Once you gathered everybody, including Pink and Chad (who apparently came in later, due to giving a full explanation to the guards when it comes to the treasure).
You make sure to thank Chad again, though, for knocking you out of lizard hunger, and then you head out towards the professor. He lives in a lovely manor, honestly, and there is a guard outside who… actually just steps aside politely.
“We’ve heard of your arrival, ser Reynauld. Come right in. Professor Oldfield is currently in his study.”

You tilt your head:
“I was expected?”
“No, but you are a known element. You were mentioned, ahead of time, for being reliable and trustworthy. Hence, you are permitted inside. That said, we would request you disarm yourself before entering.”

This is not a problem… up until Snikt has to disarm. She refuses to drop her dagger, though considering that this is just a quick visit, she instead elects to stay outside, for now. She feels safe enough for that, even.

Once inside, you do take note of the different things the professor has in his manor. It’s practically a museum, though you don’t actually know enough to have a good grasp of everything. You instead just head up to the study, and find the professor behind his desk, writing some things down. He looks up at your entry, and smiles. It’s hard to see his mouth past his impressive moustache, but it curls in a pleasant manner. The man looks very well-kempt, and certainly gives off the air of a silver fox.
His voice is equally pleasant:
“Ahaaa. I see I’ve had the luck of attracting a knight, and what a knight he is. Ser Reynauld! And… an entourage of kobolts, interesting. I assume you are here about the job posting, yes?”
“Correct. I need money to get a new helmet.”
“Well, that’s quite alright. The expedition I have planned shouldn’t take longer than a day, but I will be able to pay you rather well. Before we continue, however, are you in a group with these fine ladies and gentleman, or did you simply happen to enter at the same time?”
“We’re a group.” you state.
“Good! I’ll be paying your group for protection and to help me clear the way. I’ll tell you now, I will be paying you based on performance. If everything goes well, you’ll be walking out of here with a solid 500 Rosarians, and with more if you can help out with unexpected issues. Will this be satisfactory?”

You decide to be careful:
“Before I make any agreements: what are we going to deal with?”
“Ah, well, the usual crop of fungal enemies. I’ll be granting you protective suits, of course, and appropriate weaponry. On top of that, there may be some physical labour involved. Clearing out different blockages, and whatnot. Now, before I continue, I’d just like to add something: Would you mind if I could run a test on you, ser? I’ve heard of your curse permitting you to breathe fire, so I’d like to see if this would leave you immune to fungal infestations or not. My suspicion is yes, and it would prove very useful to our expedition if you can create fire on demand.”

You’re… not sure you’d like that. The test is going to be obvious, he’ll try to infect you with something. There are purgatives for it, yes, but it’s still… creepy.

>Refuse to do the test

>Agree to the test

>Insist that the less you use your lizard breath, the better.

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Also, link to previous thread while it lasts:
>>5126523

And the archive
https://lws.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5126523/

>>5184657
>Agree to the test
Though Reynauld loathes the curse, we're operating under the assumption that the existing physical changes are likely incontrovertible...and so it would be advantageous to know this for ourselves as well.

>>5184657
>>Agree to the test
For Science!

>>5184657
>Agree to the test

>>5184657
>Insist that the less you use your lizard breath, the better.
The curse is not a toy or a tool, there's a reason why we're trying to get rid of it.

>>5184657
Agree to the test, but request that we fetch our doctor friend so she can supervise as well.

>>5184657
>Refuse to do the test... Unless our personal physician, Paracelsus, says it's safe and a good idea

>>5184716
+1

She'd be pretty miffed if she didn't get the opportunity to take notes herself.

>>5184657
>>Refuse to do the test

are you all forgetting that the more we are injured the faster the curse progresses, AND further have you all forgotten...

THE EVIL FUNGIOUS WITCHS MAGIC FUCKED UP OUR LUNGS, WE LITERALLY KNOW THAT THE FUNGUS INFECTION FUCKS US UP BUT THE CURSE FIGHTS IT OFF

>>5184727
Supporting

>>5184716
+1

>>5184863
>(You)
(You) t-too

>>5184662
You said Collar likes to eat her books with wine and some pasta. Does Reynauld know how to cook pasta? Can he cook angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce and mushrooms?

>>5184716
>>5184727
+1

>>5184655
I'm just loving the additions you make to every thread.
Where's the goblin lady and William though?

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>>5185269
i forgor
I was kind of in a hurry at the time, and updating this picture is a bit harder than it looks. Not much harder, but a bit. Just finding images for the new characters is a bit of a pain, everybody keeps giving their kobolts leather armor and jewelry. Hence why the destitute kobolts are simple cutebolds off in the distance.

updated pic

>>5185309
>David looking like a miserable but still cocky shit

My mental image has him with shorter hair but otherwise it's extremely accurate to it

>>5185321
Who's David?

>>5185360
I guess Anon here is keeping the tradition of calling William the wrong name alive.

>>5184716
+1

>>5185360
>>5185366
Honestly, I have no idea how I managed to do that.

seriously did everyon forget that we already know fungous fucks us up? remember the forest hag covered in shrooms?

by doing this test we are just accelerating our transformation as any damage is healed by replacing our knights parts with dragon bits

>>5185490
That's not a bad thing, hopefully we'll start growing wings sooner rather than later.

#Pinkdidnothingwrong

>>5185490
>>5184749

The crone was never described as being covered in mushrooms. She cast a curse of decay on us which gave us tuberculosis, a bacterial disease not a fungal one, which was what destroyed our lungs.

If you don't want us to undergo the test that's fine but at least argue truthfully.

"I'll agree to the test, but only if my personal physician signs off on it... and gets to watch, when she almost inevitably says yes."
"You have a personal physician?"
"Yes. Paracelsus has been following me to see how the curse progresses. She's also been a valuable ally... and I'd say a good friend, so I'd prefer her to be here."
"Of course. Where is she staying? I'll send a courier to her, post-haste."
"Prancing Pony. It's being run by Barliman Butterbur."
"Ahhh, a friend of mine. Well, then I can simply use my tablet!"

Without another word, Oldfield takes out a small flat stone with a rune on it, and a pouch of something. He opens the pouch to reveal it to be some kind of glittery, purple dust. As soon as a mere pinch of the stuff struck the rune, there was a small "puff", and a large purple cloud appeared above the rune. Oldfield waits for it to gather into something big enough to completely hide him, and then he waves his hand in the cloud, repeatedly saying:
"Prancing Pony, Butterbur.". After three times, the cloud seems to shatter like glass, revealing... a hole in reality, almost.
It really looked like a hole in a window, and if you were to move around, you could see different angles into the inn...
The innkeeper, who was polishing a glass, raises a mighty eyebrow, and then says:
"Oldfield. Something you need?"
"Yes! I'd like you to ask for a certain Paracelcus."
"Paracelsus who?"

Oldfield leans to the side of the reality hole, and seems to expect you to answer.
"She never told us. She doesn't want to. I even expect Paracelsus to be an alias."
"Ah. Interesting. Well, you heard the man!"
"Mm-hmm." The innkeeper says, and then he yells out Paracelsus' name... Which quickly makes an irate witch doctor appear:
"What is it!? Can't a woman enjoy her- Oh."
She instantly forgets being rudely interrupted from her drink (wine? this early?) when she sees the reality hole. Oldfield smiles politely.
"Hello, miss. My name is professor Oldfield. I've a friend of yours that would like your consent. I'd like to test out a mushroom infection upon him, to see if his dragon's lung could counter-act the effects of it. He requested that you be present."
"I'll be right over. I know where you live."

She takes her mug of wine, drinks it in one go, and then slams some coins on the counter before leaving.
Then, you hear the goblin you brought along, her voice scratchy:
"I'll be bringing Bill and myself over there soon. I don't trust that human alone, and I know my ways around mushroom fields."
"This isn't really-" Oldfield begins to speak, but the goblin instead shouts, likely hoping that you hear her.
"Don't leave me alone with William! I HATE HIM!"
"Words hurt, Anna." William then says, obviously sitting right next to her.
"YOU'D KNOW, YOU BEETLEBRAINED BUTTHOLE!" Anna shouts back.

Probably should have figured out her name earlier.

...Well, it doesn't take long before everybody's here. William followed Anna like a lost puppy, with everybody gone.
(cont)

>>5185515
Bill? Is that the name od her crossbow? Fair enough.

Damn Will is acting most unwise with that goblin bootie.

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>>5185515
>Probably should have figured out her name earlier.
You had enough time to do that, Reynauld, you just chose not to!

The test itself was... almost shockingly mundane. There was a glass box with some mushrooms in it, and you were expected to put your head in there and take a deep whiff. You did as requested, and when you felt the little particles enter your nostrils, you end up sneezing a few times... blowing up more spores inside the box, until eventually you were asked to pull yourself free... and to put your head under some running water to wash the spores out of your hair.
Then, you were expected to sit down in front of some kind of scanning.... thing.
And so you did. Both Oldfield and Paracelsus look very excited about it all, but as far as you care, you're just sitting down in a chair staring at a magically enhanced wave-expelling thing.
Which mostly looked like a metal collection of gears, glass and a candle.

...Exciting.
You do feel some sort of tingle as you sit there, however, and you slowly.feel it move on to an itch. Before long, you feel yourself sweating from trying to resist the urge to scratch.
Then, eventually, you're asked to stand back up.
"Perfect! Complete immunity! The spores can't even get any foothold in your lungs, and they burn up after a short while. The temperature in there must be pretty intense, actually... Have you been feeling feverish as of late? It's possible your internal body temperature is rising." Oldfield says, excitedly.
You just stare, and then slowly nod.
Paracelsus smiles, and then says:
"I had a feeling it was that! I'll be happy to share my notes with you later, professor. I'm sure you understand the value of such a rare test subject."
"Oh, I don't wish to impose. Really more of an archeologist than biologist. Though, of course, I dabble."
"No doubt, sir. Now! I believe there was an expedition to the fungal bogs, not too far from here?"
"Indeed. I've recently come across some strange artefacts there, and I'd like to take a closer look. Alas, there are dangers there, and I'd need some capable guards. With dragon'sfire at our back, however, I've no doubt this will go smoothly. Payment is 500 rosarians across the group. I understand this is precious little for such a large amount of people, but... Well, I didn't quite account for so many. I still have enough protective suits, at least! They'll protect you from most fungal beasts, up to a point, and will make sure you won't get infested. Though, I must warn you, the helmets do limit your vision quite a bit. With your immunity, ser, I'd advise you go without. Now... What do you say, shall we be off? I'll also be giving you some axes. You'll want weight to make your way through the fungal flesh."

...

>Sure, let's go right now.

>I need a moment to prepare.

>I've changed my mind

>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.

>>5185568
>>Sure, let's go right now.
No point in dallying

>>5185568
>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.
William can't go yet. A Child could still kick his ass. Leave Humper and Snikt to babysit him. Maybe one of them can deliver food for the kobolts outside.

>>5185568
>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.
Take Chad, William, Paracelcus if she wants to (we'll give her the cost of renting the room at the inn out of our share), the Twins, and Snikt.

Leave the rest.

>>5185568
>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.
>Chad
>Anna
>Paracelus
>Snikt
>Twins

Everyone else gets to chill and babysit william

>>5185584
>>5185604
>bringing
>William
Remember when he jobbed sparing against Reynauld?
Remember when he jobbed against the undead thing?
Remember how this boy was malnourished when we found him and is still slowly recovering precious loss muscle mass?
Don't be stupid.
Don't be like William.
Don't bring William. Not until we get the little shit some armor.

>>5185605
Will Snikt's back harness fit in the suit? I say we add a conditional thing. If the harness won't fit in the suit with her, and if she feels too restricted with it on, she stays behind.

>>5185608
You think I want William for fighting? It's in case we have to clear some rubble for the professor or something.

>>5185626
We or the kobolts can already do that, arguably better than him.

