The Center of Time

[iamrpgdm]

"No matter how many times I've been down into some hatch or hole or cave with my parents I always get excited to discover what lies within." Antor mutters as he descends down the hatch without hesitation. "The whining sound I could do without, of course, but at least we know that something is powered on down here." Antor finishes as he reaches the bottom. Taking a look around on the platform and at the symbols on the wall here, (1d20=19 - trained in Perception) Antor looks back up the hatch at Echo, "I'm not quite sure what the symbols mean (1d20=6 trained in Numenera), perhaps you can come down and take a look."

[OOC - Antor is a Swift Jack so he will tend to quickly react to a situation. Often times without much thought as to possible consequences. i.e. quickly climbing down the hatch and taking a look. His parents always worked at slowing him down though, so after a few moments he'll catch himself and assess the situation a bit more thoroughly i.e. asking Echo for help)

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan frowns when Dross tells him of Githian's herd staying put. As the man leaves, Duncan shakes his head. "Too much trouble to walk back an hour, they'd rather sit like prey waiting for attacks to come on all sides. Too much trouble to avoid the deaths of his men! Damned merchants. Let's make this fast, or we'll be stepping over bones on our way through the sheer."


Duncan hops down with Antor, to stand on the platform. He looks for any method of climbing down the wall, or climbing back up from the room below without this platform.

"That noise may be the source of whatever is drawing the beasts to this forest. Keep an eye out for guardians down here. Let's make this fast and be ready to run back to this spot."

Duncan is careful to watch Echo or Antor adjusting the controls to send the platform up and down, in case he's the only one left and needs to get back up.

ooc: would I be right in thinking we're on a platform inthe wall near the entrance, and that it lowers down to the floor of the rest of the chamber? Something like that? Or am I way off?

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

OOC: The platform is below the level of the ground, about eight feet down, and then (seemingly) may descend further to the floor of the chamber 60 feet below ground level. Or maybe it's just a shelf. Perhaps an anti-grav boogie board. Hard to say.

 

[Tashtego]

Seregal gets out his rope and exploring equipment and eagerly climbs down into the hatch, bundling his orange priestly robes into his pack with little regard. He looks surprising lean and un-priestlike without his full garments on. He coughs into his beard. "I'm somewhat of an expert in these underground explorations," he says modestly, barely able to contain his excitement. "You should see all of the things I've helped find for the Order of Truth." He crouches down, examining his surroundings carefully. "This looks like a.... Oh, I see. Reminds me of the Rathess Hull expedition. Hmmmm."

OOC: Seregal is trained in Searching and Numenera. I'll just make one roll. I'll spend 2 Int points to lower the difficulty...
1d20=8
Well, not as awesome as I'd hoped, but the skill plus effort may still yield something interesting...

 

[Shayuri]

Echo hesitated at the top of the ladder...but nothing more could be gleaned from there. She carefully climbed down and squinted at the platform and wall it seemed bound to.

"The noise is definitely related to the map signal," she said musingly, "But these symbols aren't like the ones at the top."

The nano looked questioningly at Seregal. "Rathess Hull? I'm not familiar with that."

(Rolled a 2! Even with my Specialization in numenera, I don't think that's gonna cut it. )
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4312796/

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan moved over to the panel and looks for something like a cross or four-part directional control (like a compass), or the sorts of things the Master of the Arena used to point at in the control niche at the Arena. Whenever the Arena Master would press the bottom of a cross like that, something would go...

"Down... something to make us go down. Keep it simple."

Seeing a reasonably shaped glowing button he reached past the two tech-heads and pushed it, hard.
OOC: 1d20=13 Dunno if this will do it, I'm willing to burn one Intellect if that will push it over the limit.

Um, if this kills us... sorry?

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Antor, Echo, Seregal, even Duncan jump or climb down and begin to examine the various symbols that are strewn across the wall. Echo is a little distracted by studying the patterns. Antor, being exceptionally quick on the draw, spies a certain selection of spiral-like symbol that look promising, and Seregal, with a bit more deliberation, is about to test one that looks likely, when Duncan leans in and taps the same one with his oversized hand, tracing around its edge.

With a hum, the platform descends slowly to the floor. It's hot and humid in this room, the only illumination coming from the three large holes in the floor, brightly illuminated, and three standing panels next to the holes, covered with colored squares of light that bear symbols similar to the ones on the platform. The heat is particularly intense nearest to the walls of this room, which are a good sixty feet across and mostly featureless.

The repeating rising whine followed by a whump! sound is louder here, and seems to be even louder down in the holes. The holes are about ten feet across, perfect hexagons, and lit up as bright as day from every surface. They descend a further sixty feet straight down to a patterned metal slab at the bottom.

 

[Tashtego]

The nano looked questioningly at Seregal. "Rathess Hull? I'm not familiar with that."

"It was an expedition many years ago," Seregal reminisces. “There was a terrible storm that lasted five days and nights, and at the end of it, there was a silver metallic structure washed up on Rathess Beach, near Qi. It looked like boat hull, upside down, so they called it the Rathess Hull. The local fishermen all reported hearing strange noises from it; like a high-pitched humming sound. Dogs wouldn’t go near it. Dead fish kept washing up onto the beach in large numbers, and even whales.

“Father Malesh led the expedition to investigate the numenera. The surface of the Hull was as smooth as glass; we scurried over it like scavenger lizards. The Hull appeared to impervious to damage; a sword wouldn’t even scratch it. But when I was clambering over it, I found a faint dint in the metal. I set my fingers in it and found that it was a hatch. I got it open, but then…”

Seregal stops his story as the platform begins to drop. When it rests against the bottom, he tentatively moves forward to examine the new area, searching for any signs of anything interesting.

OOC: I’m trained in Searching.
Oh drat.
1d20=1

 

[Shayuri]

"But then what?" Echo wants to know as they reach the bottom. She moves into the room slowly, looking around and trying to fit together the pieces she's seeing. It's too alien though...she has no idea. The nano goes to the standing panel by the hole in the middle of the room and peers fixedly at the symbols and displays on its surface. It's no good though. Like the ones on the wall, these things are meaningless to her.

(And rolled another 2 for trying to figure this stuff out. Does me a lot of good to be specialized in numenera if I can't roll more than 2... Blargh!)
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4317398/

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Seregal and Echo step forward to examine one of the three panels by the three holes in the floor. Echo stares at them, knowing the markings should make some sort of sense, but she's a bit distracted by Father Seren leaning forward to examining the panel, putting his hand on the corner of it, slipping, and suddenly falling into the hole!

Seregal, there's an instant of terrifying free-fall before you suddenly fall on the floor. Which is, you realize after looking up, was once, subjectively from standing near the panel, the side of the hole. From your point of view right now, you're lying flat on the floor of a corridor that opens up into a huge pit, with Echo standing inexplicably where she should be falling "down."

It's a bit disconcerting, to say the least. The heat in the corridor is terrific and humid, with an odd smell in the air of plasma and warm earth.