Heroica RPG - Quest #99: Six Thousand Feet Under

[Endgame]

"GRIMWALD: I possess encyclopedic knowledge on how to remain fully effiecient for a whole 72 hours without the use of any sort of recreational drug, if you would seek access to this information. My creator used to go on for 72 hours without food or sleep."

"Wow, you had a pretty weird maker, didn't ya?"

"I am unable to judge the value of human beings, only identify their emotions. As an example, you were immesurably happy 2142 seconds ago."

Edited May 13, 2014 by Endgame

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Really? That doesn't sound too healthy... but hey, I'm willing to listen! Sounds like it'd be a useful thing to know."

[Endgame]

"Incredibly unhealthy. May lead to fatigue, delirium, mild hallucinations, lack of empathy, decreased appetite, depression, or death if used too extensively. Here are my notes on the matter... ACCESSING DATABASE. Entry found: Entry number 89779856, filed 6 months ago... QUOTE:

-Extreme dedication.

-Any distractions will plunge you into sleep instantly.

-Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine.

...END QUOTE."

The robot almost seemed dissapointed.

"STATEMENT: My database on this was not as expansive as I was originally led to believe. Shame."

"Uh, I thought you were emotionless..."

"I am, as far as my knowledge extends."

[The_Customizer]

Erdathcath surveys the battlefield with the dead Oculoids, and the rescued miners. "Well, I was glad to save you as well, though it does seem Arthur brought us this victory. I say we try to find that crypt you guys found, it may just have some importance. Not to mention, perhaps you miners would like to join us in our quest?"

[Flipz]

Arthur glances at Brittany. "Actually, I'd rather we help them make it back to the surface. I don't want to see them getting hurt again. Not to mention, we need to get this shipment to the surface for the Shadeaux."

[Endgame]

Charles scrawls up a map.

"PLACES VISITED:

Elevator Room

Lower Ridge Left

Connecting Tunnel

Upper Ridge Left

Breakroom

PLACES DESTROYED:

Left Scaffolding

Bridge

PLACES YET TO VISIT:

Rinsing Room

Upper Ridge Right

Right Scaffolding

Lower Ridge Right

Crypt."

"Now, our codes. Mine is 0130135.

"Mine is 1243762."

"And my code is 3104075!"

"Just a note: You're gonna have to break open the boxes, take out the diamonds, and clean them off in the Rinsing Room. You see, they're kinda still buried in tiny pieces of sediment, and obviously the Shadeaux don't want to unearth the diamonds. It is easy enough to figure out... Now, you can escort us up, and head to the Rinsing Room afterwards, if you are ready."

Edited May 13, 2014 by Endgame

[Flipz]

"Sure, we're ready. Oh, and take this to Cobb Alt." Arthur quickly sketches a map of the floor in the connecting tunnel and gives it to Brittany. "Whatever's going on down here has weakened the floor in the tunnel, you'll have to walk that path or make repairs if you want to keep using that passage."

[The_Customizer]

"Yep, lets get to the rinsing room, and get these crates set-up for the Shadeux!"

[Endgame]

"I'll deliver this to Cobb, sure."

"Now, lets get out of this hellhole!"

The party backtracks, leading the miners single file through the treacherous tunnel. They all step onto the elevator, the Minoid pulling up the wooden box with his practical dynamo of an arm. All six of them thread through the first floor's meandering tunnels, where the miners bid the heroes farewell.

"Farewell, heroes!"

"Thanks a ton, heroes!"

The party retraces their steps: through the tunnels down the elevator, up the winding tunnel that ld to the upper ridge, and stopped on the upper ridge. Instead of turning left into the employee breakroom like they did earlier, they instead continue straight, into another cave...

...which held perhaps the most bizzare device the heroes had ever laid eyes on.

A waterfall pourning in from the ceiling rang out a loud whoosh, the sound constant in the room. A bridge led across to an exit, likely to the right upper ridge, but that wasn't what was important right now. Four odd cages dangled in front of the heroes: 2 in front of the waterfall, two in back of it. A silver wheel sits on a pedestal, perhaps the controls to this odd machine.

The party would have to do a little investigating to determine how this machine worked...

[Flipz]

Arthur investigates the silver wheel with his Magnifying Glass.

[Endgame]

The silver wheel holds no traps. It appears to be connected to an intricate system of gears hiden inside the pedestal, but nothing that would be harmful.

[Flipz]

" Well, might as well try it... " Arthur turns the wheel.

[Endgame]

As Arthur turns the wheel, gears moan and grind. The four cages begin to revolve around in a circular pattern, the waterfall pouring onto the cages. For the first time, the heroes notice the cages were made of mesh, water passing right through the cages.

"OBSERVATION: The mine completely uses every resopurce availible, even the waterfalls."

