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Post by A Witness... on Nov 1, 2021 20:35:24 GMT -6
Steve watched as his friends lowered themselves into the eggs. Chairs. Pods. Whatever. Their bodies sunk into the gel and vaporous connections began to form around each of their bodies.
Steve had seen a lot in the almost four months he’d been awake, but this strange sight made him take a step back. Something behind him cleared its non-existent throat.
“It’s going to be a while until they get adjusted.” Azeir's blue skinned Underhill body lay in its own pod, but standing next to Steve was a ghostly projection of the same. It stood a bit taller than the length of the prone body, “It could be weeks, if not months before they get their barring enough to even regain their self-awareness, much less figure out how to communicate.”
“I have ‘tagged’ you with the ability to enter the tower from each of the adjacent regions; Gaftwud, Proton or Myskidt. You can come and go as you please on that floor only. Once Simiae and Angelo have adapted we can reassess. Of course, you’re welcome to stay in the tower for the few weeks if you like, but it will be quite boring. I have looked into each of the three lands…”
“In Proton City the Ebony company of what you have called Sleastacks, and Mindmelt’s group still harass each other without managing to find the opportunity for a killing strike. Mindmelt continues to use guerilla tactics and exotic powers to attempt to pick them off a few at a time, and the Ebony scales use magic to try and track them down and target the Underhil whenever possible. They are both using up resources, and whittling each other down, but neither has been able to take the other out by themselves.”
“Maelstrom’s hurricane inches forward a little at a time taking a bit more land every week.” “Cyberilla and his small band are trying to withstand the storm on the island they’ve chosen to isolate themselves on. They are resourceful and may survive but are discussing whether to move farther in-land.” “A small group of teenaged, masked heroes have moved in from the northeast with the delusion that they may be able to make the area safe again from the Syndicate of Evil. But packs of hacked men patrol the edge of the area and attack just about anything that comes around.” “In Myskidt at least a half dozen Sleastack companies (close to 1,000 soldiers each) made mostly of dragon-spawn have moved from the island’s coast and set up camp right outside the tower entrance. The quantum radiation is beginning to affect them, but even with their magic the shamans are still not quite sure what’s happening. The leaders don’t care enough about the minions to protect them. In fact, they’re setting up camps of kobolds near the tower to study the radiation’s effects on them. In most cases there will be long term negative medical effects, but in some cases, they are mutating just like humans in Winmerica resulting in the rare benefitable ability. Their Underhil prisoners, of course, are immune to the radiation. With Angelo’s locks still in place they will not be able to get through the doors of the tower, unless a mole helps them or a kobold mutates a benefitable ability – both of which are a possibility.” “In Gaftwud, the railroad from Winmerica is almost complete to Sulfur, just a few miles south of the mine. I have detected that human and dragon-spawn have been meeting without conflict or bloodshed between the two areas. That mine is one of several caves in the area that holds some portion of the Shadow company. Again, this single company is a little less than 1,000 strong – almost the population of Winmerica itself, not counting surround compounds and farms. The rail goes directly North of Theta bunker, and a train has been set up to ride the rail. No one has harassed or pestered the bunker yet, but with the Asylum coming in and out it’s not much of a secret anymore.”
“It’s been over a month since I found my way into the tower. After we split up in Winmerica I discovered that some of the missing Underhil were most certainly being falsely accused by the council of Winmerica of crimes they did not commit and were being sold off to the Dragon-spawn company for gold… as the mines are mostly dried up in the wastes. However, some of my brethren were being helped to escape by Mindmelt and being ‘rescued’ to the tower. Which is how I found myself here. While I still desire to stop the persecution of my people in Gaftwud I am seeing a bigger picture. More information than I can reasonably process, and it’s taking my focus.”
“I am at your service for more simple questions, or any sustenance you require. Otherwise, you have freedom to enter and leave the ground floor as you desire.”
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Post by logan on Nov 2, 2021 22:58:05 GMT -6
Steve was silent for a moment. He needed time to process his friends "death". He gave himself half a minute- if he was going to get out of here, much less see them again, he needed to pull himself together. He breathed out, slowly. "Alright then. Let's get to work."
