The Travellers Tales of Otto Von Weirdigan

[Otto]

Constable Adams looks at you quizzically, a little fearful of your silence.

You turn the internal Headband passing its connection to Randle; he sniffs around but frustration floods from him, as he can find no further scent.

'Sam' Otto addresses the PC.
‘Have we ever had any problems with Drow elves in the region?' Otto asks mildly.
"Drow Elves Otto, what on earth are they?" he replies

Cursing yourself, you remember that Gothica apparently has no indigenous drow.

'Erm' Otto thinks quickly.
'Sorry Sam, it's a speech problem I get when I get worried about things. It will DROW!!!!!!!!!!! pass.'
'Drow!'
'Now that's better I think……………..'
'Drow!.............. Bollocks!'

'Lets start again, do you have any problems with elves in this territory Sam?'

"The occasional act of dishonestly, but nothing concerted Otto. Orks, now they’re a different matter, as you know!"

"Otto, what’s going on?" says Amdea with a look of concern.
'That bloody elf Raz, is rubbing off on me! Bloody speech impediment! Shit! What a crock!' Otto thinks to himself.

'I don't know dear, but someone has been in the church rooting around and it looks like they were sneaking around here.'
Otto pauses and rubs his chin. 'They can't be to far away from here, darling, can you get on the wire and let the authorities know?' This is my codeword for Amdea to prepare the interplanetary communication system, but not to transmit yet.
'Right Boys! Who's for some hunting?' Otto booms to the dogs as he puts the cloth under their noses.
A frenzy of excitement ensues, as the hounds hurtle round the garden.
Randle trots up dutifully as if knowing your expectation, sniffing the robe, he turns and taking the lead he heads into the darkness.
'Tom, can you stay here with Amdea and Rosie please? Or if you can call in someone to look after her?' Otto asks as he dodges the enthusiastic dogs!
Constable Adams hurries off to find reinforcements "I'll get someone and catch you up he shouts"
"Be careful Otto" says the other half.

[Otto]

The hounds race with frenetic excitement, charging out to the east.
You race beyond Goodlunds Boundries, heading across the moorlike fields beyond.

'Damn these hounds endurance' you think, as your flesh and blood muscles strain to maintain the run.

After a flat out dash you hurtle down a steep slope, of an overgrown quarry side, a few miles along the quarry floor stands a disused mining facility.
The hounds become quiet, silenced by a growl from Enailis, Randle's back has lowered, his stealth mode as you've called it before, the rest of the hounds, follow his example, even barmy Raz does so with a massive degree of self control.

[Otto]

Entering the cave.


A smile crossed Otto Von Weirdigan's face, the hounds had to count as one of his most bizarre but impressive feats thus far.
They had been genetically synthesized from the Smooth Hound DNA within Otto's own cells, a fact that lent them human genetic material.

However their makeup was beyond that, to stabilise the gestation he had taken DNA from Enailis and even manticore cells, good had balanced evil.

What had he been thinking, but it had worked, the hounds had the grace of the Smooth Hound, coupled with a musculature befitting a big cat and a stupid tendency to charge into any situation not matter how dangerous, the fact that they healed almost before they bled didn't help.

Each of the hounds flattened almost monkey crawling toward the mine. Otto's arcomechnic sensors swept out, analysing the individual pheromone releases from the hounds. The intruders had been quick, of that there was no mistake.
The temperate moorland scents filled Otto's nostrils; half a dozen sensors broke down the components.

<Otto, this is Trance, you activated the uplink, what’s up?>
Otto pauses his descent and hunkers down on the side of the slope. With the brisk night moorland winds buffeting his long coat, he halts the Smooth Hounds and directs them to him with a gesture.

'Bugger, I asked her not to activate it quite yet! Bless her.' Otto thinks, a little irritably over Ameda’s eagerness.

The slight crackle and whine of Otto’s SuperEtherCommsInterPlanitari device equalizes for him to return the hail.

<Trance, good evening. Sorry about breaking radio silence but at this moment I am tracking what potentially might be an incursion of Drow Elves into Goodlund territories. To my knowledge this could be a 'first contact' scenario of this race on Gothica. I know what they are capable of and am requesting advice and any possible assistance if required. However at this time I have yet to confirm that Drow are present. Over.>

The hounds pad up almost as a single entity and lie down close to Otto, mouths open and panting.
"How do you remember to breathe, FACKNUTS?” bellows Sting from the recesses of Otto's headware core.
Then it all comes back to him, Otto remembers that the Drow have been active on Gothica before, he encountered them on the Frontier where ISPD Drow attempted, a number of times to seize the location of the Liveship.

Momentarily Otto is lost in memory, he thinks back some 7 months previously, to when he returned with his companions and Amdea from Skarathera.
Of sitting in an Imperial Office in the High Tower Station orbiting one of Gothica's sister planets.

