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Post by Quila Oris (John M.) on Sept 16, 2023 12:39:06 GMT -12
Quila gasps and feels her stomach lurch but then steels herself. She leans closely into HurK and whispers into his ear ”The disease is everywhere. It has spread as spores all over the place. The dome, pear tree and everywhere around Nirik-tohr as far as I can detect. We NEED to find out how this creature works and my gut tells me we need to do it fast. And otherwise we might even need the lifeshapers sooner than we think.”
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Post by Attilius on Sept 16, 2023 12:46:28 GMT -12
The half giant nods as he dissects...
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Post by Niachi on Sept 16, 2023 13:46:06 GMT -12
Niachi, leaning on the entrance, immediately spits out his mouthful of rations and backs away from the wall.
"Um...
Save the pear tree!"
He spends a full minute steeling his will against joining his thumbs and casting Flaming Hands on the surfaces near him. He manages not to. A beautiful drop of cold sweat descends his brow.
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Post by DM Bob on Sept 16, 2023 14:04:32 GMT -12
Eslyk gets her results on her object reading as Hurk slices into the gelatinous body. It's blood (if it is indeed blood) can be described as being a "foetid green ichor" or as a "green sticky gel".
These creatures call themselves mi-gos. They have over 20,000 different sexual identities, a result of widespread differentiation in the genetic locations that govern its sexual behavior. This specific fungal creature fruited over three hundred years ago. As far as alignment, it would be considered chaotic and brutal to you, but perhaps more lawful neutral within it's own society. This one died to a few major heart-like organs were seared from it's torso.
The goliath wonders how he could possibly change into this as he is not sure how complete it is. He thinks decay has been happening quickly, or perhaps spores/mass have been cast of the carcass itself. No eyes are seen... anywhere. Nor ears or even bones. The wings don't look like they'd support the mass of the creature within this atmosphere on Athas either. Calcium-like appendages like claws are about. Feelers more feathery than not, yet resilient in their own right.
Fruit Cart hisses loudly as you work. It's tail whips about causing the other animals to honk and caw in response.
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Post by Attilius on Sept 16, 2023 15:06:46 GMT -12
Besides Coden, this is the first time the group has seen the massive half giant stunned.
"That's... uhhh... that's A LOT of sexes..."
After a bit he snaps out of it.
"So the TOSH-MOR blew out several of it's organs. It's also been decomposing faster than a creature born here. But it might've had redundant organs and have died from shock. I can turn into one but might not be able to move..." he says a bit deflated.
Looking at the agitated pack animals he speaks up "If no one has any objections I'm going to burn this MeeGo to ash..."
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[Just need someone to agree before he enacts his molecular agitation on the creature]
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Post by Quila Oris (John M.) on Sept 16, 2023 23:02:04 GMT -12
"I already used Clues of Ash on some charred remains earlier so I'm a go on burning it into oblivion. My only concern would be that it's the only body we have. What if we need it to find out an antidote to whatever those spores are now up to. We have really no clue whatsover. Not even if it's better to burn it or keep it. Would we do well before deciding too rashly, to get in touch with Kurn's Tribunal and possibly even Oronis?"Quila frantically walks to the pear tree and wants to pick it up and move it, then decides against it, remembering how far-spread the disease detection already went into the surrounding environment. "We need to inform J'Lact of the spores as well," she says in a deflated tone of voice, "and I really really need to find out if the spores are mostly harmless, get active after a certain time, or get active only when touching certain materials they might be keyed to like our ancient halfling friends, and if it keeps on spreading but the concentration of it thins or if they are still replicating or growing like an organism. This could quickly get out of hand." She drops down to sit, sighs, and her shoulder slump somewhat. She swallows her dry throat, drinks some water. Sighing again, she speaks in barely more than a whisper, "I did not sign up for paranoia and population-wide disease, this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission."