He turned to Azeir. "So, the tower has no defense mechanisms? None at all? If not, we'll need... something, I-I- ju-". Steve inhaled deeply once more- this had been an extremely long day. "Okay. We need to take stock of our situation. Currently, the Ebon Company has no means of accessing the tower, but they did do it once, and they have the means to potentially do it again at a later date. We have the tower locked so only we can access it. So let's break down our resources. Do we have any "offensive" defenses- things that can actually hurt the invaders. What do we have in terms of weapons- I believed you mentioned fetching the highest "energy potential items" from each of the three worlds? I know you can fluctuate the strength of the radiation field- could you increase it on the Myskadid- Miskcadidi-... the magic lizard side? That should kill off a good deal of them, maybe even some of the less mutated ones, as long as you lower the field back down after the effects kick in."
"That's our material situation. Let's talk intelligence. You obviously have the abilities to translate their language- is there anything you can do to allow me to speak to them? I know a few words, but not enough to really converse."
Azeir's form flickered for a few moments, then disappeared. Steve took that to mean that he was thinking. Steve used the opportunity to finish removing as much of the "Tower Masters" brain as possible. They had talked about it before as a group, so Azeir knew he was going to take it... Steve hoped. That would make for an awkward return. Either way, Steve needed the samples- and he had a little more than half a dozen test tubes to fill.
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 3, 2021 20:48:51 GMT -6
Steve filled up seven 8 oz. vials of Caretaker cerebral fluids. Analyzing the samples would be a whole new line of science back at Theta. It was clear to him was that it was a counter-agent to the mutations caused by some variant of the V20, at least the kind Simiae had taken to fix his leg. Steve couldn't help but wonder what would happen if you gave the right amount of this to someone who was born a moleperson.
A noise behind him caused Steve to spin around. Three creatures, or were they machines, were slowly lowering themselves from the ceiling. Their bodies were slightly bigger than an oversized football, and dangling below each of them were 6 extremely articulate tentacles as long as his arm. Steve instinctively named them Hexopi, and remained very still.
"Oh, don't mind them." Azeir's form faded back into the room, "That's just the automated cleaning crew. They come in lots of sizes depending on what task they're automated to do. Those are probably going to clean up the Caretaker's body and recycle it."
"I was able to get some additional information for you, but to clarify The Ebony company moved through the tower shortly after it was open, quite accidentally by a mole several years ago. Some of the tower deep was damaged and it allowed a Underhil to enter. In fact, what you call Sleastaks have been coming through the tower for well over a year. And they weren't the only ones, some non-intelligent creatures and some humans have come through as well. Now, thanks to you guys, the Ebony company is indeed trapped in Proton City. Same as the Shadow company in Gaftwud. There is no magic spell they have exhibited that can penetrate the Quantum Shell of the tower, so we shouldn't worry about that. The tower has never needed any defense other than it's camouflage, and The Push. Ultimately, no one has ever been able to even see the tower until my people accidentally discovered through the damage it took a few years ago. My people, the Underhils." Azeir looked proud for a moment and then his face hardened again.
"The major risk we have of being breached would be if any of the Kobolds mutated Underhil type powers... teleport, phasing, or something of that type. The Sleastaks in Myskidt are currently running those experiments themselves. They are taking losses, but there are over 6,000 of them in the mountain side camps in Myskidt made up of the 6 companies; Onyx, Ink, Obsidian, Raven, Charcoal, Sable. We could increase the radiation on that side, and we'd be speeding up the health issues and their side-effects, but we'd also be speeding up the rate of mutation... possibly helping them mutate a power that could help them more quickly. I'm sure the tower has other abilities, but as I've only been a Caretaker just over a month, and quite a bit of that distracted by keeping the tower functioning without a third one, I haven't really gotten a handle on how everything works around here."
