Dark Places

You're certain you've been here before, the strange call for help. In a dream maybe? Deja vu?

Maybe it was a dream. You find yourself early in the morning crawling out of whatever life you have lead and make your way to town square. Cooperstown is wealthier than most, strangely blessed with an abundance of high iron ore in the mine below the town. The mine entrance is within the town walls, and a building is built over the adit. The ore is stored in the warehouse building. Some of it is processed in a smithy locally, refined into iron and steel pig, and a number of artisans are located nearby. Raw ore and trade goods flow out of Cooperstown, and wealth comes in. Farmland dots the area, as the hungry industry draws in people and a need for food.

As it does crime and predators.

Each of you have a life in Cooperstown, be it long or recent. Today you find yourself earlier than normal at the ornate steel plumbed fountain. A few others drift in around you. The sense of expectation hangs above you all. But for what?

---

A little mystery to wake you up, where the mystery remains a mystery.

Let's describe your characters, include anything generally known about you all. Assume the town has a thousand people, so you don't have to automatically know each other, but reputations are a currency in itself.

Jaz is the town freak, familiar to anyone who frequents the gambling dens of the low society in town. Though those that may have shared a tabel with him, and got past the rumors that always circulate around mutants, and spoke with him would find him friendly, intelligent, and trusting. It's the last one that kept him from doing well, as more than one player would somehow take advantage of him.
Though today he seems to be doing well, he had some wins last night, and didnt even lose his winnings. Things could be looking up if he can keep ahold of his shins; and maybe sell the Cypher he won last night to pay off some debts.
It would be easier to pay off his debts if he could get any sort of steady work, but rumors of this and that always seem to ruin his prospects. Such is the life of the freak in a frontier town.

Jaz finds himself looking upon the metalwork of the steel fountain, remembering when is former family had comissioned their own, smaller, version of the fountain for their eatate. But such gloomy thoughts don't stick long on a bright, crisp morning.

Y'breq is out for her morning walk. She spends a lot of her time in her workshop unlocking the secrets of cyphers and numenera that are brought to her, so she makes sure to take some time throughout the day to get in some exercise. Being cooped up for hours at a time is neither good for the body nor the mind. Halfway through her walk, she notices a group forming near the town's fountain. Several of the town's denizens give her nods or small waves. Despite being as friendly and helpful to the community as she can, her work made her a bit of an outcast to some. That was the price in dabbling with technology beyond most people's understanding, she supposed. And she doesn't entirely blame them, the stuff she deals with can be quite dangerous sometimes. Thankfully, despite being the town's expert in advanced and dangerous technology, she was also a noted musician as the best (albeit only) player of the antagonistic undecagonstring. Commonly called the elevenstring, the antagonistic undecagonstring is a large eleven-stringed stringed instrument that lies horizontally across the floor and the player sits behind it.

As the crowd continues to grow, she can't help but satisfy her curiosity and stop to see what's going on herself. She notices Jaz, with a noticeable void of people near him, and stands nearby him, waiting to see what is the cause of this hum of excitement in the air.

Lyle walks slowly towards the fountain from his rented berth in the dingier part of town. Although he has been through Cooperstown many times, there are only a handful of real friendships he's made in the city. Most of the people he knew here were business aquaintances. He traded in goods harvested from the Ba-Adenu forest that weren't entirely illegal- but skirted that line. Last time he was here it was Brevin leaf (which could be used as a mild painkiller for the ailments of old age). Chew too much of the leaf and... you'll be seeing the world in an entirely different way for a while. This time he had a bunch of dried Blue Selcouth mushroom. One mushroom would guarantee even the most lackluster lover to have the vim and vigor of a beast. Much sought after by men long past their prime. Most people in Cooperstown viewed Lyle as a travelling peddler, but a few stuck their noses up at the services he provided. Despite that- he liked the little town.

Reaching the fountain he notices people he's seen in passing before- people who always seemed to stick out from the crowd. Among them was Jaz- a local mutant that most people seemed to avoid. They had worked together on a job before- and Lyle found the man to be entirely competent. The job seemed almost effortless in a way he'd rarely experienced. Was Jaz the reason he was here? Standing near him was the Wright, Y'Breq- a local tech he'd wanted to make a business connection with. Who better to sell cyphers he scavenged in old ruins to?

Lyle gives Jaz a wave, nodding at him. He heads towards the water, looking down into the rippling surface. His reflection reveals a man in his early thirties with various stages of beard on his face- a face lined with the traditional tattoos of his clan he received as a boy. His clothes were meant for travel- not exactly pretty but functional, well worn, and protective. His hands reach down into the cool water and he splashes it in his face a few times- trying to rub the sleep out. Wiping himself dry, he sits on the edge of the fountain, one hand dangling lazily in the water.

He had a feeling something was about to happen, that this was important... but what? The only thing he did know was that Emmett was sure to be here. It just made sense- the old man seemed to have a sixth sense about when he was in town. He knew it was only a matter of time before the sheriff came to 'politely inquire' about his business in town (although since the time he pulled him from an operation by a shady surgeon- the constable seemed to have a soft spot for him).

Emmett opens his eyes, sitting up on the edge of his cot. It feels early, but the sun has risen and shining brightly outside. He groans with night aches and tries to blink the sleep out of his eyes, running his left hand through his hair, feeling the cold azure steel against his scalp. His white-gray hair falls into his eyes and he does his best to brush it away.

Some damned dream. By the Black Three, what was it about? The morning sun has burned away all but a strange feeling, like something was about to occur. Whether what was happening was good, bad, or otherwise, he had no idea.

The man bent and put his boots on before grabbing a tight leather jacket and pulling it on over his shoulders. The blueish metal of his graft poked up over the back of his collar along his neck before he pulled the collar up to hide it. After pulling on a pair of brown leather gloves, he strode out into the sunshine.

The first thing he noticed as he climbed down the outer stairway of Ma Cordelia's bakery was the number of people about. The break in the weather drew folks out of their homes, eager to greet each other after 4 straight days of rain.

Emmett nodded to folks as he walked, smiling to those he felt would appreciate it. He never wore the shining circle that represented his office as constable since everyone already knew who he was. He wasn't one to prance about trying to impress anyone. It was more important to make sure the people were comfortable with him around.

As he approached the square, he locked eyes with Jaz as the gambler spoke to local Wright that Emmett didn't know well. He wasn't close with Jaz, only having spoken with him over a few games of Cups. The man was strange looking, to be sure, but no stranger than others Emmett had met. As long as he didn't chest and didn't cause trouble in Cooperstown, he had no qualms with him.

Emmett recognizes one more person at the fountain, bent over washing his face in the same way Emmett planned to. He moves beside the man, dipping a hand into the frigid water.

"Can I assume you're here to some questionable something-or-other among the fair folk of Cooperstown, Lyle?"

Emmett questions the man with a serious look that doesn't quite reach his eyes. He knew Lyle trafficked in less-than-legal substances, but it was nothing overtly dangerous, and in any case Emmett owed the man. A few years back, Lyle had found Emmett near death in an alley behind a bar. Emmett had been trying to drunkenly graft a cypher he had just bought into his leg. Lyle immediately recognized the fake and cut it out before the numenera had killed him. It wasn't Emmett's finest moment, but it demonstrated a depth of character in Lyle Emmett that he repaid by cutting him a break for small offenses.

