Adventure Log 002: Crash on Volturnus

[shaidar]

Bertie

A tired Bertie grins at Jeeves' news and gives him a huge hug.

"Oh Jeeves, I'm so happy for you! Of course I'll support your application, and I'd love for you to continue as my companion, not that I've got any credits to pay you at the moment, but I will! she pauses for a moment and sighs " My father isn't a bad person, but you are right, he does get caught up in his research, we will tell him after. But we must tell the others the wonderful news!

At Goran's question she replies " I'm not sure which way will bring less danger."

[Rex]

Kallina

"It should be a group decision. The mountains seem the best chance of finding water, but I am not sure we are close enough. The question is how far to wherever the jetcopter came from."

[cybersavant]

Skur Vonn

"Everywhere in our current ... condition ... is dangerous. Especially with those pirates about with that jetcopter. The best way will be toward the closest cover."

[Pulpatoon]

When Goran is brought up to speed on events, he reacts with alarm at the news that the jetcopter came from the north. "Then they must have found the crash site! They may have killed Kallt'kan and Chrt'kltal and the others! We should go back there! We need to..." He trails off in defeat as he realizes how little good it would do to try rushing after a jetcopter that could be half a hemisphere away by now.

Jeeves finishes packing up the camp and making sure everyone is in good shape for the morning's travel. "Where ever we go, we should consider disembarking soon. The atmospheric conditions will become less hospitable in short order."

---

Where do you want to go? How do you want to get there?
Next update: Monday!

[shaidar]

Bertie

"The mountains appear to be the least inhospitable option. Water and food will be difficult to come by in both the salt flats and desert and heading towards the murderous pirates seems a bad idea."

[Rex]

Kallina

"So we are agreed on the mountains?"

[Pulpatoon]

The party turns west, heading towards the mountains in hopes of finding food, water, and cover. Goran grumbles about the party having a responsibility to check back in with the people at the crash site, but he knows he doesn’t have a strong case and doesn’t push it.

The morning passes without incident, and the party makes camp around 11:00 when the sun becomes unbearable.

The afternoon’s travel is slower, as they enter a region rent with deep fissures just wide enough to be difficult to step over easily. The dino-babies, whom Goran has taken to referring to as “lopers” because of their distinctive gait, launch themselves easily over the fissures. They consider this to be a great game and try valiantly to get the party to chase them. Jeeves has a particularly difficult time in this region, since he does not have branching legs to stretch over the gaps. Eventually, he collapses down into his portable form and has to be carried for long stretches of the journey.

When the party makes their evening camp, Jeeves makes dinner (-4 rations). He prepares a considerable portion of the loper meat, fearing that it will not last as long as the packaged survival rations.

The mountains loom ahead of you, stark, jagged, and inhospitable. They are noticeably closer, and you can estimate that you should reach their feet in another day and a half or so. They do not look like they will be easy to cross.

---

Mountains.png (1.06 MiB) Viewed 343 times

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:: Day 006 since planetfall. ::

The next morning, the party moves into territory with patches of tough scrub and thick, fibrous root structures to run across the surface of the sand like coarse netting. They find the desiccated remains of an animal that looks like a hybrid between a goat and a horseshoe crab. The withered remains of the gourd-like fruiting bodies lie deflated across the body, having ejected their seed pods to the winds, and their harvested moisture with them.

That afternoon, Kallina spots something exciting ahead: a structure. It looks like a simple earthen lump from a distance, but with the macrobinoculars, she sees that it is a distinct dome with a crude opening at its base.

The structure is about an hour’s extra walk north, if you would like to investigate.

---

PCs
Kallina: 4 of 5 Hits.
Bertie: 4 of 4 Hits.
Skur Vonn: 4 of 4 Hits.

NPCs
Jeeves: 2 of 2 Hits.
Goran: 3 of 4 Hits.

What do you do?
Next Update: Wednesday!

[Rex]

Kallina

Kallina points out the structure and lets the others look with the binocs.

"I think we should push on and check it out, what do you think?"

