Mechanical questions first.

1. There are, in fact, dice rolls for taking shots. I dunno why this wasn't clear, but here's how it works: Suggest a general course of action, roll a d100 for each shot you want to take, and any non-contradictory plans will be used. The result, followed by any modifiers, is converted to a percentage value rating how well it worked.

Post numbers can contribute to this, with varying effects.

2. Reloading USUALLY does not waste ammunition. Your rifle has an internal magazine, so as far as I can determine, you load in one bullet at a time, and can shoot off as many as are in it before needing to do so again. There is no reason that you would empty it before loading in new rounds, so reloading your rifle (assuming mundane means, magic may work differently) will never result in ammunition going to waste. Normally, the same applies for your pistol; no reason to discard a magazine just because you ran low. However, in combat, as it has a detachable box magazine (the default thing most people think of when reloading a pistol), you can choose to drop your magazine for faster reloading; if you don't pick it up after, that WILL waste ammo, assuming that the magazine wasn't dry, and even if it was will prevent you from having as many fast reloads if you find ammo after doing so, until you get back to base and can reoutfit yourself.

General concerns:

Multiple choice things like if we had magic or better mundane gear will in fact be altered to the suggestion presented, for clarity.

Options will hopefully be a bit fluffier in future.

Our character should be more 'present' so to speak this thread; the last one was partially me being new to QMing and partly that up until the monster the team ran into was dead there wasn't a lot of room for dialogue. Now things have settled some, expect more.

And with that.... VOTES CALLED, WRITING.

You nod shakily, managing to make your way over to the wall before you collapse on the ground, facing away from both corpses. You've seen people die before, but getting chopped in half with a sword? That wasn't something you were prepared for. The adrenalin rush you're just now starting to come down from doesn't help - your hands are cold, trembling, and you still feel like you need to throw up. Sometimes coming out of a fight is worse than being in one, and this is one of those times; it's just now starting to hit you that Sam died screaming her life away to something that should never have existed and ohgodthatcouldhavebeenyou. Should have been you; you ought to have been hurt far worse than you were.

/"What if I am?"/, you think, realizing that you haven't actually looked over yourself yet. For a moment, the chill in you isn't all old as you're gripped by a sudden suspicion that the amulet you thought saved your life is just keeping you from knowing you need to patch yourself up, nearly throwing you over the edge into blind panic before you manage to get a grip again. A quick patdown (with the amulet off) confirms your initial thoughts, though - you're bruised and battered from being flung into a stone wall by something the size of a van, but otherwise unhurt, and it's with a sigh of relief that you slip the carved disk of bone back around your neck, tucking it out of sight beneath your armor once more. You're not sure why, but you get the feeling you ought to keep it out of sight.

>>44315699
That done, you look over your rifle, reloading it in the process. There's no way it should have left injuries like that in whatever it was you just killed, not with its sheer bulk and the obvious armor underneath the naked muscles and fat. But despite the clearly unusual results, it doesn't seem any different. Maybe the thing had some kind of freaky magic lead allergy or something? But Davey's shotgun was doing almost nothing to it. Still, you don't have any real way to test it properly (aside from shooting the corpse and seeing if the same thing happens now that it's definitively deceased), so for now you reluctantly file the discrepancy away under 'Weird Shit'. You get the feeling that that's going to be a long, long, list by the time you make camp, much less get back to base.

Despite that, you're feeling better now - more grounded, centered - and you stand back up, rifle casually aimed at the chest just in case something ELSE happens, since that seems the likeliest source of trouble. You note that Doc and Davey have stripped both bodies while you were waiting. "...We want to open that up, or what?", you ask quietly, voice steadier now. It's pretty clear what you're talking about, given that the chest is the only thing in the room.

"Want t'? Hell nah, we don't want t' open up th' bloody thing," Davey replies, shaking his head. "Nah wi' Sam cold on th' ground like she is. Or did y'forget who took care of th' traps?"

You flush, embarrassed and angry, but before you can reply, he continues.

"Doesn't mean we're nah goin' t' though," he says gruffly, stepping over to it and carefully hooking his shotgun under the latch; a moment later, you duck instinctively as what looks to be an arrow flies out of the wall, lodging itself in a crack in the stone right about where your head was. Inside are flasks, strangely colored liquids swirling and seething in them, a few knives, and what looks like -

"- Gold fucking coins?", you spit out, baffled.

>>44315909
"That's not actually rare down here," Doc explains patiently. "Threw us all for a loop the first time too. But sometimes you just happen to run across that kind of thing. Just load them into the spare packs."

