Rifts Adventure - IC Thread

[Sherwood]

Raven gives Xinyi a sad smile. “Sadly, that is true. There are so few people, be it human or Dbee, that can be trusted. There are still some of us out there that can, though. I will say that if you ever come across a fellow Cyber Knight you are probably in good hands with them. The Order does its best to ensure that. Now I don’t know about you, but I am definitely in need of a hot bath or shower, so I am going to see if one of those options are available to us.”

 

[Psychie]

Sherwood

With Raven heading to get cleaned up, he is escorted to his room. The place looks like it used to be a small bunk room for maybe four people, but there is only the one bed and a small alcove with a working toilet slightly partitioned off from the rest of the room. The room is somewhat bare even for a guest room, showing the simple life of this religious order. All in all, you have been in worse rooms, do in comparison, it’s not bad. There is a communal shower just up the hall from your own room and it has plenty of hot water to shower in.

After getting hosed off and with the layers of dirt removed, Raven is feeling much better.

Purr

Snowfall’s curiosity leads him about the place, poking his nose here and there, trying to see the last of the land. He is able to discover fairly quickly that this place has four levels accessed by elevators and stairs, with one small building on the surface and three below ground. The lowest level is filled knee deep with smelly water and appears to be abandoned. The next level has all the living quarters for the monks of the order, complete with a small chapel with a service being held for a group of young men.

The top level is the smallest of the three, and it houses a series of small greenhouses to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the residents. This level is where the motor pool is, and it has a security station with several suits of powered armor that are manned and ready to defend the place from any intruders. At first it seems to be a lot of firepower for a religious order, but then you remember where this place is and you reconsider.

The last part of the place is the submarine bay. It is large enough to house two of the old boomer style ballistic missile subs at once with a huge sea lock that allows them to enter and exit completely underwater and unseen by outside eyes. At the moment there is a single smaller sub here that is probably a relic at least four hundred years old and able to house about a hundred people, depending on how close the pack in and how much of the original stuff of the vessel still remains intact. The other dry dock bay is currently empty.

Eonivar

Xynyi is escorted to another guest room and is showed where the women’s shower and mess hall is located. Her room is much the same as what Raven has, with no artwork or plush furniture, just simple things that reflect that this is basically a monastery underwater.

Is there anything you wish to do for what appears to be at least the next day?

GunMan2

You are also shown to a room that happens to be next to Ravens’ room. Unless you advertise your mechanical nature, the monks here don’t seem to know you are a Borg.

One thing that you all can see is that the doors to your rooms are simple SDC doors with no locks on the handle, so it is not a prison cell in any sense of the word. You are all told that you have free run of the place except for the lowest level. It has a bit of a flood and is not safe. The pumps are keeping the water at bay so there is no danger unless you are foolish enough to romp around down there.

 

[Eonivar]

After the door is shut behind her Xinyi gazed over the room with interest.

(Dragonese) <"Reminds me of home">

They did not feel like trying to shower with strangers. So instead, they use their magic to cleanse themselves (Xinyi casts Cleanse on themselves), whispering the ancient arcane words as the dust and dirt magically is removed from their clothing.

They then sit for a moment and sew the holes in their robes where they had been shot by the skelebots earlier. After they finish mending their robes, they stand up and proceeded out of the room to explore the place and meet any people that may be around.

 

[Purr]

Snowfall does what foxes do - he remains curious and finds what he can find. He finds the entire layout of the base to be very clever and he dearly hopes the likes of the Coalition States never finds it. He continues to get a feel for the area that it might come in useful in some future adventure.

Meandering wherever his feet will take him, he opens his senses to the supernatural - specifically magic which all Kitsune can detect within a short range as easily as a normal human might hear or see. Humans as a whole were not inherently sorcerous creatures - might there be something down here that they might have missed that a Kitsune of Inari might find?

 

[Psychie]

As Snowfall wanders about, he comes to the conclusion by means of his magic detection powers that this is a group of normal humans, and there appears to be only three people down here that have any kind of magic or psy powers (besides the party, that is). It appears that the only means of defending themselves against attack is the mechs and powered suits that you have already seen.

Everything on the top two levels appears to be wholly dedicated to a monastic way of life, with few luxury items of any kind. The lowest level appears to have been abandoned a long time ago, and even the most inquisitive of foxes finds only moldy furniture and ruined clothes.