"As you know we have many artifacts from each land stored in the tower. Most are salvage and parts, and were grabbed for their archeological interest only. However many items have been analyzed and give off some form of radiation or energy. The most powerful energy signature from Gaftwud, is a metal arrow like shaft tall as a man and with a metal bulb on the end. Even inactivate it's gives off a lot of radiation. I believe it's meant to be armed and then shot from some other device, possibly mounted on a vehicle. The most powerful energy signature from Proton City is a fist size prism. When it receives light it splits into other wavelengths even past ultra-violet and infrared spectrums. Once it even gave off X-rays and gamma rays. We've kept it in the dark since then and it seems to be dormant. The most powerful energy signature from Myskidt is a reptile skull about the size of a helmet. The tower's ability to detect the infusion of mana is very limited, so just the fact that we can detect it off this item means it must be impressive." Anyway, I don't have any real knowledge about how to use any of them. If there were any other specific thing you wanted me to search for it could take a while, but I could see if I could fetch it.... One final warning. The more number of items, and the more powerful they are that we 'check-out' from the stores, the more likely it is that we'll get the attention of the other caretakers. We have 30 years right now before we're busted, but that could shorten if we're too disruptive."
"There is one more other possibility....", A ghostly finger tapped a mouth that was either only light, or only in Steve's head, he wasn't sure which.
"The tower Hexipods (Steve adjusted the name in his head) that range out into the lands and gather the artifacts for the tower, have also gathered... well, to be frank, they gathered some denizens of each world as well. Usually wanderers, orphans and other loners. These living sapient creatures are kept asleep even during study. If you think it would help I could try and pull one out of hibernation. I've never done it before, and I hate to kill anyone accidentally, but if it's our only option I'd try for you."
"And finally, the tower can act as a translator, but only while both you and the other creature are inside. So you'd have to bring one in here... or at least to the ground floor. Which is where you'll be staying."
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Post by logan on Nov 3, 2021 22:54:38 GMT -6
Steve was briefly distracted as he examined the Hexopi. Robots- finally something in this tower he had a frame of reference for. They slightly reminded him of a cross between a sleek probe droid and a floating saucer. He didn't see any visible means of thrust, but he wasn't sure how much destruction those arms could wreak. He tried to guess the material, but it was probably pointless. He turned back to the hologram.
"Leave off the radiation then." It wouldn't be worth it to kill a few of them off just to make the remainder actually dangerous- after all, without powers, so far all they had shown was fire and fire-powder, which would do shit all against the Quantum Foam. "Why do the lizards want to access Gaftwud so badly, anyway? I've been working of the assumption it was just a new frontier, but I've learned to verify when able." Steve momentarily considered that they might be looking for something- like a reptilian skull- but that would have been to convenient. No, he feared they were here for gold and slaves- which meant they would be here to stay. "And something else- you said something damaged the tower a few years ago, that let the molemen enter. What was that? Was it connected to the Sleastaks as well?" An idea popped into Steve's head as they talked. "If I am in the Tower- with the door open towards Gaftwud- can you translate and amplify my voice like a speaker system, so I can talk to the camp directly? Even if there isn't a speaker on the outside, can you increase the internal volume enough for them to hear me from where they are?" Another thought struck Steve- he had forgotten something. "Azeir- you do want the Lizards gone, right? They shouldn't be on that side of the White Tower, so the Tower would want them to be where they should be? You have different priorities now, but I can't imagine there's much love lost between you and them." He phrased it like a question. "I obviously need them gone so I can go back to Winmerica and Theta- they're tearing the place apart anyways, and attracting far too much attention to this place- which neither of us want. I think I might have a plan to get them back to Lizard-land, but it depends on a couple of things. Do you know how much time each item would shave off our total?"
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 6, 2021 12:25:01 GMT -6
"I could not speculate on the Sleastack's motivations other than to say that the companies do not intermix much. They rarely coordinate efforts and march together, and they never seem to camp or share resources. This may hint at some kind of internal competition." "From my experience trying to get information on the Shadow company in Gaftwud as I investigated the disappearance of my kin, I can say that of the Underhils shipped off to the reptile camp at Goldeneye mine... 1) a very few have escaped to proton, usually with the help of Mindmelt's people, and most before you locked the tower... 2) most were sent into the Goldeneye mine, but... 3) a small selection of them were sent a mountain just 13 miles north west of the mine (and just about 21 miles south east of the tower). I surmise that this is the headquarters of their presence in Gaftwud."
"The damage to the tower occurred deep underground on the Gaftwud side about 40 miles south east, which I place under the facility where we met, Theta bunker. This also aligns with the old Underhil nursery rhyme about the deepest. Any Underhil that figures out that Theta bunker is what is referred to in that song would eventually be able to find or tunnel to the crack, and get into the Tower. It has been detected that there are already creatures from Myskidt that lurk down there. For any individual Underhil with average powers who accidentally wanders in there those creatures will likely result in them being eaten."
