[19:02] <%DiePotato> Artyom wanders in with a cigarette between his lips. It's a common sight at this point.
[19:02] <Daedalus> Herschel wanders into the briefing room after while, smoking his pipe.
[19:02] <Talonair> Rebecca walks in
[19:02] <%DiePotato> As per usual Arty leans against the wall by the door instead of sitting after he fetches himself a file.
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[19:02] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks over to Becca. ~Huh… Odd.~
01[19:04] <@Nemi> The briefing room in question has an open door, and inside there's a short, heavyset woman in a researcher's coat- and behind her, at the front of the room, a few members of ConSec, in their heavy armour and distinctive uniforms. The researcher looks nervous, watching the team members as they enter through round spectacles. A name badge indicates that her surname is 'Fenway.' "Hello, hello! Um, please take a seat."
[19:05] <SpookyBee> Ethel does so.
[19:05] <Daedalus> "Hallo." Herschel takes a seat as well.
[19:05] <Talonair> Rebecca sits!
[19:06] <%DiePotato> Artyom doesn't sit. What a rebel. A Russian rebel.
01[19:08] <@Nemi> "Now, as I'm sure all of you are aware— I mean no offense but two of you are the key subjects in this whole affair-" Fenway blinks and clears her throat. ".. Agents Powell and Grindsler are presently afflicted by a volatile mutagenic substance presently outside classification, but derived from the biomass of the Ee Zed Nine Three subtype we've come to call 'Anthelim', after their own terminology. Now, the Ee Zed Nine Three in the basement has been remarkably useful, providing information and.. Research aides to our own Doctor Clymer, and so Central has finally allowed for the activation of object SCP Zed Nine Three with intent on retrieval of a substance to, if not cure, at least halt the mutagen's effects!"
[19:09] <SpookyBee> ~I was right, then.~ Ethel nods.
[19:10] <%DiePotato> Artyom nearly bites the end of his cigarette off
[19:10] <Talonair> Rebecca nods, looking unsurprised
[19:10] <%DiePotato> He now looks about three times more agitated and feels it too.
[19:10] <SpookyBee> "So there's a chance we'll be stuck in our current progression, then."
[19:11] <Daedalus> Herschel simply continues to suck smoke from his pipe thoughtfully.
01[19:12] <@Nemi> "Y.. Yes," Fenway frowns. The ConSec agents remain stony behind her. "Now, a few caveats. Central insisted that both Grindsler and Powell participate in the retrieval operation.. And frankly, we don't know exactly what to expect. The Ee Zed Nine Three was cryptic regarding what lies beyond the mirror portal, but it did provide us with information on how to actually operate the stone to get access to this 'alternate world'. You'll be simultaneously our first exploration and reconnaisance team, as well as our retrieval team."
[19:13] <Talonair> "Wonderful."
[19:13] <%DiePotato> Agitation Intensifies
[19:13] <SpookyBee> "We can handle that, then." Ethel raises an eyebrow.
[19:14] <%DiePotato> Artyom now just has a frown across his face and he makes up his mind to bring his Kalash.
[19:14] <Daedalus> "Do not be so confident." Herschel comments, "Exploration into another world is most likely something that is not to be taken lighty. Especially if it is where these… tear drinkers come from."
[19:15] <SpookyBee> "We can handle it because it's our only option." quite blunt.
[19:15] <Daedalus> "Do not be so confident." He comments again.
[19:16] <%DiePotato> Artyom silently agrees with Herschel.
[19:16] <%DiePotato> ~Overconfidence kills people more then any anomaly.~
01[19:16] <@Nemi> Fenway nods. "This is why it took so long to get approval. I'm sorry.. But, back to the task. You'll be provided with survival gear. Objectives are as follows: Determine what lies beyond the mirror portal, explore the environment, and return with whatever data you can find. If you can find an agent to cure the affliction, bring it back here for proper analysis and then distribution."
[19:16] <Talonair> "Got it." She nods
[19:16] <%DiePotato> "Will portal remain open whole time?"
[19:17] <SpookyBee> She nods. ~You are going along with this, then, I assume?~
[19:17] <Talonair> ~What choice do I have?~
[19:17] <SpookyBee> ~… Ignore that one…~
[19:18] <Daedalus> "Gut!" Herschel slaps the table with his palms and stands, taking another drag from his pipe, "Let us be off then! I should want to be back by lunch, ja?" He chuckles.
[19:18] <Daedalus> we*
01[19:18] <@Nemi> ".. Frankly, we do not know. We've taken some precautionary tests using animal subjects and have yet to determine timing on the portal's closing."
[19:19] <%DiePotato> "…" ~[Czech curses]~
[19:19] <Talonair> "….." She sighs deeply
[19:19] <%DiePotato> Artyom sighs and stands up and away from the wall.
01[19:20] <@Nemi> A ConSec agent, a tall and sturdy man holding several backpacks, steps forward. "Your survival gear. Flashlight, rope, thermal blanket, hand radio, dehydrated food, a large canteen of water and water purification tablets."
[19:20] <Daedalus> "Wunderbar! I should pack some trail mix, then." He stuffs his hands into his pockets.
01[19:21] <@Nemi> ".. I am sorry that we cannot be more assuring, but this will be the first human test, and.. Frankly, the reaction it got from nonsapient apes was.. Peculiar."
01[19:21] <@Nemi> Fenway fidgets.
[19:21] <%DiePotato> Artyom takes a pack. He's gonna stop by his room and toss more stuff into them. Namely extra ammunition.
[19:21] <Talonair> Rebecca takes a backpack
[19:21] <SpookyBee> Ethel goes to retrieve a pack. ~… I don't think it's a good idea to drink anything in the Tear Drinker's world.~
01[19:22] <@Nemi> ".. Please head down to Containment. Agent Holland will escort you and also secure your exit." Agent Holland, a black-haired woman in the usual ConSec gear and with a confiscated GOC rail rifle in arm, nods and starts out. The other ConSec agents form a sort of escort, hanging behind the gang to.. Perhaps ensure they go where intended.
[19:23] <Talonair> "Need to stop by my room."
[19:23] <%DiePotato> Artyom asks real quick if he can stop by his room to get a long gun and extra ammunition.
[19:23] <SpookyBee> Ethel eyes the rail rifle with curiosity, before heading out. "… Strange technology."
01[19:24] <@Nemi> "Go ahead, then," Holland nods to them. Becca and Arty are allowed to get their gear, but the group doesn't proceed on until they return. Properly geared up, Containment buzzes them through the airlock-style doors without incident, and they're off to SCP-093's storage down in Safe Objects.
[19:24] <Talonair> Rebecca retrieves weaponry!
[19:24] <Daedalus> Herschel does not! He reports directly
[19:25] <%DiePotato> Artyom slings his AK-47 next to the bag on his back and slips extra ammunition. Along with an extra package of cigarettes. He continues down towards Containment more then mildly anxious.
[19:25] <SpookyBee> Ethel has a new M3A1 strapped to her lower back, and .357 on her hip. Much shinier and new than her other one, which she's not terribly pleased about. She pops up in containment!
01[19:26] <@Nemi> And the gang's buzzed into 093's room! It's.. Actually a reasonably large room, presumably because it's been moved specifically for this outing. On a table near the centre of the concrete space is a small steel hand mirror, upon which rests an innocuous cinnabar disc, its surface pitted with indecpherable carvings and irregular scratches. Holland's crew flank the door while she steps up properly to pull the covering cloth off a tall standing mirror against the far wall.
[19:27] <Daedalus> Herschel has a satchel, and a Edwards Industries (TM) Brand 8 inch Screwdriver tucked into his boot.
[19:27] <Daedalus> Model Number 2468a. Battle worn.
[19:27] <%DiePotato> Artyom has another cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He shifts feet and watches Holland yank the mirror cover.
[19:28] <SpookyBee> Ethel is dressed in the Amelie doppelganger outfit!
[19:28] <Daedalus> (:|)
01[19:28] <@Nemi> Becca and Ethel: You're very much aware, suddenly, of Sariel's presence. The slim pale girl in white watches in some bemusement. ".. You'll be looking for a chemical known as HDP. I will influence the stone's colouration. Please be careful."
[19:29] <Talonair> ~HDP. Got it. Will it cure us?~
[19:29] <SpookyBee> Ethel tilts her head. "…" ~Very well.~
01[19:29] <@Nemi> Becca and Ethel: Sariel nods, and then is gone, along with the strange gold haze that filled the room with her presence.
[19:30] <Talonair> "So, what do we do?"
01[19:30] <@Nemi> Holland looks over the assembled crew. "Powell, you're up. Take the stone in hand, then step forward and press it, in hand, to the standing mirror."
01[19:30] <@Nemi> "That's your way in."
[19:30] <SpookyBee> Ethel raises an eyebrow.
01[19:30] <@Nemi> "The rest of you, follow her. We'll attempt to keep it open and radio you if the portal looks to be wavering."
[19:30] <Talonair> She nods, stepping forwards and picking up the stone.
01[19:32] <@Nemi> The stone emits a soft humming sound as it rests in Becca's palm. It's just large enough to fit perfectly in-hand, and it slowly shifts to a deep, swirling amber colour.
[19:32] <%DiePotato> Artyom keeps a hand resting on his Python as he strolls on up to follow after Becca
[19:33] <Talonair> She looks it over briefly, before walking to the mirror, pressing it to the standing mirror
[19:33] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps up towards Becca. "…"
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[19:33] <Daedalus> Herschel keeps back, continuing to smoke. He's nervous, yes, but excited as well. Somewhere new.
01[19:34] <@Nemi> The mirror's surface becomes cloudy and Becca is drawn into the mirror without much ado! The surface remains cloudy though the stone rests, as if perfectly content, against the surface where she left it. Holland looks at the others expectantly.
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[19:34] <Talonair> "Wha-!" She was not expecting to be pulled through
[19:34] <%DiePotato> Arty grinds his teeth as he walks forwards cautiously into the the portal.
01[19:35] <@Nemi> Zoooop! And away Arty goes.
[19:35] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks at Holland, eyebrow raised, and then looks at the mirror. She steps up now.
01[19:35] <@Nemi> And she's gone too.
[19:36] <Daedalus> Herschel steps through, after muttering a short prayer under his breath.