For the guests of the Order, everyone you come across appears to be human in every sense, and they are all polite and helpful. They answer any question you pose to them, but for the more esoteric questions the monks refer you to their leader, Father Brannigan. This Father Brannigan is a low level mage of some sort, but he doesn’t flaunt his powers that any of you have seen and it is very likely that he has not used any kind of magic in years.

It is during one of the communal meals that Rab comes up with a smile. “I have good news. Our ship to Europe will be here on the morning high tide. We’ll be able to be on our way tomorrow and then it is a short trip to the main temple for your reward for a job well done. I apologize that we are not the most exciting of hosts. We lead simple lives, with few creature comforts. I do hope that you don’t think ill of us because of that.”

 

[Purr]

Snowfall knows a monastery of sorts when he sees one - the shrines to Inari in Japan are not easily counted and 750 years of adventurous living in service to the Japanese God of Prosperity's guidance has taught him that to give is to get. And so Snowfall gives where he can.

If they would like fresh steamed rice, deliciously cooked tofu, or heavenly rice wine, he distributes these as generously as one can from his treasured magical bento box. If an offer of his is accepted, he clears plates and tables, does dishes, and overall tries to be as helpful a hand as he can be. Snowfall feels lazy hands don't get much done and these folks could use Inari's own blessings however they might come, so why not from Snowfall himself?

It is during one of the communal meals that Rab comes up with a smile. “I have good news. Our ship to Europe will be here on the morning high tide. We’ll be able to be on our way tomorrow and then it is a short trip to the main temple for your reward for a job well done.

Snowfall nods happily at the news. "Hooray for that! Our means of voyage across the Atlantic Ocean - at least, that's what they called it back in my day - is at hand!"

I apologize that we are not the most exciting of hosts. We lead simple lives, with few creature comforts. I do hope that you don’t think ill of us because of that.”

"'Exciting?'" Snowfall remarks and waxes philosophical as Kitsune are sometimes wont to do. "Visit any Shintō temple in my homeland, and you will see anything but excitement. In those peaceful monasteries, tranquility holds value. Thoughtfulness and compassion for others are the keys to happiness. They do not seek excitement but harmony. For it is said in Shintō teachings:

“'To be fully alive is to have an aesthetic perception of life because a major part of the world's goodness lies in its often unspeakable beauty.'" - Shintō proverb.

"Ask yourself. Is there a better way to enjoy beauty but with a quiet mind and open heart? Excitement has its own time and place; this place of yours does not need it. Just look to the age-old submarines down below and the powerful mecha that protect us here - two very different storied eras of technology; the young and the old - what was before and what is now." Snowfall rubs his paws together. "The act of wondering is a beautiful act - and I do wonder what kind of technology will come next? What will make these mecha seem like the ancient submarines that came before?

"It's something cool to daydream about, if you ask me!"

 

[GunMan2]

Decides to not do that as it would probably be important for later, should he need to escape. "Right lets take stock of the situation. We are in a room with all that tech....yeah i can't see how that will go wrong" Takuma said in a sarcastic tone.

 

[Psychie]

The day passes without incident, and soon you are all headed to bed. Once morning comes around and you rise for breakfast, you are told that your transatlantic ride will be here in just a few hours, giving you all some time to pack back up what few things you unloaded the night before. Raven is shown the path to take through the base to drive the Mountaineer to the submarine dock where it can wait to be loaded in the undersea vessel.

Once the sub arrives, you can see that it appears to be an old American Empire ballistic submarine that has undergone extensive work to remove the missiles to make room for cargo. The boat is old, and has seen more than its share of wear and tear, but it has been well maintained and that puts some if your fears to rest for this part of your journey.

Those sensitive to magic can feel that the propulsion system of the old vessel has been replaced with what feels like a Techno Wizard power supply, so that should make your trip smooth and easy.

The crew that you can see stepping off of the boat to help guide the vehicles into the now spacious hold all seem to be human and are all polite enough to you as you relax and wait to get on the way. Of all those that are off of the boat is an older man in his sixties that appears to be in charge of the crew here. He eventually makes way over to say hello, chatting with Rab and Oleg before making the introductions with the party.

