[Taocow PBEM] [Alex, Justin and Vesper] Book 3 - Chapter IX - The Sewers

[Aaron Clausen]

>> [GM]
>> The current is powerfully strong here, like a raging river, and in
>> short order Justin, whose customized SAMAS armor is more than
>> sufficient to the challenge, is hanging on to the other two to keep
>> them from being swept away.
>>
>> The tunnel is long and wide, with many smaller tunnels and pipes
>> dumping water and other... things... into the water. As they move they
>> can see a light somewhere ahead. Slowly it becomes clearer.  It
>> appears to be large electric lights, but between them and the light is
>> a large spinning set of blades on a wheel. Perhaps the function is to
>> chop solids into tiny pieces. There is a sort of brick and concrete
>> shelf right by the blades, large enough to fit a few people, but there
>> is no one on there.
>>
>> Alex recalls the sense of fear that she had telepathically picked up
>> from Louissa. This must have been the source. The blades show no signs
>> of damage, so it doesn't look like they were forcibly stopped. But
>> neither does it look like there are any controls to stop them. If
>> Louissa passed that way, at the very least her armor would have taken
>> a beating, if the blades didn't outright chop her to pieces.
>>
>> At that moment Alex and Vesper feel Justin stumble.
>> [/GM]

>> [Justin]
>> "Hey!" Justin says. He stops and begins probing the bottom with his
>> feet. "There's a big hole here, right at my feet, and it goes down as
>> far as I can stretch my feet down. Louissa either went down that, or
>> through those blades."
>> [/Justin]

> [Vesper]
> "Justin you ok ?" Vesper casts a globe of daylight to see better into the
> whole that Justin indicated. "Hmmm well the hole would seem to be easier
> to go then through those blades.
> [/Vesper]

> [Alex]
> "I guess we try that way then?"
> [/Alex]

[Justin]
"I think so." Justin says. "I could get through those blades, but
maybe not a wounded creature, or if it did, you would think we would
see damage."

He waits for a moment, and then Alex and Vesper see his two hounds
coming towards from down the tunnel, trying to swim but being swept
towards the blades.

"One moment." he says, putting one of his SAMAS arms out and catching
the two dogs. "Poor boys. This is no fun at all. Okay, everyone hold
their breath."

With that Justin steps down into the hole.
[/Justin]

[GM]
As the three adventurers and Justin's dogs plunge down the hole, they
can see where a grate has been moved aside. But moments later they are
heading down. There is a vague light, perhaps twenty feet down what
amounts to a large circular shaft.

The end of the underwater shaft is a rough opening that leads to
another narrower passage that tends upwards. They burst to the
surface, finding that passage ends at a small square chamber, perhaps
ten feet by ten feet and six feet tall. There are bits of refuse
around. In one corner are some very ratty old wet blankets, color
uncertain, that look like they've been arranged to make a bed. Here
and there are empty tins of food, and in another corn is a neat stack
of unopened tins.

Along another wall is a metal wheel and beside it is a door, partially
opened. Beyond that is a straight passage lined in bricks that heads
upwards. The wheel itself is still wet and dripping. It appears that
someone who was very wet turned the wheel and opened the door not very
long ago. To confirm it, there are wet splotchy footprints, too wide
it would seem for a normal human, along with regular sized footprints,
possibly from boots, all heading up the brick-lined passage.
[/GM]

-- 
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com