>>5185568
>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.
>Chad
>Gobo
>Pink
>Colar
>Paracelus
Pink and Colar for looting and knowledge.

What we do with helmet? With this people we should be ok without it right?

>>5185602
support

>>5185641
This.

>>5185568
>Let's not go with bloody EVERYBODY.
We need fighters and laborers. Para and Will can sit this one out - one is far too valuable to risk exposing to the bog and the other is far too useless. Chad, Anna, Ruby and Sapphire need to come with us, they're our best combatants. Snikt probably wouldn't be able to utilize her skillset with the provided equipment, plus I wouldn't want to put her in harm's way. Pink and Esmeralda aren't mainline fighters, so I'd be fine leaving them with Snikt. Collar and Teensy could go either way, I'd say bring them with as extra pairs of hands.
In summary: Bring Chad, Anna, the twins, Collar and Teensy, leave everyone else behind.

>>5185738
Why Teensy? Pink would be better with her expertise I think.

>>5185770
Teensy and Collar are basically joined at the hip, I don't want to separate them. I don't see Pink's expertise being particularly useful on a trip to the fungal wastes, especially considering we're going to have the professor with us, and I'd like to leave at least one of our more mature kobolts with poor Snikt. Plus I don't see Reynauld as being completely over Pink's betrayal yet.

>>5185604
Supporting. Give William a shot, at least. We'll keep him as safe as we're able.

>>5185568

>>5185925
Dude William has the body build of an anorexic twink. The only shot hes getting is a shot to the head by some bog monster. He needs. More. Time. Not just for training, but to build muscle mass, unless Reynauld has been drilling him 24/7.

You elect to go with the people you think you can trust the most for the upcoming engagement. You leave it up to Paracelsus on whether or not she'll come along, but apparently she rather likes visiting the fungal areas. Her outfit is also pre-equipped to deal with that sort of thing, and she has some anti-fungals on her. Other than that, you also take along Anna. You asked her rather carefully, mind you, considering you promised to protect her rather than thrusting her into danger. She was fine with joining you, however, apparently she'd be glad to have a little action after being scared in the caves for so long.
She mentions that she's been feeling like a whole new woman ever since she was on the road again, and especially now that she was able to enjoy a good beer. Teensy is the one to ask the question you dared not ask.
"How do you do that with the mask?"
Without a word, Anna takes out a straw from her pocket... and sticks it into a little hole in the mask.
The kobolts all clap, very impressed at this ingenuity.

Anyway, you also bring along some other kobolts. Chad is the easy choice, being one of the single most competent people present, and you also decide to take along Collar and Teensy. Though you only take Teensy with you at the insistence of the pair. They didn't want to rough it alone, and apparently they're pretty confident that they'll make it just fine. You also consider the twins for a moment, but decide against it. With the limited vision from the suits, and the fact that blunt damage does almost nothing against the fungal creatures, they wouldn't be very useful.

William demands to know as to why he can't come along, and you put it plain for him: you don't trust him to make the trip because he's rail-thin and not that good at combat. When he says he can take anything the mushrooms might dole out on him, you just roll your eyes and turn to Chad:
"Punch him."
"Wha-" William said, before getting punched in the stomach. You didn't actually expect Chad to go for it like that, but so it goes. William crumples to the floor, wheezing out that he wasn't ready for it and that it doesn't count. Mind you, he does this while cringing on the floor, and only slowly managing to pull himself upright. "I-I'm ready, this time, okay!? I can take it!"
You blink, tilting your head, and William adds:
"This is a lot more scary now that I can actually see your face. When are you getting your helmet back, sir?"
"Esmeralda? Punch him."
William is quick to raise his dukes... apparently forgetting that Esmeralda is about at hip height.
Then he gets punched in the nuts.

Anyway, with that settled, you leave with Paracelsus, Anna, Chad, Collar and Teensy. The rest of the kobolts get to babysit William.

The suits are all-encompassing heavy leather, though it's a one size fits all system, using a lot of straps. The weaponry? Axes.
Now you just need to get there.

Is there anything you talk about or prepare for on the way there?

>Nah, We know enough.

>Talk

>>5186914
>Talk
Make sure everyone who's coming is fully briefed on how best to deal with fungal enemies and hazards

>>5187019
Oh and tell William to keep eating right and training physically and we might take him on the next missions

>>5187019
supporting

>>5187019
>>5187026
+1

>>5186914
>prep
How cheap is lamp oil and pure alcohol? Something that burns should scare away or kill swap monsters, yeah?

>>5187019
>>5187026
Support

>>5186914
this>>5187019
>>5187026
Time to teach the fine art of fungus beating.

>>5187019
Support.

>>5186914
Glad to see that the kobolts feel comfortable enough to make their own requests. I imagine that probably wouldn't fly under an actual dragon, that tells me we must be doing something right.

>>5187019
>>5187026
>>5187147
Supporting

>>5186914
>>Talk
yeah i guess

“So, about what we’ll be finding there… Apart from golems, what will we be dealing with?”
“Oh, if I can help it, we won’t be fighting any golems. The dig site I wish to reach shouldn’t encroach on any of their territory… I would hope.”
“Are you unsure?” You ask, not liking the sound of that, though Oldfield is quick to quell your worries:
“Oh no. By all accounts it should be fine. It’s just that we do come a bit close to some of their territory. Nothing they would go out of their way for.”
“Good. So, if we won’t be fighting golems, what are we fighting?”
“The usual. Fungus-infested wildlife, chompers, and spitters.”
“Fungus-infested wildlife? It’s a rage shroom infestation?”
You once saw a town suffering from that. Getting through it without killing anybody was tough.
“Nothing that dramatic! No, the wildlife just gets a little loopy from having things grow on them. So, on occasion, their respect for humans wanes a bit.”
“So they’re not infectious, right?”
“Thankfully no. Even if they were, your suits are intended to keep out even the worst of what this biome can throw at us. The spitters will be harmless, for instance… I expect that all you’ll have to deal with are chompers.”

You fought those things before. They’re in actuality a shadowcreature created by a fungal hivemind, which is then given flesh by the mushrooms. They’re akin to the white blood cells of the biome…
Whatever those are. The alchemist you worked with last time you went playing in fungal bogs liked to talk and didn’t like explaining “simple things”. So, whatever.
You turn to your companions:
“So, remember, strike horizontally, and get the legs of those things. Despite their size, they’ve got thin legs. Also, Anna? Don’t aim for the head, there’s no brain there. If at all possible, try to immobilize them with shots to the knees, where the legs come out of the torso, that sort of thing.”
“Sure thing.” the goblin replies, and she remains quiet… though close to Chad.
Hm.

At any rate, you arrive at the bogs at long last. The place looks to have been a quarry, once upon a time, though when the mushrooms started spreading, it was likely abandoned. It’s a lush location, now, the only sign of it being a quarry is the suspiciously straight rocks lying around…
The skeleton holding a pickaxe is another indication.

“Now! Let’s head on inside, shall we?”

>Take point, if anything pops out you’ll deal with it first.

>Walk next to Oldfield, make sure you’re close to him… it’ll put you around the middle of the group, with Chad taking point

>Guard the rear.

I've written this update fucking three times by now it kept getting fucked over..

>>5188792
>>Take point, if anything pops out you’ll deal with it first.
>Chad rear
>Anna takes Oldfield coverage

>>5188792
>Not writing your updates in notepad or something and pasting them in once done
It won’t be the last time this bites you, if you keep this foolish behavior up.

>Stick with Oldfield
I suspect there’s more going on that what he’s letting on. 500 rosarians is a hefty sum, but no one was willing to act as his guard while his explanations depict it as being this easy? No, there’s something amiss here.

>>5188806
Seems sensible. Supporting this formation.

>>5188792

>>5188806
Agreed, sensible enough.

>>5188792
Take the pickaxes and any other potential weapons we come across. We can probably use them as a thrown projectile. Make a note of the skeleton and the mining company here, so we can tell the kin of the family about the skeleton.

>>5188792
>I've written this update fucking three times by now it kept getting fucked over..
What's wrong? You tried google docs? Txt notes? Some other writing program?

>>5188792
>>5188806
supporting

>>5188806
support

“Alright. I’ll take point. Chad, you cover the rear, and Anna, I want you to cover Oldfield, in case something comes along. Professor, you’ll be staying out of the fight, I’m assuming?”
“Indeed I will. I’m not as spry as I used to be.”
“Alright. Let’s move. Oldfield?”
“Take a straight here, up until the pink tree…”

The journey is long, and you wish you could say that it was uneventful, too. Sadly, there is a lot to be nervous about while you’re here. It didn’t take long before you see the eyes fall upon you, and there is a certain level of dread that permeates just… being here.
You don’t doubt that it’s the hivemind judging you, and it likely doesn’t like how dangerous you look. Before long, there was a singular chomper that attacked from the rear… But it apparently didn’t account for a smaller target.
The creature is about four feet tall, even though it’s a quadruped, and doesn’t seem to have any eyes, ears or… any feature, other than the mushrooms spread all along its brownish, patchy body. The legs look wobbly and thin, though it’s still charging straight.

It bit the thin air above Chad, then proceeded to stab his sword into a front leg… after which he twisted the blade, pushing the two halves of the meat apart with shocking ease, making the creature fall over. Then, Chad moved around the kneeling foe, and performed a sideways swipe, slamming the blade into the maw….
The creature stopped twitching on the spot, and the main flesh that was keeping it together seems to melt away into a mound of filth…
Likely to keep the mushrooms going.

This place is efficient if nothing else. Oldfield also knows how to guide you around here, and it doesn’t take long before you find yourself at the first location of import. Only a singular Chomper, one that Chad dealt with handily, seems to be… far too easy.
Something’s up.

“Alright, my companions. There’s a hatch over there… Inside, there is a large… bunker, of sorts. It’s made partially out of metal, though much of it has been overgrown by the mushrooms. What I wish to research is deeper inside, but… well, the corridors are fraught with dangers. There’s no way to easily manoeuvre down there, after all…”

You look at the metal hatch he’s pointing at, and with a show of strength, you rip it open despite the roots and dirt that had partially overtaken it…
Holy hell. All this metal… how in the world did anybody build this!?
The design look downright otherworldly, being perfectly straight, and being tiled. There doesn’t look to be a single moment where the workers made a mistake, as if some machine put together this bunker…

“You didn’t tell us about this…. Is it magical?” You ask, confused.
“Surprisingly, no. There isn’t a smidgen of mana down there, based on my initial tests, but I couldn’t get deep before the chompers and spitters threatened to overtake me. Hence, why I’m bringing you along. That said, I suppose I should admit… there might be more down there than mere fungi.”

>Ask questions

>Just go down.

>>5189578
>Ask questions

What is this place? Who made it, and what do you expect to find?

Why are there so few mushroom beasts around here?

Not being accusatory: we just need to properly understand what we're getting into, in order to ensure everyone's safety.

>>5189578
>>Ask questions
>what exactly did you all encounter down there
>why didn't you mention this before we left town.
>who built this place the metal is cut and cleaned without any flaws
>what do you mean by something more?

>>5189604
>give me a good reason not to call this off and return to town and don't say coin, I was prepared for protecting you in this corrupted place, not in the depths of a dungeon filled with unknown horrors this kind of this requires different preparation professor.

thought of another

>>5189602
>>5189604
>>5189606
+1

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62 KB JPG

>>5189578
I see you finally decided to use trips Spinejuice.

>“Good! I’ll be paying your group for protection and to help me clear the way. I’ll tell you now, I will be paying you based on performance. If everything goes well, you’ll be walking out of here with a solid 500 Rosarians, and with more if you can help out with unexpected issues. Will this be satisfactory?”
I have some very good and bad feelings about this encounter. I know we're here for artifacts, but do we get the option to keep any? We're payed to guard him, but nothing says we don't get to keep some. I'm wondering if the ruins are of ancient human creation from a civilization long passed, or of alien build. All in all, me want power armor or guns.