01[19:37] <@Nemi> PAUSE…
01[19:39] <@Nemi> The space beyond looks to be some sort of auditorium, a great room with sleek benches composed of some kind of white plastic arrayed around a circular stage. A cloudy shape, roughly like that of the mirror surface, sits behind the group there on the stage. The room is unlit, but for several large gouges in the domed room far above that let in halting streams of hazy daylight and showing grey skies ahead. Holland and two other Consec troopers, with tethers clipped to their vests, step out of the cloudy disc soon after, looking about the space. The floor and walls look filthy in places, and there's a strong unpleasant chemical smell mixed with tinges of rot. A large door can be seen at the far side of the room.
[19:40] <Talonair> Rebecca unslings her shotgun, scanning around
01[19:40] <@Nemi> Holland and her troopers move to cover the door from the area of the disc, which seems to have stabilized to show.. a view of the chamber where 093 was held, as viewed from the mirror, albeit with an odd amber tinge. Several researchers and more Consec men are visible, observing.
01[19:40] <@Nemi> I SAID PAUSE.
[19:41] <Talonair> (SORRY)
01[19:42] <@Nemi> There do appear to be light fixtures here, though they've shattered and rusted from the inside out, and piles of rusting debris can be strewn about. Most surfaces here look to be concrete overlaid with more attractive white wall material or by marble floor tiles, many of which have been broken and caked with filth.
01[19:42] <@Nemi> Unpause.
[19:43] <Talonair> Rebecca unslings her shotgun, scanning around
[19:43] <SpookyBee> Ethel draws her Peacemaker, holding it two handed. "… This is a little weird."
[19:43] <%DiePotato> Artyom pulls out a flashlight and shines that around with his hand still resting on his Python.
01[19:44] <@Nemi> There's no signs of life beyond the group members and the three Consec operatives, who keep a similarly wary eye about the space. "Your move, Psi-7", Holland comments. Besides the Foundation intruders the place is eerily silent.
[19:44] <Talonair> Rebecca nods, heading for the door
[19:45] <SpookyBee> Ethel decides to follow along. ~You wanna open it, or should I take point?~
[19:45] <Daedalus> Herschel blinks, then steps forward and shouts, "HELLO!"
[19:45] <%DiePotato> Artyom looks at Herschel blankly.
[19:45] <Talonair> ~I'll take it~ "Keep it down, fuck's sake…"
[19:45] <%DiePotato> "Might not want to do that in hostile territory."
[19:46] <Daedalus> Does his voice echo?
[19:46] <SpookyBee> Ethel nods. ~If only everyone here had a psychic link…~ She sighs in agitation.
[19:47] <Daedalus> He shrugs and heads over to the door quietly, "Perhaps the concession stand is still open, ja?"
[19:47] <%DiePotato> Artyom trudges forwards, with Becca, continuing to shine his light forwards.
[19:47] <Talonair> She posts up by the door, nodding to Arty
01[19:47] <@Nemi> Herschel's voice echoes oddly through the domed chamber despite the holes in the rooftop. It smells fouler still as Becca and Ethel approach the door, which appears to be smeared with .. What looks like melted plastic, albeit a dark rusty brown colour. There's posters on the wall flanking the door, with pictures of people in classic stylized fashion smiling and posing as if for a show, though details are hard to make out due to wear and age. Text is visible, but it appears to be in a language entirely unfamiliar to anyone.
[19:47] <%DiePotato> "Do not think I want to eat food from place with rotted wood."
[19:49] <%DiePotato> Artyom draws his Python fully into his right hand and he flips his flashlight around a bit so he can use two fingers. He reaches out and tries the knob on the door, leading with the revolver as he pulls the door open.
[19:50] <SpookyBee> Ethel cocks the hammer of the Peacemaker back, just in case something nasty waits behind the door. ~Disgusting…~
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[19:51] <Daedalus> "We are in a theatre, that has not been in use for some years. Shame. It looks as if it may have once been beautiful."
01[19:51] <@Nemi> The door opens easily enough to a sort of lobby area. The windows are all boarded up, the carpets rotting with age, the walls similarly crumbling and peeling and covered in the remains of yet more inscrutable posters. There's yet more of the melted-plastic substance fused into the carpeting and across what looks like a ticket booth. It smells horrendous.
[19:51] <Talonair> Rebecca screws up her nose as she moves forwards
[19:51] <%DiePotato> Artyom sneers and covers his nose with his flashlight arm as he steps slowly inside, checking corners and such
[19:52] <Daedalus> "Ach, someone needs to call a plumber." Herschel notes, stepping forward casually.
[19:52] <SpookyBee> Ethel pulls her bandanna up over her nose.
[19:52] <%DiePotato> He wishes they brought gas masks.
[19:53] <SpookyBee> "Let's get this over with… No turning back now, right?" She speaks softly.
[19:54] <Daedalus> Herschel checks the ticket booth.
[19:54] <SpookyBee> Ethel kneels down and prods the plastic stuff with her gloved shooting hand.
01[19:55] <@Nemi> There's a set of once-fine wooden doubledoors up at the front of the lobby, leading presumably outside, and there's a pair of doors in the right side wall opposite a single door on the left. The ticket booth is .. Uagh. That smells awful. There's a very large pile of the rust-coloured sludge smeared up across the floor and up the wall.
[19:56] <Talonair> Rebecca gags a little, breathing shallowly through her mouth
[19:56] <Daedalus> Herschel covers his face with the handkerchief as he steps back towards the door, trying the handle.
[19:56] <%DiePotato> Artyom trudges towards the double-doors. He doubts they'll find anything of value in this place. However he does take his knife, clipping his light onto the belt, and carves an arrow into a nearyby wall, pointing back towards where they just came from.
[19:56] <%DiePotato> Just in case.
01[19:56] <@Nemi> PER, all.
[19:56] <%DiePotato> 4df+4 (PERC)
[19:56] <Glacon> DiePotato: (PERC): 7 (4df+4=3+, 3+, 3+, 0)
[19:57] <SpookyBee> 4df+4 PERC Dread senses
[19:57] <Glacon> SpookyBee: PERC Dread senses: 4 (4df+4=4-, 3+, 0, 0)
[19:57] <Daedalus> 4df+3 Eyes wide shut
[19:57] <Glacon> Daedalus: Eyes wide shut: 2 (4df+3=0, 4-, 4-, 3+)
[19:57] <Talonair> 4df+5 (+2 if CA)
[19:57] <Glacon> Talonair: (+2 if CA): 3 (4df+5=4-, 3+, 4-, 4-)
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01[20:01] <@Nemi> Arty carved the arrow into the wall without incident, though he notices what looks to be the single door on the left opening and a face peering out. He can't get a good look, though- either it was too fast or there's no real distinct features to make out.
01[20:02] <@Nemi> Aside from that, the place seems quiet and empty but for the awful stench.
[20:02] <%DiePotato> Artyom drops his knife onto the floor, pulls his light back up and points both at the door.
[20:02] <%DiePotato> Both the revolver and the light
[20:02] <Talonair> Rebecca swivels to look at what Arty's aiming at
[20:02] <Daedalus> Herschel, meanwhile, peeks out the double doors if he can.
[20:03] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks over at Artyom himself, and holds her pistol on stand-by.
[20:04] <%DiePotato> "…Saw face."
[20:04] <SpookyBee> "Oh that's just lovely…" Ethel stands up and walks over to him.
[20:04] <Talonair> Rebecca nods, frowning
[20:04] <SpookyBee> ~Great. Now /he's/ getting spooked.~
[20:05] <%DiePotato> "Check or leave?"
[20:05] <SpookyBee> "… I'll take a look."
01[20:05] <@Nemi> The door is closed. Herschel: A peek outside.. It looks like some kind of terrible earthquake happened, for while Herschel can make out the sight of many other structures, most have collapsed terribly and a huge rift has half-swallowed the theatre structure, leaving no easy access to the down proper. What looks like a hewn path into a wall of earth and stone sits ahead of Herschel, at least.
[20:05] <Talonair> "Just take a quick look."
[20:06] <%DiePotato> Artyom tilts his head over towards the door and keeps aiming at it.
[20:06] <Daedalus> He opens up the door, and steps out carefully and quietly.
01[20:06] <@Nemi> The door remains inanimate and astonishingly doorlike. Herschel: To #tooltime.
[20:06] <SpookyBee> Ethel walks cautiously to the door he's aiming the flashlight at. She holds her pistol towards it. When she gets to it, she prepares to open it carefully!
[20:07] <%DiePotato> Artyom's head twitches towards the door that Herschel just followed and he sighs. He nods Becca over towards Ethel and he jogs out to make sure Herschel doesn't do anything regrettable.
[20:07] <Talonair> Rebecca heads over to Ethel
[20:07] <%DiePotato> After grabbing his knife.
[20:08] <SpookyBee> Ethel opens the door slowly, aiming at the crack in the door as she pulls it open.
01[20:10] <@Nemi> The door opens to reveal.. It probably was at one point a coatroom for guests, going by the long bars running along each wall. An old synthetic-shell sleeping bag lies vacant at the far wall, along with a closed book, a folding aluminum camp stove (tarnished, long since gone cold), and what looks like some sort of futuristic and ornate camera. Empty clear plastic bottles rest in a neat row by the wall.
[20:10] <%DiePotato> Artyom to tooltime nemi?
[20:11] <SpookyBee> How big is the camera?
01[20:12] <@Nemi> Artyom to tooltime.
01[20:12] <@Nemi> The camera would fit comfortably in two hands, and does appear to be fed by film.
[20:13] <SpookyBee> Ethel picks it up. Is it clearly operatable? ~Found some kind of camera… Maybe some kind of clue on it?~
[20:14] <Talonair> If there's nothing else in the room Becca heads outside
01[20:16] <@Nemi> The camera's mechanism appears to be badly corroded, but she could presumably load up the film and peer at it that way.
[20:16] <Talonair> TT for Becca?
[20:16] <SpookyBee> She attempts to do so!
01[20:16] <@Nemi> Well, there's the book, the bag…
[20:16] <Talonair> Never mind
[20:16] <Talonair> She checks the book!
01[20:17] <@Nemi> Ethel: First view of film.. Badly aged, damaged as if by with time and strangely faded yet in true-life colour otherwise. It's a disc-like object that looks awfully like 093, albeit bluish in colour.