"Your words could be broadcast to a certain range, yes. The only Sleastack camp close enough would be on the Myskidt side, and the tower would have no ability to translate the words without a Sleastack inside the tower with you."
"I have no desire to to hurt anyone. I would like the humans of Winamerica to not sell my people to the lizard-folk. As for The tower, the prime directive instructions are to keep the environments separated, so yes, the tower's clean up crew that will show up in 30 years will likely be powerful enough to physically or energetically banish the people to their realm of origin. Not sure what that team will consist of, hexapus or caretakers or both, but I imagine those sent to fix a 'down' tower will be quite powerful. I imagine the three of us will either be destroyed at worst or have our minds wiped at best."
"Of those powerful items, we can try to extract them carefully, so the impact to our timeline will vary. I imagine at best it would be a year, and worst it would be 5 years, per item. Of course more mundane or broken items will attract a lot less attention."
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Post by logan on Nov 6, 2021 20:55:56 GMT -6
"Plan B time. Okay, I'll need to know more about what you can do inside this tower. I apologize if I'm covering already trodden ground, but I need to verify. On the ground level you can-
-Open the doors at will. -Project an Image of yourself -Drop and Raise the Walls. -Strengthen and Weaken the Radiation (and this is separate from the walls). -Translate any creature(s) within the tower. -Lock and Unlock the white "crates". -Activate the teleporter up and down levels, and from tower to tower (but its a one way trip)- Correct?
I need to know if you can-
- Project Images of things other then yourself (not illusions, but images of the surrounding area, or records of the surrounding areas. - "Feed" individuals to give them a relatively weak electric shock. - Control the Hexiopods (Do you have any knowledge of their combat capability or numbers?) - Move Items (like the skull or rock) within the tower without tripping the "alarm"."
Steve had an idea. Not a good idea, or a safe idea, but an idea. A second, less pleasant thought hit him. "The entirety of Shadow Company is not in that fort? I thought they were moving out of the mine?" Shit. This wasn't going to be as clean as he thought. "How many in shadow company are here, at the fort near the Tower?" After Azeir called them 'dragonspawn', Steve automatically assumed that they were led by dragons, with a sort of dejected emotion that could best be described as "well, fuck". It wouldn't strike him until a few minutes later that he had almost no reaction to the knowledge that dragons were real, and stood a decent chance of eating him. "You separated the group into multiple types- you mentioned minions and dragonspawn. I know there's at least three- dragonspawn, minions, and those weird basilisk creatures with gems in their back. Can you elaborate? What are we dealing with in Shadow Company? I assume we won't have to deal with a loose dragon running round Gaftwud."
Once he had his answers, he could start to put things into motion. This was going to be a very long day.
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 8, 2021 21:26:26 GMT -6
"Confirming your list with the clarification that the walls provide the radiation as a side-effect of 'The Push', the Tower itself does not. Also, there are two methods of transportation. First, the core elevator can move to any one of the 5 levels, but my control over that is weak. The second, apparently someone with V20 in their system can travel from Tower to Tower via transmitting themselves down a wall to the other side. It is unclear to me if this is part of the Caretaker's design, or just a side-effect of the V20." "I can project anything I want into your head. Pictures, thoughts, ideas, emotions, motivations, but I'm not very good at it quite yet. I imagine the Caretakers could wipe whole blocks of memory, or the entire personality." Steve briefly micro-flinched at this notion. Azeir was coming off quite a bit colder than he remembered. Rattling this idea off like it was just a fact. Steve considered if there would be any detrimental mental effects of a human hanging out in the Tower too long. "The Caretaker feeding system is something I can activate, but the target would have to be standing in the alcove for it to have any effect." "I have no control over the Hexipods at this time. It's something I can work on." "The retrieval of any item from the 'crates' without following the process has a chance of gaining attention if proper process and permissions aren't followed. The process would use the Hexapods to move the item to the research and testing room for the scheduled tests. I can't say that I understand the process or priority of these test yet." "As for the Shadow Company trapped on the Gafwud side. There is a camp near the alcove you came in consisting of 1 Basilisk (armored giant geckos), 2 Draconian (spell casters), 10 Lizard-men (musketeers) & a dozen Kobolds (soldiers/spear-men). They are actually split into two camps within sight of each other... one closer to the tower and one up on a hill/cliff." "For our sake we can call that a patrol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_organization). Following this logic the Shadow company should really be called a Squadron (1,000). The Shadow Squadron consists of five companies (250). Each company is made up of about 5 platoons (50). Each platoon is made up of two patrols of about 25 each. We have detected and tracked around 500 of them, so it's possible the whole Shadow Squadron wasn't in Gaftwud when you locked the tower. And so far we haven't seen the top echelon of leadership, but it is possible they also were trapped on the Myskidt side when you locked the doors. Regardless, I haven't detected anything that fits the traits you describe as a Dragon, but the Underhil's don't have that reference in our mythology."