>>5189724
>We're payed to guard him, but nothing says we don't get to keep some. I'm wondering if the ruins are of ancient human creation from a civilization long passed, or of alien build. All in all, me want power armor or guns.

I am getting ancient fallen human nation, for all we know this timeline/world could be a distant post apocalypse earth.

>>5189831
>Ah yeah ruins
>time to loot everything not nailed to the ground, then get the crowbar so we can pry things out of the ground
>now I can finally multiclass my half-dragon fighter with the gunslinger class.

>>5190018
>implying Reynauld isn't already a gunslinger

>>5190164
I forgot he used Flintlocks. Maybe if we're lucky, Reynalud will find a fully automatic double barrel flintlock assault shotgun.

>>5189578
>Ask questions
What more can the professor tell us about this place?
Could the fungal infestation originate from here?
What is down there? Should you had not told us about that first?
You've any idea why we have yet to see more of the fungal monsters?

>>5190179
How would that even work??

>>5190590
Pull both triggers at the same time

>>5189578
https://youtu.be/WeCfod1XT7E
SPESS MERANS!

No no. you have questions, and they’re about to be answered.
“Professor… I need to know things before I do this. You didn’t tell me anything about this.”
“Ahh, well… The fact of the matter is that I don’t know what to find down there. I strongly suspect it’s mostly fungi, as your job stipulates. As stated, there’s no magic down there, so it shouldn’t be anything extreme.”
“But you suspect there might be other things as well?”
“Indeed… It can’t be ignored that this is a possibility.”

You sniff, disdainfully, though you doubt it was audible past the protection that you’re wearing.
“You stll haven’t explained why you didn’t tell me ahead of time. This is something that requires a different kind of preparation.”
“...It would have been very unwise to even hint at the presence of this bunker. It’s clearly nothing that you’ve seen before, and there are eyes and ears everywhere for this sort of find. This is from… a different world. Whether it be a world before ours or… from elsewhere, I wouldn’t know. The bogs have left this place untouched, making us pioneers down there. If I told you about it ahead of time, there wouldn’t be a damned thing left of this place. It might even disappear on its own.”

That’s insane. Things don’t just disappear.
“What do you mean?” You ask.
“There are powerful forces in the land, Reynauld. Orders dedicated to making sure some things don’t fall into the hands of people they don’t consider “worthy”. This kind of bunker points to just such a thing. If they had access to it before I could make it public, they’d disappear the place. Glamours, teleportation, whatever. They’re quite powerful mages.”

You flinch.
“You mean… It’s a war of wizards!?”
“Indeed. I’m surprised you know what a group of wizards is named.”
“Yeah, I’ve… been around the block before.”
“You understand now, yes? Why I couldn’t elaborate on this back in town? The fungal bogs offer safety, in a roundabout way.”
Anna nods, and even adds in her own comment.: “Yeah. That hivemind blocks off psychic influences. I’ve seen that one before with a rebel group.”
Rebel group, eh? Wonder under what context that happened, you don’t recall any recent rebellions against anything. Then again, you’re not the quickest with national news, you tend to hear it rather late.

“So… Can I ask a few questions about the bunker itself?”
“I’ll answer what I can, my boy… But know that this is new for me, as well.”
“How did they make this? The metal looks… flawless. Cut and cleaned.”
“That is something I hope to discover myself. The excavation alone is a miracle of engineering, but all this steel… even the stone is simple yet impressive. Its smoothened.”

Taking a closer look, though, you do note there’s some some signs of rust...

“Not rust-proof, at least?” You comment.
“Mushrooms are moist!” one of your kobolts shouts out, and you suppose that much is true. Well, on to the next few questions:
“Who made this bunker?”
“I hope to discover that as we explore it. I don’t expect it to be an easy answer, but who knows? Maybe we’ll discover something new.”

On to the next question, then:
“Why are there so few mushroom beasts around here?”
“I did my research, and while this bunker is infested, and perhaps even the holding place of the fungal colony’s hivemind… this hatch isn’t important for it. It’s our ticket in, and most likely, our way out.”
“Have you been down there before?”
“Indeed I have, but it wasn’t long before the fungal beasts forced me to retreat. I saw some unique corpses down there, however. Little humanoid things, with big heads and a trunk… The fungal monsters seemed to have killed them, yet they didn’t seem to be eating them.”
“Toxic, maybe?”
“Perhaps, perhaps… They must be fiercely toxic if even fungus can’t grow on them, however.”
“Don’t eat.” Chad says to the others, which you hope was a joke.
“Can you tell us anything else about this place?”
“...There is electricity without magic down there, I suppose. I fear there may be… automated defences. All the same, I will offer you this. If you find an artefact that you find useful, you may keep it. I doubt anything would have survived the rot, but… it’s on the table.”

Good… Okay.

Gather your party and venture forth?

(Hahaha I'm phoneposting AGAIN, s no trip.)

>>5191570
Honestly there could be some very beneficial things for society to have I'd there's magic free electricity in there, and the professor has been in and out already
>Very well but if I decide it's time to leave then we go, no arguments

>>5191570

>Very well but if I decide it's time to leave then we go, no arguments

>>5191570
>Very well but if I decide it's time to leave then we go, no arguments
His and everyone's protection takes priority. Can he tell us when we start advancing into unknown territory, and when we're traveling places hes been to before?

>...There is electricity without magic down there, I suppose. I fear there may be… automated defences.
Electricity without magic. Reynauld may not know what that means. Automated defenses? Like golems, but the same with electricity?

>>5191628
support

So far this bunker is pointing toward being a modern or near future (our timeline) bunker and this world is post apocalyptic

>>5191634
There are small creatures with big heads who don't rot. It's Greys, my dude.

>>5191570
Can he guide us to where he found these corpses? Perhaps we may learn something.

>>5191570
After we're done, could we commission helmets for William and Chadious, in addition to gamberson for William and bringadine for Chad? After we visit the Archmage I think we should invest some money in getting proper prosthetics for both Chad and the pegleg kobolt. Perhaps The Witch Doctor and Pink might know a thing or two.

>>5191570
>Gather your party and venture forth?
Yeah

>>5191570
Sally forth!

File: Scanner_l.png (10 KB, 100x100)

10 KB PNG

"Alright... just one thing. If I say we need to get out of there, we go. No arguments."
"You're my guards! Obviously I wouldn't make a fuss. Now... Who's the lucky soul to go first?" He says, mirthlessly. You decide to go first, of course, and note that the ladder also feels unusual. There are some laddersmiths around that make them out of metal, sure, but it feels like a lot of effort for something that might be done easier with plain wood. So making it out of metal is fairly nutty as well. A little later, everybody is down, and you begin to walk down the tunnels. Just as you're about to take out a torch, however, you see light in the distance... flickering. It seems bright enough despite that, so you move along and look up at the source. Looks like... a simple glass circle, embedded into the stone ceiling, and covered up with some more steel grating.
"...Lightbulb." You say out loud. "So this is... made by alchemists?"
"Something like that, I suppose." Oldfield adds. "But it's no design I've seen from any alchemist, not to mention how bright it is! It's powered by that electricity I mentioned before."
"They must have one hell of a steam engine to manage that."
"I doubt it's what they use... Something would have to feed a steam engine, after all, so this must work on something else. It's not magic, still, but... Well, we'll see."

As you go deeper through the tunnel, you eventually see more light in the distance... and an end to the tunnel. It seems to open up into a huge chamber, though it's hard to tell on account of the light that's still shining through. As you walk... you also spot the creature that the professor was talking about.
"Last time, there were far more mushroom creatures here, though I suppose they must have retreated to the chamber up ahead. Now, take a look at this thing."

Sure enough, it's as the professor said... Big head, tiny body, and a weird little nozzle for a mouth. The mushrooms seem to actively grow around it, though something killed it a long while ago... Kneeling down, you note the bullet holes that were left in the thing's head... Must have carried quite some power, because it seems to have launched straight through the creature, leaving an equally large hole as entry and exit.
You haven't seen any flintlock do that one yet... Hmm.
"What is this thing?" You ask and Oldfield simply shrugs:
"I wouldn't know... I'm no biologist, but this doesn't seem like any creature I've ever seen."
Paracelsus carefully pushes you aside, and then notes:
"I, however, AM a biologist. Stand aside, I'm going to do an autopsy." She says, twirling a scalpel around and kneeling down. She carefully pushes the creature over a bit, revealing it's skin to be that same muddy texture throughout... Then she cuts it open.
"Hrmm... tougher than it looks. And... What?"

She stops, clearly confused.
"It... doesn't have a digestive tract. It's just... a mass of meat and glands? What would... What would power this thing, if it was ever alive!? It has a heart, I suppose and... Hmm. Hrmm..."
She seems to be getting frustrated the more she looks at the creature, and then notes:
"It does have a stomach, of sors, but it's filled to the brim with some kind of liquid. Its bones are... No, these aren't bones. This is stone. This thing is... It's a golem, for sure, but there's no magic on it. Unless it's been dead for a long time, but that would imply this thing is simply too toxic for the mushrooms... or even bacteria."
She pauses a moment.
"Remind me to burn my gloves. Anyway, this thing is a plain impossibility. It doesn’t follow any golem’s rules, so it must be natural… But how could it? No anatomy would form like this, and yet… Here it is! What the hell is this? Unless… Wait.”

Then, with another few incisions, she opens up the head. Inside, she looks it over.
“Nothing but brain matter, though it looks like a human brain. There’s one part… here, that’s extra. Now…”
She looks around for a moment, and then reaches into her surgery kit to take out… a little wooden stick. You think she used it to hold your tongue down during one of your checkups. Slowly, she pokes the little stick in there, and… stops, groaning in pain and making a move to clutch her head… though she doesn’t get far.”
“Even though it’s dead, it’s still “active”, in a sense. This thing… it was a weapon. A living weapon, intended to… Well. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it would do, but my guess is that it could send something out with its brainwaves. It must have been terrifyingly effective if it can still do that while dead.”

She stands up, and sniffs… Before taking off her gloves using some tongs,and replacing them with some extra ones she has on her.
“There. Best not touch that thing if it’s that toxic. Still, something so toxic even our bacteria can’t touch it… It’s insane.”
“Do you think we’ll still find one that’s alive?” Chad then asks.

Everybody looks to eachother for a moment… and then to the huge chamber up ahead.
Hmm.
No way to go but forward, you suppose, so you just do that. You go in first, and as you approach more and more, you see that there are more signs of impressive technology. There’s gigantic silos here, with catwalks around them that imply there’s even a lower lever for them. The mushrooms also seem to have overtaken much of this place, and when you suddenly feel something hit your chest, you look to your left.
Hm.

Right, so there they are.

The fungal beasts are all here, and while that spitter launched the first shot, more and more of the creatures seem to be wringing themselves loose from the walls. There must be… about half a dozen chompers beginning their clumsy walks towards you. At least the professor wasn’t lying about the suits protecting from the spitters.

This hallway serves as a chokepoint, but you’re not sure if you want the limited range of movement if you’re fighting these things…

>Move into the room, quickly, so you can maintain a full range of movement

>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.

>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.

>>5192254
>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.
The mushrooms operate on a hivemind right? They should back off if we demonstrate we're not worth messing with.

>>5192254
>>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.
Scorch 'em

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire.
Might as well do both.

>>5192254
>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that

>>5192254

>>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
>>the rest will back you up ensuring that you are not overwhelmed


I don't like leaning on the power of the curse and after our heart to heart with pink isn't it more than a little hypocritical to instantly turn to it the first moment it seems convenient?

with this plan if things start to go south we can still fire breath and it might be even more effective since they will be bunched up

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
No dragon shenanigans unless we absolutely need to. Hell, even if we do, I'd still think long and hard about it. Also, let's not risk destroying whatever artifacts might be in that room.