01[20:19] <@Nemi> Becca: The book is one of those hardbound personal journals in terms of design. Elegantly embossed cover and spine (albeit smeared with that rusty melted-plastic material- it smells atrocious, and is likely the source of the smell pervading the theatre). The words inside are handwritten and don't appear to be in any language you can recognize, though there's sketches of structures, humans in odd outfits, and the like. The book seems very, very old, and the writing becomes more frenzied as it goes on, the drawings going into shots of ruin and.. Weirdly, religious iconography. The last pages are smeared with the rusty substance and fused together badly.
[20:19] <SpookyBee> Ethel makes a specific mental note of this… She'll attempt to retrieve said object if she can locate it for the retrieval team. Ethel now goes over to the bag and takes a look inside.
[20:19] <Talonair> She puts it into her bag, something to give to the nerds later. She checks the bag!
01[20:20] <@Nemi> Ethel and Becca poke in a sleeping bag! There's.. Well, not much of note in it outside of some specs of black glop that don't smell quite as bad as the rusty plasticine substance.
[20:21] <SpookyBee> Is it /full/ of this stuff?
[20:21] <SpookyBee> Redact thet*
[20:21] <SpookyBee> *that
[20:21] <Talonair> Becca heads outside then, nothing more of interest in here
01[20:21] <@Nemi> Becca, Ethel: Mdef.
[20:22] <SpookyBee> Ethel follows Becca out. ~Don't like this. Artyom saw /something/… But that room is a dead end.~
[20:22] <SpookyBee> 4df+4 MDEF
[20:22] <Glacon> SpookyBee: MDEF: 5 (4df+4=3+, 0, 4-, 3+)
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01[20:26] <@Nemi> Ethel: Everything looks fine. Becca: There's an odd sound coming from your radio. While badly distorted and breaking up, it sounds like.. Words, maybe? None that you understand, however. You feel a little strange, as if being watched from the direction of the doors into the auditorium area proper.
[20:26] <Talonair1> She trurns around, looking at the doors
[20:27] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks at Becca, since she's standing behind her. "… Something wrong?"
01[20:28] <@Nemi> Becca: There's a dozen figures standing there silent and unmoving, facial features unidentifiable as if blurry.
[20:28] <SpookyBee> "Rebecca…?" Ethel raises an eyebrow.
[20:28] <Talonair1> She steps back, raising her shotgun slightly
02[20:29] * Talonair1 (moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM#moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[20:29] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks over to where she's aiming.
[20:30] <SpookyBee> While pointing her gun in said direction…
01[20:30] <@Nemi> There's nothing there, Ethel, but some depressions in the sodden and filthy carpet as if from feet. Your team might have left them behind, even.
[20:31] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks at the depressions. Then at Becca. ~Becca, there's nothing there…~
[20:31] <Talonair> ~I can see them…~
[20:32] <SpookyBee> Ethel raises an eyebrow, and walks over to where Becca is aiming, stopping before the depressions. ~Here?~
[20:33] <Talonair> She nods
[20:34] <SpookyBee> Ethel holds her hand out in front of her. ~I don't see anything.~ She kind of waves it around in a feeling motion.
01[20:34] <@Nemi> There's nothing there. What were you so jumpy about, Becca? You're staring at empty space.
[20:34] <Talonair> She blinks, then lowers her shotgn
[20:34] <Talonair> *gun
[20:35] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks around. She /is/ actually a little suspicious. Two team mates jumping at shadows? Can't be a coincidence. She goes back over to Becca. "Let's get out of here… Place gives me the willies."
[20:35] <Talonair> "Yea." She heads outside!
[20:35] <SpookyBee> Ethel follows! ~… I should get a shotgun.~
[20:36] <Daedalus> Herschel is outside!
01[20:36] <@Nemi> There's a Herschel and an Artyom out there!
[20:36] <Daedalus> Standing in the mouth of a tunnel
[20:36] <%DiePotato> Artyom peering into a tunnel
[20:36] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps outside. She points her pistol directly to the right once she's outside, hoping not to get jumped again.
[20:37] <Daedalus> "Ah, hallo frauleins! How gut of you to join us. Did you find anything?"
01[20:37] <@Nemi> There's nothing there but broken rocks, debris, loose earth and wispy growths of grass. Looking about, the theatre must be.. Perhaps at the bottom of a relatively shallow sinkhole?
[20:38] <Talonair> "A book, something for the scientists back at base."
[20:38] <SpookyBee> "Some form of camera. Makes moving pictures. Also, some kind of new stone."
[20:38] <%DiePotato> "Great."
[20:38] <Daedalus> "Movies."
[20:38] <Daedalus> "Yes, some cameras do this."
[20:38] <SpookyBee> Ethel shrugs. She's never watched TV or movies before.
[20:38] <Daedalus> "Shall we continue?" He gestures towards the tunnel.
[20:38] <Talonair> Rebecca nods
[20:39] <SpookyBee> Ethel nods. "Yes." ~You've got the spreadgun. Want to take point?~
[20:39] <Daedalus> Herschel takes point, cheerfully stepping into the tunnel.
01[20:39] <@Nemi> The tunnel, or perhaps climbing upwards! What'll it be?
[20:39] <Daedalus> "Gut!"
[20:39] <Talonair> ~Got it~ Rebecca moves ahead of Herschel
[20:39] <%DiePotato> Artyom heads into the tunnel following. TUNNEL TIME
[20:41] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps in behind Becca and draws her new shiny SMG.
03[20:41] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Daedalus
01[20:42] <@Nemi> TUNNEL TIIIIIME. The earthwork tunnel with synthetic plank shoring continues on for what seems like ages, at least 200m pass without a break or alteration in the tunnel's path or facing before it finally shifts to more regular concrete. Immediately preceding the concrete is a section of stony debris, as if the (concrete) tunnel originally terminated right here. The concrete section extends only a short distance ahead before terminating at a sealed plain white door. Mirrors of this door are seen in the left hand wall, spaced about ten feet apart.
[20:43] <%DiePotato> Artyom carefully trudges forwards with the others.
[20:43] <@Daedalus> Herschel counts the doors.
03[20:44] * Xoul is now known as TheOld
[20:44] <Talonair> Do the doors have windows?
03[20:44] * TheOld is now known as TheOldCZ
01[20:44] <@Nemi> None. Just plain flat doors. Three total: Two on left wall of concrete section, one on far end of concrete corridor section.
[20:44] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps up to the first door on the left.
[20:45] <@Daedalus> "Three doors. Perhaps we should draw straws."
[20:45] <Talonair> "Or one at a time."
[20:45] <SpookyBee> "No straws need to be drawn. Process of elimination is more efficient than randomizing."
[20:45] <%DiePotato> "Just pick closest and move down."
[20:45] <Talonair> Rebecca nods, pointing her shotgun at the door and nodding to Ethel
[20:45] <SpookyBee> Ethel grips the handle of the door and turns it, if she can.
[20:46] <SpookyBee> Ethel pushes the door open slowly, SMG ready!
01[20:46] <@Nemi> Ethel: The door is plain white, albeit grimy with age. The handle does not turn, but beside it is a flat, smooth plastic panel with nine numbered squares flush upon its surface.
[20:47] <@Daedalus> Herschel shrugs, and steps up to the door at the far end, attempting to open it.
[20:47] <Talonair> Rebecca tilts her head at the pad
[20:47] <%DiePotato> Artyom siiiiighs and goes to make sure Herschel stays safe.
[20:47] <SpookyBee> Then she does /not/ open it. "… Nevermind that."
[20:47] <SpookyBee> Can she try to kick the door in?
01[20:48] <@Nemi> Does she want to try?
[20:48] <SpookyBee> She does!
01[20:48] <@Nemi> Herschel and Arty head to the door at the far end. It appears to be barred and.. Barricaded, perhaps, from this side with chunks of shelving, chairs and like furniture all crammed up against it.
01[20:48] <@Nemi> Ethel: Strength!
[20:49] <SpookyBee> 4df+3 STR Ethel's about average strength, but she'll be damned if legs that nice are useless. HOOHAH! She kicks at it!
[20:49] <Glacon> SpookyBee: STR Ethel's about average strength, but she'll be damned if legs that nice are useless. HOOHAH! She kicks at it!: 3 (4df+3=3+, 4-, 4-, 3+)
[20:50] <%DiePotato> Artyom treads back at seeing the large amount of barricades.
01[20:50] <@Nemi> Ah, the wonders of corroded hinges and locking mechanisms. It breaks, left half hanging-off. She could open it now!
[20:50] <SpookyBee> Ethel does so, knocking it open and stepping inside in an almost military fashion, SMG raised to her shoulder.
[20:51] <Talonair> Rebecca covers her with the shotgun
[20:51] <SpookyBee> ~… I may have just made a mistake.~
[20:51] <@Daedalus> Herschel tries the last door, the second one
[20:51] <%DiePotato> Artyom watches them go in and in the meantime goes about examining the door next to that one.
[20:53] <SpookyBee> 4df+4 PERC Ethel makes a quick visual sweep of the room.
[20:53] <Glacon> SpookyBee: PERC Ethel makes a quick visual sweep of the room.: 1 (4df+4=0, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[20:53] <SpookyBee> :C
01[20:54] <@Nemi> PAUSE
01[20:59] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: Inside there is.. More shelving! Cans and bottles are arrayed about aplenty, along with crates of even more canned goods. The labels would indicate that they are foodstuffs- colourful, certainly, but with extreme bland printed names reading WATER or FISH or MEAT PRODUCT. More interesting is the stained and filthy mattress against the wall, smeared with some of that rusty plastic substance and accompanied by the like atrocious smell. Beside the mattress (and beside that, an object that looks like a hybrid of chair, bucket, and gas can all together in plastic) there is a sleek desk and wheeled and well-padded chair. Atop the desk there is an unusual device, resembling the new-fangled 'television' of the day, but dominated by the wide flat screen. Before the screen is a roughly two-foot-wide inclind pane of plastic, its surface covered in squares and like shapes as if to mimick the keypad of a typewriter. A circle is upon the screen, on the upper right, and there is the text 'FAITHFUL OS' on the still-live panel.