[Otto]

"You can't just apply for citizenship, Von Weirdigan!” Colonel Gladus had said, "Gothica is a priority one security Zone within the Empire"
"Actually considering that the Mechanist Governing Council has approved fortification of the Adracian/Krais Border, I can think of no better Steward for the Fort town of Goodlund" replied Lord Ivelliian.

So after much grumbling from the powers that be, the now monumentally influential Lord Ivelliian had got his own way and Otto had been declared an Imperial Steward for Goodlund.
It seemed that Otto's loyalty to the town, Gothica and Amdea had won him a place of respect from the First Lord of Commerce.

Otto found himself to be snapped out of his reverie by Raz brutally nudging his privates with his nose.

[Otto]

<I'll contact Lieutenant Strauss on the Tower, OVW, see if he's picked up any activity> beamed Trance.
<Ow, shit Raz pack it in! Erm, belay the last. Will await your response, VW out.> Otto closes the communication lamely and looks down the slope.

<'An you can fackin' shat up Sting! Or I will reprogram you!> Otto thinks subetherly.

Otto stands and brushes the grass off his trousers, and with a series of gestures to the dogs he instructs them to continue with a stealthy route to the mine entrance.

The Xerthian brandishes his shotgun and follows them quietly down the slope.

'Its almost like huntin' for Megavoltaquail back on Xertherus 6!' he remembers fondly.
Make a Search roll?

<"Heh heh heh, you'd probably end up givin' yerself a fackin lobotomy!!x!!x!!x!!">
<I might be doing myself a favour then!> Otto retorts.

Search of 13

[Otto]

Inlayed into the outer Adamantite of Otto Von Weirdigan's forehead, are two thin rings lined with Arcotech glyphs, the lower of the two, being closer to his eyes glows a whitish gold, slightly illuminating the inner flesh of his head.

'Von Weirdigan's' Headband of Mental Acuity interweaves with his Headware sensors sweeping down the track leading into the mine entrance.
Calling the hounds back, Von Weirdigan's enhanced vision detects, a criss cross of golden filaments across the entrance itself, a slight breeze carries fresh air toward the opening.
An aside mate. What happened to Trance on the completion of the Skarathera caper? I remember that she was evacuated out, but due to the super multi tasking distractions I had I forgot to find out. Obviously she is alive but a bit more info would be nice.
Trance's parents occupied fairly mundane professions in a distant orbital habitat, her mother a doctor, her father an accountant.
Upon discovering her role in the Skarathera incident and her obvious aptitude for the Dragon-Net, her parents jobs were transferred to one of the outer orbital installations in the Gothica System.

Some political wrangling on Ivelliian's part allowed Trance to be part of the Post Office, under the supervisory note that should she abuse the privilege it would be removed (It occurred to you that the Empire thought this was probably easier than her hacking her way in).
Just as long as she's alright, that’s all that matters.
Do these golden threads appear to be either a trap or a magical spell or both?

Search of 17

[Otto]

The hounds spread out, Randall crouches to a monkey crawl, shuffling forwards amongst the moss covered rocks leading down to the mine entrance. Enailis stands tall challenging any who would dare come out.
The rest of the pack lie just behind Otto, awaiting his instruction.

<Oi Facknuts, Heka Emissions are fluctuatin’ from the mine shaft, that’s right I said 'SHAFT'>

Watching the threads closely you see small wisps of reddish gold energy waft from the wires, your sight tracks in, the cloud cover above drafting from the moon raising the ambient light, revealing another layer of green crystal shards shattered on the ground beneath the threads.

<SHAFT. Yer damn right... I'm a complicated man who no one understands but my womaan!> Otto sings subetherly as he paces down towards the mine entrance cautiously.

'I can't think where I've heard that song before' he muses.

Otto's Headband sweeps the mine entrance in passive mode as he gets to the opening; quickly he drops to one knee and points the shotgun into the darkness.

He signals the hounds to come closer, and to position themselves on either side of the opening where they won't be seen from inside the mine.

Would it be possible to crawl under or in some other way avoid the golden filaments without resorting to other means. (Smoke make heap fire!)

Not to go underneath it, or rather not for someone of your bulk, there is only about 8 inches between the crystal covered floor and the threads.

Can I identify what kind of spell it might be? If so I want to attempt to drain the magic off it and thus making it inert. The alarm wouldn't go off, as the magic power would be drained from it rather than it being triggered.

I'm basically attacking the spell passively.

Seventh Dimensional Theory of 22.

Arcane Science of 28

[Otto]

I will drain the magic off into my Voltaic Coil if possible.
Concentrating on the Active Heka within the threads, you trace the current to a strand leading into the mine mouth, however you do notice a junction, where two strands cross.

Reaching over gingerly you place four of your fingers on each side of the cross of wires, allowing the 7th D Formula to finalise within your mind, you fail to draw the Heka into the coil but it does bleed out into the surrounding ether.