>"Excuse me, but no. What the hell? We're down here fighting monsters for this? Surely there are easier ways of making money."
>Just do as he says. You took the damn job, stupid though that's starting to have seemed, and you're going to do it.
>Start picking through the pouches that were on the monster. Maybe it'll have more of the actual magic stuff on it.

>>44316002
>Start picking through the pouches that were on the monster. Maybe it'll have more of the actual magic stuff on it.

>>44316002
>Start picking through the pouches that were on the monster. Maybe it'll have more of the actual magic stuff on it.

Before we start getting pissy, remember that people have died for gold, probably less gold, before.

>>44316002
>Start picking through the pouches that were on the monster. Maybe it'll hpave more of the actual magic stuff on it.

Gonna call the vote in five minutes. Started a little late, so I'm going to be doing updates every twenty minutes or so instead of every half-hour tonight, as far as when they're called. Though it usually takes me twenty minutes or so to write each up after that.

>>44316002
>Start picking through the pouches that were on the monster. Maybe it'll have more of the actual magic stuff on it.

Votes... Belatedly called. Whoops. Closer to half an hours than twenty minutes. Regardless, unanimous vote for picking the dead thing's pockets.

Rolled 2 (1d3)

Gonna roll a couple times. See if you get anything good. First is for number of items, second is for if it's any good. Other than that, update is pretty much done.

Rolled 17, 44 = 61 (2d100)

And rolling for quality.

You open your mouth to complain, only to feel the amulet around your neck brush your chest, and you realize that's not what you were sent here for. They'll take it, and gladly, but it's the magic that's why you're here. Necklaces that block bullets, rings to let you share thoughts, those are what they want. And besides. People have died for gold, probably less gold, before. Admittedly, they didn't die by getting cut in half because a two-ton meat puzzle decided to get pissy over their being near it, while in the midst of a magical hellhole that your body will never be found in. Probably. But they did still die.

On the other hand, Davey and Doc seem to have emptying out the chest well in hand, so you decide to look through the things pulled off the body of the monster you shot. Only fair you get a chance at it, after being the one to kill the thing. The first few don't have much in them; decayed food, a skin of wine that you tuck into your own pack, that kind of thing. It's not until you've been through five pouches and packs filled with nothing more interesting than a few coins and small gems (which, fuck it, you pocket; might as well, since it's not like they're going to do anyone any good if you just leave them), you find an actual modern satchel, complete with zipper.

Inside is a rather jarring collection of oddities; a slender ivory rod intricately carved with vines comes first, bringing with it an unpleasant tingling in your hand, and a fleeting feeling of /purpose/, gone too fast for you to tell what that purpose was. Definitely magical, the issue is how to use it, and if you even want to. But the next? The next is worse. A ring covered in runes, carefully wrapped up with cloth - as you immediately discover the reason for on unwrapping it, overcome by a need to slip it on your finger.

>>44317016

When you do, there's a searing pain in your arm, and you only keep from screaming because something holds the air in, while - despite the fact you can clearly see Davey and Doc chuckling to themselves over something, and paying no heed - as far as you can determine, a horrendous wail fills the air around you, driving you to try and cover your ears, only to find yourself paralyzed. It's not until perhaps a minute later that the shrieking fades to dull whispers in your ears, and you can finally move once more. The first thing you do is look down at your still-aching arm, only to see it's now withered and gray. The skin feels stiff and hard as you flex your hand experimentally, the ring sunk into your flesh, and you realize that whatever just happened, you need to hide this from your companions. Fortunately, there was a pair of gloves in the pack too, which you hastily pull on.

Speaking of your companions, how the hell did they not notice that? Your ears still hurt; it was even louder than the fight proper. Maybe this was just a trap, to lure you down here and take all the gold and gems and other treasure for themselves? They certainly don't seem all that shaken about Sam's death - what if they'd made a deal with that thing, and the reason that their weapons didn't hurt it is they were using special rounds that were designed not to, or not actually aiming at it?

>>44317245
>Say nothing for now. Tipping your hand is never a good idea, and they don't seem to want to actively kill you. Not when you can be of more use hauling gold, until they get wherever they're going. Besides, you need them to lead you out; they must know the way back, or at least to some kind of civilization, if they plan to do anything with this.
>Speak up. You don't like it, but you might as well get it off your chest. That way you'll know if you can trust them or if you need to be watching for one of them to come slit your throat. (I will need a d100 roll if you go with this.)
>Just start shooting. You obviously can't trust them, and it's always better to betray someone before they do it to you. (Will also need d100 rolls, following the rules for combat at the start of the thread.)