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Post by logan on Nov 9, 2021 19:43:02 GMT -6
"I- what do you mean you don't have the reference, you were the one to say dragonspaw- oh, forget it". Steve reflected on Azeir's words as he returned a part of his attention towards focusing his mind against intrusion- he must have slipped at some point, though he was certain the Tower, if it truly tried, could tear his mind apart effortlessly whether he concentrated or not. Whether the tower controlled by Azeir could do so was another question. He had gotten better at keeping his focus even while otherwise preoccupied, but it could still be challenging at times. His mantra changed regularly, of course- today it was; He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts. Stephen King- Still relevant after 800 years, apparently. He wondered how many other people still remembered him. He reminded himself that he didn't know how much the Tower had changed Azeir- and now Simiae and Angelo as well. Hopefully, three foreign entities within the Tower would withstand its influence better than one alone, but he couldn't be sure.
"As long as we can move the boxes themselves around the Tower, I think I can work around it. Does it matter where the Quantum Foam makes contact for you to "seal" it? IE, could we attach crates directly to the wall? And what do you mean you have "limited" control over the teleporter?".
Learning about the tower was good and fine, but he needed more than intel about it- he needed intel on his enemies. He needed to think like the lizards. What would he do if he were a hierarchical band of presumably feudal reptilians, who are severed from their lines of supply and have no way to retreat? Put a watch over the tower- certainly, to report any potential disturbances, any chance they could return. Establish a forward base, necessarily, to have a sole refuge. Scouting missions, check. If I have the numbers, Lizard-Steve thought, I'd try to locate the weakest location I'm capable of holding. Raiding is fine for survival, but I'd need a permanent refuge eventually. Human-Steve (Steve-Prime to be exact, as there was two of him now) thought they weren't that desperate yet, but he couldn't be sure. In the end, he didn't know anything about the leaders- or did he? He knew they were dealing with Eckhart (or he thought he did) and he knew they have magic, and they had scouts. What information did they know? The camp (Patrol 1) fully saw the Posse (when there was a posse) enter the Tower, and seal it behind them- what was a desperate lizard to do then? Send a message to their command-what was left of it- of course. Assuming they sent it as soon as they took down the hovercraft, it should have arrived by now. "Azeir- do the Lizards have any reinforcements incoming? If not, tell me when you detect them." They should get there by tomorrow, or the day after if they were slow or disorganized (the later obviously preferable, for the moment)- either date was fine with Steve. He would need some time to prepare. He'd likely only get one shot at this, so he might as well see if he could get more than 50- maybe one or two hundred in total.
Was there anything else- Steve was anxious to begin moving. So much to do, so little time, but he had a rare chance to get a full view of the situation. What other resources did he have at his disposal. "Azeir you said you have certain specimens in cold storage, but were dubious of your abilities to control the process? Can you describe the specimens and the process?" Frankly, if all he had to do was release a deathclaw on the bastards, so much the easier- though, Major Austin reflected, that might not so much solve his problem as replace it with a larger one.
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 12, 2021 17:24:39 GMT -6
"I picked up the term Dragon-spawn from the reptile-men who came through the tower before. I didn't know that it referred to something from your mythology, until you brought it up."
"Not sure what you mean by "seal" it. The items are stored in the containers in the in-organic and organic storage rooms. They can be transported to the research rooms by the Hexapus and then back to the storage, but that's all I've seen happen. Wouldn't have the first clue about how to control that process enough to send it anywhere else."