The flurry of almost militaristic gestures from Otto broke the Altairian Megahounds still, silent vigil. The dogs fell in behind him as he entered the mine. Randle had moved silently further ahead into the darkness.

Looking back briefly he saw that it had started to rain outside, and a thick fog had begun to crawl over the moorland. The wind was getting even stronger now as it lashed the heather and long grass with powerful gusts. Visibility was dropping fast outside, and what had started as a lovely night had now become very unpleasant.

The Arcotech glyphs whined with activity in Otto's head, and through his enhanced vision the darkness of the mine fell away to shades of grey.

From local knowledge that he had gleaned, the mine had been excavated about twenty years ago by the original settlers in Goodlund for coal. The seam had bottomed out within a year of its creation when it was discovered it was just a small deposit, but by all accounts the mine itself was quite extensive.

The once solid beams that supported the tons of rock and earth above them were now precarious and unstable according to Otto's special perception. Also the h20 readings here were also very high in the mine.
Coal dust and debris puffed up in clouds as he and his canine companions footsteps disturbed the floor.

'Not very damp here though.' Otto muses.

The mine continued for some distance in a straight line and if there was any change in the direction of the excavation it was obscured by the low light. The shadow of Randle could be seen crawling forward carefully, his stumpy tail wagging enthusiastically.

Suddenly, a strong blast of cold air coming from deeper in the shaft buffeted Otto's face and startled him.
'Fack!', he whispers. 'I hate it when that happens!'.
'Ruff' a canine voice pipes up beside him.
'What did you call me Raz? You little shit?' Otto growls as he peers into the gloom with trepidation, his finger on the trigger of his arquebus.

'C'mon chaps, before I lose my nerve!' Otto urges the dogs on, glad of their company.

The tunnel is dark but never the less dry, leading into the deeper darkness.

The earthen walls supported by old beams, decrepit lanterns hanging from hooks.

From your hunting trips the hounds know better than making any growls, only Raz dances around.

Initiative Roll.

Initiative of 17

Followed by a Spot Roll and Ref Save.

Spot 18

Reflex 21

[Otto]

Coming to a section of the mineshaft that appears like a rest stop, the passage slightly widened to allow the miners to sit and rest.
Immediately your vision is drawn to the crunch of the material on the floor, quickly looking down you see the normal shale and stone, intermingled with green shards.

A blur of movement bursts from the ceiling of the chamber, a blade passes merely a hairs breath from your face, swinging around to respond you feel the bite of the blade in its return swing upon the back of your neck.

As you orientate, you hear a burst of canine outrage, a figure crashes to the floor as 'Enailis' launches himself above head height, 'Randle' follows great jaws clamping on body parts, and Alabaster lunges, while Raz chases his tail.
A flurry of arms and legs ensues, as the black clad figure, rotates his arms and legs disentangling itself and kicking the hounds away, characteristically it is Enailis that shakes off the kick and readies for a further attack.

The figure stands clad in loose black clothing, clearly designed for stealth and subterfuge, the most noticeable thing about the figure is that despite its face being wrapped and its eyes covered in darkened lenses, you can see the red glow from within.

3 Points of damage.

Lets see how it likes this...

Otto offloads both barrels of the arquebus at the figure.

A shot of 18 and 27.

[Otto]

The figure darts forwards, jade green swirls of energy are apparent upon your Pursiance Band, active Heka bleeding from its form, the green swirls tinged with red.
It avoids the first blast, however its dodging movement takes it into the path of the second that blasts it backwards, as it does so 'Enailis' pounces.

Damage?

10 points

.

The figure spins attempting to kick 'Enailis' away, however the arquebus blast catches your assailant in the shoulder spinning it away.
The arrogant hound hits the assailant, its 200lb frame propelling it backwards, Enailis's teeth sinking into its already wounded shoulder.

It is crazy Raz that charges after the flailing pair; characteristically he goes for the parts other hounds can't reach and sinks his teeth into the assailants’ privates.

'By the Creator' you think 'Their not even fully grown, almost but not quite'
Otto swiftly breaks the barrel of the rifle and reloads two shells into the breech. He deftly closes the rifle with a flick of his wrist and points the business end back at the head of the struggling figure on the floor.
I mentally instruct Randle to search the area close to us as I could quite imagine he would have backup in some form.
I mentally instruct Alabaster to remove the wrappings around the figures head.
Instruct Raz and Enalis to keep hold of the figure but to cause no more damage unless pressed.
'Drop yer weapon and lay your 'ands flat on the floor' Otto barks.

'Now' Says Otto, panting with the pain of the sword strike. 'Unless you want two sleeping pills in the grid I suggest you start talking! Who? What? Where? Why? You get the picture.'

Intimidation of 14

'And I haven't got all fackin' day panjermo?' Otto uses the OfskiNofskiKofski language (An eastern dialect from Xertherus 7) with relish.
Have I been able to glean any information on the green crystals as of yet?