[21:00] <Talonair> She looks at Ethel, before wandering over to the screen
01[21:00] <@Nemi> HEY
01[21:00] <@Nemi> FUCKER
01[21:00] <@Nemi> I SAID PAUSE
01[21:00] <@Nemi> STOP DOING THAT
[21:00] <Talonair> (FUCK)
01[21:03] <@Nemi> ARTSCHEL: This room is clean, though one corner of the square concrete chamber is filled with the same rusty brown material. The smell in this room is bad enough to make the eyes water and the throat cough and choke. There's a broad table here of the synthetic boards propped up by plastic milk crates, with pillows arranged around it as if seating. More of the sludge is smeared about one side of the table, around what is presumably a pillow. Upon the table itself there are several objects: an aged and yellowed newspaper, several abandoned and empty white ceramic mugs, and what looks to be a pane of glass inset into a larger pane of plastic.
01[21:03] <@Nemi> UNPAUSE.
[21:04] <Talonair> She looks at Ethel, before wandering over to the screen
[21:04] <SpookyBee> Ethel approaches the screen, and looks around the room.
[21:04] <%DiePotato> Artyom backs away, turns and hacks a good cough, holding his throat. "Fucking hell…"
[21:04] <SpookyBee> ~I don't like this… It's so simple, but… It's alien.~
01[21:04] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: The screen sits idle, FAITHFUL OS remaining displayed.
[21:04] <Talonair> She presses a button
[21:05] <SpookyBee> Ethel watches Becca toy.
[21:05] <@Daedalus> "Ach!" Herschel covers his nose with a handkerchief
[21:06] <%DiePotato> Artyom waves a hand in front of his nose after standing back up. He closes the door.
[21:06] <@Daedalus> He then goes over to the newspaper, examining that.
[21:06] <%DiePotato> redact
[21:06] <%DiePotato> He does not close no door
[21:06] <%DiePotato> He lets Herschel go in and he just remains at the door
[21:06] <%DiePotato> Peeking into Bethel's room
01[21:07] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: The screen flicks on to a glowing image of many praying hands with the text 'FAITHFUL OS' beneath each. There are images of sylized manila envelopes upon the screen, accompanied by text that seems vague and squiggly at first but swiftly stabilizes into things like 'MEMOS TO SELF', 'RECYCLE BIN', 'BUSINESS CRAP', 'SERMON NOTES'.
[21:08] <Talonair> "So this controls that…" She scratches her head and presses one of the non-letter buttons
[21:08] <SpookyBee> "… This is weird." Ethel tilts her head.
01[21:09] <@Nemi> Herschel: The newspaper consists entirely of faded text you don't recognize. There's photos, however, of a world map that looks surprisingly like Earth but with vastly different borders for countries(?), some regions coloured black, others shaded, and others left white. There's other pictures! Individuals in religious-looking regalia, some of gasmask-wearing men in white combat armour with slender rifles at march..
[21:09] <@Daedalus> Herschel examines the pane of glass/plastic thing next
[21:10] <%DiePotato> Artyom shuffles further into the room Herschel is in, covering his nose.
01[21:11] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: Another image pops up on the screen, from the bottom left corner! A black square set with white bars bearing text: 'CALENDAR', 'MAIL', 'WEATHER', and the like.
[21:11] <SpookyBee> ~We shouldn't try to open that last door unless there's absolutely no other way…~ Ethel looks to Becca.
[21:11] <@Daedalus> "Fascinating." He offers the Newspaper to Artyom, "It is much like our world."
[21:11] <@Daedalus> "That is Australa. I recognise it's shape."
[21:11] <Talonair> She blinks again, pressing the same button again
[21:11] <%DiePotato> Artyom takes it and looks at it slowly
[21:12] <@Daedalus> Herschel examines the glass/plastic thing next. What is that.
[21:13] <%DiePotato> Arty peeks over at the glass/plastic thing too
01[21:13] <@Nemi> ARTSCHEL: The plastic pane with the screen comes to life if Herschel touches it! There's a text file open, apparently. Amidst some vague text there is a note about an individual named 'Citizen Camberley' at 'Clinic of Blessed Purificationist Dr. Bleszcovi' who apparently was recommended '150mg / HDP / day'. How mysterious.
01[21:14] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: The black square disappears, and a new one appears in the centre of the screen while the rest of the imagery disappears. 'DO YOU WISH TO SHUT DOWN?' With a white square and a black square beneath.
[21:14] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks at Becca with a raised eyebrow. "…?"
[21:14] <Talonair> "No?"
[21:14] <%DiePotato> Artyom blinks and he tilts his head
[21:15] <%DiePotato> "MG… that is measurement no?"
[21:15] <@Daedalus> Herschel almost drops it when he activates it.
[21:15] <%DiePotato> "Hear nurses always say that when they give me medicine." Artyom reflexively tries to catch it
[21:15] <Talonair> Becca looks for a 'no' button
01[21:15] <@Nemi> There's no such button Becca can see.
[21:16] <SpookyBee> "… Which button is no?" Ethel looks at the buttons. "Perhaps… Black? No is a negative, and black is a color often used for negativity."
[21:16] <@Daedalus> "It is… some sort of screen."
01[21:16] <@Nemi> Arty catches the strange pane screen with ease! It's quite light.
[21:16] <@Daedalus> He looks up, tryting to find a projector.
[21:16] <Talonair> "Ok?" Becca presses the black square
01[21:16] <@Nemi> Nothing but the filth in that room, Herschel.
[21:16] <%DiePotato> "How do you manipulate it?" Artyom tilts his head and he sets the glass thing down so it doesn't get accidentally dropped.
[21:16] <%DiePotato> He pokes the screen
01[21:16] <@Nemi> Becca: The square disappears! Back to the original screen!
[21:17] <@Daedalus> Then looks underneath it, trying to see if it's like a television
[21:17] <SpookyBee> "I was right, then… At least we're learning about their technology, yes?"
01[21:17] <@Nemi> The text scrolls on the screen, Artyom! And it is a flat panel of plastic, Herschel. Nothing on the back.
[21:17] <Talonair> "Phew. So it's touch?" She presses 'memos'
[21:17] <%DiePotato> Artyom twitches back.
[21:17] <@Daedalus> "It is… just a screen?"
[21:17] <%DiePotato> ~…Strange.~
[21:17] <SpookyBee> "I guess so."
[21:17] <%DiePotato> "Guess you can move it with just hand."
[21:17] <%DiePotato> "So strange…"
[21:18] <@Daedalus> Herschel touches it, and moves the text up and down.
[21:18] <@Daedalus> Reading.
[21:18] <%DiePotato> "No controller otherwise."
[21:18] <%DiePotato> "No… wheel."
[21:18] <%DiePotato> Artyom can't think of anything else.
[21:18] <@Daedalus> "This must be magically powered."
[21:18] <@Daedalus> "It is not plugged, and I do not see any projectors."
01[21:19] <@Nemi> ETHELBECCA: A white screen appears, with several stylized notepad images accompanied by text with numbers that are arrayed in such a fashion as to suggest dates.
[21:19] <%DiePotato> "Da, some kind of anomalous power source."
[21:19] <Talonair> She tilts her head, pressing the entry at the bottom
[21:19] <%DiePotato> "Should take back."
[21:19] <SpookyBee> "… Becca, there must be a power generator somewhere. And active. Somebody must still be alive, there's no way a generator would run so long on a dead world."
[21:19] <%DiePotato> "If it is still on after all this time it should keep working."
[21:19] <@Daedalus> "Ja." Herschel nods.
[21:20] <Talonair> "Anomalous generator maybe."
01[21:20] <@Nemi> Herschel: It's all very dry albeit with odd religious overtones to the text.
03[21:20] * TheOldCZ is now known as Xoul
[21:20] <SpookyBee> "Maybe, but it's worth trying to find. We might find some answers if it's still being manually operated."
[21:20] <%DiePotato> "Put in your bag and wrap with something soft. Do not want it to break."
[21:20] <@Daedalus> "Bah, it reads like my Uncle Arno talks."
[21:21] <@Daedalus> He nods, and pulls out a neckerchief to wrap the screen.
[21:21] <@Daedalus> Then carefully puts it into his satchel.
[21:22] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks around, then starts putting things together. "… Code-locked door, wrapped and packaged food, communication system…" She looks at the black plastic stuff, then at her hand. "… Safe house of some kind?"
01[21:23] <@Nemi> Becca: Text appears! Much of it is incomprehensible squiggles, but some words to make themselves known. It sounds very ominous- words referencing 'Eyes' and 'Unclean' before 'evacuation' appears again. How baffling.
01[21:23] <@Nemi> Mdef, everyone.
[21:23] <@Daedalus> 4df+2
[21:23] <Glacon> Daedalus: 0 (4df+2=3+, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[21:23] <SpookyBee> "But it was locked from the outside…"
[21:23] <%DiePotato> 4df+3
[21:23] <%DiePotato> 4df+3
[21:23] <SpookyBee> 4df+3 MDEF
[21:23] <Glacon> SpookyBee: MDEF: 4 (4df+3=3+, 0, 3+, 4-)
[21:23] <Talonair> 4df+4
[21:23] <Glacon> DiePotato: 3 (4df+3=0, 0, 0, 0)
[21:23] <Glacon> Talonair: 5 (4df+4=0, 0, 0, 3+)
01[21:25] <@Nemi> All is quiet, all is well (except for that smell- a poet and I didn't know it!).
[21:25] <@Daedalus> "ACH! ARTYOM!" Herschel backs into a corner, horrified.
[21:26] <%DiePotato> Artyom draws his Python and he turns immediately, thinking there's something behind him. "WHAT?!"
[21:26] <SpookyBee> Ethel comes to think of something… Ethel pulls out her trench knife and makes a small cut on her palm. What color is her blood?
[21:26] <Talonair> "Hmm." Becca tries to back out of this file, before looking towards the door
01[21:26] <@Nemi> All is quiet, all is swell… Ethel's blood is a sort of dull rusty colour.
[21:26] <SpookyBee> "…. Becca."
01[21:27] <@Nemi> If Becca taps the little square in the upper right corner of the screen, the document disappears, back to the selection of other documents! Wow!
[21:27] <Talonair> She looks at Ethel
[21:27] <Talonair> She do!#
[21:27] <@Daedalus> Herschel pulls out his screwdriver and begins swinging wildly, "Bleiben Sie zurück Dämonen!"
[21:27] <@Daedalus> Evidentally at nothing but air.
