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Ethnis Discussion Boards Spoke 1 - The Belly of Jhoutai
  Barron
Sun, Oct 8th 2023 09:07   Edited on Wed, Nov 22nd 2023 09:20

Rak'knor's Delve

Welcome to the Abyss, Rak'knor. A depth of which few have reached. You have spent your adult life exploring and hunting in the corralum, but you can count on one hand how many times your journeys have taken you this deep.

The Abyss is not a place for Sophontic life, with threats both inanimate and very much alive. It is a place lit solely by the creatures who survive in the porous fathoms-deep underbelly of the planet Jhoutai.

[Optional Anthropology check]

Traversing through the layers of Corralum into the Abyss is more an epic than a mere journey. For this Epic down, you were patroned to make the trip on behalf of the reputable Kajh-owned Brewfist Family. Their holdings are some of the richest in Kajh-tai, but are also built upon a yawning Abyssal Corralum formation that consists of several support pillars. You and your partner are down here to inspect and reinforce the pillars.

You are Team Two. Consisting of yourself, and the Aen Engineer. Team One had gone a day ahead of you, a Hiserabi Scout and a Kajh solid mage.

You are nearing the end of your two week journey. The last leg of your Journey starts in the Abysall Research Post. In reality, it was more of a tiny reinforced metal and concrete corridor. You only gleaned the name of Post when you saw it chiseled by claw on the metal door, 'Aki K'khreiak', Saza for 'Tiny Retreat'.

Tiny served an Apt description, half of the space had been consumed by bulky electronics, and instruments for both geological and biological readings. The other half sported two slightly reclinable chairs, a cabinet, and a workstation.

Both ends of the research base are capped by doors, you came in through one and will be leaving through the other. The gunmetal grey airlock door is broken up by the colorful labeling of warnings and advice.

One seat is occupied by your partner and giga-form biologist. They had proved their worth on the way down, their knowledge of the corralum ecology saved you a lot of trouble on the way down. The Aen sported an ecstatic grin that looked good on them. They looked ready to talk, if you were so inclined.

  Jirmack
Sun, Oct 8th 2023 09:54
[2d - 1 + 0 (anthropology) = 1]   Rak'knor, the tall nasyk, seemed to bridle with equal excitement. The further down they went, the more energy he seemed to have - though the long trek had taken its obvious toll. Fur unkempt, the wild mane untamed - but those were quite secondary things at the moment.   "Hey!" He greets, sliding into one of the available seats. "What is new? Everything functional?" He asks, knee moving up and down. It felt good to have reached their destination. It would feel better to reach the next. "Settling in? Quite cramped, isn't it?"
  Barron
Mon, Oct 9th 2023 02:34
[Anthropology Failure]

The Aen, Ar'ryn stood from his seat. It only took two steps for him to cross the room, reading from the machinery that hummed away. "Well so far everything seems good. Atmosphere seems good, low seismic activity. Looks like we chose the good time to come."

He eyed the door ahead, and his tail twitched in anticipation. "I'm fine, Aempian apartments are about this size." He laughed it off. "Despite missing warm showers, it's exciting to be so far down where only thousands may have gone before, right?"

Ar'ryn paused, and took his piercing golden eyes off the readings to focus on you. "What about you? You good? We should be good to move any moment now."

  Jirmack
Wed, Oct 11th 2023 08:47
"We will find ways to stay warm!" Rak'knor replies with an enthusiastic grin, his own tail flicking. The tall and broad-shouldered Nasyk took several steps forward, looking at the machinery past Ar'ryn's shoulder as well. He had a scent of the earth, a sharp tinge dancing around the edges of it.   "All green." He then says, looking directly back at the engineer. "Ready to take a deep breath and dive. Anything we should be looking for?" He pulls up the respirator that had been hanging around his neck and covers his face with it, while waiting for the reply.
  Barron
Fri, Oct 13th 2023 02:23

Ar'ryn taps through the layers of green-hued GUI on the console. Even when Rak'knor slides in to look at the machinery, he flits through it like lightning. Temperatures here, seismic monitoring there, then it's all gone and replaced with humidity and spore density readings.

 

"Well, sounds like Team One is already at the first pillar, so hopefully it's just a simple game of 'follow the leader.'" Ar'ryn remarks, powering down the console. He follows Rak'knor's lead, and reaches for his own respirator. He fastens his own to his face, spindly limbs of orga-tech pulling the mask taut to his envirosuit.

"Hopefully, it'll be nice and quiet. Gives us more time to enjoy the sights, right?" Ar'ryn gestures to the air-cycle lever for the airlock. "Pull it when you are ready. Unless you wanna talk your nerves out a bit?" Rak'knor senses the smile even behind the chitinous mask now covering the Aen's face..