>>44317279
>why.....Why am I here again?

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>44317279
>Speak up. You don't like it, but you might as well get it off your chest. That way you'll know if you can trust them or if you need to be watching for one of them to come slit your throat. (I will need a d100 roll if you go with this.)

"Hey guys, you remember the One Ring from the Lord of the Rings, right? I think I got that minus the invisibility."

Magic corruption is not something you keep to yourself.

"Oh, also you fucks had better not suggest amputation."

>>44317363
Second.

>>44317315
"I'm here because I decided that working for a shady international corporation who sends mercenaries down into a place full of magic and monsters was a good idea, since... Fuck, y'know, that's a good question. Why did I decide that?"

The way I see it, MC will probably die if he keeps it on, so we might as well tell them if there is a chance they can get it off.

>>44317423
Those fucks obviously don't care about us if they're willing to send us down here with little to no preparation. How the hell did we let ourselves get persuaded to come down here? I bet they fucking drugged our food and water to make us more compliant!

We can't use their rations any more. We need to hunt down the higher ups - they'll know where to get safe food!

But wait, what's stopping them from lying? I guess we'll just have to eat them instead.

>>44317456
Eh, I'm trying to keep away from actual death for a shitty roll on your loot, this early. Especially as I hadn't previously made clear you could get cursed items. That said, while the ring itself won't kill you, it's definitely risky to keep on; your choices will be influenced by it, possibly in ways that make you more prone to dangerous actions - or less, depending on the situation; while it clearly makes you paranoid, it doesn't necessarily hurt to be cautious down here.

>>44317509
I am both highly amused by this post and mildly disturbed by how quickly you adapted to having this ring on, anon.

Votes called, in favor of "HOLY SHIT I'M WEARING AN EVIL RING NOW". Given the voters actually have good luck, it's just my rolls that suck, this course of action should actually work. Sorta. Ringy is not pleased with you, but we'll deal with that when we come to it.

This... This is clearly Not Good. You can hear the capitals in your mind. But might as well try for a little levity, right? Besides, the One Ring really is the best comparison you can think of. Unfortunately, "Hey guys, you remember -" is as far as you get before all you can register is /pain/, and the same shrill scream as before. Only this time, it's matched by the one coming out of your throat, until you mercifully slip from consciousness. Fuck. Seems like this isn't going to be as easy as you'd hoped.

---

When you come to, your face hurts. Well, okay, your /everywhere/ hurts, because, aside from the fact that your whole body is stinging and tender from whatever happened to you when you tried to speak up, you got thrown into a wall, then passed out on the nasty hard ground. But your face is especially bad. Probably because, piecing it together, while your memories are a little hazy, you landed on it. It's a good thing you had the amulet on, or you'd probably have a concussion and a broken nose. As it is, the worst you have to deal with is Davey and Doc staring down at you in concern, and - oh. Shit. Your gloves are off. For a moment, that sends a spike of anger and fear through you, before you remember that their finding out about this was exactly what you wanted.

The fact that they clearly paused awkwardly in the midst of a heated discussion about you isn't exactly reassuring, though. Especially not when you see Davey trying to surreptitiously pocket a knife. "...You fucks had better not suggest amputation," you groan out, glaring up at them. "I'm still me. It apparently just didn't like me trying to tell you what was going on, so it zapped with some kind of... Something," you finish up lamely, not really sure how to describe feeling like you were being electrocuted while your entire body was pressed against ice, or what it might mean.

"It might be -", Doc starts, only for you to cut him off.

>>44318008

"/No/," you rasp, your voice surprisingly forceful for having just literally screamed yourself hoarse. "You are not cutting off my fucking finger and that is final."

They both exchange worried glances - but nod, after a moment. Not like there's any guarantee that carving the ring off your hand will actually get rid of whatever it did to you anyway. None of you have any idea what your symptoms mean, at least not the obvious ones, and you can't exactly tell them about the rest of it.

"Anyway. We've got two choices. Sam dying means we have each food for six days, with enough for a single full meal for us each after that. Means we can travel for a day and still try the other route relatively safely. Thing is..." Davey sighs, fluffing up his beard with one hand in what you recognize as a ploy he's used before, when he was trying to buy time. "We've got two ways we can go. The way that thing - " He gestures at the hulking slab of meat lying on the floor. "- came from, and the passage by the chest. Now, we could go down one all together, but I think it's best we split up. If we meet up back here, we haven't wasted time if one of them is the wrong way."

