Adventure Log 002: Crash on Volturnus

[shaidar]

Bertie looking back at the danger descending upon them provides Bertie with a much needed surge of adrenaline:

Roll: [_2d6]=(6+5)=11, dis/advantage[1d6]=4

(Athletics skill)

Bertie will drop her pop-tent and help with Goran if that will help Kallina.

[Pulpatoon]

Skur Vonn’s roll: Disadvantaged Roll [_3d6]=(6+4+5)=15, Keep two lowest. 9, success!
Jeeves’ roll: Disadvantaged Roll [_3d6]=(4+6+3)=13, Keep two lowest. Also a 9!

Bertie, fleet of foot in the face of danger, makes it safely to the lee of the rocky outcropping, soon followed by Skur Vonn and Jeeves.

They realize that Kallina is not with them and Bertie is set to dive back into the clouds of sand when a sound stops her in her tracks—the ragged rumble of breath produced by very large lungs. Not ten feet away, sharing the lee of the rock, is something massive and scaly.

Half-buried in the sand is a saurian-phenotype with a mass equivalent to a large horse. It does not seem to be a threat: its powerful hind legs have been shredded and mangled and the microflora that was swept ahead of the sandstorm has settled into the wounds and begun to produce delicate yellow and white blooms. The creature is putting all of its attention into maintaining its slow, shallow breathing.

At this point, Kallina emerges from the wall of whipping sand, her skin scoured and bleeding (-1 Hit for Kallina and Goran). She lets Goran's limp form slide off her shoulder, and then collapses onto her knees, trying hard to catch her breath.

The dying creatures rolls its filmy eyes to take in this latest newcomer, and with the last of its effort draws its long tail protectively around a clutch of two large, leathery eggs. A final shuddering exhalation passes through the creature’s bulk, and it falls still.

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PCs
Kallina: 1 of 5 Hits. (flu)
Bertie: 2 of 4 Hits. (flu, will recover on Day 4)
Skur Vonn: 2 of 4 Hits.
Goran: 0 of 4 Hits. (dying)

NPCs
Jeeves: 1 of 2 Hits.

Actions?!
Next Update: Monday

[shaidar]

Bertie does her best to look over Goran and try to stabilise him:

Roll: [_2d6]=(5+4)=9, dis/advantage[1d6]=2

Medicine skill, +1 for educated

"If you have any wounds, try and keep the microflora out of them. I suspect they might be trouble."

[cybersavant]

where exactly is the creature? is it possible to shelter between the body and the rock for more protection? how large are the eggs? will they fit inside the carryall? horse size - so partial cover for all, maybe we could pull it closer to form a makeshift barrier?



Skur Vonn

[Pulpatoon]

There is room for the party and the creature in the lee of the rock. You think you could set up at least one pop tent, and maybe two.

The eggs are each about a foot and half long and... was that movement? Are they about to hatch?

[Rex]

Kallina

Kallina tries to catch her breath. "We should be able to scavenge some food from the poor beast and it being here means water is nearby."

[Pulpatoon]

Bertie stabilizes Goran and dresses his wounds, being careful to keep the microflora out of them. After her ministrations, Goran does not regain consciousness, but is resting peacefully (at this point, Goran’s chances of recovery have more to do with whether or not his player returns).

The party finds enough clearance to set up one pop tent easily. A second one could be deployed, but it would not fit entirely in the lee of the rock. Your choices seem to be:
1. Cram in twice the capacity of a pop tent, leaving Jeeves outside;
2. Set up the pop-tent partially exposed to the storm and hope it holds up; or
3. Try to shift the dead animal out of the lee so you have more room for the second tent.

Jeeves prepares rations for the crew as they settle in for a rest after a brutal day (-3 rations. I took 2 from Goran’s inventory, and 1 from Kallina’s). Kallina goes about trying to figure out how to safely harvest food from the dead animal. (Kallina, please roll something equivalent to xeno-biology or survival). As she is doing this, she hears a mewing sound, and sees a snout poking out of a tear in one of the eggs. A visible fog of moisture emerges from the interior of the egg as a small dinosauroid struggles to emerge. A score of small insect-like plant-animal hybrids swarm the egg, seeking the moisture and protein inside. The infant creature, its eyes still shut, snuffles and extends a long blue tongue. After a moment of tentatively tasting the air, it begins licking up as many of the insects as possible, making small happy noises as it does.