  Jirmack
Sat, Oct 14th 2023 04:08
Rak'knor attempts to keep up with the information rapidly changing on the screen, but he was glad somebody understood the numbers better than he did. Tying up the last of his suit and making sure nothing was leaking, he nods his head firmly.   "Sight-seeing sort? Ha! Then you are in the right field." The large Nasyk chuckled, clapping Ar'ryn on the shoulder. "Been down this road enough to feel nothing but excitement. Or are you feeling the nerves?" He asks, leaning a bit against the engineer.
  Barron
Wed, Oct 18th 2023 01:48
"I've always been fond of nature, deciphering the mysterious puzzle of Jhoutioan gigaforms." He mused, and allowed the Nasyk into his space. The two Sazashi had to be very close the entire way down, so this cramped box was no different.   "Though I've never had a chance to go this deep before." He continued and rechecked his own gear.   "Imagine how few people get to see the Kajh-Tai Abyssal Range in person, right? Ten Thousand at most."   He motioned to the airlock, the silent ask of "Exterminators first!"
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Sat, Oct 21st 2023 08:08
The nasyk's eyes were grinning at those words, before he slaps the other on the shoulder. "Soon we won't have to imagine anything." A playful sort of swipe from his tail heralds him strapping in the last of his equipment; making sure all the seals and straps were appropriately tightened and in the appropriate places.   Then it was the door.   "Keep a good eye out!" Rak'knor calls out, before he steps towards the airlock.
  Barron
Sun, Oct 22nd 2023 06:45
An familiar unsettling hiss of atmospheric equalization chills their blood, and a grating buzzing alarm goes off within the outpost.   A trio of metal thunks reverberate through the tiny space. The door, now unlocked, swings open to reveal the Abyss. Outside, it looked akin to the view of a stomach from the perspective of a microscopic organism. Throughout the massive chamber, pillars as wide as buildings themselves connect the ceiling and floor like an impossibly long strand of muscle and stone. A great sea of water stretched out like an inky black expanse, only broken by the occasional corralum formations that created jagged walkways and cliffs throughout the underground sea.   The air clung to their exposed fur immediately. Moisture seeped into them even through the protective layers. The humid air was remarkably warm, considering just how far underground the Sazashi have come.   Past the shore of the underground sea, the glint of a lantern flickered in the distance.
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Mon, Oct 30th 2023 09:28
The door opens.   Rak'knor takes in a deep breath, his chest expanding and fur standing up, as he lets the next unknown flit against his fur. The first step was always the most exciting one. Turning towards Ar'ryn, there were no words - just obvious joy in his eyes.   But, the task awaits, and the nasyk starts carefully walking into the cave proper. "There's the lantern," He calls out to his fellow partner in exploration. "Take hold of me if you start to get lost." His tail flickers playfully, before he starts to wade deeper into the area.
  Barron
Tue, Oct 31st 2023 12:10
Ar'ryn's fangs glimmered behind his smile, he looked everywhere. Pictures of everything from giant corralum pillars to the tiniest of Rutas were photographed and catalogued via his communicator.   Ar'ryn brought his focus back to Rak'knor, and shot a knowing wink. "I'll take you up on that. Keep your tail handy"   His gaze fell off to the lantern and the water crossing between them and the light source.   "We're going to have to find a way across to them." The Aen scratched one of his long ears in thought. He stepped out past Rak'knor, and gestured out to the distance, where a rope dangled across the water with a dinghy below it.   Past that, a natural corralum ridge had grown over the pitch black water. It looked stable enough from a distance, but corralum was a finiky thing.   "We got the corralum bridge over there or we can take the dinghy."   Both options came with their own risks.   A short range message popped up in your headset notifications.   [A Team to B Team] "Hey B Team, glad you made it. Just a warning though, we found a pair of bodies over here. Old but perserved. We've already sent the alert topside but survey's on hold til we get the corpses clear."   "Not unexpected." Ar'ryn, voice upbeat but ears folded back. "Though I'm surprised someone could make it this far without tripping any of the pathway alarms."     Ar'ryn saved Rak'knor the trouble of responding.   [B Team to A Team] "A Team, good to be here. Shame about the hold up, we'll keep our eyes open on this side. We are just choosing our way over."
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Sat, Nov 4th 2023 09:29
That tail swished and swayed, while Rak'knor weighed his options. Both felt just as difficult to him, but.   "Not in the mood today to get crushed by sharp rocks! How about we take the scenic boat route?" He asks from his partner.   The news makes him tilt his head. "Corpses? A moment for the lost," He bows his head respectfully. "Maybe we will find more about them along the way!" A good mystery is never passed upon.   "Shall we?"
  Barron