Emmett pulled some water from the fountain with his good hand, washing the night's sweat from his face and letting it air dry.

"It's funny you're here, I was just thinking something was going to happen. What kind of trouble are you bringing around, eh?" The smile in Emmett's eyes matched his joking tone.

Jaz notices Lyle give him a wave and waves back as they normally do. It was good to see him back around, hopefully they could have some more profitable adventures soon.
He continues his smalltalk with Y'breq, who seems to... check in on him since she thew him over a house... though it did take months for him to recover she paid most of the fees. So in his book thet were square, besides, a conversation oitsid the gamblong dens was a bit hard to come by outside of a select few, so it was shapong up o be a nice morning indeed.

Turana noticed the crowd form a distance.... that day she woke up earlier to go explore for Numeneras she could salvage outside the town to hopefully then sell to those who have a store in the market, she was not only one doing that but there was not that much she could think of to pay for her rent and food, when you are a slave that craves for freedom you tend to forget that although being a victim of exploitaition and abuse, your masters usually give you some food and a place to live .. kinda., after all you are their property and to lose you wouldn't be good business practice. You hide your appereance not only because of the scars that slavery left you but also because if someone sees you, might fear you or even worse tell your former masters where they could find you, after most of the Convergence megisters have the reputation of being powerful sorcerors you should be afraid off. Wearing a mask doesnt ussueally make her attempts very easy but sometimes the thing she finds are attractive enoug to at least give them a try for a low price.... the knowledge about numenera she was able to obtain from the convergence and curiosity are her main tools to survive , if not the only ones.. this curiosity made her get closer to the fountain.

What was going on there? She tended to balance her curiosity with being ready to defend herself but at least she was able to spot that cypher crafter girl.."that might be productive" sqaid to herself and Emmet, she knew him enough to trust him at some level. The sheriff knew a little of her story and they had a few things in common, so far he had always been considerate enough and she did not see him as a threat.
So she silently came closer while trying to keep a low profile .. did not want to interrupt conversations either , maybe she could hear or see something.. who knows,after all she might need to overcome her shyness and make some questions... like she always has to do when trying to sell stuff

In total, there are nine of you at the fountain. One man known to most is Foreman Loryth, a shorter man than many, but strong and wiry. He wears a pair of googles pushed back onto his forehead and is filthy, which is odd because he doesn't do manual labour in the mine, hasn't for years.

The Candlemaker is there, a traveling Aeon Priest. She is fair and generally well liked, using her intellect and technology to solve problems that the locals struggle with. While her base is in Cooperstown, she spends a fair bit of time wandering to holdfasts in the area beyond site of the town.
"
The rest of you settle down as Loryth snaps his fingers loudly, a local custom and not at all considered rude. "You all have no doubt felt something, like I did, drawing us here. You should know that there has been an accident. Dayle, Hasima, go into the mine and do a check. Come back if you see anything amiss."

Two of the men leave and head for the adit. Once they are out of earshot, the foreman continues.

"They're good workers but they can't help with what needs be done. Some of you I know well and trust already. The rest of you, you're going to earn that fast. There was a collapse in the mine last night. Dayle and Hasima will find that out. The problem is that it was triggered." He looks at the priest.

The Candlemaker, her badge of the Order of Truth tattooed onto her forehead, immediately says, "I detected a strange signal, a communication method, immediately when the cave in occurred. I suspect that it was a deliberate explosive. Communications continue as we speak from beyond the collapse. A form of telepathy."

Foreman Loryth says, "The mine is good for some iron but its deep. We found something down there one day, a gate. It takes us to where we can find the rich ore we all know about. The mine is real, it's just unique that way. We've sort of hidden the gate, and keep it dark. Most of the miners don't even really know they have travelled, just know that beyond a certain point, everything feels funny, lighter somehow. Someday the truth will get out, but so far we've kept those who know happy enough not to sell us out. In the early days that was more important, but we're less vulnerable now."

He scratches his head under his goggles. "Something called to us. Why us? Don't know. I want you to go find out what it is. Me and the two miners will clear a passage, but you gotta go and you gotta go fast. You're each known somewhat, as capable folk, maybe that's the reason. Give us an hour, maybe less and we'll have the way open. Please don't tell anyone and come back with whatever gear you'll need fast. The Candlemaker will let you into the adit, and we'll lock ourselves in."

The Candlemaker says, "I'll fetch water enough for everyone. Clearing rubble is hard work."

"This work for you all? Oh, and we'll sort out pay later. You know we don't skimp." There is a pause when you sense you have a chance to back out, or ask questions.

Emmett's jaw goes through a workout while the foreman talked, first clenching at the thought of people stuck in the mine and then dropping at the admission of a gate to somewhere.

"Crail...What were you thinking? A damned portal to who-knows-where and you're sending people through without telling them? Of all the cark-brained..." Emmett grips his hair like he's trying to tear it out.

He strides closer and jabs a metallic finger into the foreman's chest. "As soon as those people are out of there, we're going to finish this talk, and it's not going to end well for you."

He backs off, taking a deep breath to calm down. It works, mostly, but the look on Emmett's face could curdle milk. "How many? Who's down there?"

Not that she wants to minimize the people involved, but Y'breq was more interested in the portal. "And where does the gate go exactly?" Y'breq cuts a striking and aloof figure to those who don't know her well. Her fluorescent tattoos, the subtle field of anti-gravity around her that makes her diaphanous shawl float as if underwater, her severe hairstyle. Appearances can be useful.

Y'breq lives near the outskirts of the settlement and it will take her almost an hour to walk there and back, so she sets out as soon as her question is answered. She starts making a mental list of everything she'll need to grab.

The foreman isn't threatened by Emmett, not visibly anyway. "There's no one down there. Least not, any of our people. Next shift doesn't start for an hour. And we've been doing this for twenty years. I spent a decade going through that arch. There's never been a problem."

To Y'breq, he says, "Don't know. Under the sea maybe?"

"Are we going to have supplies to work in the mine? Picks, pry-bars?" Jaz is a bit hesitant with his question, but he wants to know what he is going to be working with?

"Lots of that in the tool room. You can grab what you need on the way in."

Emmett still looks very annoyed, but he's placated knowing none of the people he was elected to protect are caught inside.

"I don't trust it. If there's a gate, there could be something on the other side." Turning to the others, he remarks, "I'm bringing a weapon, and I suggest you folks do, too."

He looks back to the foreman. "If you were trying to keep this a secret, it's too late. You can't have something like this happen and keep it under wraps. But we'll deal with it once we clear your mine."

"That’s actually good advice Emmet, hi by the way, how are you? Since i was outside the town looking for cyphers earlier i did bring in my bagpack most of my stuff that i could need to survive or defend myself even couple of books, in this world , knowledge can save you from wasting time or even death
So maybe I can use this moment to look in the market for something useful for the mission ahead, as long as i can afford it with just a couple of shins. Any recomendations?"

Emmett turns to leave and locks step with Turana, who appears to be headed the same direction.