>>5192302
Supporting

>>5192302
>Also, let's not risk destroying whatever artifacts might be in that room.

fuck that is an even better point I had not even considered, good catch

>>5192302
That makes sense.
>>5192254
Switch>>5192270
to this >>5192302
I don't want to set off any munitions that might be laying around.

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint
>No fire yet

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
Agree with the anon that said it'd be hypocritical to use fire after before

So we have evidence of real, electrical lightbulbs, what seems to be modern firearms, and bioengineered psychic attack... Things, and underground structures. This is starting to feel like CDDA with a little less grimdark and a lot more magic. There's even sentient fungus.

>>5192309
>>5192310
>>5192314
>succumbing to the curse is fine
>destroying loot is a no go
Y'all guys are weirdos and your priorities are seriously out of whack. I love it.

>>5192351
I just don't want to accidentally blow ourselves up.

>>5192351
the bait is bait, troll else were anon I was the first to point out the hypocrisy of using the fire so fuck off.

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.
Reynaulds lungs and throat have already been replaced, so utilizing the dragon fire shouldnt turn him into a dragon any faster than normal.
After we've torched a majority of the creatures, we can then go back into the room to deal with the rest of them.

I wished I asked this earlier. Does the doctor and Percelus knows if there are pesticides of chemicals that can kill all the fungus down here? An aerosol solution that spreads? Hmmmm mixing bleach and amonia to make mustard gas?

>>5192419
that really isn't the point anon, the point is to firstly not be a hypocrite when we lectured pink and made her feel bad for encouraging us for using the dragon power and then turning around and using the dragon power. secondly is the items and artifacts in the room also how do we know using fire won't trigger some defense system.

there are many reasons to not use the fire.

>>5192435
Wasn't Reynauld lecturing Pink to not encourage the avarice part of the curse, less so everything else? We were chastising her because of that, not the fire from what i understand so far. For your second query, that's why we're stepping back into the checkpoint, where we are now. Away from all those silos so we can take advantage of the narrow space to kill as many of the mushrooms with minimal risk, and for the defense systems? All but in disrepair or defunct. If they haven't activated when the professor was last here, or when they shoorms moved in, they sure wont active now.

Two reasons, I dont think can be considered many. What are the other reasons?

>>5192461
>avoiding possible hypocrisy, or strengthening the curse
>avoiding blowing ourselves and the others up
>avoiding damaging any potential loot or scientific disocveries

The three reasons that spring to mind.

>>5192461
>and for the defense systems? All but in disrepair or defunct.
Yeah we don't actually know that.

>>5192519
>>5192522
There's no method to strengthening the curse beyond accumulating a horde directly, being more self serving, and Reynauld accumulating more injuries, which the curse takes advantage of by replacing damaged body parts with dragon parts. The latter two hasn't been confirmed to accelerate Reynauld's transformation, but injuries are definitely making him change faster. So, better to kill everything than risk accumulating more injuries, which would then make Reynauld change faster. In my opinion.


Second reason, yes. We should all try to avoid getting hurt, but there's no evidence that the fire would set anything off.

third reason, "This hallway serves as a chokepoint". If there was anything note worthy then we wound had noticed it. As a plus, this is only a chokepoint of a hallway. Not a research station, not a dormitories, not an armory. Just a hallway you walk through. If we keep the flame breathing restricted to here, then nothing sensitive should be damaged so long as we don't breath fire in the very room all the monsters are in. Pretty smart eh?

>>5192528
we get it you want to strengthen the curse most of us do not as well as the several other legitimate reasons not to use fire. stop pretending to have the moral high ground here and let's see how the vote tally up.

>>5192528
It's not the physical transformation that I'm concerned about, it's the mental degradation. With every time you use the dragon's power, it becomes a little easier to rely on it, to accept it, until it becomes your default answer to everything. Remember the first dream, the temptation of an easy way out, an immense power to incinerate all of your enemies, if you would only embrace it, you worthless monkey. Reynauld has shown that he is the kind of man who would rather struggle endlessly, rely on his own strength, than accept the proverbial deal with the devil, and every time he now unleashes that power is another step away from that man and towards the dragon.

>>5192531
Sod off, I also want to strengthen the curse, and voted for flamebreath. Also let's grow wings and a balance tail soon, pls. Reverse jointed raptor legs with gutting claws would be appreciated as well. Apologize to Pink and call her a Clever Girl already ffs.

>>5192254
>>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.

File: images.jpg (13 KB, 220x229)

13 KB JPG

I am somewhat surprised that no one has raised the point that starting a large fire in a poorly ventilated place could cause the group to suffocate due to lack of oxygen.

death looms over this expedition.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZzN1p-Ls4OyZhVZTzindBUDh417OfIEU/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102332684560001510753&rtpof=true&sd=true

>>5192640
Nice omake.
Sadly, I must add that William has no interest in kobolt ass. He is too lame.
But, he might be able to learn :^)

>>5192254
>>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.
Burn it all

>>5192651
>grow dragon dick
>don't use it to dick down Pink

Why even live?

>>5192254
>Take off the facial covering, breathe fire. Simple as that.

>>5192788
Why even. What's the point of this quest if we dont make Pink weak in the knees?

>>5192627
No apologizing to Pink, but raptor legs do sound pretty cool. I think they might even make Reynauld run faster. That or I'm thinking of Shadowrun 4e digitgrade cyberlegs combined with raptor feel.
Man I hope we find some cool cybernetics down here.

>>5192254
>>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
can't risk destroying stuff

>>5192254
>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.
I'm against using fire for 3 reasons
1. Risk of smoke in a confined space
2. Risk of damaging weird tech
3. I don't trust anything that comes from the curse

all these dragon fags coming in here and voting against the spirit of the quest, fuck you guys

>>5192254
>>Back away, make use of the chokepoint.

>>5193132
You (or someone) does this every time, every thread: pretends like anyone who doesn't want to go 100% unflinching champion-of-man knight is new to the quest, rather than just another player voting differently than you. Check the archives: people who are okay with becoming a dragon, or part-dragon, have been here since thread 1!

>SRANK
See, New Capcha agrees!

>>5193146
and your ilk has been voted down every time making it damn clear we don't want that shit, yet you keep pushing it, your side lost in thread 1 & 2, by carrying on with that shit yes at this point you are undermining the core theme of the quest we established, we. don't. want. to. be. a. dragon! fuck off.

>>5193172
I don't actually tend to vote for pro-dragon options, but if you're so confident you're going to win... Why do you care? Obviously it's not a problem for QM, or Spine wouldn't keep including those options.

Calm down, anon.

>>5193177
Spine handing out bait/trap options makes perfect sense he is playing the narrator and curse, that doesn't mean we should take those options man. and I care so much because like any real old fag can tell you all it takes is a few dumb newfags hopping in and shitting up the quest votes to ruin our plans and derail shit. Do you remember the OG left behind quest and how it went to shit because of a few newfags who jumped in troll voted and left? I do.

>>5193196
>dumb newfags hopping in and shitting up the quest votes

But as established, the people voting that way have been here the whole time. They're players the same as you, just as invested in the quest. If you want a quest where nobody votes contrary to you, you're looking for a single-player game.

>>5193196
Gay

>>5193206
they are invested in undoing all the character development of two threads because again your want for our MC to become a dragon is out of character and has been since the second threat at least. you might have had a point is this was thread one and we were still deciding how we want Raynold to react to this situation, but we have decided and we have voted for him to not want it. So by continuing to push for it, you are shiting up the quest and trying to force a total 180 for the character. it's really simple as that.

>>5193239
Being so bossy and obnoxious about how people should vote just makes me want to vote pro-dragon more often to spite you.

But, hey, we'll see! I enjoy this quest, so I'll just vote in a way that makes sense for how I interpret Reynauld's development. Unlike some, I'm not beholden to my personal vision of how the story and characters should develop (or not develop).

>>5193239
>>5193253
Double dragon lizard penis's!

>>5193253
>I've been called out on my meta actions so now I must double down and ruin the quest.

Lurk more and grow up, or go back to redit and your safe space because I am not sure /qst/ is the board for you much less 4 chan as a site.

>>5193253
>>5193259
You guys are wack playing your 5D chess blame game. One guy is against dragons, but is probably for dragons so the other guy spitefully votes for dragon power use options. The dragon voter is tricking the 'fore dragon use' anon who's pretending to be against fire breathing.
At the end of the day, we can all agree that fire is good.

>>5192651
When Reynauld's teeth all fall out, what will the doctor lady do with them? Make dentures?

>>5193259
>anyone who disagrees with me is reddit
Kek.

You decide to make this easy on yourself, and quickly begin to back up into the hallway. You also stop Chad, who was a bit over-eager to get in there, it seems.
"Hold on, we're using the tunnel to funnel them into a straight line... then, I'm not going to even use this axe."
Chad turns to you, asking: "Then wha- Ow!". Sadly, the question never finishes as a clump of toxic spores strikes him in the face. While the spores can't breach the suit, getting struck by a softball of the stuff is still bloody distracting, to say the least. You have to make sure you don't suffer that one, actually, though you might be able to resist it just fine. It's not a long-lasting poison, fortunately.
As the chompers begin to crowd together, almost tripping over eachother to get at you, you take off your mask with a quick flip, holding a hand on in front of your face just in case a spitter decides to get lucky with their barrage of spores, and you breathe in deeply....
Before blanketing the entire hallway in a blaze of blue fire, which makes the kobolts all holler in delight at the sight!
"DRAGON! YEAAAAH! BURN THEEEEM!" Chad screams, hopping in place as he gazes in delight at the fungal beasts getting set on fire! The blue fire rapidly begins to eat through the seedbed on their backs, and the splotchy fungal flesh is rapidly starting to crack and split, as well. The heat is essentially disintegrating them as you watch, and in their panic they're stumbling over eachother again on the way out, beginning to hug up against the other chompers... and even some spitters, further spreading the fire amongst them.

Then, of course, you advance forward.You take another breath, and the remaining spitters have clumped up as well. Strategy isn't their strong suit, of course, they just formed a half-circle around the entrance to try and get a shot at you. You exhale another torrent of fire, surprising yourself at the sheer distance you can shoot this stuff. The control is impressive too.
You faintly hear a roar in your voice as you torch all your foes in but an instant.
...Then, you simply wait for the last of the beasts to fall.
Dragonfire burns for a long time, after all. They were dead to begin with. Fortunately, nothing seems to explode when put into contact with fire, and now you can look around.To the left, you have those silos, and there seems to be some kind of writing on it... While it does have your alphabet, it doesn't seem to connect to any language you heard of.
Oldfield, however, is simply delighted.
"Masterfully done, my boy! Masterful! I hadn't expected such ferocity from your fire breath! Now, come come! We've already got some amazing finds here. See that writing up there!?" He all but yells:
"I was thinking about it, yes." You reply back, tilting your head, though the professor surprises you a bit:
"It's even a language we recognize! Well, up to a point. The words up there seem to be designations. Mutagen tanks."

You turn to him, tilting your head.
"Mutagen? As in-"
"The stuff that mutates, yes! It's.. well, the base form of "to mutate", with an addition turning it into a noun rather than a verb. It's the same system as our language, really! Yet, still no magic can be detected. Why... this is an amazing find. "
Paracelsus, to your surprise, says the last thing you'd expect her to say.
"This is... FAR too dangerous. Mutagen is already dangerous when it comes from wizards, but this... this is a natural, or as close to natural as it gets, source of mutations. It would mean it's completely and utterly irreversible. We can't let this get into the hands of anybody!" She says, and Oldfield... seems to agree:
"Oh, for sure. Nobody should ever get their hands on the mutagen. I'm hoping the stuff is gone, and... guessing from the gauges, it seems we're in luck. They're all emptied. Ah! See there! The remains of glass tubes. Seems it would be possible to pump the stuff all throughout the facility."