Sat, Nov 4th 2023 10:38
Ar'ryn seemed more than eager to move along, hopping down the shore towards the boat at Rak'knor's suggestion. "Agreed. Never trusted thin corralum, and it's got me this far in life."   They approached the moored vessel, a small two person synthetic raft. Not exactly the most durable ship, but getting anything this deep was a challenge.   The boat groaned and adjusted to the weight of its passengers. Ripples sloshed into the brackish glassy water. Beneath them, an inky blackness reached down kilometers but could only be scryed a meter deep.   Without an engine and without oars, Rak'knor and Ar'ryn were left with only a rope as propulsion, but at least it also kept passengers from drifting away.   [A Team to B Team] "You took the boat too? Enjoy the ride, it's peaceful."
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Thu, Nov 9th 2023 09:05   Edited on Thu, Nov 9th 2023 09:19
"Hah. Do not be so eager to trust depths of the water either!" And it was not so easy on the fur, either.   Rak'knor hummed as he let Ar'ryn do the talking on the comms, he instead focusing on eyeing the raft. Rope for propulsion - not the most convenient, but workable solution.   After a moment, he steps next to Ar'ryn. "Do you like me to do it solo, or take turns?" He asks playfully.
  Barron
Fri, Nov 10th 2023 02:14
They pushed forward across the water, propelled by Rak'knor's arms guiding them boat across the glassy sub-surface sea. Ar'ryn peered over the side and into the depths.   "Yeah, falling off the bridge wouldn't be much better than this." A twinge of unease rocked his upbeat tone.   Ar'ryn's claws gripped into the edge of the boat. Rak'knor made good pace across the water, the ripples faded into the distance behind them. The smooth sound of parting water and the tug of the rope kept them company.   [A Team to B Team] "Do either of you have a mechanical tool kit? We found some sort of device beneath the corpse. I queued a message up to basecamp."   An image followed the message, a pair of emaciated corpses, rotted away almost to the bone. Between them, a chain of crystals connected by fine wire.
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Fri, Nov 10th 2023 10:55
Rak'knor pauses for a moment and leans back. "Can always hold onto me." He suggests with a toothy smile. "Won't slip and fall that way."   The message rises his curiosity though - and while the sight was gruesome, down here it was good to keep level head. "No... those bodies have been here a while... haven't they...?" He mutters by himself, trying to puzzle together what could have caused their deaths from the image.
  Barron
Sat, Nov 11th 2023 07:36   Edited on Sun, Nov 19th 2023 08:44
Ar'ryn takes the advice, a bit too literally. He reached for Rak'knor's tail, holding the thick appendage tight *just* in case if he starts falling.   "Sorry, I don't like too much open water, you know?" Ar'ryn confided. He had the image open as well. "A while maybe, but the Corralum eats up organic matter quick. Sazashi included."   [Biology Check Failed]   Rak'knor zoomed into the corpses, the clothes and upper layer of flesh had decayed away revealing the bone beneath. What flesh remained had become water bloated in the moisture. Trying to determine what killed them beyond the natural decay proved difficult.   Ar'ryn had his focus on something else. "That looks like a Meta device of some sort. Doesn't look friendly that's for sure."   He highlighted the stringed-together crystalline device.   [A Team to B Team] "We're going to try to dispose of this, we can't really work with it here. Either of you good with meta?"  
  Rak'knor Dust-Eye
Mon, Nov 13th 2023 09:03   Edited on Sun, Nov 19th 2023 08:37
That *thick* appendage kept slowly swaying, as if to try and rock Ar'ryn just a bit. "It is your fault for being so edible." He calls out over his shoulder, teeth showing. "Just cling on tight and this boat will glide just fine!"   Rak'knor also looks at the device for a time, trying to decipher its purpose. "... it doesn't look strange to me."   But, there were boats to be pulled along, so the nasyk returns to task at hand with new vigor.
  Barron
Sun, Nov 19th 2023 09:19   Edited on Sun, Nov 19th 2023 09:20
Ar'ryn forced out a laugh, catching just enough of Rak'knors confidence to stop his ceaseless shaking. Though his hands gripped tight enough onto the raft to hear claws digging into the synthetic fiber.   "I'm gonna get payback somehow I swear to the Wheel." Ar'ryn promised.   Rak'knor moved the vessel while inspecting the device. He shared Ar'ryns immediate appraisal. The Nasyk had seen devices like this one before, but mostly in movies and shows. A Metabomb, and one that had been left down here for quite a while if the frayed wires were anything to go by.   They continued to glide across the water, their boat halfway out across the pitch-black sea.
  Jirmack
Wed, Nov 22nd 2023 09:20
"Plenty of time for that." Rak'knor purred, giving his tail a bit of a sway to try and tickle Ar'ryn's side. "Keep your heart on that."   The device gets his curiosity though, and he keeps eyeing the feed for a moment. "That is not a bomb, right?" He finally speaks up. "I have seen those in the screens."   The nasyk continued to pull the raft along.

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