"The right thing to bring is whatever you're best with. Your guess is as good as mine if that'll be enough, no telling what we're headed into. The way we all showed up at the fountain without being called makes me feel like this'll be more than just lugging rocks around.

I'm bringing a couple good, sharp weapons and a lot of frustration to work off. Honestly, I don't own much more than that, in any case.

By the way, thanks for the help figuring out what that thing the other day was. I wasn't sure I should trust any numenera I won while playing Cups, but it seems to have paid off. I grafted it into my azure with Y'breq's help the other day, so it's ready to go if we need it."

He thinks over Turana's last question for a minute before adding, "They'll be sealing us in to keep the damned secret and I feel like we're not going to be home in time for dinner. Mind picking me up a bedroll at the market? Chelni Sask had one last time I was there. You remember her, the woman with the three kids, always underfoot? The little one's got the bum foot? I'd appreciate it."

He gives Turana the 2 shins she'll need to buy a bedroll.

Y'breq's place is among the last row of houses on the outskirts of the settlement. It's a one story affair, but with a wide open concept, the entire house sharing a single large room except for the bathroom. The building is a mix of natural and synthetic. The core structure is synthsteel and rock, while the interior work is a mix of wood, synth, cloth, bone, and clay. Built along every wall from floor to ceiling are shelves. Some have books, others have junk, a few have cyphers, oddities, trinkets, and general knickknacks. In one corner is her workstation, a large table of azure steel that used to be a door to a ship of some kind propped up by an anti-grav generator. On the table were scattered her tools and gear, along with two plans she had recently acquired but hadn't yet salvaged enough materials to begin construction. She sighed and hoped she could possibly find some during this trip to...somewhere. She grabbed her pack from the corner and began loading it with her tools and supplies.

As she was leaving, her eye caught an electrostatic photo, as it always did. That's why she pinned it to the column in the middle of her house. The tri-color photo showed her and her best mate, Severigo Malma, five years ago before Severigo had...taken up a new pursuit in life. Despite some of the rumors that he had become an outlaw for some heinous crimes, others heralded him as a savior instead. Y'breq didn't know which was true, although she knew which one she wanted to be true. Maybe some day she would find out.

She shook her head, adjusted her pack, and headed back toward the mine.

"Yeah i remeber her.....so by the way...The bedroll is a really good idea! I will get one for myself as well, i have a lot of things that can help us in a cave but not a bedroll, i mean one of my cyphers can do something similar but it can be used only one i guess., Okay wait a couple of minutes" ................

Turana comes back and gives Emmet his bedroll, she acquired one for herself plus a dagger, she had 4 shins , now just only one left

Emmett heads back to his small apartment and retrieves his weapon, the long bent leg of some strange metallic creature. The upper joint is sharpened with a blob of metal attached to the lower end for balance.

On the way out, he grabs a new-looking bow and small quiver of arrows, almost as an afterthought.

He re-joins the others at the fountain, extending his thanks to Turana for picking up a bedroll for him.

"So if i heard correctly we were supossed to wait here at the fountain, Right? Hopefully the others are not waiting for us somewhere else"

Lyle basically carries everything he owns with him- preferring to travel light. He looks at his single bladed axe- an ordinary weapon from some long forgotten civilization- and wonders if he would have to use it today. He hoped not. Lyle's philosophy that barter and negotiation are always better than risk of injury was not shared by everyone. He's worked with some hot headed people before. Eventually, though even the hardest man will meet someone who's that much tougher than them. One thing he liked about this group was that they seemed pretty level headed. Having nowhere in particular to go, Lyle spends his time relaxing by the fountain. He engages in casual conversation with the locals- having a weakness for the niceties of polite small talk.

Jaz makes it back shortly with just a few things in tow. (Dagger, shield, book, and his cyphers)
"Emmet. I know you have a way with Cyphers," he holds up a glass pannel with wiring around the edges, "do you think you can do something with this?"

Y'breq arrives to find the others already at the fountain. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long. Everybody ready?"

Lyle stands next to Jaz, clapping his old accomplice on the back "It's been a while, Jaz. Sort of reminds me of old times...." He turns to Y'breq "Not at all- better to be prepared, yeah? I know you by your rep but we've never been introduced. I'm Lyle, an old friend of Jaz. Good to meet you." Lyle was glad that Emmett was coming with them wherever they were going. He knew the tough old bird was no slouch. The Nano, though, was a new face. He wondered what the stranger was capable of? He had a feeling he'd find out soon enough.

"Nice to meet you, Lyle. Your axe looks very interesting, from the 6th or 7th world if I had to guess."

Forman Loryth opens the adit door, and beckons you over in a gruff but polite manner.

When you enter, you see an entry way, with a storage space off to one side, most of the ground floor. A set of stairs leads to a couple administrative offices overlooking the warehouse proper. At the back, a set of metal tracks leads to a sloping ramp down into the ground. A few ore carts are at the top, with partial loads of common rocks. A fresh pile of debris is off to one side, away from the more valuable ore.

He shows you where the tools are, and those of you who asked can grab shovels, prybars, pickaxes, or what have you. A few portable lights are available, too.

Loryth leads you down into the darkness, with handheld numenera lights to guide you.

At the bottom, he leads you past a myriad of side tunnels, lots of passages off to nowhere. The ore cart tracks branch off, but he unerringly chooses a secret path.

Soon you hear the digging, and the sound of rocks hitting others as an ore cart is filled. You see the two workers shovelling the cave-in away.

"Nearly through, bossman," calls out Hasima, and Dayle leans on his pickaxe, rubbing his hands.

He looks at you all. You're still far enough from the men to talk discretelly "Any questions as to what we're doing?"

"I believe we are being heroes, yes?"

Lyle grabs a pick and a shovel- not sure which he would need. Better to be on the safe side. He chuckles at Laz's joke. "I'd prefer to be the 'lives to fight another day hero' myself... Lets do our best not to make this a one way trip, yeah?"

Loryth says, "Remember, we heard a call for help, but we don't know who that could be. You won't know who are trespassers, so if you can, bring everyone out alive if you can, or call for me. Your discretion is relied upon."

(OOC: After all I ended being away of the phone while the story progressed so i'll retcon if that's okay)
Turana greeted all the other members of the newly formed team and introduced herself when they were all at the fountain, her traumatic experiences where not something to expose at first although she saw some familiar faces. "I've seen most of your faces before as we live in the same town for the most part but I think we should know ourselves a little better, so in case you wonder 'so what about your mask then?' let me start by telling you that i need to protect my skin from the elements, sun, air or even the dust floating in it can be problematic for me..growing up as a sick little girl had this consecuence but also allowed me to concentrate on the wonders of the past... mostly as an independant investigator lets say. Anyway i'm healthier for the most part so i hope to be of help to everyone. Oh my name is Turana"
She then continued with the group as they were guided in while trying to show interest for Lyle, Ybreg and that mutant, she admired that he had enough self confidence to show himself out in the open, without resorting to any kind of disguise .. She did not, that's why she lied about her past a little, many knew Emmet very well, so she hoped he wouldnt expose her real past. She took and Axepick and a few more lights and she came in and said out loud but with a smily voice, "I wish i knew there was stuff like this already available instead of taking my own lights, rope and stuff here, but i should have guessed it" Then proceeesed to keep silent and nod tp the other conversations

Emmett sits on the edge of the fountain and listens to Turana introduce herself to some of the others. He followed along passively until what she said deviated from what he knew to be true, but beyond a slightly raised eyebrow, kept his silence. If she’d rather keep details to herself or change them a touch, that’s her business.

