Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, assisting the Hissers of Notex with the sky falling....
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Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout. Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers. Recovering from his injuries from the Glow near Ulmin.
Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties.
Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often. Recently "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies.
Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend. He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters. Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. Looking for trouble in all the right places. Recent jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.
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The debate in front of the locked mess hall doors continued for many minutes. Pete and Lathar kept discussing ways to open the double doors from the hallway, while the chains and lock were securely on the other side. All Squiggles could do was insist all this could be done by going back down to the main floor and accessing the room from the emergency stairs.
While Pete stretched out his weasel arms to reach the lock, then taking a crowbar to unsuccessfully dislodge the door, and Squiggles walking laps around the floor, Lathar emerged with a tin of lantern oil with a host of contraptions attached to it.
"Here, let's see if we can blow this thing option. "
The others scurried to positions around the corner as the barbarian tried to set it among the chains. The device fell apart as Lathar let go, The device did ignite, lighting a small portion of oil, which landed on Lathar's fur vest. The low flame smoldered in the fur, causing an awful stink. The remaining oil drained out of the contraption and pooled inside the room.
After Lathar and Peter both tried to shoulder the doors open, with no success, Squiggles finally won the group over to travel back down the elevator and then up stairs. Once it was determined the previous reactions in the room had vanished, Squiggles began disassembling the cafeteria tables for the larger metal parts. With the sturdier pieces, he was finally able to pop open the lock. The heavy, twenty foot long trail chain was stored in a corner. The lock seemed ruined, but the chain could come in handy.
With the great question of the day finally answered, the explorers finally began going to door within the complex. Most rooms were filled with decaying equipment, damage electronics, with barely any oddities of any note. The rooms had minimal power and lighting, although none of the running terminals could be accessed.
The orange keycard they had obtained gave them access to nearly all the rooms. One room had a broken keypad and a stuck door. Pete used his crowbar to pop open the door, and they uncovered... a latrine. There was considerable moisture, mold, and growth, but oddly the toilet stalls, sinks, and showers were easily identifiable.
Lathar took the lead and after breaking in some sort of song to check the impeccable acoustics, found a skeleton, with ancient clothes still hanging on a hook. The skeleton had suffered a broken neck while alive, but had nothing of note on him. The clothes on the hook, however, netted them a Green keycard off the pocket.
Working further down the hall, they encountered another mess hall, with long, two-foot high metal plates flanking the back walls. A switch on the walls activated the plates, they rose up into the wall to reveal a long panel of windows to the outside. Sunlight poured in, but as the explorers adjusted their eyes, they could see more flaming objects streaking from the sky, crashing around the Hisser village. Thankfully, most of the Hissers had already evacuated, but the damage and intensity of the attacks was increasing.
A lone metal door in the back of the mess hall uncovered another concrete staircase, this one going down, just as similar to one they had previously traversed.
As the main entrance hallway essentially stopped at the elevator, this stairwell was leading down to somewhere else.
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| According to NightCafe Studio, Lathar is ready to attend a Skid Row concert. |
Bonus Content: Thanks to Chat GPT, here's Lathar's song he sings when he's answering nature's call. Unfortunately, he can't sing a lick so it sounded horrible in the facility latrine:
Oh, gather 'round ye hearty souls, and hear the tale I tell, Of Lathar the Barbarian, on a quest none can dispel. He roamed the lands both far and wide, with urgency in his stride, To find a place to answer nature's call, the call he couldn't hide.
(Chorus) With a rumble in his belly and a clenched resolve, Lathar searched for solace, a spot to absolve. Through forests deep and deserts wide, he'd revolve, A barbarian on a mission, his desperation would evolve.
(Verse 2) From towering mountains to meadows serene, Lathar scoured every corner, with a face quite green. His mighty axe now seemed a burden, his priority quite clear, To find a hidden sanctuary, far from prying eyes and ears.
(Chorus) With a rumble in his belly and a clenched resolve, Lathar searched for solace, a spot to absolve. Through forests deep and deserts wide, he'd revolve, A barbarian on a mission, his desperation would evolve.
(Verse 3) Through swamps and jungles, he pressed ahead, His urgency growing, his steps filled with dread. Oh, the battles he'd fought were grand indeed, But this quest for relief was a different breed.
(Chorus) With a rumble in his belly and a clenched resolve, Lathar searched for solace, a spot to absolve. Through forests deep and deserts wide, he'd revolve, A barbarian on a mission, his desperation would evolve.
(Verse 4) At last, a hidden glade he found, where he could finally rest, Lathar sighed in sweet relief, his quest put to the test. He raised his axe up to the sky, in triumph and in jest, For even a mighty warrior needs a place to take a rest.
(Chorus) With a rumble in his belly and a clenched resolve, Lathar searched for solace, a spot to absolve. Through forests deep and deserts wide, he'd revolve, A barbarian on a mission, his desperation would evolve.
So here's to Lathar's quest so grand, a tale of need and grit, A reminder that even heroes have moments they can't omit. In the annals of history, his legacy's secure, A barbarian who conquered all, even nature's call, for sure!
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