Chapter 2: Alone

Forum for online DragonMech game "Destiny of Steam and Steel."

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sedm1549
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Post by sedm1549 »

connaught isn't phased by the sight before him (fort 11+3) and takes up a position between hemispheres feet and the downed mech from which he can cover robert. He has his twin barelled rifle drwn and his sword at his hip.

"I wander if we could get this heap running again?.... once we've got ride of this green stuff." he mutters to himself. Rolls 14+8=22 mech craft check to try and assess the damage to the mech from his covering position.
Raptor
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Post by Raptor »

If the mech doesn't appear to be recoverable, I think we should go ahead and move on, following Nedderpik.
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Post by Reese »

Namfoodle watches anxiously from inside the hemisphere...
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
{Wounds -12; HP = 11/23}
Charke
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Post by Charke »

Destiny of Steam and Steel
Nedderpik

Music
Leaving behind the disolving mech, Hemisphere continues east after Nedderpik. Repairs come to a halt on Hemisphere. Without certain parts they simply can not continue. You make good time and by the end of the third day you are sure you can see Nedderpik in the distance.

As you approach on the morning of the fourth day since the disolving mech you see a great congregation of people moving away from Nedderpik. It is easy to identify them as citizens of the collosal city mech. Some are injured. Others are overburdened with goods and property.

Crench slows the mech and the refuges swarm around the legs of Hemisphere so that the mech could not move without hurting people for sure. There are perhaps five hundred refugees. Some are armed.

It is only a few minutes before you hear a steam weapon fire harmlessly at Hemisphere. There are cries of "lets us aboard".

Hemisphere is a big mech but hardly suited to take on passengers. It could cram on 100 passengers if every nook and crany were occupied but that is about all. It would make opperating the mech difficult and repairs impossible. It would also mean dumping any extra supplies. Hemisphere barely carries enough food for the current crew.

"We've got a problem." Comments Hammer.

The cries of the mob below become louder as the mech's engine cycles into a standby mode, concerving water.

Like a line pointing towards Nedderpik are large square pools of green liquid - Nedderpik's footprints. You notice that the refugees have avoided them. No one has walked through them, or even near them.

Music
"The last person onboard locked the lower doors right?" Crench asks from the pilot's chair. "Right?"

Mark Charke
Raptor
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Post by Raptor »

We may have to scare them away from the mech, Connaught get ready to fire a shot from one of the steam cannons over their heads, Namfoodle get a scary illusion ready, I'm going to move the lower doors in case anybody tries to get in, and to try to calm everybody down and get some info.
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Post by Charke »

Destiny of Steam and Steel
Knock Knock

Music
Raptor gets down stairs in record time. The outer doors to Hemisphere appear to be locked, at least in this leg. But there are people hammering on the door. Hemisphere is a solidly built mech. It is unlikely they will get into the door, unless they have some kind of mechanical cutting tool or a spellcaster. Even if they did, that person would have to fight their way forward and get to the door. It'll probably hold in the short term.

Spatz swings into one of the gunner chairs and loads a dry chamber in the steam cannon.

"It'll make a big pop but it won't hurt anyone."

Never the less, he dials the gear around and aims well into the sky.

Mark Charke
sedm1549
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Post by sedm1549 »

"Wait!!!! Do you think its such a good idea to fire on them, even if we are firing blanks and shooting to miss. What if they call our bluff........ There are experienced military personnel down there and if they see we shooting with no intention to harm they'll know we not going any where if they hold their ground. 500 scared people will find a way in some how, given time, and if they think we’ve tried to stop them then we could be in a lot of trouble. 50 to one is not good odds....... I think we'd be better trying to find some one in charge down there, maybe off loading some sheet metal and escorting the refugees to a more protected area so at least they can build some shelter from the lunar rain before sun set. If we offer our services as protection they may not try to take hemisphere. Right now we’re a buffet for a lunar dragon stuck here unable to maneuver."

Connaught turns back to the gun sights of his station, cursing under his breath and banging his fist on the controls in frustration.

"Why didn't we investigate that other mech more thoroughly? If Nedderpik has that green stuff onboard we missed a good opportunity for a trial run at getting rid of it. Think of the reward we could have got for saving a city mech!!!!!!!!"

He slumps back in the chair.