He sits up a bit to make a quick introduction.

"Y’all know me, most of you, anyway, and for those who don’t, my name is Emmett Ashford. I’m what passes for a peacekeeper in Cooperstown, but I’m fortunate enough to have the job in a peaceful town. Not much else to say, but I’d guess we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other." An easy grin appears on his face, a well-practiced maneuver to keep people at their ease. Everyone seemed to get antsy when you mentioned you had some form of authority, no matter how small it might be.
Emmett grunts in response to the foreman, a sour look on my face. "My discretion hasn’t been promised. As I said, we’re gonna have a talk when we’re finished here. As for why we’re here, I’m here to rescue my people and ensure their safety. Ensuring their safety may involve lookin’ through this gate of yours and findin’ out what they’ve been walkin’ blindly into."

Emmett rolls the wheelbarrow he grabbed to one side and grabs a pick out of it, setting the shovel against one wall. "Nothin’ left to do but get started." He takes the pick in both hands, slamming it into a section of rubble as one would chop wood, then crams his azure steel hand into any loose rubble created, shoveling it out of the way where someone can then move it with a shovel.

Lyle shrugs and looks toward Emmett. "I'll follow your lead, old man."he says with a grin. Lyle then begins helping to dig and haul debris away.

"If you think you can keep up," Emmett growls back. "Good to see your mother let you off her apron strings long enough to join us."

Emmett smirked at the (much) younger man. Lyle was a good enough sort, but Emmett was still a little uncomfortable with their strange relationship. He knew he was supposed to uphold ALL the laws, but he still owed Lyle for saving his arse, and some of the laws were a bit unnecessary, right? The spirit of the law is more important than the letter. After all, most of what Lyle smuggled in was medicinal. Admittedly, "medicinal" had a wide definition at times...

In any case, he had a feeling Lyle more than a mere runner. He had spirit, he just needed the right outlet.

The digging does not take long, as the two miners have done most of the work. With the extra hands clearing debris and shoveling, you quickly realize that you're breaking through.

Foreman Loryth says, "Alright, good work. Stand back you lot, and get ready to move. I don't expect anything to burst through when we open the way, but that's when they get ya." He passes a water canteen around for you to rinse out the dust. When you are ready, he signals to Hasima and Dayne. "Do it, boys."

They bust through, and rapidly enwiden the hole. Lights shine through, showing swirling dust in the darkness beyond.

Who goes first, and how are you prepared for the unknown?

Jaz will step forward, dagger and shield in hand. "Can someone cover me with light?"

Lyle takes out a glow globe from his pack and with one hand holds it high to give off as much light as possible. "Right behind you." With his free hand he takes his battle axe from his belt and holds it at the ready.

Emmett bends backwards, stretching his back before taking the canteen. He pours a mouthful for himself, swishes and gargles, and spits it to the side and passes the canteen to the left.

Emmett's face is dripping sweat with a combination of effort and a complete lack of air movement, but the lawman calms his breathing stoically.

He sees Jaz prepare to go through and bends to grab his polearm. He stands it on end, leaning on it, and nods at Jaz encouragingly.

"I find the safest place to be in the middle, so that's where I'll be if no one minds." She pulls out her razor ring to be prepared.

Once again Turana was amazed at Jaz’s bravery, but since he had a shield it made a lot of sense taking the front line, so she decided to stand to the side of Y’breg and grab the club with both hands after a few moments that she needed to regain air after helping in the cave with her mask on. She decided to whisper "Good move taking the shield to the front line Jaz, funny that we are all prepared to engage at short distance but none is drawing a ranged weapon so far, maybe is for the best , its not very helpful to be ready to shoot if we find someone in need of help instead of a treat inside"

Emmett ducks into the dusty, darkened space after the others. While he's supportive of his fellow diggers and the miners working here, he's suspicious of the foreman's intentions and the entire mine as a whole.

His eyes dart about as they try to take the entire space in at once as his body tenses for some sort of danger or mischief. His nostrils flare as he sniffs, sure that there's some way to detect what's actually going on.

"Let's take it slow. There's no one here to save, so there's no hurry and no reason to make mistakes. I still feel like something isn't right here."

"Thanks Tunara." Jaz nods without turning from the tunnel ahead. "Nice and easy. Heard."

Jaz can certainly make a Perception check. Roll 1d20, difficulty 3, with an asset. That means, roll a 6+ to succeed.

D'Jazyt pushes through the hole, the lights behind them shining. Within, they see beyond, a flash of light around the corner. They hear the grunt of someone straining, and a fleshy sound, a little bit like you might hear at a butcher shop as a new carcass is rended for processing.

In a shadow against the far wall, what first looks like rubble D'Jazyt sees is a person as still as death. They have unusual clothing, even for the area, and some kind of tool or weapon -- maybe a speargun? -- lying beyond their lifeless hand.

"Something's not right. "Jaz whispers, "I just heard...something meaty. And there's the body of someone not from around here. " He pauses, disturbed by the sound of flesh, of meat coming from the mine. "Careful... "

Lyle slowly steps into the room, eyes scanning left to right. He walks in far enough to light the room (if possible), leaving the glowglobe hovering and gripping his axe with two hands. "Meaty? That doesn't sound good." He then carefully walks over to the corpse and begins to examine it "This one from town?"

If Lyle moves to the corpse, he will become visible around the next corner of the tunnel. How far do you go?

Jaz will move to cover Lyle.

Lyle moves ahead ten paces stopping before the corner behind cover. From there he can't see anything, but hopefully nothing can see him, either. He begins to hear what Jaz was talking about, a wet, tearing sound from somewhere farther around the corner.

The darkness and shadows near the body obscure the details. It doesn't appear human, but maybe no more inhuman than Jaz.

Y'breq steps through the portal and behind the men. "So far so good. Well, not for that man," she murmurs, indicating the dead body.

Emmett sees the body in the dim light ahead of Jaz and can see in the mutant's body language that there's something wrong. The way his head is cocked and his weapons are up, making Emmett think there's something ahead they can't see.

The older man stands behind the others stacked against the corner. He can feel his nerves beginning to fray, and decides to take some action to prevent fear from settling too deeply in his spine."Fortune favors the bold, right?"

He takes a step from around the corner, polearm at the ready, to find out what is making the noise and possibly what killed the person on the floor.

After realizing a that everyone crossed Turana decides to cross inside as well, she whispers "What if we throw something ahead to use it as bait?" While still holding the club with her left hand she touches the dagger in her belt in case she might need to throw it at something with her right hand

Emmett steps ahead, and sees in the moving light a multi-limbed horror tearing apart the body of what might have been much like a person. Once. It's peeling strips of flesh from the corpse.

When Emmett appears, it hisses, a pair of jagged spiked tails rise up from behind it.

---

The creature is a short distance from Emmett, and the rest of you. Roll Initiative. If you beat difficulty 3 (I.e., roll a 9+) you can act before it.