After a few minutes, the second egg also hatches, but few insects are left to swarm it, and the second creature cries at the absence of its first meal. Snuffling and tasting the air with its tongue, it picks up on the presence of its mother, and tries to extricate itself from the egg to reach her, but it is too feeble to get out of the shell without assistance.

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PCs
Kallina: 1 of 5 Hits. (flu)
Bertie: 2 of 4 Hits. (flu, will recover on Day 4)
Skur Vonn: 2 of 4 Hits.
Goran: 1 of 4 Hits. (stable but unconscious)

NPCs
Jeeves: 1 of 2 Hits.

What do you do before climbing into your tent(s) and resting for the night?
Next Update: Wednesday

[Rex]

Kallina

Kallina will focus on the tent and baby dino's first then deal with food after the storm.

For whatever [_2d6]=(2+2)=4 A/D [1d6]=1

[Pulpatoon]

Kallina will focus on the tent and baby dino's first then deal with food after the storm.

What specifically is she intending with regard to the baby dinos?

[cybersavant]

Skur Vonn wedges down between the rock and the creature, arms overhead, skin flaps covering head as much as possible.

[Rex]

Kallina

She will try and make sure the babies are protected from the storm. Scoot them under the ledge/dino.

[shaidar]

Bertie

"May the baby dino will eat the micro-creatures if we remove them from the mother...although if we are not careful the babies might imprint of us and treat us as family.

ooc: Would we all fit in a single pop-tent if Jeeves entered his suitcase configuration? Or were you assuming that anyway?

[Pulpatoon]

ooc: Would we all fit in a single pop-tent if Jeeves entered his suitcase configuration? Or were you assuming that anyway?

A pop tent is designed for two. You know from experience back at the crash site that you can fit three in under cramped conditions. With four, you're significantly reduce the amount of rest and recuperation gained by a night's sleep. In suitcase configuration, Jeeves should be pretty safe outside, as long as you don't lose him under a sand dune.

[shaidar]

Bertie helps Jeeves find as secluded spot as possible in the immediate area.

[Pulpatoon]

Skur Vonn wedges himself between the body of the dead beast and the rock, and covers himself with his patagia and environmental protection cloak. Bertie settles Jeeve’s suitcase-form next to him, and Kallina nestles the two sauroid babies in, too. The first baby to hatch, its belly full and round with a meal of insects, quickly falls asleep. The second cries in hunger. At Bertie’s suggestion, Kallina feeds it some flora from the dead mother’s wounds, which the baby accepts readily. It is gruesome business, scraping blooms from the bloody flesh, but after gather several palmfuls, the second baby also settles in to sleep. Kallina and Bertie move Goran in to the pop tent and seal themselves in just as the storm hits with its full force. Safely sheltered, they are able to fall asleep.

Skur Vonn is not so lucky. Although he is protected from the brunt of the storm, he sleeps only fitfully, half-buried by flying sand, shaken by howling winds, and chilled by dropping temperatures. After a subjective eternity, the storm dies down, and he feels the Jeeves stir and unbury himself from the sand.

There is a sound like the digital simulation of a polite cough. “Excuse me, Mr. Vonn,” Jeeves gently intones. “I have taken the liberty of deploying the second emergency habitation, now the storm has passed. Your bed is prepared. I trust you will sleep better in the night’s remaining hours.”

---

:: Current Time: 05:20:00, Serena Dawn Ship Time, March 28 ::
:: Day 004 since planetfall. ::
:: Location : Coordinates 94.5:02:00, the Planet Volturnus ::

A couple hours before dawn, Jeeves gently wakes everyone up with the smell of something cooking. He has heaped together a small mountain of scrubby plants into a fire, and is smoking strips of the dead beast. “Good morning, gentlesapients. I do not know if the animal’s flesh is compatible with your biology, but I thought it best to act to preserve a possible resource before decay set it in. Also…” the robot gestures to the rear of the animal where its limbs look significantly desiccated and the blooming plants have grown into bulging, gourd-like bodies, “It appears the infecting flora are harvesting water from the body. Perhaps one with greater expertise than myself would care to see if you can, in turn, harvest it from the plants?” (Feel free to give me xenobiology or survival checks. Or you can just describe what you do and hope for the best!)