“I’ve said my bit. It’s your mech guys and it's the best place to be right now so I'll do whats needed, what ever you decide that is. Gunner Station 4 ready and awaiting orders…………”
Reese
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Post by Reese »

(How good a look at that green goo did I get from the mech when we stopped to look at that last puddle? )

Namfoodle reaches out with his mind and contacts his familiar, Huginn, who is and has been staying with the other birds that live on the upper regions of nedderpik. He sends to Huginn feelings of curiosity about the mech, asking what impressions Huginn can give him of what has been going on in the mech over the last week or so since the lunar creature's attack. Namfoodle also sends a command for Huginn to come to the large mech approaching now, and gives an impression of the Hemisphere mech for the bird to follow.

"I know just the thing to use to get those people away from us."

Namfoodle begins to chant and gesticulate, concentrating on what he remembers the lower leg plates of the Hemisphere looking like... green slime like that he saw on the downed mech the other day, and that which is in the pools of nedderpik's footprint, begins to appear at the cracks and seams of the hemisphere's legs, seeping out to covering the lower portions.

--edit--

(casts 'Minor Image' DC 18 Will save to disbelieve if interacted with... which I have a feeling the people down there will not want to do :twisted: )
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
{Wounds -12; HP = 11/23}
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Post by Orin »

"We should run. There is no way that they can keep up with us, and nothing that we can do for them"
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Post by Charke »

Destiny of Steam and Steel
Nocking on the Door

Music
The mob hammers against the door. They roar and yell. Some plead. Some demand. They all want in. There are even like-minded individuals such as yourself. They hollar for organization and calm. Its not all five hundred trying to break in. Some even break away and start moving farther from the mech.

Hammer listens for a few minutes.
"We have to go out there. We'll climb down the outside of Hemisphere. Then we can find out what is happening. It's a one-way trip. Once we climb down they will be climbing up the mech trying to get in. We won't be able to open the hatch again without problems."
"When we get down, if things get ugly, someone can fire a blast to distract them. Then we make for Neddirpik. That is the source of food and protection for these people."

Namfoodle begins to chant and gesticulate, concentrating on what he remembers the lower leg plates of the Hemisphere looking like... green slime like that he saw on the downed mech the other day, and that which is in the pools of nedderpik's footprint, begins to appear at the cracks and seams of the hemisphere's legs, seeping out to covering the lower portions.

The croud scatteres like flies.

"Or, we could just wander out the legs now." Hammer shrugs. "Spatz and Crench will be in charge while we're gone. Glod, Namfoodle, Robert, Cognaught - feel like crawling through a dungeon the size of a sky-, er mountain?"

Music
Familiars
There is some ducking when a large black bird comes diving out of the sky. It looks malnurished. The bird lands on Namfoodle and pecks at him until he feeds it.
"Huginn I presume?" Hammer comments. "Wait till Joey sees you. I just have a crow. He'll be all put out that you have a larger bird, Namfoodle."

Namfoodle feeds Huginn some scraps of bread and nuts that he keeps with him for just that purpose, and rubs the black bird's beak top affectionately. "Sorry about the staleness."

Joey, freed from Hemisphere, does not visit but makes a black speck in the sky above.

Music
Civilization
Spatz decends from the mech and goes to talk to the people who are better organized. They agree to begin building shelters. In the case of lunar rain they will use Hemisphere as an umbrella. Until then, Hemisphere will work diggin holes for shelters and such.
Watching the enourmous mech digging holes is comical. It was clearly not designed for the purpose and the first effort plows up a great chunk of earth into the air and makes it rain dirt for a while. Kicking up piles is moderately more effective.

Music
The Story
Shortly someone approaches the group and explains what has happened. He says his name is Steve and he worked maintenence.

"At first we didn't think much of it, right? It's just sludge. Green sludge but sludge. Nothing to be worried about. But we kept finding it. It was everywhere in the mech. Nothing stopped working but we decided to find the source of it. It eluded us. Thats when people started to go missing.

"The big boys just called out their magic maker and he waved his hands over the stuff and frowned. Thats about all he did. I never saw him again but I figured he was working on the problem. The mech stopped about a day ago. It just come to a dead stop, no warning bells, no announcements.

"There are THINGS running around in there. They were taking people. We got out of there but there are lots more people inside. They have no way out. Not like things are better out here." Steve kicks the ground. "What're we going to eat? The foods all in there." He points back at the moving landmark.

Music
Neddirpik
There is a bright spark in darkness. It carves a circle in the black. Then it falls inwards. Light shines into the dark revealing a green, sticky floor. The party of would-be heroes peers into the darkness. There is a smell, part burnt oil, part wrotting chicken that wafts out turning noses.

"Nice."

There is a... ...well it looks like a tube, make of green flesh, that snakes across the deck. It pulses like a vein. The lighting is out but a few emergency lights can be seen glowing red and marking the exit route from the mech.