"What in creation is that?" Y'breq raises her razor ring in preparation for imminent trouble.

"Well that doesn’t sound good...."

Initiative

Eugh!

Onslaught
Edit: can I spend points to make that happen?

Aw, dammit...Foreman, our talk just got a little worse for you. Emmett mutters as he backs up slightly to give the others more room to maneuver.

Against his better judgement, Lyle quickly rushes in, hoping to Brain this unholy mess before it has a chance to kill them. "This is not good..."

Emmett moves in against the creature, slashing out at one of the legs with his polearm and trying to get inside the effective range of the creature's dangerous looking tails.

Jaz's attack misses. Turana can indeed use hedge magic to distract the creature, which would ease either attacks against it, or defenses from its attack. Declare which please.

The creature has five legs and two tails.

When rolling, you don't add anything to the roll. It's a straight d20. I'll work out any modifications to the target number. But do declare if you're using any abilities or have a relevant asset to ease the difficulty.

Emmett would need to normally make a difficulty 2 speed check to move a Short distance and then also attack in the same round. But his ability Fleet of Foot negates that check.

He attacks and does 7 damage, reduced by 2 for the creatures hard armor shell.

Y'breq throws her razor ring at the creature, aiming for one of its tentacle-like appendages.

Y'breq's attack hits the creature, but fails to penetrate it's armor.

The creature shrieks, its legs skittering as it dances from the blood but tries to protect its meal. It strikes at Emmett and Lyle with its pair of stinger equipped tails.

An answering shriek echoes from the darkness father on.

Emmett and Lyle, each of you make a difficulty 3 speed defense check or take 3 damage and take a hindrance on all actions from poison.

Uh-oh!

Absolutely!

Emmett takes a step backwards as the creature moves away from him, listening to the cry of what sounds like another creature in the darkness. He curses under his breath.

"Another's comin'!" he reminds the others as he dashes left to avoid the creature's stinger.

Lyle tries his best to duck away from the flailing tail. "What was I thinking?"

A natural rolled 1 attracts a free GM intrusion. For this one, I'll say that the poison lasts two rounds instead of one, giving a hindrance to all actions for twice as long for Lyle.

No, just makes rolls one step more difficult.

"This things poison ...stay away from its tail." Lyle hisses as he melts into the shadows of the room and makes his retreat. When he’s far enough away, he turns- hoping at least to get a shot in with his bow once his hands stop shaking from the toxin in his wound.

Everybody can act now.

Turana decides to try throwing her dagger at the first creature

Emmett cringes as he watches the stinger plunge into Lyle. What was he thinking, letting these folks in the front? He's fairly sure none have received any battlefield training. One at least had a shield, but Lyle only had a blade. Emmett wouldn't make the mistake of being second in line again.

As Jaz hides behind his shield, Emmett steps to the side of it, jabbing at the creature. He knew he was far too close to be safe, but he hoped a sure hit would end this fight before it got worse.

Y'breq's razor ring soars through the air once again, hoping to hit a more vulnerable spot this time.4 damage.

Jaz, Emmett and Y'breq all hit, and the strange aggressor, drops, groaning and shrieking, then dies.

You heard the answering call from another creature. As yet it is not visible and you don't hear it moving. How do you prepare?

Emmett steps forward slightly into the dark, trying to see with his peripheral using the scant light of Lyle's glowglobe, still lying on the ground where it was dropped. He walks back, depending on his hearing rather than his sight in the dark place, and steps close to where Lyle was.

"Lyle, where'd you take off to?" He looks around the party and ducks his head around the corner, seeing nothing. "I saw you take a hit, you alright?" While he waits for an answer from the man, Emmett moves to the person with the weapon, looking at their face (assuming it's not torn to ribbons), trying to place them. He glances at the weapon, too, checking to see if it's something he recognizes. He calls over to Lyle.

"Just gonna borrow your glowball, if you don't mind, Lyle. If it's headin' our way, I'd like to see it before it's on us." Emmett grabs the glowglobe and tosses in the direction of the noise, hoping to shed light on that direction.

Just FYI Lyle is invisible for the moment.

Jaz will keep to the front of the group, shield at the ready.

Y'breq cleans off her razor ring of any bodily fluids and hides in the back of the group, ready for more.

Lyle steps out of the shadows, bow in hand. "I think I’ll be ok, Emmett. The poison doesn’t seem to last long. What was that thing? If there’s another one here- it’s coming for us... are these ambush predators or will it charge right at us?" Lyle keeps bow in hand in case danger is imminent.

Turana held her dagger in her hand but did not feel confident enough to throw it at the creature without hitting someone else in the dark. fortunately her partners had more success, after if she decided to move a little closer to Jaz and stand behind him and his shield "Glad you are fine Lyle, let us know if we can help you somehow.. by the way, i have one glowglobe left in my bag in case that helps you"

As you ready yourselves from the unknown, peering into the darkness by the light of your glowglobes, you notice...

Well, roll Perception, and let me know if you're Trained in Perception tasks.

Emmett glances up into the dim light of Lyle's Glowglobes, checking again for danger as he tries to get a grasp on what's happening.

The second creature comes charging out of the shadows. Lyle, Turana, and Y'breq can act before it beaters into your team. Emmett and Jaz will go after the creature.

"Heads up, guys!" Lyle barks, eyes wide with fear. As the beast comes within range he lets an arrow fly from his bow.

Lyle plugs it for 2 damage (4 -2 for armor).

Y'breq isn't used to so much action and her throwing arm is becoming tired. Nevertheless she doesn't know what else to do.

Y'breq hits the creature but as before, it's armor protects it from serious harm.

Turana decides this time to use her position behind Jaz and his shield to throw her Dagger at that thing, aiming to the center of it

Turana's thrown blade stocks into the creature, clearly causing it some harm.

The creature barrels into Jaz, it's tail lashing at Emmett.

Both of you can make Speed Defense rolls, difficulty 3. Emmett takes 3 and poison on a fail, Jaz takes 3 on a fail.

After your roll, both of you can act.

Emmett sees the creature slam into Jaz, who pushes it off with a round shield. He misses the tail lashing out of the dark, but it ricochets off his metallic arm.

Emmett curses at himself for losing his focus and whips his bladed polearm out at the creature's tail, trying to slice it before it recoils. The blade cuts through the open air, missing entirely.

He calls out to the others, "Maybe if we surround it, one of us can distract it? It might be easier to destroy the thing if it weren't movin' so fast!"

Jaz stays up in the thing's face. "Not a bad plan.I'llstart."

Emmett dodges but his attack just barely misses.

Jaz also dodges, but his mind attack scours into the creature, doing 5 damage that ignores armor.

The five-legged two-tailed creature is hurt very bad, ichor rubbing from several wounds.

Lyle's arrow sinks into its head and it falls to the ground, legs and tails twitching in its death throes. It stumbles to its feet once then falls still.

Combat is over.

Your nerves likely call to you, wondering if there are more, and if so, how many, lurking in the dark.

"Well that wasn't the warm welcome I was hoping for. At least we know what happened to the minors. We should check to see if there are any survivors."

As Lyle begins to salvage his spent arrows, he says "As much as I want to get out of here... if there are any survivors we should help them...but first, let’s see if we can find out who these poor souls were so we can tell their kin."