Then, you hear one of the kobolts yell something:
"What is THAAAAT!" Teensy says, and you all turn. There's a chainlink fence there, but no gate... inside those fences you see railway karts, similar to what the alchemists have... though with rubber wheels and a wheel in front of the seats.
The professor all bit giggles in delight as he sees them:
"Transports! But... where are the rails?" He says, though it's more a question to himself. You wouldn't exactly know the answer to it, after all, though you do come closer to check it out.

The seats are all eaten by the fungus, pretty much, though the insides seem like they're pretty padded. The front of one of these things is open, revealing a massive mess of parts. More little words, here and there, though you can't tell what's what with the amount of metal and tubes in there. The only thing you can hazard a guess as it the logo at the front.
You can even try reading it, though you decide to ask the professor on what i means?
"What's a Jeep?"
"Must be a name, of sorts... How fascinating!"
He's already making a sketch of the thing. He's quite skilled, it seems.
Teensy is crawling under the strange kart, and there she can can already give a little more info.
"It's like a, uh! A carriage! But no horses! It's got these thingies that'll make the wheels go and I-I think the big wheel makes the rest of it go! Collar! Could you twist the wheel!?

Considering there's about half a dozen more of these things, it shouldn't be a huge loss if that does anything bad.
You keep an eye out, in the meantime, obviously. Short glances at this thing won't hurt. Anna and Chad are doing the same though, though Anna is pointing out yet another amazing thing:
"Look at the size of that GATE! It's... It's got to be ten meters wide. And it's about half as tall, which is still... wow."

>>5193545
>Jeep
holy shit

File: what the HELL is down there.png (7.06 MB, 4535x2718)

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You move towards the gate... moving close to the tanks because of it. You step on top of some catwalks as a result, and that gives you a little vision to the things below. While there was basement there at some point, it looks like a giant chunk of the floor has been blasted apart by some kind of force, giving you a view to the deepest level. If it wasn't for your new eyes, you wouldn't be able to see anything, but...
"What in the TWELVE HELLS is that!?" You all but scream, gazing upon the bloodied corpse of... something. It looks more akin to meat given a vague form, carried along by gigantic, seemingly metal tubes. There are boils filled with a faintly glowing sickly green liquid still spread around the corpse of that thing, though you can tell from this angle that the mushrooms have slowly been encroaching upon it. It's hard to tell, of course, though the most impressive (or perhaps, merely disturbing) portion of the huge room down there is the lump of deadened flesh. It seems to still be rotting down there, though the brobdingnagian quantities of flesh must make it difficult for even the most persistent of decay to fully spread through it.
The gigantic reddened flesh is the most telling. Though it's hard to get an exact guess of it all, you can tell that it was huge. Guessing that the rest of the creature is just spread all across the facility below, you suppose that gigantic wound was once it's head... or whatever equivalent to a head it may have once possessed.

Whether it was monster or God.
... It's dead now.

All that makes you wonder, though, is what in the HELL killed it!?

File: fusil_baikal_ij43_coach_g(...).jpg (162 KB, 2000x1308)

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Then, however, you get a tug from the side. It's Collar, holding something...
"Dragon! I found this two-barreled flintlock!"
"It's got special little red things for it!"
"It was in the back in a box of the geep thing!"

...Huh. You take a look at the thing, and while the design is somewhat familiar, it's clearly a bit more advanced than what you're used to. It opens up, for one, and you can see two of those little red things that the kobolt is holding loaded in there. It seems similar enough, you suppose, to your flintlock, though it seems the payload is in the bullet, rather than the gun itself.... huh.
Ingenious.
This thing must have been one of the most modern pieces of war-gear around, by your estimate, especially if it can fire twice. It's a simple system, two triggers, one for each barrel. On a whim, you remove the bullets from the gun, and see how fast you can load it. You fumble a bit, of course, but...
Well, even then? You just did in seconds what would take a minute under normal circumstances. Essentially, most of the reload is done beforehand, in the bullet itself.

You also take a look at one of the little bullets, and open up the shell. There's... a bunch of little balls in there, powder, and some other parts. Hmm. Not as complicated as you feared, actually?
This could be very powerful.

>Keep it

>Don't bother, those little red things are limited.

>Take a moment to take in just how out of your depth you are to this location this whole thing is absolutely insane you're walking in what must the halls of GODS

>>5193572
>Take a moment to take in just how out of your depth you are to this location this whole thing is absolutely insane you're walking in what must the halls of GODS
>Keep the gun, though

>>5193543
>You faintly hear a roar in your voice as you torch all your foes in but an instant.

Ha. I hope it doesn't progress too far and bad-end us, but I admit grim satisfaction to see K6juRAb+'s perfect world crumble a little.

>>5193563
post apocalyptic universe confirmed

>Take a moment to take in just how out of your depth you are to this location this whole thing is absolutely insane you're walking in what must the halls of GODS

Oh shit, is this FEV? I should not have read fallout lore before going into this quest...

>>5193572
>Keep it
Does this look like something Reynauld can figureout? Can he save the shells to make more? How many shells are there? Can we search all the jeeps in search of more?
If we find any books that aren't eaten away by the mold, I think we could ask Collar to eat them. It's just an idea.

>>5193595
I'm not completely sure this is a post fallout universe.

>>5193611
>>5193595
>>5193589
Worth noting: people in this land don't speak "Common" or anything. As OP noted in Thread 1: we, and our Kobolts, speak ENGLISH.

>>5193637
Oh shit x2

>>5193572
>>Keep it
>>as insane as this is, this is not the work of gods it is the work of MEN, clearly something catastrophic happened long ago, if our technology has fallen so far.


so we are clearly post-apocalypse like very post-apocalypse.

>>used the fire, for shame, fucking hypocrites.

>>5193876
>>5193572

support

yeah using the fire makes us hypocrites anons not cool dudes.

>>5193579
>Ha. I hope it doesn't progress too far and bad-end us, but I admit grim satisfaction to see K6juRAb+'s perfect world crumble a little.


you have one sad life if derailing quests is how you get your kicks anon. And we fucking told you so dumb ass.

>>5193579
Can you not be a petty dick? anon might be an asshole but he has a point man. Every indication QM has given us has told us that ending up going dragon is a bad end fuck you even admitted as much. so can you kindly not fucking ruin the quest by voting for the trap/bait options that push us closer to that outcome? Your literally fucking yourself and the rest of us over by helping make anon's "Perfect world crumble a little" you may not care but those of us who have been here since thread 1 really give a shit and want to see things go well for our MC, putting up with the pro dragon shit posters is annoying as is, but having to deal with a spite voter will just make this unbearable man.

so can you please just be the bigger man/adult and not fucking spite vote or continue to pick at anon to continue shit. I am assuming you're here to have fun and enjoy the quest like the rest of us, so in good faith can you just not spite vote or start/continue shit?

>>5193885
>>5193910

I voted against firebreath, and also have been here since thread 1. I think I may have actually cast one of the first few votes in the entire quest. I'll vote how I like, and if you don't want it to be contrarian votes, then stop lecturing people on how to vote.

>>5193947
...you realize I am a different anon right? did you even read my ID? christ man the other anon was right your just a piece of shit troll.

>>5193963

I know you're two different people, which is why I addressed both posts rather than just one. I'm addressing it to you both, as you're both making the same basic case:

>UNLIKE YOU and others who vote contrary to me, I'VE been here since day one, so please don't spoil MY quest by voting bad and wrong

I didn't even vote pro-dragon at any point during this thread, and in previous threads I've only done so in limited capacities when it made sense, such as using firebreath to impress the troll's kobolts or to try and get a discount on helmets.

But come off the high horse. All votes are valid, especially when they're literally options presented by QM. Trying to harp on like only your votes are valid and legit is nonsense. The pro-dragon pro-moral ambiguity posters have been here since thread 1 and, while I've not been one of them, pretending they're all redditors and saboteurs is nonsense.

>>5193565
What game?

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>>5193969
>>5193947

Your full of shit, Spine with every vote that has taken the dragon option has shown its hold advance sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in not so obvious ways. Say all voting styles are valid is just a fucking cope, given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. By voting for dragon shit you literally push us closer to a bad end, if you vote for Dragon you are on the wrong side. With every inch, we give to the curse by using its power or making a dragon choice is a step closer to a bad end, one step closer to a loss. Every pro dragon anon who legitimately wants the curse to win is pushing for a bad end, so yeah they are fucking saboteurs shiting up the quest because they want to be a dragon and are trying to force that outcome in quest even though literally every time it comes up it is shown to be negative.

There is no moral ambiguity to this either as we have seen in quest the personality death that is coming for Raynold if the curse is allowed to advance and time him fully. He will stop being himself as his mind is warped and corrupted by the curse so he no longer holds the values he does or even sees the virtues he clings to as virtues. You think your hot shit with your smug attitude but you don't hold the moral high ground hear I am right and so is every other anon who voted against the dragon shit. and hay good for you for voting against, but again you retarded if you really believe being pro dragon is fine while knowing full well it means a bad end.

>>5193963
we will just have to out vote him simple as that

You guys have autism and need to stop shitting things up, while I'm Team Human things will go how they're gonna go and you can't control what other people are gonna vote for.

>Take shotgun
Just give us the damn shotgun. We've got a mob of little lizard frens that excel at digging up stuff for their boss, we can probably loot even more guns, ammo and goodies from this place. Not even in a dragon horde way, but in a better at killing things way. Mark it on the map for after we're done being cursed.

Love this turn of events QM, love me this kind of lore for a fantasy setting. Is that screenshot from Fallout? It doesn't look quite like it but I've not played the old ones in a long time.

>>5194007
It might be from underrail, I haven't played it but it fits the isometric post apocalyptic vibe.

I feel kinda in between the two groups of stay human and go dragon. On one end being a dragon would be badass, plus we get magic. The identity death is a bit of a downer, so I think I'm leaning humie mostly because of the post apocalyptic stuff now. We gotta EXPLORE man we gotta figure out what happened.

>>5194027
Ah I think you're right, it is Underrail. I've played it but the pacing feels like wading through waist deep sludge and you have to savescum endlessly to make it to the fun. Admittedly maybe I'm just bad.

I'm team Human because dragons can't use guns. In fact being a dragon after going all this way locks us out of a lot of interaction with the world in what feels like a meaningful way. Fighting? Breathe fire, bite it, sit on it, fly away like a fuckoff coward lizard, or whatever. Talking to people? Extort them for gold and food, act like a dickhead. Where do we go? Well we live in a cave and count money, and occasionally leave to to get more money to count, or snatch up livestock for lunch. Fight off a knight every so often. How to treat kobolts? Like objects and slaves obviously, we're an actual dragon now, no need to bother with the intricacies of navigating kobolt/human relations because the natural hierarchy has been reestablished.

Really don't mean to be a Debbie downer here but dragon route seems pretty boring unless QM gets real creative. great now I'm shitting everything up

>>5194056
No, you just taking the time to reason out the logical outcome of the dragon route which again the asshole anon is an asshole but he is right in that route only leads to a bad end, staying human and struggling against that fate is far fucking more interesting even more so now that we know about the setting being super post-apocalypse.

I also maintain that going dragon isn't a route it is a bad end state for the quest.

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>>5193572
>Keep it
Keep looking around for things. Maybe we might find some more useful things in the Jeeps such as a glove box full of things?
Now's who's asses we need to kick? Gimme the tough bitches to fight Spinejuice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNk66eG9tZM
Side note I hope we'll have enough money after this expedition to commission us up a real mean looking two hander of a pig stick with a gold core, hell maybe we could even commission up a set of alchemically treated gold-steel alloy armor for that extra magic powah. This should only be considered if Reynauld ends up keeping his dragons breath after getting partially cured by the archmage.

>>5194065
>>5193969
lmao this autism generated discussion is great. It's a game dudes, chill. Gotta take the good with the bad gnome I'm saying?