Hammer lights up a torch and steps in. He turns around. Written on the wall in "red" paint is a single word.

GOY

Music
EYES
Things are a little different now. He can not see all the pretty colors but he is not sure if that is because he has changed or if it is because Neddirpik has changed. He sort of moves now. He does not walk or run but the ground moves past anyway. He likes the taste of the floor. It tastes like bread. Its not the way he expected it to taste but he never took the time to check before. Goy is happy with him and that is all that matters to Grip.

The bright light does not exist to Grip except as pain. He does not like pain. It goes away but then it gets brighter. Warm tasty things wander in. Grip likes warm tasty things. He is hungry. He thinks he is hungry. Its sort of weird. He is never really hungry and never really gets full when he eats. Perhaps it is just a memory of hunger that drives him.

Yum. Three tall meat snacks and two shorter meat snacks. Warm and gushy.

Mark Charke
Last edited by Charke on Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:54 pm, edited 8 times in total.
Reese
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Post by Reese »

Namfoodle feeds Huginn some scraps of bread and nuts that he keeps with him for just that purpose, and rubs the black bird's beak top affectionately. "Sorry about the staleness."

The little gnome wizard maintains his illusion until the party is outside the mech and moving towards the monsterous and motionless metal hulk of Nedderpik.

(I can maintain it so long as I only take move actions, so as long as the party doesn't walk too fast i can keep up and maintain the spell.)
Last edited by Reese on Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
{Wounds -12; HP = 11/23}
sedm1549
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Post by sedm1549 »

Connaught grabs some things from his gear ( 1 magnet bomb, 1 sunrod, a crow bar and his waterskin).

"Lets go." he says as he dons his rapier and grabs his rifle.

Along the trip towards the still hulk of Nedderpik he keeps a watchful eye out, not wanting to be suprised by any other threats.

spot checks 15, 14, 18, 20, 21, 8.

He also keeps close to Namfoodle, trying to make sure he is not disturbed during his casting.

"That was a good move back there Namfoodle. It would have saved us having to try and bluff or fight our way out if the crowd had turned. I'm all for a bit of a scrap but only if theres a chance of winning."

Once at Nedderpik connaught follows hammer in. "Great, lights are out. Under torch light rifles wont be much good." He sholders his rifle. "So where do we start? I recon we head for the engine rooms and try and get some of the mechs internal systems online, like lights. What ever is in here taking people can too easily get the drop on us like this."

He looks over to the wall and down to the green "vein".

"Any one got any ideas what we're dealing with?"
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Post by Raptor »

Robert says "I'll take the lead, which way to the main engine rooms?"
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Post by Orin »

Glod brings out his "Looks and Maps" steam power so that it is possible to look around corners to check for that anything with large teeth isn't lurking looking for a surprise. He also has his force generator and modified steam cannon ready.
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Post by Charke »

Destiny of Steam and Steel
Drums, drums in the deep ... they are coming.

Music
Cognaught steps into the darkness with sharp eyes. He spots the man almost immediately. Well, it looks like a man. It's a wet gurgling shape at the far end of the bay standing, perhaps leaning, against the wall.

Robert says "I'll take the lead, which way to the main engine rooms?"

Hammer closes his eyes. "It's up about forty levels. The best way is probably up the main ladders. Even if its blocked off, there are plenty of optional routes up. I wouldn't try the elevators. Someone got jambed in them for a week once - and that was during normal operations."

Glod gets a wonderful look ahead at more green moving veins. They work their way up into the pipes. There is a great bulging sack of green in the mech bay. It looks like its filled with liquid. Its taller than a man.

"Any one got any ideas what we're dealing with?" Cognaught asks.

"It looks like green slime. Heck, it smells like green slime." Hammer says. "I've just never seen it do this. Maybe it has something to do with the lunar creatures?"

"Lunar slime?"

Shrug.

The mech bay is very large. Most of the mechs are gone. Some of the space is occupied by veins and the sack of green. There is the gentleman across the way leaning on the wall. There is elevators up, and the main ladders. There are no stairs to the next elevation. Neddirpik looks mostly intact. You can hear the hiss of steam but the main engine appears to be offline or dormant.

Mark Charke
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Post by Reese »

"Where is our room in relation to the engine room? I want to get something I left there, if I can."

"And who's that over there?"
Namfoodle "Sparklediver" Raulnor
{Wounds -12; HP = 11/23}
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Post by Orin »

Glod waves a nervous greeting at the gentleman.
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Post by Charke »

I'm starting Chapter 3: Neddirpik.

Mark Charke
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