Lyle begins to search the bodies, or what’s left of them.

Just a reminder that there were no miners down here that the foreman knew of. He didn't know who was down here, only that they heard sounds beyond the cave in. He suspected thieves of some kind.

Jaz is going to keep an eye, and ear, out while Lyle searches.

How about: Lyle can ask a single question about them and I'll answer it.

Searching the dead men, you find that they're not human. At all. They similar in shape, but the shape of bones, the structure of the skin, it's all different, like they're more slugs in a vaguely human form. Save, they have meat that one of the creatures was feasting upon.

They have a little bit of strange gear, numenera, two pieces each, and a kind of weapon looking instrument, perhaps a shooter.

Lyle inspects the shooter, hoping he could figure it out without killing himself or anyone else. They were dealing with things he never saw before... maybe rushing into the fray was better suited to the stronger members of his team.

"Hey- I found some gear. Can any of you identify it?" He whispers loudly, gingerly handling the shooter. "These poor souls aren’t exactly human... they’re kinda like slugs. Doughy." Lyle makes a superstitious sign with his hand and spits between his fingers. "Rest, now... whoever you were".

"That may be bad news. Other lifeforms that is. .. "

Turana was poking with her club the second dead creature to make sure it is completely dead before attempting to recover her dagger from its body. She heard Lyle's voice and then decided to take a look at the bodies

Shooters
Lyle can use the weapon, but he will have an 'inability' which means that it will be with a Hindrance (+1 step difficulty). It is a medium ranged weapon, 4 damage up to Long range. There are two of these. Training (time) will allow these to become regular medium weapons.

Searching
Lyle is just searching rather than salvaging. But anyone can repeat. Once the searching or salvaging has been successful, no further things will be found from that spot.

---

Further into the Caves
You follow the cave to where the second spider-like creature came from. You don't know if there are more intruders, or if these are refugees who managed to sneak past the town and hide in the cave and were attacked -- if so, are there more? These are things you will need to determine before the mine can be declared safe.

The darkness is pushed back slowly by your glowglobes but despite the light, you see a harsh light coming from ahead, like a flashing unpredictable burst of energy, reflecting off the rocky tunnel walls. You are approaching the corner, the flashy disturbance around the bend.

How do you approach it?

"I'll scout ahead, what do you think?" Lyle whispers.

"Let me help identify these numinera, Then I'll help yoi scout. "

Emmett looks with the others at the bodies of the people. He found it easier to call them people, but they certainly weren't his folks, and he wasn't sure if they were even people to start with. He turns to Jaz. "I dunno if it's a touchy subject or what, but are they...like you? Folks like us, but maybe they just changed a touch?"

As Lyle proposes scouting forward, Emmett chews on his bottom lip nervously. "Yeah. But only if you can do it quietly. You already been tagged once, if you get caught out we might not be able to reach you in time. Just do it smart, yah know?"

"I might be able to help you to take a look, it may help if you are ready to shoot while i try to look without hopefully giving up our position", she whispers to the rest of the team "any chance there's something we can use as a small mirror?, i should able to move it a little to see what's ahead of us"

Jaz nods to Emmet. "It could be, but it woild be surprising that they mutated the same way. Not impossible though." Jaz will pick up one of the Numinera and try to identify it while they discuss what to do.

Jaz works out that two of the pieces are masks that protect the reader from the harshest of environments.

Jaz turns one of the masks over as he speaks."Looks like these are environmental protection masks. Really good ones too. " He pauses."Makes you wonder why they needed them. Either way the ones whonare scoiting should use these, just in case. " He puts one on.

"Jaz, why don’t we go as far as the next room then report back? Just to see if it’s safe.." Lyle says, still looking at the shooter.

The third piece of numenera you found on the dead mutants, is a scanning device. It appears to have charge for two more scans before it's energy will be depleted.

Jaz holds up the third piece of Numinera. "Looks like a scanner of some sort. Has two charges. Maybe we should use it to scout. "
He picks up the other Numinera to identify it.

The fourth one you're not sure of. It seems to be a device with a lot of energy potential, but what it does you're not sure.

"May I take a look as well?"

"This one I'm not sure of. Has a lot of energy potential. But can't tell more than that. "

You can certainly each try, but in this case Turana has no more luck than Jaz.

Emmett holds a hand out for the device. "Lemme see that a sec. I think I've seen these before, back in the war."

You cautiously approach the corner and looking around it, you find the source of the light. Around the bend, and further up the tunnel, you see an archway. It's lit with a few odd lights, but otherwise looks like a normal tunnel support, albeit of a different material perhaps.

However, the center of it, is a curtain of random, flickering light, sort of like lightning arcing constantly through the archway.

Y'breq picks up a chunk of rock from the tunnel and chucks it at the curtain of light.

Jaz whispers. "If it's electricity metal is more likely to react. "

Emmett tosses the strange object back to Jaz. "Nah, the one I'd seen didn't have these wires in it. Your guess is as good as mine."

He watches the rock that Y'breq throws, eager to see if this is the portal that the foreman mentioned. Does it only work with living creatures? Will it melt the rock? I'm gonna have to see what's on the other side of that thing. I don't like having it in my damned town, there's no way I'm going to let it sit there not knowing where it leads.

"You folks ever seen one of them?" He whispers to the others.

"Nope, can't say I ever did. Think that's what we're looking for?" Lyle whispers back to Emmett.

"No, I'm sure we'll find another weird, shimmering, lightning hole deep inside this mine somewhere," Emmett replies with a sarcastic grin. "Are we going through the thing?"

"Oh- By all means...after you. Watch your step."Lyle says smiling. Then his brow creases. "Wait...Whoever goes through might want to consider wearing one of those masks..."

Jaz puts on the mask he is holding, and holds the other out. "Anyone else coming?"

"If there’s no objections, I’ll join you. In and out- we’re scouting not invading."

The rock vanished into the portal, which then stabilizes. Lightning still flickers around the edge, but you see the interior of a building just beyond, high tech and incredibly clean. Spotless.

"No risk, no reward. I'll follow you through. I hope those masks are unneeded as there are not enough for everyone."

Ok. We move forward.

"I'm coming also, after all, we are already here and this looks the only way forward, hopefully my own mask will provide me enough protection, I'm starting to think that if those poor victims came from somewhere else their masks could have been for protecting them from our environment, so i would be careful with those masks as well just in case.

"It seems like we’re all of one accord... in for a penny and all that?" Lyle readies his bow and adjusts his equipment, preparing to step through with his companions.

Emmett cautiously approaches the strange curtain. "Maybe we ought to tie you off or somethin'. Yeah, I kinda like that idea. I don't want you gettin' grabbed or anythin' once you head over."

He pulls a 50ft rope from his bag and ties a simple loop around Jaz, motioning for one of the others to do the same around Lyle.

"Awright, you ready?"

The portal is growing more agitated when you step through one by one. On the other side, it seems as if you have stepped out of Cooperstown into a rich city or numenera facility far away. Looking behind its as you'd expect, the mine tunnel visible, except instead of disguised as tunnel supports, the archway looks like it is plastic and metal and technology.

Most astonishing, a huge glass pane takes one wall, or the room that you're in, the view through it of a planet hanging in the void of star-dappled black emptiness.