"Limited control over the elevator. There are 5 'floors' that are not in 'physical proximity' to each other. The Caretaker control room (with the 3 pods), The Ground floor (where you are now), Above, Below, and Top. I could send you up or down, but can't guarantee which floor you wind up on, or if we could continue to communicate after you made it there."
OOC: I added the the organic specimens options just in case we wanted to use it as justification to pull in other players.
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Post by logan on Nov 13, 2021 0:26:37 GMT -6
It seemed odd, but he let the issue lie. He had other concerns after all. "When we found the- I'm just going to call them "crates"- they weren't just sealed shut, they were physically fused together. Angelo and Simiae had to unstick them from each other and the floor before we could move them. There was one container- it couldn't have been bigger than my fist, and I could wave it around like child with a pebble- but before Angelo released it, it was like trying to lift the hammer of Thor. I'd say it was some kind of magnetic lock, but I'm guessing its more complicated than that. So, could we move the crates and "freeze" them in place in a different location?"
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 13, 2021 11:54:12 GMT -6
"The challenge there is even getting them unfrozen at all so we can move them. Only the Hexapus, and I guess someone who has taken the V20, can even remove, open or move them. Again, if you're looking for something specific I could try and find it, and then try and open it. Again, I've only been at this just over a month and my control over this place isn't very well practiced. I think, as you learned from Angelo, if you fail to 'hack' the system properly for any given action you are locked out from that action... near as I can tell forever. I imagine it's just until the system is reset, but that will probably only happen in 30 years."
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Post by logan on Nov 15, 2021 1:30:47 GMT -6
Steve contemplated for a moment. "No, leave them be. I think I understand the situation now. You have a much broader suite of power over the tower, but at the moment, you can't control it as specifically as someone who is focused on one point, at least not yet, and you have to follow proper protocol. It would have been convenient if we could've moved and froze them together- better than Legos." Steve looked around, then searched through his bag. It was as he expected- a bit of food and a little water. Not enough, with what the Dwarf ate, even with what he took from Simiae and Angelo. He was sure Azeir could provide him with food- but he preferred not to have his food provided. Not only was he not sure if it could have been tampered with, he didn't want to get trapped in a siege scenario, dependent on Azeir to feed him.
"I suppose it's better to act now, then later. I'd prefer to try and reduce the total number of lizards in Gaftwud by more than 50- but it'll have to do. Let's see if we can get them back where they belong." Steve wasn't sure if it was nervous energy or the beginning symptoms of claustrophobia, but he was getting restless in these plain white rooms. He wondered if this was what it was like in an asylum.
"While I'm in the tower, we still hold the cards. I'm going to try to negotiate with the Lizards- I might be able to convince them that Gaftwud is more trouble than its worth. I'll need some back up though. If any of the lizards outside the tower start shooting inside, or a Basilisk tries to enter, close the door. I'll be standing on the teleporter- if things get really desperate, teleport me. I know you can't quite control it, but just try your best to put me somewhere you still control. Aside from that, just follow along. "You"- the spectral hologram, I mean- doesn't have to be here, but if-or when- I reference it, I would appreciate it if you would show whoever I'm talking to images of the squadron in Proton City, fighting the Moles- the more disturbing, the better." Knowing that they were fighting a war of attrition against Sinoda, Steve would've put money on there being at least a few choice scenes that might rattle a fellow Lizard a bit. "Also if I do this'- Steve does his pantomime of using force lightning- "Give'em a little zap, k? I honestly don't think it'll come up, but I like to keep me options open. Really, just try to follow along as best you can."
Steve walked over to the center of the room, over the elevator. He took a deep breath and a moment to steady himself- he would need to be perfectly calm for this to work- and sat down, cross legged over the teleporter, facing the Gaftwud door.
"When your ready, open the door. Let's establish contact" It was actually funny, he thought- this would be the first time he actually conversed with a lizard without torture being an element of the discourse. Cheers to diplomacy.
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 17, 2021 11:45:06 GMT -6
Steve sat still in the middle of the room. The door slid open as Azeir faded away, "Translation program on....."
Time passed by and Steve tried to maintain focus. He could see right through the door, it was 6pm and the sun was going down. He had seen the Sleastacks active in the day, but didn't know how nocturnal they were.