But how was this useful in cleaning the shipment?

QM Note: Note that you currently have the shipment with you, and you can remove them and open and close the cases as much as you like.

[Flipz]

"Ah, I've got it. Clever, that--we tended to mine more from kimberlite, and we used more of an ethereal elixir in our ore-washing process anyway, which made a system like this moot. Hmm...unfortunately, we cannot afford any mistakes, and I cannot be certain whether we need to start here or upstairs until I examine the shipment's current state. Minoid, judging by the ore density and variety of precious minerals these deposits are alluvial in nature, correct? I want to make sure I'm not barking up the wrong stalactite before we proceed." Arthur examines the shipment and uses his Magnifying Glass to determine whether the alluvian matrix has fully lithified and, if it has, whether the cementation agent was calcite, silica, clay, or iron oxide.

OOC: And that, my friends, is why you always keep your college textbooks. On a related note, damn you for making me open a textbook the same day I completed my last final ever.

[The_Customizer]

Erdathcath stands stock still on confusion about what Arthur just stated, five minutes later she speaks, "Umm, so yeah, where I'm from we just get the minerals and jewels pre-cleaned, in which case, I have no idea how to deal with this, feel free to clean them up Arthur!"

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Goodness, you certainly know your minerals, eh Arthur?"

[Flipz]

"Goodness, you certainly know your minerals, eh Arthur?"

"I was a miner myself, during my adolescence. We mostly focused on inherently magical minerals and ore, but there was some gemstone-bearing stone as well. Like I said, though, we mostly dealt with kimberlite--those are deposits created by certain types of volcanoes--which makes since, since the terrain of my homeland is dominated by a great magically-infused volcano. This mine seems to primarily bear alluvial deposits--rock that's a lithified mass of sediment, specifically referring to such sediment when it's been transformed by water and then deposited in a (primarily) non-marine environment. Alluvial deposits are formed when sediment and bits of stone are weathered away from their source by water, deposited somewhere else, and lithified, which is just a geologically specific term for turned to stone. Judging by the age and unusual structure of this island, I wouldn't be surprised if it was formed by the sinking of Mercution. The magical energies and geological forces at play at the time would certainly explain the unusual concentration of valuable minerals, as well as the unusually rapid speed of the lithification process."

"Of course, that's just a hypothesis--I'm not as familiar with sedimentary rock as I am the igneous and metamorphic varieties. I could be completely wrong about this stone being alluvial, though the mining processes here and the local geological terrain dominated by aquatic features are both strong indicators of alluvial and placer deposits."

Edited May 15, 2014 by Flipz

[Endgame]

QM Note: You think that was my intention? I only have an 8th grade understanding of geology, dude.

"...BEGINNING ANALYSIS."

The Minoid seems to simply awkwardly stare at the rock for a short while.

"Using the definitions inputted by your short spiel, I can confirm thatthe shipment bears more semblance to an alluvial deposit although it fails to fit either definition exactly. They also already appered to have been weathered down by the first floor mine's mortar and pestle pedestals, so we simply need to run them through the waterfall to rinse them off and reveal the gems.

QUERY: Can you see any way to get these gems into the cages?"

[The_Customizer]

"It would seem that the cages would have doors, or something through which we could insert the jewels, other than that, there doesn't seem to be another way. Let's try to open the cages, there might be someway to open them."

[Endgame]

Upon further inspection, the cages have latches on them The party clicks open the latches on the two cages that they could currently reach, opening them. What was the final step?

[LordoftheNoobs]

"I image if we just stuff the diamonds in there, they'll probably fall out through the gaps in the bars. However, that being said, I can't see any way that we could secure them."

[Endgame]

"STATEMENT: There is a fine mesh. Water passes through effortlessly, as does sediment... Any important minerals remain entirely safe."

[LordoftheNoobs]

"Oh, good. That makes sense. Sorry, my eyesight is not what it used to be..."

[Flipz]

"Then all that's left to do is to load the two cages we can currently reach, turn the wheel once, and open and load the last cage. Once that's done, all that's left will be to turn the cages through the waterfall until they're clean, and remove the washed jewels."

[Endgame]

The party follows the skirmisher's instructions to the letter, Arthur manning the wheel. After a dozen or so rotations, all of the shipments are washed off, revealing the sparkling gems within. The party opens the cages and pulls out the gems, placing them back into their containers. The party slams the canister shut, their Shadeaux reputation secured. All they would have to do was complete the quest to earn the Shadeaux's favor!

Their sub-mission completed succesfully, the party forges on through the mines. They begin to descend the scaffolidng on the other side of the ridge, approaching the spooky crypt...

On their way down, the Minoid poses a question.

"QUERY: Is to identify to be able to experience?"