>>5194027
I'm leaning towards something like the half dragon man thing in Reynauld's dream. I say this because he would be big enough to wield stupidly large swords, but small enough where he can still go about his business in towns.

>>5194056
I personally like dragons, I think being a giant neigh immortal fire breathing flying lizard is pretty metal, but on the other hand I don't want that to happen in this quest. Because that would be a game over, but I still like the idea of hitting that sweet spot between man and dragon. Not to evil, not to small, and can probably still use a gun.
Eh, none of us will get anywhere with the dragon talks since we're practically yelling at each other. Can you tell us more about Underrail? Please enlighten us with your gamer knowledge. Do you have any clue just where the hell our party is in, and if your brain can tell us anything useful? Like what the giant dead thing was?
https://stygiansoftware.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

>>5194065
All this new knowledge is super duper interesting. What are the implications? Jeeps, guns, weird ass machines and experimental shit, the two smartest people in our party talking about mutagens changing people like crazy.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Because I'm thinking that this place was once a military research outpost of some sorts, and the empty mutagen silos could be the reason why magic and other races exist to this day. let me hear you hypothesis and theories.

>>5194074
I'm cool with being a dragon/man mutant, don't get me wrong. Just being locked out of basic things like manual dexterity and basic human relations locks you out of plenty more. Personally I see Reynauld as a very good man and while stories about good men falling are quite popular, I prefer to see good men stand up to adversity through very cohersive temptation.

I can't tell you too much on Underrail, it's basically just isometric Metro 20XX with a lot more autism and ZERO handholding. I never got far enough to any significant portion of the main quest because either I'm bad or the game is just that hard. Although the real reason is that I really hate following guides to play games and don't have the time to play a game where objectives feel less intuitive to figure out. You spend a lot of time after doing stuff for the first couple areas wandering around, confused, and being killed by lethal enemies. In that way it's kinda like the first time you ever played Morrowind. I'd recommend it if you have a lot of time and patience.

Besides, even if I did have strong knowledge of the game it would probably be too meta, kinda like the Darkest Dungeon talks we had in earlier threads and the meta takes away from the mystery and probably makes more work on the QM to subvert expectations

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>>5194100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3lPznHHE0
Damn, thats fair. When we're done investigating this facility, do you think we could get away with keeping some jeeps and fuel? Actually scratch that. As cool as the jeeps might be, we're lacking in the tools and knowledge department if want to keep these things running for extended periods of time, not to mention the risk of popping a tire. I suppose for now we'll be restricted to using them within this facility?

Yeah i'll confirm right now it's Underrail, the game has been living in my head rent-free for a long while now. I've played it a lot, and I mean A LOT. I love it, and strongly recommend to stick with it if you manage to squeeze past Depot A. It's an intentional filter to make sure you don't head in without a build, though there's always ways to squeeze past it. The best hint I can give you is that sneak is your best friend (across the whole game), and beartraps aren't just to keep one enemy in place, but about 12 of them if you put it in a doorway. They can't move through eachother. Also, no matter your build, grenades are basically mandatory.
The story and worldbuilding is great and I'd even say the expansion turns a good game even better. Personally, I'd advise you just make yourself an assault rifle metal armor build. They're the easiest to play so you can focus on just getting to know the game. After that, you can do more fun builds. Personally, I'd recommend chemical pistols.
Back to the quest, while I AM using elements of it, I will be changing things around quite a bit regardless. So meta-knowledge on Underrail won't help you much, and the one freebie i'll give you is that acid is bad and things that turn your blood into acid are worse.

Addendum: Going "Full Dragon" IS a bad end, yes, but "full dragon" is a lot more than just being a giant quadruped lizard. The mental transformation matters a hell of a lot more than the physical, and while one can feed into the other, as long as you stick with your morals and make sure you're a bit careful you'll be fine.
You're free to use your fire breath, it's revelling in its power that could be dangerous. And burning yourself too, I suppose.
Reynauld would still prefer not being a dragon, mind you.
And, really, no matter what happens: it'll be an interesting story.

>>5193637
Small sidenote: while you do speak English, there is enough separation between the English here and the English above that the layman can't read it. The stuff here is a sort of "proto-english", comparatively. Oldfield can read it just fine, though, he's a linguist.

ACTUAL UPDATE BELOW:

You take the shotgun, noting just how pleasant to the touch it really is. The wood is smoothened, and the barrels look to be made of a material you don't recognize. It's not quite steel or anything like that, and despite the image that was used, the barrels are in a bright chrome colour. Lighter than it appears, as well!
"I'll be taking this... Try to gather any more of these... shells that you can find. It's going to be a hungry weapon, no doubt."
The kobolts start hopping in place and then rush around the cars, making the professor protest a bit to leave at least one of the cars alone. At your insistence, the kobolts agree. In the meantime...

Gazing down at that rotten thing below, and then at rest of this place, you disspell the thought that this is something that could only be made by gods. No magic, no masters... this is all something created by the family of man.
Anna seems to notice your thinking.
"Hey... Cent for your thoughts?"
"This whole thing is man-made. Some... people actually came together to create this. It's... sobering."
"I'd say it's pretty cool, rather. All this with just technology? To hell with wizards... HEY! Maybe they have a solution to your problem here!"
"Could be... Could not. Here's the thing though,all this technology is old. Very old... Things have gone to ruin."
"And? We found them again?"
"I'm just wondering... what in the hell happened that things regressed this far? Must have been... cataclysmic!"
"Well... I doubt they wouldn't write about it somewhere. I never thought a little lady like me would be interested in some actual archaeology. "

Well... you have to admit you're very interested too.
You end up having to guard Oldfield as he makes a sketch of the whole car, and at one point, you even pull out the engine as he call it with the help of the kobolts. It's monstrously heavy, and if it wasn't for the kobolts, you wouldn't have been able to lift it out of there. Fortunately, Oldfield was smart enough to remove the bolts and other connecting parts first.
(cont)

Inevitably, of course, all that noise and standing still... brought things over. To the left of the gigantic gate, there was another cave entrance,
They weren't well-hidden, on account of them being nearly nine feet tall. Heavy, plodding footsteps, and pulsating green boils all across their body, make it easy to hear and see. The creatures themselves, to your horror... appear to have once been human. Though their skulls seem almost partially collapsed, to the point that the front monster's tongue is flopping around without a jaw to rest in, their eyes and general shame means they are unmistakeably former humans. They even still wear their tattered clothing, though they clearly forcefully tore their way through. Even their skin appears stretched, like a rubber band stretched to the breaking point. More worryingly, their arms all seem to be uniformly burnt, almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Tough carapace-like crust now covers most of it, steadily getting thicker towards the tip of the claws, with their right hand looking more akin to a crab's pincer... and the one on the left reminding you of a spiked catching pole. Too wide to pinch, but huge enough to serve as a club.
They're just wandering in your direction, likely because of the noise, but it seems their eyesight is rather poor... or they don't move much faster when aggressive compared to just wandering. Their limp could imply the second...

>Remain calm, and stand your ground. Maybe they're not aggressive?
They look like they're in pain...

>Take aim with your new gun.
Like hell that's harmless.

>Tell everybody to hide
Maybe you can avoid a fight that way.

>>5194124
>Tell everybody to hide
The fewer fights we get into, the better. While I'd love an opportunity to try out our new boomstick, our priority is getting everybody in and out safely.

Also, in light of recent events, I gotta ask: Do we have knowledge of any ancient civilization ruins that exist out in the world? Reynauld has travelled quite a bit in his youth, and I can't imagine the crumbled ruins of New York in a steampunkish fantasy setting wouldn't be common knowledge.

They'll just come back later if we hide, unless we're leaving right after? Either back out now or fight.
> Remain calm, and stand your ground. Like hell that's harmless.

>>5194124
>Like hell that's harmless
We have to get out of here one way or another, if we gotta beat it I'd rather nothing be in the way.

>>5194124
> Remain calm, and stand your ground. Like hell that's harmless.
I'm fore putting these sorry sods out of their misery. Theres nothing we can do to reverse what happened to them, so the best thing to do is to end their suffering. I would suggest that Reynauld starts off by firing into the heads of these things with his flintlocks, then switch over to the shotgun since it requires significantly less time to reload. That way he can expend uses of his cheaper ammunition until he needs to use the shotty. I dont trust that it safe to engage these things in melee combat. Any tears to the suit could prove to be fatal to anyone here. If all the gunshot noises do end up attracting even more of them, at least too much for us to handle, we can Ll double time it out of there and back to the surface, making use of Percelas plague bombs to kill if not slow down our potential pursuers.

If no more of them come to investigate, than we can use the opportunity to study the bodies while Reynauld reloads his two guns. Did the kobolts find anymore ammo?
Note: the broomstick will most likely attract them when we decide to use it, in addition to any other predators.

>>5194127
Maybe hes walked through such a ruined you described, but it was hidden thanks to War Wizards hiding it.

>>5194124
Changing vote to hiding, but defaulting to shooting to draw attention in case these things manage to find our of our friend's hiding spaces to attack them.

>>5194145
>Maybe hes walked through such a ruined you described, but it was hidden thanks to War Wizards hiding it.
Ah, right, that makes sense.

>>5194124
>>Tell everybody to hide

>>5194124
>Remain calm, and stand your ground. Maybe they're not aggressive?

Be ready to defend ourselves, keep a safe distance, but don't lash out because they're deformed. So are we. So was/is Anna. Let's not act like the villagers of Shitsburg and make assumptions based on appearances.

>>5194310
this is a completely different scenario, we are in a hostile bunker full of dangerous fungus monsters alien-looking monsters and what ever these Cronenberg things are, assuming they are none hostile is naive at best and retarded at worse, we should have our people hidden and out of harms way rather than stand in the open and just hope that these things are the one thing in a bunker full of very hostile creatures in a corrupted forest that are not hostile.

do you see now why what your proposing is a bad idea?

>>5194124
>>Tell everybody to hide
I have zero faith these are not enemies given what this place is and where it is located.

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>>5194331
>Be ready to defend ourselves, keep a safe distance

>>5194124
>Tell everybody to hide

>>5194127
iirc underrail is a nuclear apocalypse where its been several hundred years since people left the surface and it's still uninhabitable. there might not be any new york left. .
>>5194124
>Take aim with your new gun.

unrelated note,
Magic in underrail is "psy" powers, it would follow then that wizards eventually go crazy from all the psy they have, then? But mana also seems to be a thing. And how does that work with our curse, which is magic also.

>>5194381
My point is that a civilization like ours doesn't just disappear. New York was just an example, there are megacities like that all over the world. Even centuries after the apocalypse, yeah, they would be reduced to rubble, but that rubble would still be there, and it's more than likely that at least one of these sites would have been discovered and knowledge of an ancient civilization (ours) would be fairly widespread. For that knowledge to be almost non-existent, either whatever apocalyptic event happened to us was so cataclysmic it literally deleted all human civilization off the face of the Earth, or some force is working overtime in the background to suppress this information from ever reaching the public. Of course, you could come up with other explanations as well - off the top of my head, time travel or this being another planet - but I'm willing to bet it's one of the first two.

>>5194381
Maybe the psy powers were mutated even further, or eventually evolved into Mana.

>>5194524
Sure they disappear, if you have an organization of wizards that are charged with the responsibility of researching and hiding them.