It was strange to imagine the sunset as behind him, while knowing it was an illusion of the energy walls. As the light the bathed the large hill just to the left of the doorway, and turned to red and then purple, he saw movement. A trio of small shadows moved around the side of the hill. Steve gauged them to be about 60 yards away from the door when they stopped. He just barely caught the change in the noise of the coming night... they were talking to each other, but nothing Steve could pick up on.
As the darkness continued, the light that came from everywhere in the room spilled out of the tower like a spot light. The horizontal shaft stood out more across the ground between them. Two of the shadows pushed a third forward.
The small form crept closer slowly. Steve could make out a spear in hand held forward. It wore leathers made from some unknown creature and had patches of black and studs shaped like stars. The creature used his other hand to shield his eyes from the bright light. Perhaps they were sensitive to strong light. Steve tucked that away for later.
30 yards, 15 yards, 1 yard from the door the creature called out, "Yipp, Yo'tockans. Yipp?" It held it's spear point towards the light. Steve didn't think it's eyes were adjusting. It was night now and the creature didn't seem to have the courage to take the final steps.
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Post by logan on Nov 17, 2021 16:18:49 GMT -6
What in the hell am I doing? I have weapons that could literally destroy cities, items which radiate immense power, sitting in a nigh-invulnerable fortress operated by an increasingly powerful psychic moleman, and I choose to sit down and have him open the door? I could've radioed Theta for backups and left these primitives char on glassed ground. I could've contacted Malestrum and maybe killed that stacked lady. Hell, I could have gone to negotiate with the head honchos on the wizard-lizard side.
Of course, using those items could have cut his time in half, the moleman was increasingly unstable, Theta might not even consider him worthwhile anymore, and Malestrum would have certainly had some questions. Second guessing himself now would do him no good.
Stay in the moment Steve. What are we dealing with?
A sacrificial lamb, to test the waters. Probably a kobold or a mole slave. Steve could get by in Murhurm though- not even close to fluent, but he knew short words and phrases- and it didn't sound like Murhurm. Add in that Azeir wasn't translating it himself and that the creatures eyes didn't appear to be adjusting- a fatal flaw for a subterranean species- and he felt safe in guessing Kobold. If he spoke directly, it wouldn't translate- he didn't feel keen on them knowing- or potentially knowing- he didn't speak their language naturally. Mystery was his friend here. He needed him to come closer- just a little closer, just a finger in the door would be enough (probably). Of course, the thing was probably terrified- alone, facing a large-ish man in armor, sitting in a mysterious tower perfectly at ease (or at least appearing so- hopefully). He probably couldn't even see Steve's face, given the armored mask facial covering Steve now wore. What would everyone else do?
If Angelo were here, he'd could probably do some kind of weird shit to the thing's brain that might make it easier to translate. Or not. Steve still wasn't quite sure what Angelo could or couldn't do, even before stepping foot in the tower.
Miles, or even Sinoda or Geva, might not be helpful in translating, but it would have been comforting to have them there as backup- no one screwed around with them in the background.
Simiae- well, Simiae had a knack for languages. Seemed to Steve he thought they were all a little silly anyways, just different sounds that really weren't so different. All you really need to communicate-
Is your hands.
Slowly, Steve raised his hands. Not a gesture of submission or hostile intent, but to show that he was unarmed and alive. He rose them up roundabout- first to the sides, then slowly over head, never pointing at the creature, almost like a slow jumping jack. He remembered that the lizards needed some kind of gesture to cast spells, and he didn't want to be mistaken in his intent- especially considering there was probably at least four or five more lizards with aimed flintlocks in the background. He opened his fists once they were above his head, before closing them and repeating the motion in reverse, ending with his hands in his lap as before.
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Post by A Witness... on Nov 18, 2021 11:12:09 GMT -6
The creature bathed in the light was clearly reptilian and half the size of a man both vertically and horizontally. "Yip?", it clearly saw the movement and stepped into the door.
"Hello?", it mimicked the movement of the slow arm raised then lowered. It's eyes got wide as it noticed the whole room. It nodded as if it were vaguely familiar. Then as if talking to the walls instead of Steve, "I'm in. I did it! Tw'elacs will reward me for sure."
Then he turned back to Steve, "Hello? Are you the door-keeper?"
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