(OOC: sitting and talking about the possible dangers, Quila activates her Danger Sense. 6 on 20: success. PsP 119/122)
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Post by Attilius on Sept 17, 2023 5:00:29 GMT -12
Sighing again, she speaks in barely more than a whisper, "I did not sign up for paranoia and population-wide disease, this was supposed to be a diplomatic mission." He chuckles using humor to try and lighten the mood. "All right, get in touch with the BOSSMAN. He may want this body for research or may even know more about it? The Sorcerer Kings and Queens ARE ancient with vast libraries." he shrugs as he begins putting everything back inside the carcass then rewrapping it tightly in his large blanket like a big burrito and tieing it up... |
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Post by Niachi on Sept 17, 2023 6:53:01 GMT -12
Niachi nods, eager to ask his contact back in Kurn about tattooed mobat riding elves.
"Check the traveler halflings, and our mounts, the inix seemed troubled."
Having spent some time underground among fungal life, he searches his memories for fungal ephemera.
"How will we return without spreading this growth? With intelligence combined with the ability to evolve into multitudes of forms, this may be Day One of the Spore Age. What we do next may speed or prevent this. Please call upon our patron. 'The Messenger' brings quite a message..."
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Post by Quila Oris (John M.) on Sept 17, 2023 11:20:58 GMT -12
Quila eyes the half-giant she has come to see in a new light and flashes a short but truthful smile. "I appreciate your efforts to lighten my mood. I might not show it immediately but it helps. It does."
She wiggles a bit on her behind, finding a comfortable way to sit cross-legged and concentrates to get in touch with the Kurn Tribunal, more specifically her contact Akos.
<"Are you there, Akos?">
After contact is established and their minds are linked, Quila will regale in a very terse sense the past day and go straight for the call for advice from Oronis.
<"We made it to the Messenger. Eight mutated imperial kreen were keeping watch over it. They had seen combat from outside interests. One fire cleric elf riding a mobat was also spotted. We made it inside and found the Messenger carrying a crew of 20 ancient halflings from 14,000 years old, kept suspended. An alien life-form called the Strange had penetrated the walls of the Messenger. This Strange is an alien that looks like [inserts description]. It was encountered in a void like place furthest away from the sun that the Messenger passed through on it's travels. The Strange wants to steal the stories and secrets of the halflings (in lifeshaping). The Messenger is itself a life-form grown by the ancients, by their trade called life-shaping. They were launched 14,000 years ago as a re-population last resort in case the planet became uninhabitable. Halflings caused a brown tide that damaged ocean life and made much water disappear. In all it's cycles around the sun, the Messenger was contacted first by an ancient sorcerer Rajaat. Later it was contacted each 45 years when it passed by someone else, something that was guarding something. We found a corpse near the alien life-form. They killed each other. We brought the halfling Erfurth back from the dead and befriended him. He told us many of the things I'm now passing on to you. In the Messenger 10 halflings were still suspended. Another 9 had their brains removed and put in jars. It was an experiment by the Strange. We so far have managed to raise another 2 halflings from the dead. But something else is troubling us. The Strange carries a fungal or shroom like spore, which diseases. It killed Erfurth the first time around. We thought the Strange's corpse was safe to investigate so we had our kreen friends carry the body along with our mounts back to Nirik-tohr. We later ported there. Now we found out that the spores have carried into the surrounding environment. We do not know exactly how but surmise via the dead body. Nobody is sick or showing symptoms as far as I know and have detected. Want advice from Oronis how to proceed. This could possibly cascade into a huge disaster. Not just by killing whatever it came into contact with but who knows what else. I don't have to tell you this is urgent. Direct contact can be taken if preferable through Ande or me, what pleases the King. Quila out.">
Quila will keep the connection open for a reply from Akos of course.
(OOC: Contact, roll 17 on 17, penalty applied for distance, power score result. Mindlink, roll 18 on 18, power score result. Question: how do you adjudicate the PS result for Mindlink? My 'probing question' to Akos would be "When have you not been true to Oronis' mission?", since hey, Spymasters are still Spymasters.)