"Everybody! Hide, now!" You tell them, making sure to get everybody moving. The strange vehicles make for the best hiding spot, as the kobolts can just hop inside to be hard to see, while the taller people (you, Oldfield and Paracelsus) can simply hide behind them. Then, it's just a matter of having patience and steel nerves as those things wander forward... and then just hang around the room you're in. They look fairly aimless, actually, though one of them moves towards the gigantic mutagen silos... and places one of its claws against it.
Then, mournfully, it begins to cry, placing its forehead against the metal. It's a long, wailing sound it makes, and it's here that it's all the more clear that this is a former human being. If the tattered clothing wasn't clear enough in that regard. The other mutants just stare at nothing in particular, until they notice one of the burnt corpses of the fungal beasts. It all but collapses on the floor before it starts eating the burnt corpse, though they have to snip it into little bits with their claw, or rake it to shreds with the bigger claw, to be able to eat it. They don't seem able to chew, and instead just slam the fungal meats against their throat.
"Disgusting... and incredibly interesting." Paracelsus adds. "They must be victims of the mutagen that was once stored here... or at least one variant of it."
You just give her a look, which she seems to understand pretty fast.
"Right, right... We'll consider the implications later."

More waiting, but eventually, you suppose that the mutants heard something. They all stops at the same time, and give out a wheeze... Before they start wandering towards the tunnel you came from.
...Well, you hope they don't know how to climb ladders. Or maybe you hope that they DO, in case you need to make a speedy exit. All the same, once they're gone, Oldfield stands up:
"Alright! Let's keep moving for now, yes? We should take a look at that large gate, don't you think?"
You don't say a word as you take him by the shoulder, and then show him the gigantic thing that you can get a glimpse at.
"...Well! We should try to get down there, then, no? This almost demands a closer look!"

You're not sure about that, but you don't see any good argument against it yet. Then, he moves to the large gate, and takes a look at the little glowing pad to the left of it.
"That can't do anything, right?" Anna says, tilting her head. "Its too small, there's no way that-"
The professor didn't need to do more than press a button, before the gigantic gate begins to open up. It's a monstrously noisy machine, using air pumps guessing from the noise. Then, once it opens... it's just a fairly ordinary cave, with a little metal shack to the side. You look to the rest of the people, and rapidly head inside. If nothing else, if anything is attracted to the gate you can hide in that shack for a bit.
It's only barely enough to fit everybody.

Once inside, however, you see some kind of flat pedestal with a load of buttons under it. Like... a typewriter with a glowing flat thingie above it. Hard to say what it is. Oldfield, however, walks towards it with confidence.
"Well... This shouldn't be too hard. This here is the "on" button, and..."
With a flick, the glowing thing turns brighter still, and there are words appearing on the screen.
"Ohh. OHhh! It's... it's a book! Of sorts, anyhow! Look here! Archives!"
You just see a bunch of words and... pictograms? A folder, that much you recognize. Then there's... some kind of stick with a diamond at the bottom with legs? "Virology" it says under it, so you suppose it's connected to viruses? A couple more, but the archives is what oldfield selects by... pressing on it with his finger.
That works?

"Now, let's see here... Lots of information, to be sure. Why, it'll take days to transcribe all of this, unless... Hmm."
He moves around a little more, and then you hear some kind of little machine buzz to life to the side of the room. It's a bit cramped, so it took a kobolt to move out of the way.
"Ahaaa! A printer!"
"Like a printing press?" You ask out loud, and the professor happily states:
"Better than that, my boy! No pressing needed! Why, this is an artefact we must bring back, don't you say?"
It looks kind of big... Not heavy, necessarily, but cumbersome to carry. Doesn't matter too much, you can use one of the kobolts for that job. But that's for when you're leaving.
"Here we go... Ah! Here. "Surface Information".

You lean over the professor's shoulder, and the first words put things into perspective.
"It has been 379 years since the Great Serpent devoured our sun. It has been 242 years since our mutagen experiments finally bore fruit, and offered immortality... and it is today when I am the last one remaining. All the others came together in the mutagen tanks, to become part of the hivemind. Myself, I am too far gone. I'm old. I'm wizened... and contrary to my colleagues, death is not an alltogether unpleasant prospect for me. I've had a good life. A long life. Longer than any life deserves to be. Our discoveries have spread throughout the remnants of our world, and yet i fear not much of it will be fondly remembered. "
Oh.

The message continues.
Our robots? Weapons of war. Useful, to be sure... but we never made anything that would make food, or rear children.
Our mutagen... It was considered a clever move, at the time, to turn it into a bioweapon. The side-effects of acidic blood and insanity made it perfect to taking on our rivals, and it was through that sort of... experimentation that we found and perfected it. Yet, with the number of people that are as long-lived as me numbering so low, I doubt anybody will appreciate that. Our robots?
The life we made? Cloned humans, morphed into cybernetic spawn that could hardly still be called human. Now, undertaking actions even we don't quite understand anymore.
Psionics?
Well... The saying goes: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I fear more pain was wrought using those abilities than anything else. But thanks to my adjustments...
I will leave a world that is worthy of it all.
I will create a new sun. A new surface. Even if it will take generations more for the gestalt field to come to fruition, I will pull this wretched world from the abyss it was thrown towards, and KILL the damned snake that thought itself so great, so powerful, that it could think to plunge our world into the dark.
~Icarus"

You turn to the professor, who seems to have... stopped.
"What in the world did we come across? If it was generations more to go.. that would... This terminal would be ancient!" He says out loud.
You keep reading, as Oldfield opens older entries. Different writers, it seems?
"The Collective Consciousness seems to be working well. Compared to our freezer facility, especially. Certainly, there is immortality to be found in becoming a popsicle, but if it were up to me, I'd prefer to be able to do more than talk to the same people inside the same little facility. What's the point of being a psychic ghost if you can't leave the damned building?
Personally, I'd prefer to live out my days as long as I think I can get away with. I've still got papy's old shotgun in my trunk. With the supersteel barrels, that thing'll be fine for centuries... I'll punch my own ticket, if need be.
Hah! Morbid thoughts for some. I find it merely reassuring.
~Wit"

The oldest entry is the most simple:
"Employees are not to use this as a diary terminal. You have your own terminals people! Upload it to the cloud if you want it permanently stored, the Cain Terminal should be used for *important* files.
~Salinski"
Hmm.
That didn't last, did it?

You... feel a bit dizzy. This is some... crazy stuff. If it's true, at least.
On the other hand, this is waaaaay above you.
This isn't actually relevant to you, personally. Archeologists can get a lot out of it, no doubt, but practically speaking this is all meaningless.

You lean away, instead looking towards the gate...
More of those tall humanoids appeared, mixed in with smaller mutants. They seem to be a lot more human, glowing green boils aside. Unarmed, it seems?
Apart from one... Wielding some kind of smaller flintlock pistol. Probably just as modern as that shellgun you have on you currently, though.
Those mutants sure are ugly.

Fortunately, they don't seem interested in stepping past the gate. In fact, they seem almost fearful.
...Slowly, you see them moving away again, even though it took a very long time. The tense waiting was enough to make you jump when you heard a *PING* to the side of you... and an elevator opened up.
"I found a way to summon an elevator to go deeper down, my boy... But you're my security detail. Do you think it prudent to head down, or would it be better if we simply made our escape now? I'm already more than satisfied."

>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here.

>We should check the place out down there. Maybe there's even an alternative exit.

>I have SO MANY GOD DAMNED QUESTIONS first.

>>5194693
>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here.

We got some loot, some archaeologically-interesting info, and nobody's gotten hurt. Let's not get greedy, especially since we still have a curse to maybe stop.

>>5194693
>>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here.

I deeply want to know more but we are way waaaay out of our depth, and we have a curse to stop.

so we are definitively in a post-apocalypse timeline and this was is earth but it is a ruined and rotten earth

Once we curse ourselves we should seek out the prof again and if this is still here return better prepared and delve deeper, I feel there are secrets here that need to be uncovered.

>>5194693
>>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here.

from knight in a fantasy work needing to cure himself of a dragons curse to a man dealing with a mutagenic nightmare that causes madness and ruin uncovering the lost history of Earth while trying to stop the mutations before he is lost.

fucking hell spine this shit is lit you always go above and beyond in these settings man. I am also headcannnoning that we are in the ruin of the USA

>>5194693
>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here
I want to hightail it for the cure and then get back in here

>>5194712
>then get back in here
fucking same this is some mad juicy stuff man

>>5194693
>I have SO MANY GOD DAMNED QUESTIONS first.

>Doesn't matter too much, you can use one of the kobolts for that job.
FUCK YOU CURSE! BE NICER, CUNT!

>>5194822
there is a reason that ending up a dragon is a bad end man.

>>5194826
I am aware, yes. Do you agree with my sentiment? Come anon, lets call the curse a cunt. Together.

>>5194974
hell yeah I agree with you the curse is a cunt, makes us treat our friends like shit wants to body jack us, fuck that bitch

>>5194693
>Time to start making moves to get the hell out of here.
If Oldfield is satisfied, then I'm satisfied.

Though I'd say if we ever actually become a full-fledged dragon, we've just found the fanciest lair ever. Just needs a little cleanup.

>>5195189
Also, a backup option for a means to modify our body back to something approximating human, if magic alone is insufficient. That mutagen, properly applied by a muscular doctor we know after some in-depth study, could prove useful...

What is magic?

"I'd say it's in our best interest to get the hell out of here. Things are turning hot, and... Well. I can't say I'm not interested, but I'm on a time limit. If I end up stuck down here for too long, we'll ALL have a bigger problem."
"Ah, yes... Of course. Well, then we simply need to find a way out, no? I'm... taking a look at this terminal a little more, and I think there are actually two ways up. We can head back the way we came... Or take this very same elevator and take it up. We'll have to move through a security checkpoint, looks like, but that way we avoid the, ehum... Green gentlemen at the gate, and undoubtedly at the hatch. Don't you believe so?"

hmm.
Well, you don't like the sound of either of those options. As you think it over a little more, however, you also hear another request.
"Also, we must take these papers and the printer along. Who here is willing and able to carry it? I'll be holding on to the papers it printed, in the meantime."
Well, it looks like everybody excepting Paracelsus is willing to do so, but they won't be able to do much without putting it down first. As you said before, it's cumbersome, if relatively light.

Decisions...

>Take the elevator to the security checkpoint.
It'll be better to avoid that small army of mutants.

>prepare to get through the army of mutants
At least you know what to expect.

Also, who takes the printer?
The choices are:
Anna
Teensy
Chad
Collar

>>5195314
>Take the elevator to the security checkpoint.
>Teensy takes the printer
I want to leave the damn thing, but its our job to help the guy. These mutants might be smart enough to notice its missing.

>>5195334
supporting teensy on hauler duty and taking the elevator... Although we might lose gun on airplane security check.

>>5195314
>>Take the elevator to the security checkpoint.
>>ask our kobolds who can handle the weight

last thing we need is for us to blind pick and for them to know be able to handle it

>>5195390
That's true. Backing this too, don't want to risk one of our little uns getting overburdened. Especially in this hellpit.

>>5195390
addendum
>>if none of them can handle it hand broomstick to chad and carry it ourself, if the prof confirms that is can't be left

>>5195314
>"What do you mean, security checkpoint?"
Taking an express lift out of this hell is preferable, but I'd like to know what to expect first.
Also, Teensy and Collar on hauler duty. This is literally why we brought them with us.

>>5195314
One more thing: Oldfield is acting mighty sus. He's more than fluent in this weird proto-English, he's throwing around technical terms like he knows what everything is and he's very comfortable operating these ancient artifacts. He knows what's going on, even though he had no opportunity to explore this place before today, according to him. Now is not a good time to confront him, but as soon as we're safely out of here, he better start answering questions.

>>5195501
He might have been a member in the cryo portion of the base, got out, and is pretending to be a top dweller. Like Fallout. Or he's one of those psychic weapon things, or a mutant in disguise.

>>5195314
>Take the elevator to the security checkpoint.
>ask our kobolds who can handle the weight
Ideally not Chad or Anna, as they are the beat combatants. Teensy is probably too smol. It may be Collar by default...

>>5195501
He's an archaeologist. He's probably seen sites like this before, or found old records which speak of them.