Doc just sits there quietly, shrugging a bit. Seems he's willing to go along with that, though he's probably not too strongly committed either way.

>Say you'll accept, but double back and follow them. You knew they were going to stab you in the back - this way you don't have to worry about them thinking that they need to take care of you more permanently, and they're obviously going to the exit.
>Accept, but only on the condition that they let you pick which route you take. Not like you can't change your mind if they seem too willing to let you take one, after all. And this way you're not going to be dealing with them; win all around.
>Accept unconditionally. It honestly is the best plan. (D100 roll for this.)
>Insist that you stick together. (Specify why.)

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>44318275
>Accept, but only on the condition that they let you pick which route you take. Not like you can't change your mind if they seem too willing to let you take one, after all. And this way you're not going to be dealing with them; win all around.

Decide randomly with a coinflip. Heads=1=way the thing came from. Tails=2=passage by the chest.

I'm going with whatever the die says.

They're probably trying to abandon the MC.

Rolled 14 (1d100)

Ugh, I can't decide.
"We should draw straws to see who has to go alone... if there are any straws around here."

>>44318275
>Insist that you stick together.
We've just established that there's a thing that was wandering around that could potentially wipe us all when we're together. And they want to make it easier for anything else out there to kill us all by splitting our forces?

>>44318439
No question about who goes alone...it's the bitch with the cursed ring, i.e. us.

>>44318275
>Say you'll accept, but double back and follow them. You knew they were going to stab you in the back - this way you don't have to worry about them thinking that they need to take care of you more permanently, and they're obviously going to the exit.
If it were otherwise they wouldn't be sending us off to go alone. Traitorous fucks.

>>44318439
Which option are you voting for? 'Only if you get to pick', or?

>>44318595
Yea, I choose the passage by the chest.

Votes called, narrowly in favor of allowing you to split up, as long as you draw straws, and flip a coin to determine who goes down which passage - though you prefer the passage by the chest, and will do your best to ensure that's how the flip works out. (Combined both plans here.)

WRITING NOW.

>>44318661
Actual cannibal route is a go?

Rolled 51, 27, 36 = 114 (3d100)

It takes you a bit, to decide how to react, but you finally nod, reluctantly. "...Fine. But we're drawing straws for who goes alone, and flipping a coin for who picks which route." You're not happy with this plan, not in the least, but at least it gets you away from them, and if they aren't trying to stab you in the back (you mentally roll your eyes, knowing just how unlikely that is) there are some valid reasons for you to do this. Worried though you are that there'll be another monstrosity out there to cut you into shreds too.

Davey just nods, and tosses you a heavy golden coin from out of one of the packs beside him. You catch it in the withered claw that used to be your right hand, plucking it out of the air with surprising dexterity, especially for something that looks so useless. You spin it between your fingers a few times, getting a feel for the weight of it, then snap it into the air with a perfect spin - a spin that you, yourself, would never have been able to put on it, but that comes naturally to that hand.

"Tails says I go down the passage by the chest," you say softly, and the two of you rise at the same time to go examine it. Sure enough, you were right; it's landed on the tails side, a dragon's foot reaching out at you from it. With a grin, and a little laugh (despite how it hurts your throat), you pocket the coin, winking at him. "For luck. Gonna need it, before we draw. Unless you'd care to flip for who keeps it too?"

[Rolling to determine how some things go in the next section of the update. First and last are for traps, middle one is for navigating.]

Despite his normally-jovial nature, he shakes his head, with what looks like a roll of his eyes as he turns away, a few little round chits of jade that will serve as straws already waiting in Doc's hand; he snatches his up, triumphantly displaying it between thumb and forefinger to show that regardless of which of you has the short, his is long. You use your shriveled hand again, running a fingertip over each of them, but try though you might, whatever strange sense you got from it has abandoned you, or simply doesn't work with this sort of thing in the first place, and after some hesitation, you draw your own - only to see that it's distinctly shorter than Davey's.

Fuck.

Looks like you're off on your own, then, with nothing but the satchel the ring was in, a few unopened pouches, and your own gear. But even the whispers, angry though they sound, have trouble assigning the blame to them. Even if Doc somehow signaled Davey which one to pick - and now you think about it, what you dismissed as just him blinking might have been just that - he certainly wasn't able to influence your decision. Screw it, though, you couldn't trust either one of them anyway. This whole plan is just more evidence of that; if they weren't trying to leave you they'd never have suggested it in the first place. Traitorous bastards.