Rab says, “This is Brother Dennis, the man in charge of our voyage to Germany.” Dennis offers to smiles and handshakes to everyone, “Good to meet all of you. Now I can see you wondering about the ship. The old girl here may not look like much, but she’ll get you there without any trouble.” He then sees Oleg and looks surprised. “Well I say it has to have been a while since I last saw you with as much as you’ve grown. Look at you! Quite the handsome devil you’ve turned into! You don’t need to worry, son. Good ol’ Dennis will get you to the temple in time.”

Dennis looks over as the crew rapidly loads gear and supplies to the ship and says, “We can leave as soon as the crew is done,”

 

[Eonivar]

Xinyi who did not need to sleep (or eat) just meditated overnight, restoring their used magic. They got up, made sure the room was the same when they came to it (and then some) and then went to the docks to see their "ship". They had pictured some sort of boat in their mind when they would ever speak of a "ship" but this was something else and something new.

A large massive cylindrical vehicle with an odd metal "sail" slightly forward. It had no windows and only a little place to stand on top of it as they realized that most of it was under the water as they watched the crew come out of the sail and various hatches on the deck as well as the cargo hold hatches as they loaded the vehicles.

Obviously it was safe since all of those people came out of it...but Xinyi gazed down one of the personnel hatches at the tight windowless quarters and got a bit of a knot in their stomach. They had been in underground areas without windows before, but this was different and under the water. Xinyi did not fear the water, they had magic that enabled them to survive underwater, but being in this metal container under the water gave them reservations.

Xinyi was not good at hiding their...discomfort with the situation...but they did not say anything otherwise other than.

"Umm...ok...let us go as soon as we can then."

 

[GunMan2]

Takuma spent most of the night plugged into the nearby electrical outlet to recharge his energy. Being a machine is sometimes not really fun. When morning came, he checked all his gear into his hidden compartments to make sure all his gear was there for when things inevitably went wrong.

Arriving at the dock and seeing the 'ship' they were to board, left Takuma a bit more apprehensive. In his view, the thing is nothing more than a death trap but it seems odd that they would need a submarine in the first place to reach their destination.

"Are we expecting trouble on the sea?" He asked as he watched the people come out and took a look at them paying special attention on their weapons.

 

[Purr]

"'Are we expecting trouble on the sea?'"

Upon hearing this question, Snowfall's furry ears prick up and his eyes widen. "What?!" he exclaims. "The sea brings its own set of troubles, epecially on the surface! Be glad we're in a submersible vehicle like this one with an experienced captain and crew!

The expressive Kitsune pantomimes as he speaks, his Japanese accent crisp in his every word. "In traveling on the surface of the ocean, not only are you having to deal with the surface waves and unknown weather conditions!

"Thunderstorms! Lightning! Squalls! Oh and ahhh, any of you guys have handy hurricane/cyclone detectors on your person? I left mine at home!" He points eastward.

"On the surface, what would you do if suddenly you found yourself with a Ley Line or Nexus Point between you and Europe? Just sail through it? Talk about rolling the dice!

"Up on the surface, it's easier to get lost, or to come across armed dangers like Horune Pirates or - egads! - the Splugorth Slavers! I understand you've already encountered the barges, right? But have you seen the Splugorth vessels that carry the barges along the waves?

"Rifts appear in the ocean too which leads all kinds of surface dangers! I could go on!

Snowfall pats the hull of the submarine with unfeigned affection. "But this honey?" he grins. "She's got a techno-wizard engine! That means almost any one of our team can probably help power it all by ourselves! We are not running out of fuel as we might with a conventional engine!

"Plus when traveling under the water, we are opened up to the opportunities that three-dimensional travel gives us! We can go above or under dangers!

"Leyline activity also tends to mess with instrumentation like radios, but if we are able to avoid them entirely, our systems never get interfered with! I can't be the only one in this vessel that can detect Ley lines, can I?

"And down here? We will be using sonar to get around! Sonaaar!" Snowfall prances happily about.

He rubs his paws together. "I'm not saying there aren't any dangers - I'm just saying that with this well-maintained vessel, this experienced captain, and this able crew, I think we are much better able to get across the Atlantic Ocean in one piece than our using a variety of other, more-harrowing methods!"