>>5195805
That's what I would think, too, and I'm sure that's what his defense will be, but what sites would he have been at if they're being disappeared by a secret cabal? What records would he have found, when knowledge is being suppressed, that describe the anatomy of a Jeep, or how to operate a touchscreen terminal, or a printer, or elevator controls? He has hands-on knowledge far greater than an outsider like him should have.

>>5195505
This is possible, but he is still far too eager to research the old tech that he should be intimately familiar with if he was indeed from the old world. Maybe he's just that good of an actor, but honestly, and I apologize for the meta-gaming here, that would be too obvious of a twist.

My theory is that he is a rogue wizard, a former member of this secret society, cast out for whatever reason. It would explain how he would have been able to gain access to sites like this one in the past and why he's so aware of the masquerade that's going on. Most importantly, it's a plausible enough leap of logic for Reynauld to make, and throwing that accusation in Oldfield's face would be funny even if it's wrong - ESPECIALLY if it's wrong.

“We’ll try out that security checkpoint you mentioned… I’d prefer the unknown over an army of glowing green mutants.”
“Very well. Who will look after the printer?”
“Teensy? Can you deal with that, please?” You ask, politely. Happily, she picks up the printer and shows that she has no issues holding on to it… but, of course, she still needs both hands. She’ll be fine, but she can’t fight.
Then, you all cram yourselves into the elevator, and while you do fit… it’s only barely.
You and Paracelcus are squeezed together, and Oldfied is by the little control thing to the side of it. He presses a button, and two metal slabs slowly close before you feel an odd sensation. Like you’re being pushed down from above, though after a short moment, it seems to normalise.

Oldfield is making you suspicious, at this point, and considering there’s little more to do than wait, you decide to ask questions.
“So. You seem rather confident about everything in this place. Like you know what it is, already.”
“Oh, they’re all quite easy to use!”
“Uh-huh.” you say. “And yet, you didn’t even hesitate at any point.”

There is an uncomfortable pause in the elevator for a moment, and then Oldfield seems to settle on being insulted:
“Just what are you implying, here!?”
“I wouldn’t know. I just think it’s odd.”
“Well! I…” Oldfield says, but he seems to stop before he gets really steamed. Then, he seems to turn pensive for a moment. You raise an eyebrow, though you doubt that’s visible behind the masks.
“I… You’re right. Why DO I know these things? It’s like… like muscle memory to me, but I can assure you I’ve never been to a ruin like this before! Unless… I have.”
He goes quiet for a moment longer.

“The wizards I mentioned… Perhaps they wiped me. I’ve been all over the world, my boy, I very well might have been to places like this before! But they obfuscated everything, including my very memory! That MUST be it! It’s a known fact, magic can’t remove things that are… ingrained in a person.”

Another thing seems to occur to him.
“And my murder would cast more eyes than a failed expedition. Hells below, my boy… Seems I was right to fear discovery.”
Then, a *ding* indicates that you have arrived at your destination, and the elevator door slowly opens up. You’re in a much, much cleaner locale than before. You lean out of the elevator for a moment, and you see something concerning.

It appears to be another gun, but attached to the ceiling. Upon you poking your head out, it beeps twice, and on a hunch you quickly get back inside the elevator… After which you hear SIX shots coming from that thing, leaving dents into the wall.
“Oh no.” You say.

>Time to use this new shotgun. Peek out and fire at the hangin pistol

>This is an artefact as well… It’s risky, but try to outrun its fire rate, get below it, and rip it off.

>Have Anna fire a bolt at it.

>Something else

>>5196079
>>This is an artefact as well… It’s risky, but try to outrun its fire rate, get below it, and rip it off.

>>5196079
>Something else
I'm interested in ripping it out of the ceiling to bring it back, but we need to test some theories out first. Firstly we needed to test its reaction speed. Ask Anna if we can borrow one of her bolts and wave it around from cover to see if the guns motion tracking is capable enough to shoot the crossbow bolt.

That's rather unfortunate Oldfield. Do you think you might had secretly made a note to yourself telling you that this happened before? If you had, where would you think you would hide you're notes? What happens now when we reach the surface? Will you be safe?

>>5196153
Supporting this one. Once we have a feel for its reaction, then:
>Get below it, rip it off

>>5196079

>>5196153
If its tracking is based on heat or motion (both of which we should test) then we're okay. If it has image recognition running that can recognize a human silhouette then we have trouble...we'd have to risk a kobolt hoping that it wouldn't recognize them.

Anyway, after testing with the crossbow bolt we should wave garments and such out there as well. We should also use our fire breath to heat something and determine if it uses thermal imaging or not.

If it uses thermal, we just need to breathe a bit of fire to make the room hot enough that we blend in to the background, before we leave and tear the turret off.

>>5196153
support

it's likely our best shot

>>5196079
A memory wipe, huh? How conveni- I mean, terrible.

>Time to use this new shotgun. Peek out and fire at the hangin pistol
The sooner we get out of here, the better. Plus I'm sure Reynauld is as eager to try out the new toy as I am.

>>5196182
Tests are good and important. If our test results prove to be useful, we might be able to pull this off. Have someone toss something down the hall in the opposite direction from where the drone is pointing at us, then sprint at it before its motor moves fast enough to Target Reynauld. But only if he thinks he can make it.

>risk a kobolt
Never. You should never consider this. How could you anon.

You decide to spend some time playing around with this thing. Starting off with a bolt from Anna, you test to see if it shoots anything that moves… which it doesn’t. Then again, it might simply be too small for it to notice. With a little bit of thinking, you instead move on to an alternative. You take off your helmet and… reconsider before you test the shooting with THAT. You would probably still want to keep that thing around. After some more asking, however, Anna took out some of the cloth she usually wears. She has enough of it hanging around, so it’s not a big issue for her to share. Attaching that to a bolt, you stick it out… and the gun beeps three times before firing.

It did take almost a full second before the bullets started flying, however…

Well, with that in mind, you don’t feel like you made that much progress. You need more time than one second to actually reach that living gun, and it’s apparently rather trigger happy. You need something relatively large before it actually fires, too, so you can’t just distract i with a pebble…
Unless…

Your helmet might be both big and heavy enough to be tossed a decent distance, but thats a bit of a sacrifice, isn’t it?

>Sacrifice head covering

>try something else

>>5196324
>>try something else

>>5196324
>try something else
Carefully question Oldfield so he doesnt suffer a brain aneurism in case we ask the wrong questions due to how often hes been mind wiped.
Regarding the papers in the printers, are they anything special, or can they be replaced with the paper we produced today? If the papers are replaceable, we can take lose stacks of paper and throw them in the air to cover our advance, kind of like Chaff grenades in MGS. This way we wont have to sacrifice head protection, and there should be enough things moving around to distract the turret.

>>5196329
>>5196324
Or just make a ton of paper balls and fucking yeet then all down the hall.

>>5196329
>>5196331
Yeah, why wouldn't we just ball up a bunch of paper and have our 'bolts throw it continuously while we charge the gun? We can go back down to the office to get some more paper if there isn't still some blank in the printer tray.

>>5196331
Supporting.

>>5196324

>>5196418
>>5196411
>>5196331
>>5196329
>>5196324
>>5196328
We can do one better.
We can make giant paper spit balls and throw them at the turret to blink it.

>>5196502
Where are you planning to get all that spit, anon? And how are you going to throw them accurately in the .5 seconds of aiming time you have in between ducking out and back in?

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5196534
Everyone will donate their spit.
How will we throw it? With skillz. Watch.

>>5196324
these

>>5196544
>>5196502
support

>>5196544
>26

WELP

>>5196602
HA HA IT WAS A JOKE HERE'S MY REAL ROLL!

>>5196615
Oh bud.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5196620
N-NOW!

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>5196627

>>5196650
Wow the rolls are shit today.

>>5196652
The dice gods do not support this plan of action

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>5196684
Rolling to cum inside Collar

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>5196692
Now pink

>>5196727
Well, the dice have spoken.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>5196727
Who next? Esmerelda?

Rolled 84 (1d100)

the fuck are you all rolling Spine has not asked for rolls man

>>5196736
Guess not

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>5196764
dice god is asking for its boon

>>5196884
stand back, let me show you how its done.

>>5196902
I'm watching closely.
As my mom said, only those who do nothing never fail

Rolled 2830040844837601281 (1d99999999999999999999999999999)

>>5196902
Watch this

>>5196924
>Managed to roll the equivalent of 2/1000000000
Well played.

>>5196692
>>5196727
>>5196736
>>Collar
>Sure, I guess...
>>Pink
>Hell yes!
>>Esme
>HELL NO!
It's almost scary how accurate those rolls were.

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>5197099
Rolling for Snikt since it's her turn now. gotcha I'm gonna roll to read her a bed time story and knit her a sweater.

>>5197878
Oh man, she's gonna be so fucking cozy

>>5198134
I wanna pin Snikt down onto a bed and help reset her spinal damage and give her lots of head pats, then I'd flip her over so I could put a breakfast table on the bed and surprise her with a mini cake, because it's her birthday, and all her friends were hiding under the bed to sing her happy birthday.
After that Reynauld should go out for a smoke break for a bit, before returning back inside to grab Snikt by the waist and hoist her up onto his shoulders and go visit the local festival so they can all play festival games.

It's like Lil Pump and Ye said. I'm a sick fuck, I like a quick hug

>>5198462
You sick degenerate bastard. I'm in.

Rolled 95, 98 = 193 (2d100)

Phoneposting here. Sorry about the lack of updates. Nothing happened, just had a lazy day(and a commission i needed to pay attention to)
Rolling for the paper wads first, you guys get to roll Reynauld after the actual update is here

>>5198509
>commission
Do you do art, QM?

>>5198509
The paper was are super effective

>>5198511
He was probably writing smut?

>>5198773
Nope, cute shit for once. I do write smut but i don't like it. I'm really slow on it because it's hard to write something appealing like that. It's a constant mix of how much to describe, keeping things consistent, all while keeping things erotically appealing. It's exhausting, is what it is.
Still, i won't turn down money, and it's important to challenge yourself.

>>5198789
I need Pink smut.

"Okay, so here's a wild idea." You say, gathering up the nerve to go up against an automatic gun that shoots anything that moves. "That printer... I has a lot of paper in it, right? It's what it prints those words on?"
Oldfield seems understand what you're saying.
"You plan on distracting the gun with... paper balls, right?"
You nod. There's not really much more to add to it than that, you're just hoping this actually works out. Paracelsus has something to say about the matter, however:
"No! That's completely idiotic! If it fires at the paper once, it's going to focus on you! You've already seen what one of those bullets can do to that dead little monster we saw on the way in! It'll tear right through you!"
"If it hits me." You reply back. "Look, if I can reach that thing, I can rip it right off the ceiling... That thing must be valuable, no? I'm keeping this shotgun, but I'm donating that automatic, for sure."

Oldfield seems surprised. "Well, my boy... While I certainly appreciate the effort, don't feel obligated to do it! This is still... quite dangerous!"
"I'll be fine." You say back, assuring the elder man... Then you turn to the kobolts:
"Start making paper balls. Relatively big ones, about the size of this scarf... combine the paper to do it with, alright?" You ask, and Collar, Teensy and Chad quickly get to work. They clearly find some fun in it, at least.
Anna leans down and starts helping as well, without being prompted, while Paracelsus angrily crosses her arms.
"If this kills you, you'd be doing everybody a great disservice, you know. I shouldn't have to remind you that you are a unique specimen? No?" She says, her voice even and somewhat more venomous than you usually hear her. It's cute that she's worried, honestly, though you wish she was a bit nicer about it.
Then again, would it really be Paracelsus if she was?

The balls are made, and you test it out with a quick toss... It takes the gun two shots to completely obliterate it, making you all the more glad that you made plenty.
Now, then.
It's time to go for it.

1D100+30
Best of 3
DC: 100

Rolled 6 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5198822
Time to die. It was nice knowing you all.

Rolled 94 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5198822
Time to die, lads