Goodbyes are, understandably, icy, if polite; you don't want to drag them out and they're not particularly keen to either, with how you keep /staring/. Not glaring, as such, just a cold stare full of anger and pain. You trusted them. Laughed with them, shared drinks and food and even, since the whole place was concrete anyway, a fireside. And then they went and did this to you. You're not exactly sad to see the back of them. Mostly figuratively speaking, but you do watch them walk away for a bit before turning to go yourself, just in case.

>>44319490
It's mostly uneventful, for a while. Until you suddenly hear a hiss in your ear, making you pull up short; you spin around, but see nothing, only to hear it again as you turn to start walking once more. Only this time it's accompanied by a voice that can only be described as /dusty/, saying "Look there you idiot!"

When you actually figure out where 'there' is it becomes clear just what the issue was, and you're momentarily grateful to what you belatedly recognize as the entity in your new ring. Almost invisible unless your light catches it, there's a monofilament line stretched at neck height, thin enough that it would probably have passed straight through, at least deeply enough to sever the arteries, before you were able to stop yourself. Fortunately, you also recognize that there might be more, and while it makes your progress slow, you eventually manage to pick your way through a maze of blades without any serious injuries.

Less fortunately, after you get free, you end up in an actual cave again, quickly losing your bearings. And, a bit after that, just as you realize you're lost, you step on what looks like solid ground, only for your foot to go straight through, depositing you in an icy cold river, flowing fast enough to sweep you along; fortunately, your rifle is slung across your chest and your pistol is securely holstered. Unfortunately, your flashlight, though waterproof, fell from your hand in the fall, though there are glowing mushrooms all along the banks.

>What do you do?

Anyway. I'm gonna archive this now, and... We'll see if I can keep running tonight because Fucking Relationship Drama. On the night of my bloody birthday. (Technically like four hours after my birthday ended. But close enough.)

Regardless. I'll run either tomorrow night or the night after.

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>44319503
Go after the flashlight!

Not sure if I should be rolling for this. Ignore it if it's inapplicable.

>>44319564
Shit, and I thought I had it rough.

>>44319601
Rolls are helpful, yeah. And looks like you'll get your light back.

And... Aside from this it's been pretty fun, honestly. Hung out with girlfriends, that sort of thing. (Admittedly, this is... Mildly major(?) drama because it involves someone threatening suicide, but. Hey. That's not new.)

>>44319564
Cool. This Quest is a welcome change of pace.
>>44319601
If not, the shrooms might work. Glowshrooms.

>>44319651
Oh? Do elaborate, as far as 'change of pace'.

And glowshrooms might be worth checking out, regardless. Could be magic, could just be potentially useful. (Or if you get desperate, edible. What with being lost in a cave with six days of food.)

>>44319697
Don't want to risk getting poisoned unless we need to. But we should take a few shrooms with us, just in case. What's our inventory, by the way?

We should climb onto the bank and try to communicate with the ring. Ask it what the hell it is, and if it knows anything about that slender ivory rod.

It seems different than the others. It's survival focused, not like a visual novel where its about unlocking different characters. I find it easy to imagine the moment with this writing, and the internal narration is good. It seems there are serious consequences to our actions, fun. It's just the sort of quest I like, which might not be good for you. They tend to die for lack of participation.

>>44319886
Well, I do have some people I know who vote, and if nothing else it's getting me a little more confident in my ability to actually run things. So nothing too awful about it. But yeah, for now at least, it is pretty survival oriented. And thanks; glad you're finding it easy to imagine. Wasn't sure if I was doing a good job with that or not.

As for consequences, yep. It's the sort of quest where I can swap in a different MC if this one dies, so... Can be done. Though I'm trying to let people get used to how things go, before killing Diana off.

Inventory:

M24 SWS - 76/80 ROUNDS REMAINING
M1991 pistol - 70/70 ROUNDS REMAINING
MREs/water - 6 days worth.
Portable communication system (AKA, walkie-talkie). It is unclear if it functions out of like of sight, down here, given all the rock.
Dubious Talisman - A bone disk with various symbols on it. Apparently reduces injury?
Headlamp and weapon-mounted flashlights.
Cursed Ring - Apparently metal, carved with runs. Causes devastating pain when certain courses of action are undertaken, and has withered her right hand. It also makes her paranoid.
Slender ivory rod carved with vines. Causes a nasty tingling sensation when held, and briefly infused her with an unknown purpose. This may or may not cause her issues later.

>>44319977
...Line of sight. Fuck.