POOHEAD189

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Will update everyone this weekend.

Damned to the Depths

A deadly glint was in Markus' eye and he grinned. "Let's."

No sound emanated from below, though it could have been drowned out by the shudders and worried whispers of the bandits behind them. Hayikk cleared his throat and strode toward the two dark corsairs. Markus, his stygian cloak swept back behind him, placed his fingers upon the strong of his blade and whispered an incantation, using the archaic word for 'fire' and 'enchant'. "Curuvin" and a white flame roared to life on his blade. It wasn't a large fire, but even so the men jumped back. Hayikk fell over onto his subordinates, though Calliope and Markus had already begun their descent into the dark.

The stench of decay grew more palpable as the two lightly stepped into a small hewn chamber of rock, on instinct stepping over any of the rougher rocky edges at the small 'archway' if it could even be called that. The light showcased a room of rock, but to their surprise the floor was littered with corpses. Mangled bodies wearing bronze armor and ancient helms lay strewn across the small cavern floor, bones and jaws broken. Their flesh was still decaying, but upon inspecting them, Markus could tell they had spent centuries within this room, their flesh only now decaying more rapidly due to the opening of the doorway behind them. At the end of the room, door of brass and framed with an archway of shining jade lay cracked open.

Hayikk peered into the room, eyes widened with fear. Only his greed kept him moving forward. Behind him, one of his band whispered. "What heathen spirits devoured these men?" in a raspy tone that echoed across the stone. The statement was followed by a haughty chuckle, coming from the sleazy mustached bandit. He was the last to descend, sword out and helm donned. "You fool, they must have simply starved down here-"

He stepped onto the crack between the stairway and the room; a low rumble caused everyone to turn. His bravado gone, the greasy man decided to leave his comrades to their fate, now taking three steps back up the roughly carved stairway to the exit. Little did he know he was dooming himself from the first. Markus laid eyes on him just in time to watch the walls on the stairway slam inward, halting the man's cries in one terrible instant, leaving him crushed into dust and, leaving the rest of them trapped here.

The torches flickered from the burst of wind with only the Captain's blade unyielding in its light. Hayikk cursed, throwing a bone at the new wall behind them. "That fool! Bloody coward!" He cursed. It took the big man to keep him from running over to kick the wall, and Markus shook his head. "We can only go forward," He remarked, somehow more thrilled at what lay ahead from the clear danger around them. It wasn't exactly a healthy mindset, but Markus had learned to live with it. Perhaps that's why he got on so well with a sorceress tyrant.

He opened the brass door fully, leading the way with Calliope close behind him. His eyes meticulous in their search for any more traps that lay before their feet. He stepped quietly, nearly half a dozen feet into the room before he saw they were in a vast domed chamber, with crumbling pillars and fallen cyclopean statues strewn in ruin from age and some violent cataclysm that had driven through here. Upon the edges of the rooms were suits of armor made of bronze and studded diamonds with helmets of horsehair. Beside them were silver scaled corseletes studded with lapis lazuli. A great hole had been wrought upon the left side of the chamber, leading into a dark cavern and upon the center of the room was a dias which bore an obsidian statue of a scorpion.
@Penny

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

That wasn't something Skrivver foresaw, and the same could be said for the Xenos who's grip on Rico slackens. The pilot wriggles out of its grip and slides away with a screeching of his shoe leather over the station-steel floor. "What? I never said!" The underboss says, but as Miranda speaks, he clearly feels this was killing two birds with one stone. Having the pilot help get his boss back to pay off his debt, though it also meant that if he were to die he wouldn't get any of what the pilot owes him. Still, he thinks for a moment and acquiesces to the request. "Fine, but he still owes me. He can talk to Marco about that maybe, but you have to grab him first!" The fellow declared, and waves you all off. If there was no more questions among you, then it would be time to depart. The pilot practically leaps into the ship to keep the xenos off of him, and the two fellows smoking laugh again. Until Skrivver smacks one over the head, that is.

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Can't really argue with 2 6's

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Don't worry, I encouraged jumping in. Plus we've just started. It's bound to be a little unsure near the beginning. With rolls and posts and everything :)

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Cool, then I'll post in a bit.

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

@Dragoknighte Does this mean you pass on this turn?

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

@Dragoknighte Thank you for catching that. I read that two days ago but it must have slipped my mind today when I was talking to Lauder. I'm still getting used to the game as well and it's been a busy week.

@Penny Nice crit! Now are you trying to have them ease off Rico or are you trying to recruit him from the pirates? If it's the latter I'll need an edit in your post to make that explicit in what she's trying to do. If the former then you're golden.

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Skrivver turns his attention to Ito, his mangled face muddied in confusion. "What?" He asks you, though you realize it's more of a rhetorical statement than him wishing you to repeat yourself. Rico tries to turn his head to look at you but he's stuck in his position, being pressed into the hull. "He's not a member of our band. He bloody owes me! You know what? Just for that he now owes me 2,000." Skrivver gives you a gaptoothed grin, clearly enjoying raking up the price as long as he's given a reason. "You and your new crew better get the fuck out of here and get us Marco or we'll string this pilot here up and use him for target practice!"

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As this is the prologue, nothing bad happened to you personally. But generally a 6 is a favorable outcome, a 4-5 is a partial success, and a 1-3 is a bad outcome which means not only do you fail, but something bad happens. In this case, the pilot was simply given a larger debt, but that doesn't mean it can't be talked down nor he can't win his freedom.

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Sure! I could respond post haste

Scum & Villainy: Black Market Runners

Remember, people need to tell me they pass on the chance to roll or I am going to assume they are going to post.