Less astonishing is that robot, three legged and glowing blue. Sparks spark from one of its legs, damaged in some manner. The blue glow on its "head" faces you.

"Greetings, children. I am Cooper, and you have arrived just in time."

"Cooper.... I hate to tell you, but we are actually here o help any of our miners that need help... "

"Children? A bit presumptuous, don't you think...." Emmett trails off, quieted by the sight in front of him. He prides himself on having done more traveling than most, but this is far more than he's ever imagined he might see.

He turns his head slightly, speaking to Cooper, but doesn't look away from the view in front of him. "Uh. Cooper. What are we lookin' at? I see stars, but you don't often see that in the night sky. Where under Leib's blue sky did you take us?"

"Your miners, all of my children are in grave danger. You are the ones that answered my call. Will you listen to my plea?"

To Emmett, it responds, "Tombstone Redoubt. A relic, an anchor, a crossroads."

Electricity bursts from its broken leg, sparks scattering across the floor. It's blue light fades briefly, and with it the lights in the room you're occupying.

"Speak, Cooper, and we shall listen."

"Im all ears- but on the way in we were jumped by something- things really nasty. Are any more of them crawling around in here?" Lyle says, eying the room for entrance and exits.

Emmett is looks flabbergasted, clearly becoming frustrated at his lack of control and understanding of the situation.

"That's not an anchor, I've seen an anchor. That's...a funny-lookin' moon or somethin'! Look, I'll hear you out, but you better have some better explanation for what's goin' on and where we just went to!"

The room does appear to have several exits, although they are closed and may in fact simply be wall. They aren't hinged, but may slide.

Cooper gestures with a head bob to the viewscreen. "That is your world. We are high above it, higher than the birds or the clouds. Your land is on the left side of the planet, about to disappear from view."

He turns back to you. "I could tell you stories. My interactions with my children has lead me to believe this is the case. In the present time I have no such luxury. I will be blunt. The portal you came through operates from this station. It allows the instanteous transport between the mine and the mining asteroid Geiger-196557A. There, the miners of Cooperstown mine the high yield ore and return through the portal back to the mine. The equipment on this station can be used so that the portal can be designated to transport to other locations, such as here. However, in the previous night in Cooperstown, the portal was activated by some other means. A series of rapid interactions occurred, and several creatures entered the mine and this station. I have traced the location of the creatures home, and I need someone to block their access. I cannot leave this station, as I am a part of it."

He pauses to let that digest or for questions.

"Uh-huh. Did those ‘creatures’ have many legs, two poisonous tails and a whole lot of ugly?" Lyle asks.

"You have described them accurately. One of them managed to damage my leg with its tail, which will take time for me to repair."

Turana remained silent at first, overwhelmed with everything she saw, so many to see and analyze all of the sudden, then there was this other being claiming that we were his children, or hers, who knew, her curiosity augmented with each piece of new information that she struggled to grasp, she did not how to start to answer all of the questions in her mind. maybe ask that being.. last time someone claimed to treat her as a daughter did actually inflict pain upon her as a mean of teaching her something. but she was not alone this time.. so she went ahead and asked ."Cooper, if I may, can you tell us in which sense are we your children? We could use to know more about you and the creatures, not to mention the ones who fell under the attack of this nasty things"

"Your town Cooperstown was named for me, for my role in allowing it to thrive and flourish through the management of the portal. In many ways I am the parent of the town. It is a metaphor only, as I am a mechanical construct and incapable of biological procreation. The creatures and the people are outside of my experience. It is my wish to understand them better, too."

"How can we block access.to the creatures? And can we discover why this has happened in the first place? You said the portal was activated by some other means. Do you know how or by whom?"

"What is there to understand about those... beasts? When we came upon one it was stripping the flesh from a... person? It attacked on sight. They seem to understand prey well enough, but I doubt there is reasoning with them. What were they devouring? Strange, manlike people with soft, slug skin? They seem more the kind to talk to, Cooper."

To Y'breq, it answers, "Collapse the tunnel perhaps? I would prefer if we knew what else was there before doing so. There could be opportunities if the quintpods are a limited threat."

To Lyle, it adds, "We don't know what we don't know. You are correct that initial signs point to a dangerous and aggressive species. The truth is often more nuanced -- do not take any chances, but find out what you can. As to the people, they too may be equally a threat, scouts for an invading force, or they may be peaceful people caught by circumstances and flung across the world to die in the dark. Our response should be based on sound evidence rather than first impressions."

"Well, It seems our interests and needs are aligned then. "

"I Agree, based on the information provided by the Cooper this station should be able to send us to the creature's source somehow, and hopefully we can learn as much as we can about the place before we have to face too many dangers"

Emmett's opinion of the strange, likely ancient creature in front of him is mixed. On the one hand, he was never a huge fan of shadowy authority. He'd had enough of unknown actors pulling strings back in his soldiering days, and thought it was behind him. On the other hand, it was good to see there was some sort of benevolent (or so he hoped) authority behind the decision to open the tunnel. The foreman's answers didn't seem complete enough for Emmett to accept.

Emmett stands up straight and nods at the creature. "Alright there, Coop, it sounds straightforward enough. I mean, straightforward for this completely insane situation we're caught in." He rubs the side of his face with his good hand.

"In the end, it sounds like someone planned this thing. Any idea who or what would've wanted you to come to harm? Oh, and since we've got you here, we found this on one of the bodies. Ever seen anythin' like it, or what we might use it for?" He holds out the unidentified numenera, hoping the being might have more knowledge of it than he does.

A blue light shines from the technological being and analyses the device. "It is a transportation stabilizing device. Activating it will send information back to another device, and it will also make it easier for a teleportation from that other device to its location to succeed."

Emmett looks thoughtful for a moment, tossing the compact device up and catching it as it falls. There's very little sticking out from its metallic surface, just a few tightly wound wires around one corner and a seam where it might come apart with the proper tools. It feels like there's something rattling inside, affecting how it spins in the air.

"Hmm. That makes it sound like there's more than one of them little things out there. Bound to be, right? I gotta wonder who's got it and what they sent those odd lookin' folks out for in the first place. Think there's any way to tell, Coop?"

He shakes it gently, holding it to the side of his head.

"I cannot say. By my estimation, there is a material chance that the other device connected to that one is near the other side of the portal they came through. I should point out that there are four separate new portals linked. The archway was cycling through them, although for the moment I have stabilized it to act as normal and stay focussed on the mine. The interference that you see may indicate that they are trying to activate it once more from the other side."

"So- first we check out where the 'quintpods' are coming from, then decide whether or not we need to collapse the tunnel?" Lyle says, wondering how many of those things they'll run into. They could probably fight them one at a time well enough... but if they were to swarm the group they would be in serious trouble. "Sorry about your leg, Cooper. Are you able to fix that yourself? Should we look out for parts?" Whatever Cooper was, Lyle was pretty sure he meant them no harm. "Also, I found this 'shooter' on one of the bodies.. could you tell me anything about it?"

Cooper says that the repairs are well under way and he will not require assistance.

It cannot tell you anything more about the shooter. It tells you that it is a focussed energy weapon, whatever that means.