[cybersavant]

Skur Vonn "It is the best opportunity so far. Even if it's abandoned, it's a proper shelter. If it's not, we'll need to be careful of any occupants."

[shaidar]

Bertie

"Agreed, we need proper cover to survive."

[Rex]

Kallina

"Agreed then."

She leads the way.

[Pulpatoon]

The party treks an hour north to investigate the structure. It is a dome constructed of rough-hewn rocks, around 8’ tall at its apex. There is a small entrance, barely three feet tall on the side of the dome that you approach from. It is blocked by a few loose stones.

Moving the stones aside, you immediately feel an unexpected sensation: the air inside the dome is fat with water! The cracked and burnt skin of your hands feels suddenly unbearable as you recall the sensation of moisture.

Peering through the low entrance, you see a cramped interior, empty except for a low stone wall forming a circle in the middle of the space. You hear a drip, and can see condensation on the interior face of the stones.

As soon as the stones are set aside, the loper babies rush in, making happy yipping sounds.

---

PCs
Kallina: 4 of 5 Hits.
Bertie: 4 of 4 Hits.
Skur Vonn: 4 of 4 Hits.

NPCs
Jeeves: 2 of 2 Hits.
Goran: 3 of 4 Hits.

What do you do?
Next Update: Friday!

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans! Eat too much, take a nap, and then eat too much again!

[Rex]

Kallina

Kallina moves inside and checks everything out.

"Do we have a way to determine if the water is safe to drink? If not I can try it and we will have to wait to see if I get sick. I don't trust that the dino's bodies function the same as ours."

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

[cybersavant]

Skur Vonn crawls inside and stands up again. He walks over to the low stone wall.

[shaidar]

Bertie follows the others inside.

"Is that some kind of well I wonder. Should we block the entrance behind us to keep creatures out? First things first, let me take a water sample and see if I can determine it's safety, well do some basic checks at least."

Roll: [_2d6]=(3+5)=8, dis/advantage[1d6]=5

Medicine (advantage), educated +1, gives 11.

[Pulpatoon]

The party enters the low dome, luxuriating in the wet atmosphere. They replace the stones in the entranceway, blocking themselves into the small shelter. It is crowded with all five of them i there, but no one cares much about close quarters when the air feels so good.

In the center of the interior is a well, lined with rocks. The water is high enough that the lopers are able to perch on the edge and stretch their necks to reach it. The sound of their greedy lapping brings your terrible thirst to the foreground of your attention. Water! In such quantity!

Bertie, her hands shaking with anticipation, uses her sensorpack to test the water. She discovers it is laced with arsenic. She knows that arsenic needs to build up in the body and that one could potentially drink from this water for a while before feeling any ill effects from it. She is confident that there would be no symptoms from a first drink. But the chance of poisoning would increase with every draught.

As the party considers this information, the baby lopers stop drinking and look alert. They make small mewling whimpers, and begin sniffing around the blocked entrance.

---

PCs
Kallina: 4 of 5 Hits.
Bertie: 4 of 4 Hits.
Skur Vonn: 4 of 4 Hits.

NPCs
Jeeves: 2 of 2 Hits.
Goran: 3 of 4 Hits.

What do you do?
Next Update: Monday!

[Rex]

Kallina

"Long term we need to figure out a still of some sort to purify the water by distillation."

Kallina will drink a small amount of water, knowing if she drinks to much at once it will shock her system and make her sick.

She then searches the chamber very careful to see what she finds.

[shaidar]

Bertie

Seeing the behaviour of the baby lopers, Bertie freezes and whispers:

"Is there something at the entrance? Who has the laser?"

[Rex]

Kallina

Missed that.

Kallina draws her stunner, raises her finger to her lips for silence and moves closer to the entrance as quietly as possible.

Descriptor Aware, Extraordinary Ability Alert and has the Stealth skill.

Stealth [_2d6]=(4+5)=9 A/D [1d6]=2

[Pulpatoon]

Kallina's keen ears pick up on the crunch of footsteps in the desert sand. They are some distance away yet. They sound like several large somethings were traveling at speed, but are rapidly slowing down.