Bertie and Kallina feel better after a good night’s sleep, and Bertie in particular is delighted to discover that she has overcome the new planet flu! Jeeves is also notably sprier. He notes that his internal repair systems have completed their work, and that all diagnostics show him to be in fine fettle.

The babies unbury themselves from the sand. Their eyes are now open, and they shakily try their first few steps on their hind legs, quickly developing a steady, loping gait. They climb over their mother’s corpse, and chase each other out onto the sands playfully.

The temperature has warmed up from the bone-chilling deeps of night, and is briefly pleasant. You know that with dawn comes the roasting heat, and that it is time to get underway. By the light of two moons, you see that the landscape has transformed completely during the storm. The undulating dunes you traversed yesterday have been swept away, replaced by larger, gentler swells and valleys.

The babies come tumbling back into camp, delighting in the movement of their small but powerful hind legs in the sand. The first-hatched one runs over to the mother’s body and snatches one of the gourd-like protuberances and begins tearing into it with relish. The second tries to attain a gourd of its own, but can’t reach one, and settles for the scraps dropped by its sibling.

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PCs
Kallina: 2 of 5 Hits. (flu) Please roll to see if you can overcome the flu)
Bertie: 3 of 4 Hits. (recovered from the flu!)
Skur Vonn: 2 of 4 Hits. (please roll something like a Constitution check to see if you rested enough in the night, w/ advantage, since part of it was spent in a shelter)
Goran: 1 of 4 Hits. (stable but unconscious)

NPCs
Jeeves: 2 of 2 Hits.

What do you do before breaking camp? Where do you go once you head out?
Next Update: Friday

[Rex]

Kallina

Flu recovery [_2d6]=(6+6)=12 A/D [1d6]=5
That should do it.

Kallina will takes stock of the supplies. "Great job Jeeves!"

She picks a gourd and tries to get some water from it.

As needed [_2d6]=(2+3)=5 A/D [1d6]=1
Of course.

[shaidar]

Bertie

"What would be do without you Jeeves. You're one in a million!"

She reviews the sensor data from overnight to see if she can make a guess as to weather for the next 24hrs, but also looks for hints of electronic signals from the ship in orbit or the equator.

Roll: [_2d6]=(1+2)=3, dis/advantage[1d6]=1

Even with +1 and advantage, not good at all.

[cybersavant]

There is a sound like the digital simulation of a polite cough. “Excuse me, Mr. Vonn,” Jeeves gently intones. “I have taken the liberty of deploying the second emergency habitation, now the storm has passed. Your bed is prepared. I trust you will sleep better in the night’s remaining hours.”

Skur Vonn "Thank you, Jeeves. I figured to have the best chance out here." He enters the tent to sleep.

A couple hours before dawn, Jeeves gently wakes everyone up with the smell of something cooking. He has heaped together a small mountain of scrubby plants into a fire, and is smoking strips of the dead beast. “Good morning, gentlesapients. I do not know if the animal’s flesh is compatible with your biology, but I thought it best to act to preserve a possible resource before decay set it in. Also…” the robot gestures to the rear of the animal where its limbs look significantly desiccated and the blooming plants have grown into bulging, gourd-like bodies, “It appears the infecting flora are harvesting water from the body. Perhaps one with greater expertise than myself would care to see if you can, in turn, harvest it from the plants?”

Skur Vonn takes one of the gourds and tosses it to the second hatchling. "We can take the gourds with us, and just east them to get the water." He sits down to feast on the bounty provided by the beast. "We need to head out soon, before it gets too hot. What of the hatchlings?"


constitution

[shaidar]

Bertie

"The hatchlings have likely imprinted on us and will follow us."

If no further data comes from her examination of the over night sensor data, then Bertie will suggest they take advantage of the new landscape and head south.

[Rex]

Kallina

"I suspect you are right Bertie about them following us, which I think is good. They may prove useful in finding food and water as their instincts take over."