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Post by Coden Rokos (Jesse H.) on Sept 17, 2023 22:41:17 GMT -12
Coden grunts and says, "Coming soon: the part where we get blamed for this disease spreading all through the tohr-kreen empire."
"We have to keep things in check as best we can. Protect ourselves, the pear tree, then any people we can help. Rally aid from other folk who have the ability to halt the spread of the disease."
"And hope that more mi-go don't show up to continue budding here."
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Post by DM Bob on Sept 18, 2023 4:13:28 GMT -12
<"We made it to the Messenger. Eight mutated imperial kreen were keeping watch over it. They had seen combat from outside interests. One fire cleric elf riding a mobat was also spotted. We made it inside and found the Messenger carrying a crew of 20 ancient halflings from 14,000 years old, kept suspended. An alien life-form called the Strange had penetrated the walls of the Messenger. This Strange is an alien that looks like [inserts description]. It was encountered in a void like place furthest away from the sun that the Messenger passed through on it's travels. The Strange wants to steal the stories and secrets of the halflings (in lifeshaping). The Messenger is itself a life-form grown by the ancients, by their trade called life-shaping. They were launched 14,000 years ago as a re-population last resort in case the planet became uninhabitable. Halflings caused a brown tide that damaged ocean life and made much water disappear. In all it's cycles around the sun, the Messenger was contacted first by an ancient sorcerer Rajaat. Later it was contacted each 45 years when it passed by someone else, something that was guarding something. We found a corpse near the alien life-form. They killed each other. We brought the halfling Erfurth back from the dead and befriended him. He told us many of the things I'm now passing on to you. In the Messenger 10 halflings were still suspended. Another 9 had their brains removed and put in jars. It was an experiment by the Strange. We so far have managed to raise another 2 halflings from the dead. But something else is troubling us. The Strange carries a fungal or shroom like spore, which diseases. It killed Erfurth the first time around. We thought the Strange's corpse was safe to investigate so we had our kreen friends carry the body along with our mounts back to Nirik-tohr. We later ported there. Now we found out that the spores have carried into the surrounding environment. We do not know exactly how but surmise via the dead body. Nobody is sick or showing symptoms as far as I know and have detected. Want advice from Oronis how to proceed. This could possibly cascade into a huge disaster. Not just by killing whatever it came into contact with but who knows what else. I don't have to tell you this is urgent. Direct contact can be taken if preferable through Ande or me, what pleases the King. Quila out.">
Akos simply replies.
<"Take a deep breathe and relax. Never have I faltered in pursuing our Master's mission. Do not destroy this Strange yet. My guess is that Oronis will wish to examine it himself, but away from Kurn. Give me a few minutes and I will give you some fresh orders. First envision your location for me.">
You do so with the alien body before you, the animals, the rounded room. He then cuts contact. The next ten minutes or so are tense & terse as you wait. Finally you hear a mental knock, familiar as Akos' own voice.
<"A wormhole will open briefly. Shove the carcass and the Tree through, but don't follow. It is somewhere remote... and to be honest I do not know where it exactly leads. Our leader has told me to tell you that if he feared this disease, mold or growth were *immediately* harmful that he'd have burnt the area from above already. He wishes you to purify everything you can reach after the carcass is removed in town and make sure the tohr-kreen you are harbored with are cleansed (cure disease use implied) as well. If you can convince their shamans to help, perhaps they will join this hunt. After that, he wishes you to guard the Messenger and update on any other changes, new arrivals or additional growth. Report back daily or if there's anything significant to report.">
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Post by DM Bob on Sept 18, 2023 4:15:41 GMT -12
A golden portal does materialize shortly after. It radiates cold.
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Post by Attilius on Sept 18, 2023 4:27:34 GMT -12
HurK quickly shoves the wrapped bundle through the portal while looking through it to get a sense of where it may lead.
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Post by Quila Oris (John M.) on Sept 18, 2023 4:37:26 GMT -12
“And the tree,” Quila shouts.
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Post by Attilius on Sept 18, 2023 4:39:39 GMT -12
After a quick look and Quila's verbal que, he shoves the tree through too.
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