Snowfall finishes his performance with a bow of respect directed to the captain.

 

[Sherwood]

Raven smiles at the enthusiasm that Snowfall is showing and says, “I suspect that there is no real safe way to travel in this world anymore, just ones that are less vulnerable to disaster than others. Our new friend is right in one thing, though; we won’t have to worry about the weather when we’re a few hundred feet underwater. The storm gods can rage all they want and it will not affect our travels thanks to Captain Dennis and his submarine. I intend no disrespect to the gods of the weather but I am more than happy to avoid a hurricane possible.”

 

[Eonivar]

Xinyi listens to Snowfall and then glances at Raven and then the Captain. Their comrades explanations seemed to put them at ease at least for the mean time, although they were still a bit uncomfortable with the thought of being in such a small area.

When offered to head down into the sub, they did so quickly, eager to get underway. Once given a place to sit and wait, they sat down, pulls out a drawing book and some art supplies, opens it to a blank page and starts to draw on it to distract themselves from the creaking ship and various alarms and such.

Roll Art 76% = roll of 14% - Xinyi's art is really good!

 

[Sherwood]

Raven is excited to get moving on. He has had a bad case of wanderlust for a long time and sitting in any one spot for too long has never been his way. He sits back and lets the crew carefully steer his mountaineer into the sub under his watchful eye as he casually asks, “So Captain, what is our next stop and how long until we get there?”

 

[Psychie]

Dennis replies, “Our next stop is the city of Rome on the Italian coast in the Mediterranean Sea. It will take us three days to make the crossing and I do anticipate that we will have no trouble on the voyage. I do hope that you have a very dull time of sitting around playing cards with the crew instead of dealing with some disaster. If you will excuse me, I need to make my last round of inspections prior to sailing. I’ll see you later on, I’m sure. The boat is big but not that big. Ha ha. Until then.”

Inside the submarine you can see signs that there has been modifications made with techno wizardry to add to the functionality of the boat. Air scrubbers replaced with gemstones that provide a stay flow of fresh air, stealthy spells to keep the sub from being found in the dark depths, and even Armor of Ithan spells to give extra defense if there is an attack.

There is a small lounge that has been set aside for the passengers and crew to congregate in their off time that you are guided to in which you can sit outside of the tiny space that is your bunk room and not be in the way as the boat heads out to sea. It is a little turbulent in the shallows but as the sub gets deeper the ride smooths out significantly. All in all, there is little to complain about.

 

[Purr]

Snowfall does his best to simply keep out of the way, and how better to do that when you're a Kitsune but to turn into a fox!

 

[Eonivar]

After a few hours of drawing, Xinyi put away her art supplies and now was bored. They looked at all the details of the gathering room, any pictures, books, games, videos...they began to pace about the room. After looking at EVERYTHING. They proceed to do their Tai Chi exercises. While doing so she looks at the others.

"So...what is the place we are going like? What is there? Anything we need to be aware of?"

 

[Sherwood]

Raven shrugs. "To be honest, I have never been anywhere in Europe before, so I am not entirely sure what to expect. I would probably not have made this trip except for the fact that Rab and Oleg needed help to get to their destination without aid. From what I've heard, there is a large Gargoyle population that the New German Republic is currently fighting against. Other than that? I'm just not sure."

 

[Eonivar]

Xinyi was very graceful in their exercises, breathing, and still able to converse without any problems.

"New German Republic? Another nation? Are they better than...oh what did you call them...the Coalition?"

 

[Sherwood]

Raven replies, "They are fighting for their survival against the Gargolye forces, but they are not as . . . human centric . . . as the Coalition is. While they do rely on high technology to provide the bulk of their army, they don't have the same hatred of anything supernatural that the Coalition does."

 

[Purr]

Raven replies, "They are fighting for their survival against the Gargolye forces, but they are not as . . . human centric . . . as the Coalition is. While they do rely on high technology to provide the bulk of their army, they don't have the same hatred of anything supernatural that the Coalition does."

Snowfall's foxy form dissipates into nothingness and from nothingness comes the form of a 5-foot-tall handsome Asian fellow wearing slightly-faded and sharp red and brown traveling robes and boots. He carries all manner of adventuring gear from blade to pistol, all placed about his person in an orderly and easy-to-get-to fashion.