[21:28] <SpookyBee> Ethel points to the black rusty sludge on the mattress, then presents her bloody palm.
[21:28] <%DiePotato> Artyom sees nothing behind him and he looks back to Herschel really confused. "…What?"
01[21:28] <@Nemi> Worse: Herschel can't actually get himself to draw the screwdriver.
[21:28] <SpookyBee> "That's not promising…"
[21:28] <@Daedalus> D:
01[21:28] <@Nemi> It's like he's paralyzed.
[21:28] <Talonair> "…. No it is not."
[21:28] <@Daedalus> He just remains there, terrified then, screaming in German and occasionally delving into Yiddish.
[21:29] <SpookyBee> "And there's something worse…"
[21:29] <Talonair> "What?"
[21:29] <%DiePotato> Artyom lowers his revolver and slowly walks over to Herschel. "Herschel are you alright?"
[21:29] <@Daedalus> "Dämonen, Dämonen! Kannst du sie nicht sehen?!"
[21:30] <SpookyBee> "The door's lock mechanism was on the /outside/… And whoever was in here is… Most likely now splattered across this room… Locked in here with killer."
[21:30] <%DiePotato> "Herschel put the damn screwtwister down."
[21:30] <Talonair> "Or they locked the door after the murder?"
[21:30] <%DiePotato> "There is nothing there."
[21:30] <SpookyBee> "But where's the rest of the body?"
[21:30] <@Daedalus> "Nein! Sie blockieren die Ausfahrt!"
[21:31] <%DiePotato> Artyom knows that first word well enough. "Da, there is nothing there."
[21:31] <Talonair> "No idea."
[21:32] <SpookyBee> "… And there was the 'blood' substance all over the theater, as well… And in that sleeping bag…"
[21:34] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps back over towards the screen. "Anything interesting?"
01[21:35] <@Nemi> Becca, Ethel: MDef.
[21:35] <Talonair> "Not sure yet…" She pressed the top file
[21:35] <@Daedalus> "Can… can you not see them, Artyom?! They surround us! ה באַשיצן אונד!"
[21:35] <Talonair> 4df+4
[21:35] <Glacon> Talonair: 5 (4df+4=3+, 3+, 0, 4-)
[21:35] <SpookyBee> 4df+3 MDEF
[21:35] <Glacon> SpookyBee: MDEF: 2 (4df+3=3+, 0, 4-, 4-)
[21:35] <%DiePotato> "Herschel there is nothing here." Artyom frowns deeper
[21:37] <@Daedalus> "I see them…" He's still breathing heavily, some tears rolling down his eyes, "They are there, they are crushing me. They fill the room, Artyom… they are there… I can see…"
03[21:37] * Prior (ciaf.mud.ru|gnihgual#ciaf.mud.ru|gnihgual) has joined #homeimprovement
[21:37] <%DiePotato> "Put the damn tool down Herschel, there is nothing here." Artyom relieves the hammer back to its resting position. "Come, we need to leave."
[21:38] <@Daedalus> He wasn't able to pull the screwdriver.
[21:38] <@Daedalus> As nemi said before, it's as if he's paralized.
[21:38] <%DiePotato> Ohp
[21:38] <%DiePotato> redact the whole tool thing
[21:39] <@Daedalus> He's just in his corner, terrified.
[21:39] <@Daedalus> Unable to move.
[21:39] <%DiePotato> Artyom rolls his eyes and walks over to take his arm. "Come, we need to go."
[21:39] <SpookyBee> Ethel's eyes widen and her thoughts go blank as she tries to process some horrible feeling "…"
[21:40] <@Daedalus> He seems genuinely frightened, Artyom. He keeps shaking his head and muttering prayers.
[21:40] <Talonair> "Ethel?"
[21:40] <@Daedalus> As he goes along with you.
[21:40] <@Daedalus> "They do not touch you, Artyom."
[21:40] <@Daedalus> He whispers.
[21:40] <%DiePotato> Artyom chalks that up to a non-combatant being in a spooky place. He tugs the German Jew out into the previous area. "Come on Rebecca, Ethel."
[21:41] <%DiePotato> "What in the hell are you talking about Herschel? What are you seeing? Because I see nothing."
[21:41] <@Daedalus> He breathes once they're past the door, then shuts it behind them.
[21:41] <Talonair> Rebecca pokes Ethel
01[21:41] <@Nemi> Ethel, Becca: The text on the computer screen swims, the dates under the files shifting. 'help us help us help us help us' 'release us why release us why'
[21:42] <Talonair> "…. Well that's creepy."
[21:42] <SpookyBee> Ethel steps back, her face still in a somewhat shocked expression.
[21:42] <@Daedalus> "There were… figures! Demons! They filled the room… they were crushing me… but they did not touch you… nein…"
[21:42] <%DiePotato> "Do not know why they do." Artyom leans into the Bethel's room. "Unless you see something of interest we should move on."
[21:43] <SpookyBee> Ethel nods slowly… "… Let's go to Artyom and Herschel… We need to solve this…" Ethel rubs her arms.
[21:43] <%DiePotato> "Losing time."
[21:43] <%DiePotato> "Have not found anything except for newspaper and piece of glass with writing that glowed."
[21:43] <Talonair> "Yea..>"
[21:43] <@Daedalus> He catches his breath and wipes his eyes, "This is a forsaken place. We should leave."
[21:43] <Talonair> "We found this."
[21:44] <%DiePotato> "It talk about em-gee? The measurement?"
[21:44] <%DiePotato> "That is what ours talked about."
[21:44] <SpookyBee> "… We should attempt to clear that final door."
[21:44] <@Daedalus> "Nein. We should leave."
[21:44] <SpookyBee> "Wait, em-gee for what?"
01[21:44] <@Nemi> Herschel and Arty DID see the bit about the clinic and the HDP. Alas, that they couldn't hear Sariel.
[21:45] <%DiePotato> "It is measurement. Nurses and doctors in Medical use it."
[21:45] <%DiePotato> "I remember."
[21:45] <%DiePotato> "Because I am there all the time."
[21:45] <Talonair> "What was it mgs of?"
[21:45] <SpookyBee> "What was being measured? Some kind of medicine?"
[21:45] <@Daedalus> "We do not know! Let us leave!"
[21:45] <%DiePotato> "Do not know. And calm down Herschel we need to find thing for them."
[21:45] <%DiePotato> "Can I see glass?"
[21:46] <Talonair> "Was it HDP?"
[21:46] <%DiePotato> He points to Herschel's pack.
[21:46] <@Daedalus> "Nein. We should leave."
[21:46] <%DiePotato> Arty glances back. "Started with that letter I think."
[21:46] <@Daedalus> "Ja, it was HDP. It is not important."
[21:46] <Talonair> "It is, that's what we need."
[21:46] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks to Becca, then to Heschel. "It's /extremely/ important."
[21:46] <%DiePotato> "Briefing did not talk about."
[21:47] <SpookyBee> "Briefing would not know."
[21:47] <@Daedalus> "I do not care! I do not wish to be in this place any longer!"
[21:47] <@Daedalus> Herschel begins to breath quick and shallow.
[21:47] <Talonair> "Hershel, you're in the Foundation now. Deal with it."
[21:47] <%DiePotato> "Calm down Herschel. Take deep breaths."
[21:47] <%DiePotato> "And if the briefing would not know how do you know."
[21:47] <SpookyBee> Ethel walks over to the door back into the hall, and looks over at the final door. Refresher on it?
[21:48] <@Daedalus> "NEIN! NEIN! THIS ENTIRE PLACE IS THE DEVILS WORK!"
[21:48] <Talonair> Rebecca clutches her head and staggers into a wall
[21:48] <%DiePotato> "Herschel I swear to-" Arty looks back over to Rebecca. "What in the fuck?"
[21:48] <SpookyBee> "… Your gods and devils do not breathe here, Herschel… This world is dead…"
[21:49] <%DiePotato> Artyom's getting increasingly more frustrated. He huffs a bit and goes around Herschel to get to his pack. "Sooner we find what we are looking for the sooner we leave Herschel."
[21:49] <%DiePotato> "That is that."
[21:49] <@Daedalus> "Halt deine Fresse."
[21:49] <@Daedalus> "Ethel."
[21:49] <Talonair> She shakes her head to try and dispell the thoughts."
[21:49] <Talonair> -"
01[21:49] <@Nemi> The last door has been awkwardly barricaded with shelving units and chairs, as is to keep something out. Rusty, plasticky fluid has seeped through the space under the door and to its sides.
[21:49] <SpookyBee> "What?"
[21:50] <%DiePotato> Artyom digs into Herschel's pack if he's allowed and gets the plate of glass and plastic out.
[21:50] <SpookyBee> Ethel eyes the plasticy fluid… Is it more liquidy than the other black stuff?
[21:50] <@Daedalus> He's not allowed.
[21:50] <%DiePotato> Rip
[21:50] <%DiePotato> "Herschel may I please see the thing?"
[21:50] <@Daedalus> Herschel goes up to the door and begins to toss the barricade away.
[21:50] <@Daedalus> "If it is this substance we look for, if that is what we need to leave."
01[21:51] <@Nemi> It's a pretty crappy barricade, honestly. And no, it's like melted plastic, viscous and goopy. Herschel's able to tear it down quickly enough.
[21:51] <@Daedalus> "The let us find it!"
[21:51] <@Daedalus> "And let us leave!"
[21:51] <%DiePotato> "Would like to look at thing so we can find it Herschel."
[21:51] <%DiePotato> "Had place and name."
[21:51] <Talonair> "Hershel let Artyom see it."
[21:51] <SpookyBee> Ethel watches. "We will leave soon, after we find this cure, and… I must find something else."
[21:52] <%DiePotato> "We are not getting anything else we are getting cure and leaving."
[21:52] <@Daedalus> Herschel tosses it.
[21:52] <%DiePotato> "That is that."
[21:52] <@Daedalus> "JA." Herschel attempts to kick open the door.
[21:52] <%DiePotato> Artyom snaps over and tries to catch it
[21:52] <SpookyBee> Ethel raises her SMG and trains it on the door, waiting for the door to be ready and opened. ", Artyom… There's a possible anomalous object here, similar to oh-nine-three."
01[21:53] <@Nemi> Artyom catches! The door is kicked open. It's a concrete stairwell going up! The lights above have all been broken and are inoperable, leaving the stairwell in darkness strewn with chunks of broken glass and more of the ochre fluid. The sting, is awful.
