The Center of Time

[doghead]

Xiaon, a Strong Willed Glaive who Focuses Mind over Matter

Xiaon steps across the chamber and with simple economical strikes of hand and foot, proceeds to dispatch the dying ab-humans. He move gracefully from one to the next, from the chamber to the stairs and then the chamber above.

If he comes across one with a antenna in its head, Xiaon removes it with a savage twist. He wraps it whatever is handy and stuffs it away (it may be that it, along with the one Duncan holds, could serve as a communicator of some form). Along with anything else he comes across that looks like it might be useful. And for Xiaon that generally means useful in a fight.

ooc: Not sure if the ab-humans are actually carrying anything, but if they are, Xiaon will scavenge. If a knife would be more suitable for dispatching the ab-humans, Xiaon will take Wisco's.

 

[fireinthedust]

ooc: can we see anything now? Or should we light torches?




Duncan sheathes his sword as the abhuman crawls near him, then walks away towards Echo, Xaion and Father Seren.

"Are you still interested in going to the upsidedown mountain? If this is just a treasure hunt, this outpost has years worth of curiosities to scavenge for shills. I for one... I want to see what's going on. We need to know more. We can turn the lever back on if needed, grow more of these things, but if we do then we do so on our terms. Eyes open."

Duncan turns back to the Originator. He places his hand on the creature's chest, and speaks as he things his question.

"Can you lead us to the upside-down mountain? I wish to see it with my own eyes."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

The Originator doesn't respond to Father Seren's quip at first, eyes focused on the abhumans as they begin to fall to Xaion's limbs and whatever power or frequency is making them weak. The rest of you feel something in your teeth and bones, any numenera on you or in you feeling heavy and leaden. Within minutes, it is over, the abhumans collapsing, dying, up above the spring dry, machinery clicking on empty. The whine from the center plate begins to increase in intensity, and you can hear it even down in the lower chamber.

Duncan turns back to the Originator. He places his hand on the creature's chest, and speaks as he things his question.

"Can you lead us to the upside-down mountain? I wish to see it with my own eyes."

The Originator speaks, the chamber still faintly visible from the light of the crystals, its voice echoing through the chamber, translated by the crystals.

*THE MAP WILL LEAD YOU. IT FOLLOWS THE BEACON OF *UNKNOWN* POWER. FREE OF THE THIEVES, IT STILL REMAINS. YOU HAVE YOUR OWN POWER TO FIX IT, INSTEAD OF THE *UNKNOWN* MISGUIDED ABNORMALITIES YOU HAVE DISPACHED.*

The hum grows perceptively louder.

*YOU ASKED IF THERE WAS A WAY OUT. THERE ARE TWO. THE WAY YOU CAME IN.* It touches the crystals in a different configuration, similar to one you saw Ohm meddling with earlier. The gray powder begins to stream from the ceiling again, coating all in the room in a light covering that is slowly growing thicker. *AND MY OWN ESCAPE. CHOOSE.*

The Originator takes up its original position, standing, arms upstretched, the powder beginning to turn it as gray as its companions. Above you, you hear creaks, cracks, crashes, and suddenly, bangs.

Wisco, you and Antor feel the floor tremble under your feet, and the entire complex begins to shake, as if starting to collapse!

 

[doghead]

Wisco, a Tough Nano who Lives in the Wilderness

*YOU ASKED IF THERE WAS A WAY OUT. THERE ARE TWO. THE WAY YOU CAME IN.* It touches the crystals in a different configuration, similar to one you saw Ohm meddling with earlier. The gray powder begins to stream from the ceiling again, coating all in the room in a light covering that is slowly growing thicker. *AND MY OWN ESCAPE. CHOOSE.*

Wisco, you and Antor feel the floor tremble under your feet, and the entire complex begins to shake, as if starting to collapse!

"The former. Definitely. Its time to leave! Lets go."

Wisco begins hustling those remaining in the lower chamber towards the stairs and the chamber above. The air tower might be a problem if not working. Fortunately Wisco still had his adhesion clamps. Discarding the detritus of a dead society might have to wait.

OOC: hopefully the air elevator still works. If not, the clamps should get Wisco to the top. Then all we need is a rope.

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan grunts. "Move!" he barks at the others, and points to the doorway. He waits while the others go up, readying himself to pick up those who stumble on the way with his superior speed and reflexes.

 

[Shayuri]

Echo doesn't waste any time...as curious as she is about what's happening to the originators, she isn't keen on experiencing it herself. She runs for the elevator!

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Having no desire to become part of history, the group flees both the lower chamber and the upper as the complex begins to shake itself apart. Pieces begin to dislodge from the walls, and the remaining abhumans are mostly inert on the floor, some dissolving back into the fluid from which they were born. The air shaft is still working, and none of you pause a second as you throw yourself up through the air, across the Assembly Chamber, up the corridor, into the Gravity Hall, and finally up the platform to the outside world. Lights go out where you have passed, and you can feel the heat and humidity of the place being replaced by chill, dry air as you finally tumble out onto the soil under open sky.

Very open sky. Actually, much much more open than when you left it.

The jungle is gone. All around you, you can see the earth literally swallowing the tops of trees until nothing remains but the winter-seared grasses that should be here. The abhumans are nowhere to be seen. Before you, you can see the long strings of the caravans now standing in bewilderment as the nigh-impenetrable brush had inexplicably vanished.

Sevarr Trim and Kolos Githian are looking down at the lot of you. "What in the name of wind and fire did you do?[" Sevarr asks, eyes wide.




OOC: If anyone wanted to try to scoop up anything on the way out, please give me a Int roll, DT 4 (target number 12).

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan rushes the others out, but quick-fast grabs at the walls, the panels, for anything that could make up for the destruction with some loot.

[roll0]

On the surface Duncan looks at the merchant.

"We'll need to move on." He says, then passes him by and moves to the edge of the camp, scanning the lands ahead for the other caravan, and any hidden dangers on the path ahead.

 

[Shayuri]

Though Echo didn't spare time to loot, she had been down here long enough, and gained enough insight into the place, to know exactly where to look and what to look for. An emergency access panel here; a set of auxillary controls there...parts and pieces. This was, in the end, what she did to get along and she did it well.

(OOC - Using Effort to knock TN down to 9. Not sure if Numenera skill applies to this, so I'll assume it doesn't. 2 Intellect Pool spent)

[roll0]

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

When Duncan emerges from the Womb, he finds himself clutching some metal bits and parts that, well, probably aren't good for much more than repair, perhaps. He doesn't think he can cobble them into anything of use on their own. When he makes his announcement to Sevarr, however, the man gets a bit indignant.

"Young man, we are grateful for... whatever it was that you did that stopped this blasted jungle and the abhumans, and I've been very patient about this whole thing, but I think I am more than due an explanation before we move another foot. Is the jungle going to come back? Are the abhumans gone for good? Is this thing just going to pop up again later? What happened down there?"

---

Echo, you grab up a couple things while you're dashing out. One is a bulb of liquid that seems to have been made for the abhumans, but contains some preserved Wellspring fluid that has strong healing properties. The other is a round blue pill marked with a symbol against poison. After taking a tiny taste of the surface and feeling sweat spring from your forehead, you realized it's a chemical factory pill, which uses the body's resources to produce harvestable chemicals in sweat.

OOC: You have a level 6 rejuvenator that restores to the Might Pool, and a level 3 chemical factory that produces antivenom.