off chance that something nasty heard her. When no masses of fangs and fur and muscle hurl themselves at her, she turns her attention back to the guy in the weird helmet and asserts again, "I'm really tough. I've been exploring the secret base down there for a while."

She points at the rather out of place looking metal platform on the forest floor, neon lights dancing across its surface. She doesn't explain that she has the key card to operate the little pillar next to it. That'll be a secret for a little while at least.

"I've been trying to figure out where the monsters keep coming from. I bet there's a monster making machine down there," she says, nodding to herself. Because of course there has to be a monster making machine! How else would those weird goblin things keep coming back so fast? She's pretty sure they're not real people. Just people shaped weapons. They had robot bits under the meat bits when she smashed the ones that were terrorizing the rest stop on her first visit. "I'm going to find it and smash it until it stops making more monsters."

And then? Talk of dogs.

"Oh!" Khannie replies with a smile. "I met him earlier. He boofed at me and I gave him some salami. Then he walked off into the woods. He's your dog, mister? He's a really neat dog. I'm Khannie Vallarm, who are you?" she says. Because clearly anyone with such a neat dog is trustworthy.

[bc56]

Mysterious Meteorite

The skeletons move to pry the rock open, when suddenly one of them is struck by the sudden attack by a mysterious monster pony. It collapses into a pile of bones almost immediately under the assault. The other skeleton seems to ignore the destruction of its comrade and reaches for the crack, attempting to pull it open. It's not stronger than a normal human, however, so its effectiveness might be limited.
However, far more happens at the rim of the crater. The horseman watches the skeleton shatter with detached disinterest, then motions to the skeletons behind him. Five of them break cover and draw their trench guns, moving into the crater. At the same time, War rides swiftly into the crater at an angle, looping around so that Red Velvet is suddenly between the skeletons and the horseman.

[Rebonack]

[Mysterious Meteorite]

Red sinks her teeth into the ruined skeleton, coming away with the barest sliver of unlife for her trouble. She pulls a face like someone who just tasted something unappetizing.

"Ugh. You're hardly even worth the effort to chew," she informs the still intact skeleton, largely ignoring it as it begins tugging at the meteor. As the skeletons up on the rim begin taking up positions, Red canters around to the other side of the huge space-rock, using its bulk to block their line of fire unless they start spreading out even more.

As the rider approaches, she'll find Red Velvet watching him appraisingly.

Red, for the record, is a unicorn. Lithe and leggy with a long, lion-like tail. Her coat is a (somewhat smudged and dirty) ivory white and her main a deep red with chocolate-y undertones. She doesn't move like a prey animal, however. The shape of her nostrils, mouth, and teeth suggest a predator. Her eyes are the clearest indicator that there's something wrong with her. She doesn't really have eyes. She has sockets. Sockets filled with thick gloom, orbs of sickly green light burning within. The blood tendrils are held in an almost relaxed stance as six gibbets of gore lazily rotate around her. One of them suddenly fizzles and bursts.

Aside from an ear twitching in its direction, she doesn't react.

"I take it these are your toys?" she calls out, her voice smooth as silk. "You'll have to forgive me for indulging. Now that I know they're nothing but empty calories I'm not interested anymore. A girl has to watch her figure, after all~!" she says, striking a pose that's simultaneously alluring and unsettling.

Creepy horse person.

[Hattish Thing]

[Mysterious Meteorite]

The "outer shell", little more than several layers of cosmic sediment piled upon a vile magical core, proves too tough to be torn asunder by the skeletal figure. However, like tearing an oozing scab from an infected wound, the skeleton will be able to rip away a good chunk that had been loosened by impact, creating a deep recess in the rock and allowing access to its foul core. The instant the chunk is removed, noxious green fumes belch forth from the rock's disgusting innards, rising lazily into the air as they begin to spread about. Anyone exposed to the gas will likely find their flesh burnt, inflicted by a supernatural rash which will rapidly become septic unless treated, in addition to the effects of the irradiated particles within the cloud. Anyone unfortunate enough to breathe in the poison fumes will likely find their throat and lungs thoroughly scorched.

As the unholy combination of poison, disease, and radioactive particles begins to disperse, onlookers will be able to notice what appears to be a thick membrane surrounding a bright green sphere at the center of the rock, all lined by pulsing runes which glow and spark quite violently. Of more immediate concern would be the fact that the gooey membrane begins to become watery as it's exposed to the air around it, melting down in the prescence of oxygen. A revolting slurping noise follows as the thick membrane of congealed sludge begins to collapse, allowing for a small river of rancid, curdled green fluid to spray out of the recess like a geyser of filth and infection, pouring down into the crater. The foul juice is accompanied by a particularly nauseating stench which wafts forth.

The shell itself is beginning to quiver.

---

[Ralton Falls]

The older halfling grumbles as she directs Anika towards the nearest window.

"You see that tree out there?! It's magic. It's a magic tree. Whisper to it, and it'll take you below, into the valley!"

"It's magic!"

[Deathkeeper]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

The man pauses for a moment.
”Well technically he’s my boss’ dog, but I’m his official Guardian.” he definitely says that as if the G is capital.
”Anyway if he’s being all aloof it means Big A has business for him. He’ll show up when it’s done. For now, I’m Morne-9, but don’t worry about the number. And I don’t suppose I can dissuade you from going in there, can I?”

[Rebonack]

[An Innocuous Picnic Area]

"Sorry Mister Morne, but I gotta. I'm training to be a big hero," Khannie replies mater of factly as she tromps over to the elevator platform and fishes strange looking little broken robot out of her pocket. She shakes it at the pillar a few times until the two machines interface with a low hum, followed by a click. Pillar and platform both light up in tandem.

The process takes a few moments, and if Morne decides not to allow a child to descend into a ruined facility alone he would have plenty of time to join her on the elevator.

Regardless!

There comes a sound of latches releasing moments before the platform begins to drop, the inner surface of the tunnel whizzing by at a dizzying pace.

"Don't touch the walls, mister, they'll peel your skin off 'cuz the elevator's really fast," Khannie warns him.

She... uh... she might have had experience with that once.

The platform finally comes to a rest minutes later, clamps locking it into place nestled in a little alcove. The room is dark, though not particularly dusty. The dim glow of neon paints everything in surreal colors and the occasional flicker of florescent light causes shadows to dance. Strange machines and storage devices are scattered about, along with tables loaded down with trinkets. Almost all of it is non-functional. Bits of ancient junk. A skeleton is sprawled across one of the tables, its bony fingers clutching a tablet with a shattered screen. A low hum permeates the room, and a soft breeze of recycled air rustles loose pages. In a dark corner a spidery looking machine watches Khannie with a single red optical sensor.

Motionless.

Waiting.

Khannie makes a face at it, just daring it to try to harass her. It wouldn't be the first time one of those dumb robots tried and failed to zap her.

From here the room splits off into three paths. A narrow catwalk to the east, a corridor lined with flickering alcoves to the south, and rows of boxy machines set with fans to the west.