[21:53] <%DiePotato> Artyom huffs a bit. "Go make sure he does not do something stupid while I read."
[21:53] <@Daedalus> Herschel once again holds a handkerchief to his face before heading up.
[21:54] <SpookyBee> Ethel goes in past Herschel to secure the room, flaslight beneath her gun.
[21:54] <%DiePotato> Arty pokes the thing and looks for the spot in the text that mentioned MG
01[21:54] <@Nemi> Artyom: the screen's text is distorting, squiggly. There's something about a clinic and a lot of strange visual errors. 'why us why us why us why us why why why'
[21:54] <Talonair> Rebecca stays with Arty
[21:54] <%DiePotato> Artyom frowns and sneers. "You reading this?"
[21:54] <%DiePotato> He shows Becca
[21:54] <Talonair> She scratches her head
[21:55] <@Daedalus> He pauses to breath at the foot of the stairwell.
[21:55] <%DiePotato> "We are looking for clinic apparently." Artyom stores the thing away in his pack wrapping it in the same hankie as previously.
[21:55] <SpookyBee> Ethel's heavy boots an easily weather broken glass like a tank over toy cars. She steps onto the first flight, then freezes in place…
[21:55] <%DiePotato> "Come." Artyom walks on after Herschel a bit unnerved
[21:56] <Talonair> Rebecca nods and follows
[21:56] <@Daedalus> He remains, "I will go back."
[21:56] <@Daedalus> "I cannot go further."
[21:56] <%DiePotato> "Hmph. Fine. Rebecca or Ethel go with him. No being alone.
[21:56] <%DiePotato> "
[21:57] <SpookyBee> The hair on the back of Ethel's neck practically stands on-end. "… We need to find the object."
[21:57] <@Daedalus> "Nein. You continue, I return."
[21:57] <%DiePotato> "No, you are not going alone."
[21:57] <Talonair> Becca presses on ahead
[21:57] <%DiePotato> "That is that."
[21:57] <%DiePotato> "And I do not trust both of them alone."
[21:57] <@Daedalus> Herschel heads back.
[21:57] <%DiePotato> Artyom growls under his breath. "Ethel go with him."
01[21:57] <@Nemi> The stairs go up and up until a door looms, heavy and blank.
[21:57] <SpookyBee> "I can't…"
[21:58] <%DiePotato> "Yes. You will and you can."
01[21:58] <@Nemi> Is anyone acting to stop Herschel?
[21:58] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks up the stairwell.
[21:58] <%DiePotato> "Do not trust either you or Rebecca in your condition." He starts stomping up the stairs.
[21:58] <Talonair> Becca isn't
[21:58] <%DiePotato> Artyom's ticked and just wants to get this done. He hopes Ethel'll actually listen to him.
[21:59] <Talonair> Trying to stop Hershel that is
[21:59] <@Daedalus> That's a no! Herschel heads back, by himself.
01[21:59] <@Nemi> Herschel disappears back into the tunnel.
[21:59] <SpookyBee> Ethel seems very single-mindedly focused on something…
[21:59] <%DiePotato> "Ethel go fucking with him."
[21:59] <%DiePotato> "Will not ask you again."
[21:59] <%DiePotato> Artyom glares at her as he continues up the stares.
[21:59] <%DiePotato> *Stairs
[22:01] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks back down the tunnel, then back up the stairs. "… Rebecca, find the stone." Ethel conjures the image of the stone from the video in her mind for Becca.
[22:01] <Talonair> Becca presses on up the stairs
[22:01] <Talonair> "I'll find the cure. If I find the stone on the way then fine."
[22:01] <%DiePotato> Artyom goes up the stairs as well with his light pointing forwards. "Care to fucking explain."
[22:02] <SpookyBee> "No… You /need/ to find it…" With that, Ethel turns and heads out after Herschel.
[22:02] <%DiePotato> He doesn't seem pleased about not being in the loop.
[22:02] <Talonair> "Ethel wants us to find another stone."
[22:02] <%DiePotato> "What makes her think there is another."
01[22:03] <@Nemi> Ethel: To #tooltime
[22:03] <Talonair> "She saw a movie clip or something."
[22:03] <%DiePotato> "Hmph." Artyom doesn't seem happy in the slightest. "Fine." He keeps his revolver down by his side in his other hand.
[22:04] <Talonair> "No idea /why/ though."
[22:05] <%DiePotato> "Would have gone with Herschel myself but I frankly do not trust both of you alone."
[22:05] <%DiePotato> "You are both… questionably stable how you are."
[22:06] <Talonair> She nods. "I get it, if our positions were reversed I'd feel the same way."
[22:07] <%DiePotato> "Spasibo." Artyom keeps trekking up the stairs.
[22:07] <Talonair> Continuing on up!
01[22:10] <@Nemi> The stairs emerge through a maintenance access door into a.. Very nicely appointed lobby. Slick and clean C-shaped reception desk flanked by elevators. The windows and front doors are all heavily occluded by great masses of the rusty sludge. The smell from that direction is intense. The elevators, however, look to be powered even from here, by the glowing keypad panels beside them.
[22:11] <Talonair> "…. Elevators I guess?"
[22:12] <%DiePotato> "Da. But what floor would they keep this shit?"
[22:12] <%DiePotato> "Where would they keep cure?"
[22:12] <Talonair> "Hmmmm. Where do medical supplies normally get stored?"
[22:12] <%DiePotato> "In Medical they have cabinets in ward."
[22:12] <%DiePotato> "And they have storage."
[22:13] <Talonair> "Where would that be…."
[22:14] <%DiePotato> "Would say check where medical wards are first."
[22:14] <%DiePotato> "Do not think I want to go down…"
[22:14] <Talonair> "Agreed."
[22:15] <%DiePotato> Artyom slips towards the elevators and pokes whatever button looks like the call button.
[22:15] <Talonair> Becca stays with him
01[22:16] <@Nemi> The elevators slip open. There's already a light lit, apparently to floor.. 74? There's 150 floors to this building, though 13 and 113 are conspicuously absent from the panel.
[22:17] <%DiePotato> "…"
[22:17] <Talonair> "Floor 74 it is…"
[22:17] <%DiePotato> Artyom steps in slowly and stands in the middle. "…Do not like this."
[22:18] <Talonair> "Entirely agreed."
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[22:18] <Talonair> She steps in as well
01[22:20] <@Nemi> The elevator hums as it swiftly ascends. It's no time at all before the display reads 74 and the doors slide open. It's a pleasantly appointed waiting room, with receptionist desk featuring another of the strange devices Becca saw in the shelter room. Behind the desk is a door, although it lacks a plaque or name.
[22:20] <Talonair> Rebecca steps out, scanning around
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[22:21] <%DiePotato> Artyom goes right out and looks around. The flashlight got put away a bit ago. He steps towards the door.
03[22:22] * Scanciv is now known as Shrek
03[22:22] * ChanServ sets mode: +h Shrek
01[22:23] <@Nemi> There's little of note here. A dead and empty pot for a plant, magazines with incomprehensible text, an empty travel cup of coffee left abandoned. On the desk is a sign-in sheet dated to '1953'. The door looks to be easily opened, just a push and one can walk right in.
[22:24] <Talonair> Rebecca looks at Arty, before opening the door
[22:24] <%DiePotato> Artyom raises his revolver
01[22:25] <@Nemi> A short, white, sterile-clean hallway. Two doors in the wall, and a door with keypad at the end.
[22:25] <Talonair> Rebecca checks the left door first
[22:26] <%DiePotato> Artyom covers her as per the usual
[22:28] <Talonair> She attempts to open it
01[22:28] <@Nemi> An ordinary examination room.
[22:29] <Talonair> Opening the right door then
01[22:29] <@Nemi> Also an ordinary exam room!
[22:29] <Talonair> Far door then!
[22:29] <%DiePotato> That narrows options!
[22:29] <%DiePotato> Artyom treads down to the last door
[22:29] <Talonair> Learning from Ethel, she goes to kick it down if it won't open
01[22:29] <@Nemi> Strength.
[22:30] <Talonair> 4df+6 (Strength + CA because breaking and entering)
[22:30] <Glacon> Talonair: (Strength + CA because breaking and entering): 6 (4df+6=4-, 3+, 3+, 4-)
01[22:32] <@Nemi> That door ain't got nothin'. This is a very large room with six glass capsules. Two are broken, a brownish-amber material coating the floor having leaked from them. One is empty. The last three have nude humans floating in them, with masks attached to hoses strapped to their faces. Medical charts are fastened to the front of each capsule. More importantly, however, is the presence of a rack of small bottles against the far wall. Somehow, Becca knows that's important.
01[22:32] <@Nemi> Mdef, both.
[22:32] <Talonair> 4df+4
[22:32] <Glacon> Talonair: 6 (4df+4=3+, 0, 3+, 0)
[22:32] <%DiePotato> 4df+3
[22:32] <Glacon> DiePotato: 2 (4df+3=4-, 0, 4-, 3+)
01[22:34] <@Nemi> All is well.
[22:34] <Talonair> Rebecca goes to get the bottles
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[22:35] <%DiePotato> Artyom follows along to get the bottles looking at the capsules as he goes. He looks back towards the door and immediately raises his Python towards the space. "…"
[22:36] <Talonair> "Artyom?" She looks back at him
01[22:36] <@Nemi> There's nothing there.
[22:36] <Talonair> "Artyom, it's nothing. Just hallucinations."
[22:36] <Talonair> She collects the bottles
[22:36] <%DiePotato> "…" Artyom lowers his revolver. And nods. "Da…"
[22:37] <Talonair> "Let's get back."
[22:38] <%DiePotato> "Da…" Artyom cautiously steps towards the door they just came through raising his handgun again. He's paranoid.
01[22:38] <@Nemi> The bottles have assorted labels. 'TEARS', 'HDP', and 'HFT'.
01[22:39] <@Nemi> The gang's radios pick up. « Recon, this is Holland. Get back, and fast. There's something real big out there. » She actually sounds panicked.
[22:40] <Talonair> She collects the HDP bottles, then starts to move back. «Copy that, heading back»
[22:40] <%DiePotato> Artyom stops to listen. And then he picks up the pace, jogging back to the lobby and the elevator.