Y'breq looks around the space in wonder while the others are talking. She was never a very good conversationalist, often working by herself, deep in thought and sometimes the guts of a machine. She was nervous and excited at the prospect of exploring some new remote location, her mind filled with ideas and hopes and dreams. What she did not care for were the creatures that were fairly resistant to her only weapon. She'd definitely have to remedy that after this job was finished.

"Everybody almost ready then?"

Emmett turns to Y'breq. "Yeah, I s'pose so. Whatever the skist these things are, they aren't gonna go and kill themselves for us. But..." He turns back to Cooper. "Don't take this to mean I'm trustin' you. Nobody ever did anythin' out of pure altruistic integrity, and that includes you. I'd like to know what you're gettin' out of bringin' a whole town of people up from nothin'. Then we'll see about wreckin' your new friends."

The mechanical being considers the question. "It is my purpose. If I did not do what I was built for, what purpose would I serve?" It considers that, then says in a quiet voice full of introspection and puzzlement, "I receive self-fulfillment for helping the town. Does that make me selfish?"

Emmett rolls his eyes, but smiles a bit. He appears to be slightly satisfied, though his suspicion about the situation will take time to settle.

"You can philosophize, that's a new one for me. So far today, bots have just tried to stab me. Right, I guess we'll get to it. Good luck with that leg, alright?"

He turns back to the others. The smile slowly fades into a look of annoyance, then concern. "I still don't like this. I feel like there's somethin' missin', like ol' Coop is either hidin' somethin' or doesn't know himself. We just gotta be careful, look after each other, ya know?" He's quiet for a moment, taking one last look at his planet out the window. "Ready?"

Lyle shrugs, whatever inexplicable force that bound them all together seemed to be moving them toward Cooper's task. Maybe there was something to learn from all this? His mind raced with the possibility of new worlds, portals to faraway and alien places, and strange and exotic beasts he'd never seen before.

He examines the 'shooter'. Lightweight but sturdy, Cooper said this one spat out some kind of 'focused energy'. That seemed pretty formidable- if he could use it without shooting his toe off. It seemed to have a triggering mechanism and a sight, like some cruder types of salvaged weapons he'd seen. He wondered how many charges it had before it was used up.

"Lets go, Emmett. Slow and careful- so that none of our names'll be writ in the deadbook today." Lyle adjusts his gear and tries to mentally prepare himself for the next part of this adventure.

Yeah , i think we can go, i'd love to stay and learn more about this place but the sooner we move the better, those quintpods might be coming in as we speak, hell they might be even breeding, eugh! also they might be coming after the ones with the masks on.. Is there anything here that we can take that might be useful for our mission?

"I doubt Cooper would send us to any place that would be inhospitable to us. At least immediately. I am ready to depart."

Gathering together, you face the archway. Beyond you see the mine you came from, unchanged, but electricity running along the edge of the archway, more agitated than when you arrived.

Cooper says, "The archway can stabilize by activating the proper sequence. On the left is as glyph, right now the Triangle, which is your mine, and by pressing it, you will cycle through the open channels. The quintpods home will show as a snowflake, the slug-people as three wavy lines, the asteroid mine as a multitude of dots. It takes a moment to focus, so don't be in a hurry when you want to come back."

"Shall we deal with the known threat first? The Quintpods?" Lyle asks his companions, while examining the archway.

Emmett snorts in response to Lyle. In a sarcastic deadpan, he says, "No, please, slug-people sound like they'd be so much fun..."

More seriously, he rubs his beard. "Five sounded like a lot of open doors, but if our mine and the asteroid where they've been getting the ore are two, this one's the third, there are only the two options. Head through, find a way to wreck their door, then come back. Should be easy, right?"

Without waiting on answers from the others, Emmett taps the quintpod's snowflake and sighs. "No...Easy things are never easy. Not in my experience, anyway."

"Good observation" Adds Turana while rubbing her chin, or the part of the Mask that matches her chin.
"I vote for the quintpods as well, i was up to propose the slug people's portal, im very curious about them and their place.. but as i said before the quinspods seem to be the most urgent threat"

Sounds like the quintpod source is the way to go. Anyone care to activate the archway, attempt to use the icons? Roll an Intellect test with an asset for Cooper's help.

Emmett intuitively senses how to operate the archway, and by twisting the icon using a fingertip, it switches to the snowflake symbol. Further, an icon beside it seems to fine tune the gate tech, and you can stabilize it. The electricity fades from the edges.

Beyond the gate, you now see a collection of junk, ancient tech, rubble, pieces of masonry and walls, discarded items of little obvious purpose. Beyond the junk pile is a wide cavern, with ledges higher up. Light streams bright and hit from somewhere on the left. Movement on the far side of the cavern catches your eyes. There appear to be many quintpods here, although none reasonably close. They also appear to vary in size.

"Looks safe enough from here. Guess I'll head through first." Y'breq walks through the stabilized portal.

Inspired by Y'breq's confidence, Lyle gingerly steps through the portal.

Emmett strides through the gate, trying his best to stay hidden behind the pile of junk. "Well, that's no good, is it?" he whispers. "We had some trouble with two of 'em, and those a touch bigger."

He looks around the cavern, trying to find somewhere to either hide or an obvious reason for why the quintpods are here.

As you pass through, you realize that any suspicions you had that your in a midden heap of junk pile are confirmed. Oddly, though, the archway is the back end of a craft of some sort, technologically arcane yet decrepit and little more than a torn apart version of its former marvelous self.

Oddly, there is no organic material in the refuse at all. Even some of the wiring harnesses have been stripped of insulant.

The bugs appear to leave their unwanted debris here. Whee they got it from, is a mystery but it clearly wasn't made by them.

The idea of closing the tunnel and blocking access to the portal from here will not work, the cave isn't shaped right.

From where you are, no, the light source is out of sight. If you moved along the edge, you would be able to see. You think it might be sunlight, except its dim and the colour is wrong. Maybe there is a haze or unusual cloud in the sky?

Turana follows after the others, while looking for clues that might tell her something about the place she is going in , such as a source of light and the remaining objects or structures that might tell her of any other beings apart of the quintpods, creatures that she does not want to provoke and to find her group flooded in a swarm of them

Let's all make difficulty 4 Perception checks. Indicate if you are Trained.

Lyle carefully looks around, hoping to spot something that will help the group.

Emmett looks around for a solution. "It doesn't look like this will be as easy as wreckin' the door on the way out. Any ideas?"

Perception with asset.

Y'breq helps the others search the area.

The light isn't hazy or obscured, but just like natural light only oddly dim. Maybe the cave entrance to the left is very small?

Jaz intuits that instead the sun is just very small, maybe a tenth of the size it normally is in the sky. Around it, there are no clouds or blue sky, just black as if the sun shines in the night like the moon but smaller and brighter.

Stuck without any option that's immediately helpful, Emmett decides to look around. Trying to remain unseen, he creeps around the pile of wasted parts to find somewhere to go that isn't directly into the mandibles of quintpods.

"D'Jazyt, care to see what we can find in this rubble?" Lyle asks his friend. Taking a cue from Emmett, he carefully begins to search through the debris- all the while hoping to avoid detections from the walking nightmares at the far end of the cavern.