"And that's not all!" says a casual Snowfall to Xinyi in the voice of a 20-something Japanese man. Snowfall had taken interest when Xinyi began practicing their Tai Chi Chuan and that interest had not faded. "Those Germans? Ohh boy! They've got better music, better beer, and better manners than all of the Prosek Pansies put together! So sayeth my knightly buddies in England, anyway. And they would know!"

Then his shifty brown eyes look this way and that as another thought crosses his agile mind. He nods to Raven. "Those Gargoyles and Gurgoyles you mentioned? Despite all of my journeys, I've never interacted with 'em! I'm betting this mystical and mysterious order Colson Sr. and Jr. are so cozy with are connected to the Gargoyle/New German Republic conflict!"

If Rab or Oleg are within earshot, Snowfall waves one or both of them over. "What do you think of when you think of the New German Republic?" And if they're not, well, the transformed Kitsune just keeps his ears open for more conversation. How better to learn?

 

[Eonivar]

Xinyi continues their exercise kata and looks over at the now transformed Asian man. "That is encouraging Snowfall."

They try to think if they have read about anything regarding Gargoyles before.

Psychie Xinyi is rolling Demon and Monster Lore 61% = 36% SUCCESS

 

[Psychie]

Xinyi continues their exercise kata and looks over at the now transformed Asian man. "That is encouraging Snowfall."

They try to think if they have read about anything regarding Gargoyles before.

Psychie Xinyi is rolling Demon and Monster Lore 61% = 36% SUCCESS

Xinyi would know that the 'classic' race of gargoyle is actually several different but closely related races. They range in size from slightly larger than human to much larger, and they are generally regarded as allies to the hated Splurgoth races and get along well with evil dragons and with other monstrous races from the lower planes. Gargoyles are also known to use high technology, and have even developed powered armor that they use in combat against the humans here! These are not some dumb race of beasts, but are very intelligent and have many tools in their arsenal.

The ocean voyage is as uneventful as one could possibly hope for, with no nasty weather to deal with (thanks to the submarine nature of the trip) or hostile forces attacking from below the depths of the ocean. For the past two days, it has been very much a lazy time for the passengers of the sub, with much time being spent reading, relaxing, talking or making use of the ship's small gymnasium. The food is not spectacular, but it is sufficient to keep one alive and the portions are large enough for all to get enough to munch on. The crew is all friendly enough, but there is not a whole lot of downtime for the handful of people to visit with you. But it is not to say that they don't enjoy a bit of relaxation or pleasant conversation with you; its just that they have their work to do and you are just the paying passengers that they need to get to your destination.

It is halfway through the morning on the third day when you can feel a slight change in the feel of the motion of the ship under your feet as the undersea vessel begins to rise to a shallower depth as the sea floor is no longer so deep, and you are informed that you will be reaching port in just another hour or so.

 

[Psychie]

It doesn’t take long before everyone is asked to gather in the cargo bay where a number of the crew are there, waiting for word that it is ok to undo the heavy duty chains holding Raven’s Mountaineer still in the hold so it doesn’t go rolling off and damaging the sub. Rab and Oleg are there, both looking excited about finally getting out of the sub and back on dry land once more.

Finally, the large doors on the side of the sub’s hull open wide and let the sunlight and fresh air in for the first time in days. It wasn’t like the air in the submarine was dank or smelled bad, but there is just something different about the air from outside that makes it feel better. The crew moves quickly to unchain the large vehicle and as they work you are all politely asked to stay off to the side and let them work without helping out. They have done this a few times before and anyone trying to offer aid would just slow things down.

Stepping outside, you can see that there is a rather small and quaint European fishing town here, and many of the locals are looking on with interest to see what has been brought to their shores today. Before you have had much of a chance to sightsee, Rab says, “Raven, they will have your Mountaineer unloaded in a few minutes, and after that we will be ready to travel for the temple, so I would suggest not getting too far afield. We are on a strict timetable after all.”

 

[Eonivar]

Xinyi stepped out on to land and beamed up at the sun taking a deep breath.

(In Dragonese) "Blessed sun and sky, earth and land"

They look over at the village and the villagers, and start to move over their to investigate when they hear Rab's request and they stop and turn back to stand out of the way next to Raven.