[22:40] <Talonair> She looks at Arty and starts running back
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01[22:41] <@Nemi> Something bellows from outside, echoing through the walls. A vast sound, mournful and yet earthshaking. It's a quick shot down the elevator down to the main lobby, and then the stairs down to the basement area…
01[22:42] <@Nemi> And what is that horrendous smell? It's even worse now, somehow.
[22:42] <%DiePotato> Artyom tugs his shirt up to cover his nose as he runs down. "Go go go!" He hurriedly whispers.
[22:42] <Talonair> She nods, running back the way they came
03[22:43] * RosyBud is now known as SleepyBud
01[22:44] <@Nemi> « Massive contact has noticed us, retreat and pull stone, repeat, retreat! » They hit earthwork corridor. Another bellow shakes the earth.
[22:45] <Talonair> Rebecca picks up into a sprint
[22:45] <%DiePotato> Artyom sprints after, tugs his rifle into his arms so it's easier to carry.
[22:45] <%DiePotato> *tugging
01[22:46] <@Nemi> Becca's /fast/, Arty. You've never seen her move like that before. And you've never seen Ethel rocket out of a hole in the tunnel floor like a rocket, either.
01[22:46] <@Nemi> come flying out of a hole, rather*.
[22:46] <SpookyBee> HOOAH! Ethel springs from the hatch! How theatrical!!!
[22:46] <%DiePotato> Artyom keeps running after nonetheless. He's about as fast as he can be for a human.
02[22:46] * %Scantron (sehctits.teg|sehctins#sehctits.teg|sehctins) Quit (Ping timeout: 181 seconds)
[22:47] <SpookyBee> Ethel turns and starts running to the exit.
[22:47] <SpookyBee> ~Do you have it?~
[22:47] <Talonair> ~I have the cure
[22:47] <Talonair> ~
[22:47] <SpookyBee> ~…~
01[22:48] <@Nemi> The collective gang emerges into the daylight and.. A colossal thing, the size of a skyscraper, looms over head. Faceless and dripping a rusty ochre sludge that dissolves into vapour in the air, its head and outstretched arms block out the sun, casting the ravine into an unnatural darkness.
01[22:48] <@Nemi> It lets out another world-shaking mournful sound.
[22:48] <Talonair> "Fucking run!"
[22:49] <%DiePotato> Artyom goes into /Maximum Overdrive/ (TM)
[22:49] <SpookyBee> Ethel's eyes widen. "/Holy shit/!" Ethel does just that, back to the theater.
[22:49] <Talonair> She sprints for the building, head down arms pumping
01[22:50] <@Nemi> They enter the theatre, where Holland uselessly covers the door with her rail rifle. The Consec troopers nod to Psi-7 and turn to sprint as well. Shiiiiit.
[22:50] <Talonair> "Holland, come on!"
[22:51] <SpookyBee> Ethel charges in after them.
[22:51] <%DiePotato> Artyom is running as quick as he can. His eyes are wide and he's more then a bit spooked.
01[22:52] <@Nemi> "Moving!" She turns to run just as a hand the size of a truck smashes down through the front door and the Thing's faceless head soon follows. Holland barely avoids it, and legs firing, hurls herself through that opening in reality just after the team and her other troopers. The stone is pulled off the mirror by an attentive technician right as the THING comes surging forward and.. It's quiet again, except for panicked Control staff and the ConSec troopers' hyperventilation. "Osterberg left just before you got here," one of the Control officers says. ".. so— there's that. What even was that?"
[22:53] <Talonair> "Fu…. Fuck if I know…" She says between massive breaths
[22:54] <SpookyBee> "… Removing oh-nine-three from that mirror won't help us anymore…" Ethel realizes something slowly.
[22:54] <%DiePotato> Artyom collapses onto his knees panting heavily, his Kalash clattering onto the ground.
[22:54] <SpookyBee> No wait, she realizes it quickly.
[22:54] <Talonair> "We got the cure." She waves the bag at them gently
[22:54] <%DiePotato> "No… fucking… clue…" Artyom pants. "Have what we went for though." He pushes himself to his feet.
[22:55] <SpookyBee> "No we didn't… It was pointless…"
01[22:55] <@Nemi> The attending staff, those in hazard uniforms, quickly move to grab everyone, secure the recovered objects, and help the crew- ConSec troops included- to decontamination and then Medical if need be. Becca and Ethel do not spy a Sariel.
[22:55] <Talonair> "Ethel shut the fuck up."
[22:56] <%DiePotato> Artyom explains the general gist of the glass/plastic thing to a reasearcher.
[22:56] <SpookyBee> ~Becca, there's another stone in there with that thing. Like 093.~
[22:56] <Talonair> ~So? We got the fucking cure~
[22:57] <SpookyBee> ~And it has a /key/.~
01[22:57] <@Nemi> Everyone is debriefed, deconned, and released once their reports are in. What a night. ~FIN~
[22:57] <Talonair> ~It's as tall as a skyscraper, no way it's coming out of a mirror~
01[22:57] <@Nemi> 3 EXP for all. Including Herschel.
[22:57] <@Daedalus> :D
[22:57] <SpookyBee> Ethel noms her XP.
[20:07] <Daedalus> Herschel heads out, carefully. He doesn't know who might be watching.
01[20:08] <@Nemi> Outside.. Herschel, and the once-majestic theatre structure, appear to be at the bottom of a ravine roughly carved into the ground by either tectonic forces or something far too large to think about comfortably. He can see growth of grass and scrub plants encroaching down the side of the ravine towards him, implying that this is not recent.
01[20:08] <@Nemi> The air is relatively fresh and there's a low breeze.
01[20:08] <@Nemi> It's eerily silent. He's the only thing making noise out here.
[20:09] <Daedalus> "[What happened here…?]" He asks himself, tucking his pipe away. He's tempted to shout 'hello' once again, but thinks against it.
01[20:10] <@Nemi> Herschel, Mdef.
[20:10] <Daedalus> 4df+2 Oh no
[20:10] <Glacon> Daedalus: Oh no: 1 (4df+2=4-, 0, 3+, 4-)
01[20:12] <@Nemi> Herschel, you hear your radio chirp. It sounds like Holland, but badly distorted and incomprehensible.
[20:12] <Daedalus> He picks it up and attempts to tune it. Technology…
[20:12] <%DiePotato> Artyom slips outside to make sure Herschel stays in one piece.
01[20:13] <@Nemi> Arty sees much what Herschel does. Herschel, your radio seems to be fine, but there's no further response. The hand-hewn opening in the ravine wall remains yawning wide.
[20:13] <%DiePotato> "Should wait for other two." Artyom says quietly as he steps over to peek further into that opening and apparently only path.
01[20:15] <@Nemi> Conceivably one could climb up the ravine if they so chose. It's mostly packed earth and rock and would be a fairly easy surface to do so.
01[20:16] <@Nemi> Down the opening.. Well, it's dirt-lined, but someone took the effort to shore up the walls with wooden planks.
[20:16] <Daedalus> "Mein Name ist Ozymandias, König der Könige: Schauen Sie auf meine Werke, ihr Mächtigen, und verzweifelt." Herschel intones, continuing forward, "Nichts neben bleibt. Round dem Zerfall dieser kolossalen Wrack grenzenlos und kahl, die lone und Pegel Sande dehnen weit weg."
[20:17] <Daedalus> "There is nothing wrong with a bit of… what is word? Reconnaissance?"
[20:17] <%DiePotato> Artyom shines his light into it and glances back at Herschel. "Da, but do not want to have something big find us and then we run."
[20:18] <%DiePotato> "In addition I do not… trust them alone."
[20:18] <Daedalus> He pauses, then nods.
[20:18] <%DiePotato> "Have fought things infected with thing like them." Artyom grimaces and shakes his head.
01[20:19] <@Nemi> Where is Herschel continuing forward to?
01[20:20] <@Nemi> The tunnel goes down a long way- Arty's light is swallowed by darkness some twenty feet in!
[20:20] <Daedalus> To peer over the dge.
[20:20] <Daedalus> Edge*
[20:20] <%DiePotato> "Do not like that." Artyom steps back a ways and looks up the wall of the ravine.
[20:20] <Daedalus> Is there any way to go around to the town?
01[20:21] <@Nemi> Refresher: The theatre and its surrounds have fallen into the ravine but seem stable enough. Above, the structures of the town can be seen on earth and stone ravine walls that look climbable. The tunnel is the easiest way forward, that said.
03[20:24] * Talonair1 (moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM#moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM) has joined #tooltime
[20:24] <Talonair1> 4df+4 MDEF
[20:24] <Glacon> Talonair1: MDEF: 1 (4df+4=4-, 4-, 4-, 0)
[20:26] <Daedalus> Herschel steps forward into the tunnel a bit, striking up his lighter and illuminating the entrance.
[20:26] <Daedalus> Or, at least
[20:26] <Daedalus> Light up where he's standing.
[20:26] <%DiePotato> "You have flashlight Herschel."
[20:26] <%DiePotato> "In bag."
01[20:27] <@Nemi> Herschel sees little of note, and less even than what Arty saw.
02[20:29] * Talonair1 (moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM#moc.sulplartnectb.021-561egnar.533EB044-CRInys|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[20:30] <Daedalus> "Hmm." He taps the walls of the tunnel. Rock? Dirt?
01[20:33] <@Nemi> Mostly dirt and packed earth, and shored up with planks of what looked at first to be wood but instead looks like some wood-patterned synthetic packed material. It's in plank form, certainly, but it's definitely not wood.
[20:34] <Daedalus> "This entire place is unnatural, and ungodly, ja? Can you feel it?"
01[20:34] <@Nemi> Temperature is pleasantly cool, Herschel would note.
[20:35] <%DiePotato> "Do not know about second thing."
[20:35] <%DiePotato> "But da, strange."
[20:36] <Daedalus> He does note this.
01[20:36] <@Nemi> Gang, reconvene in #homeimprovement.
03[20:41] * ChanServ sets mode: +o Daedalus
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[22:03] <SpookyBee> Ethel heads after Randall!
[22:03] <SpookyBee> *Herschel gdi
01[22:04] <@Nemi> Ethel: Continuing through the concrete passage, you see no sign of Herschel. In the earthwork passage, however.. Quick agi.
[22:05] <SpookyBee> 4df+3 AGI Ethel is no athlete, she just happens to have nice legs.
[22:05] <Glacon> SpookyBee: AGI Ethel is no athlete, she just happens to have nice legs.: 5 (4df+3=3+, 3+, 3+, 4-)
01[22:06] <@Nemi> Ethel nearly trips on something underfoot- a hatch partly buried in the earth. How strange. What's that doing there?
[22:07] <SpookyBee> Ethel looks down…
[22:07] <SpookyBee> 4df+4 PERC Any obvious handle to lift it open with?
[22:07] <Glacon> SpookyBee: PERC Any obvious handle to lift it open with?: 4 (4df+4=4-, 3+, 3+, 4-)
01[22:09] <@Nemi> There is indeed an obvious handle! The one she nearly tripped on. How odd!
[22:09] <SpookyBee> "… This is not promising…" Ethel tries to pull it open.
[22:10] <SpookyBee> SMG aimed at it, of course.
01[22:11] <@Nemi> Strength.
[22:11] <SpookyBee> 4df+3 STR She's not that strong, /either/
[22:11] <Glacon> SpookyBee: STR She's not that strong, /either/: 2 (4df+3=0, 4-, 4-, 3+)
[22:11] <SpookyBee> ;-;
01[22:12] <@Nemi> With Strength Ethel is fairly sure she doesn't really have, she hauls the hatch open despite the encrusted muck and earth. A ladder descends to darkness.
[22:12] <SpookyBee> Ethel shines her light down it.
01[22:15] <@Nemi> It descends to darkness. It's a way down.
[22:15] <SpookyBee> Ethel sighs, and starts to climb down, holstering her SMG and holding her light in her mouth.
01[22:17] <@Nemi> Ethel emerges into what must be decontamination. There's hoses and sprayers and like objects everywhere, a door with a lit panel beside it that nearly beckons for a touch, and little else. The room is, surprisingly, nearly perfectly clean.
03[22:18] * ProcyonLotor (nooccaR.snaeM.rotoL|noycorP#nooccaR.snaeM.rotoL|noycorP) has joined #tooltime
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[22:19] <SpookyBee> Ethel raises an eyebrow, and goes over to the panel. She puts a finger on it.
03[22:22] * Scanciv is now known as Shrek
03[22:22] * ChanServ sets mode: +h Shrek
01[22:22] <@Nemi> The door slides open with a hiss of escaping air. It's an airlock system, apparently. IF she steps inside, she'll be struck by puffs of air and coloured gas, feeling nothing from exposure, and the inner door opens to reveal a room filled with very modern computer equipment. Large mechanical computers with reel-to-reel systems, lights and even actual monitors displaying flashing words. 'CLEAN' 'UNCLEAN' 'CLEAN' 'CLEAN' LOST' 'UNCLEAN.' At the far end of the room is a large glass window.
[22:23] <SpookyBee> Ethel goes to one of the UNCLEAN stations. "… Unclean?"
01[22:24] <@Nemi> Clarification: It's one monitor, the text alternating roughly every 5 seconds.
[22:25] <SpookyBee> Ah, ok. She tries to figure out /what/ it's calling unclean, exactly.
[22:25] <SpookyBee> Soooo she goes over to the window!
01[22:28] <@Nemi> The window appears to be an observation window! Beyond is a series of glass tubes, filled with some blue fluid. Five at least are broken. At the window is a keypad on pedestal awaiting selection. Options include 'Tube Status', 'Reports', 'Situation X-549', 'Situation X-550,' and 'Evacuation Log.'
[22:29] <SpookyBee> Ethel clicks "Tube Status".
01[22:29] <@Nemi> It awaits a number input.
[22:30] <SpookyBee> She looks for numbers on the unbroken tubes.
01[22:32] <@Nemi> None visible.
[22:32] <SpookyBee> "… Okay then." Ethel just presses enters 12. Random number, oh well.
01[22:34] <@Nemi> CLEAN.
[22:35] <SpookyBee> "Hm…" Ethel clicks 'Reports'.
01[22:36] <@Nemi> The following text appears: "Three Unfertile Zones have increased 25% in size in the last seven days. Containment Teams are not finding any presence of Unclean in these zones but they are visibly confirmed as expanding. Clear-5 level High Fathers have confirmed breaches in the Holy Chambers at each of these zones, all chambers found empty. It is believed that the Unclean have breached containment on the Holy Chambers. Dispatching additional guard to remaining Chambers."
[22:37] <SpookyBee> "… Well fuck-biscuits." She goes back and selects X-549.
01[22:38] <@Nemi> The screen clears. "Expansion of Zone 6-4-TO has been confirmed. Unfertile Zone containment procedures in effect. Containment Staff dispatched to site. This is the tenth report in 30 days, upgrading to Situation Status. Reports from Clear-5 High Fathers have stopped at all affected. The City of His Word has been placed on full lockdown and all travel denied in or out. Other cities are now in Alert mode and combat teams are being dispatched to city perimeters."
[22:39] <SpookyBee> She moves on to the next, only growing more intrigued.
01[22:40] <@Nemi> Ethel's radio chirps. « Recon, this is Holland. Get back, and fast. There's something real big out there. » She actually sounds panicked. Meanwhile, the screen.. "The Great Land of Hufussia has fallen per satellite images. Entire landmass considered tainted. Outbreak of Sin reported in Levina and that landmass has requested assistance from the Holy Union. Assistance denied due to our own outbreak and mass reportings of Unclean. Clear-10 staff have issued the order to evacuate via the Gateway and for all Holy Union authorized persons to proceed to the nearest Sky Platform for evacuation to Star Eye Eden to continue monitoring status. Gateway Keys are being ejected to prevent spread from this center to other space/time vectors. Resurrecting Staff are being awakened to monitor and continue reports here as we evacuate. May His Blessings Forgive Our Greatest Sin."
03[22:40] * LilySleep (tseb.dna.tsetuc.eht.si|aiM#tseb.dna.tsetuc.eht.si|aiM) has joined #tooltime
[22:42] <SpookyBee> Ethel responds. «Clarify. What's your situation? I'm on my way now.» Ethel abandons the panel and goes back to the ladder.
03[22:43] * RosyBud is now known as SleepyBud
01[22:43] <@Nemi> « Massive contact has noticed us, retreat and pull stone, repeat, retreat! » The ladder should be a quick and easy climb..
01[22:44] <@Nemi> .. which is odd, isn't it. You're fit, but you can't fling yourself up a ladder. Can you?
[22:45] <SpookyBee> «Understood.» ~Nah, don't be a bitch, you can do it. Just admit you like what's happening to you.~ Ethel shrugs and tries to scale as fast as she can.
01[22:45] <@Nemi> .. Yeah, Ethel pretty much just hurls herself up the ladder, coming up into… #homeimprovement
[21:25] <Nemi> As you put the screen object into your bag, you are abruptly aware that the room is no long empty. Dozens of figures pack the room, all staring directly at you. They've made some space for Arty, but are otherwise something of a crush, all around you.
[21:26] <Nemi> They crowd all around you, pinning you there in the corner. Staring, unmoving but to make space for Arty.
[21:30] <Nemi> The figures move to make space for Arty, but fill in behind him swiftly.
-
[21:41] <Nemi> And they don't! They file aside to allow Artyom passage, but soon fill in the gap. They don't fill the hallway, at least.
[21:59] <Nemi> There are more of the watchers, here. Watching. Curious, not angry, not happy, not upset. Just watching.
[22:00] <Nemi> They're behind you, too, in the earthwork tunnel. Not enough to block your way, but.. There is so very many of them..
[22:01] <Daedalus> "Auch wenn ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal , ich fürchte kein Unheil , denn du bist bei mir ; dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich…" He mutters.
[22:02] <Nemi> They don't impede your path as you emerge in the ravine. But you hear, from somewhere above, a voice calling for help. Something about 'Come up, please!" "Help us!"
[22:03] <Daedalus> He turns his head, and then pauses. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath and steels himself, running towards the source of the cries
[22:04] <Nemi> Reaching the cries would mean Herschel would need to climb the ravine on up to the town proper, it would seem.
[22:04] <Daedalus> Can he do this?
[22:04] <Nemi> Indeed he can. It'd be easy, just time consuming.
[22:06] <Daedalus> He'll go ahead and try then. If there's someone who needs their help he'll help them, if it's trick be damned
[22:09] <Nemi> Herschel reaches the upper edge of the ravine to spy .. It's a city, vast and grand if constructed mostly of new materials and designs. Skyscraping towers, looming offices, stretching out of sight from his angle. But much of the place is badly damaged. Some buildings have had entire floors' worth of windows burst from within, that rusty material spilling forth like a liquid curtain. Other buildings are partly consumed by growths of the material. And dragging itself from between two buildings is a colossal, faceless.. Thing. Like a human torso with arms and head alone, its body dripping a dark, foul-smelling gel that dissolves into the air as soon as it falls free. It swivels its head in Herschel's direction. help us why us why us release us why why WHY WHY
[22:11] <Daedalus> ~This is why we do not answer cries for help in godforsaken worlds~ He immediately regrets this decision and backs away from it
[22:13] <Nemi> Slipping into the ravine would be easiest, most likely. He could run to the shelter and the ConSec troopers, he could flee back to the team… The thing leisurely drags itself down the street, passing by empty cars and others crusted with more sludge.
[22:13] <Daedalus> Good idea, he does that, holding onto his hat as he runs from the thing.
[22:14] <Daedalus> Sliding down into the ravine and heading back to the theatre. Nopenopenopenopenope
[22:14] <Nemi> Herschel's flight is borne by the rapidity of panic, and he's soon met by the .. Point in space, where the stone floats still, by the three ConSec troopers. He can see the containment chamber beyond, other staff monitoring the situation from the outside, waiting by radios with worry.
[22:15] <Daedalus> "Big chest… arms… sewage…" He points.
[22:16] <Daedalus> He leans on his knees to catch his breath.
[22:16] <Nemi> Holland eyes him, then nods. She gestures to the outside, and she's joined by two other Consec troopers as they head out to have a look.
[22:24] <Nemi> The Control personnel have a trooper escort Herschel back inside and he's taken to decontamination.
[22:24] <Daedalus> Gut! He's happy to be out of that place
[22:28] <Daedalus> He does hope his teammates come out alright, however.