thebastion | Core Event: Day 259 [open]

"Adventurer's kleptomania seems a constant, the way we're going, though," Megaera observed, opening an ajar safe and grabbing some gold. Not for the value as cash, but she could do a few things with that and the right spells, she figured. More stuff loaded in, then moving right along.

"We'd best get back to the main group soon, though."

The searching of this particular office do not yield much in terms of money or usable items. Most of what is in here is stacks and stacks of paperwork, all written in Caelondian. There is a set of handcuffs in the drawer, though, along with a key. In the very bottom drawer of the desk there are also two revolvers and a half-empty box of ammunition for said revolvers.

There is also a hat and a coat hanging on the coat rack, and a pile of ashes over by one of the broken windows.

Finally, if anyone is looking, there are old claw marks on the outside of the door. They're definitely not new, whatever made them went through here months ago, but it looks as though they did not have hands for opening the door, but instead just clawed at the door until it swung open.

"Claw marks," Megaera pointed out. "Old, but whatever did them... It's pretty big. Might be near the Core," she observed. "If it is... Could be a hell of a fight."

"Then let us hope it decided to move on before this," Ghaleon replies, stowing the revolvers and ammo away for later; someone is bound to have a better idea of what they are than he. "At best, something of this size and level of aggression is liable to cause a few injuries before it can be put down."

It's not that he's terribly worried about the possibility of getting into a fight with the thing; just not looking forward to the inevitable headache that is engaging in potentially difficult combat with a team he's not worked with before.

".... This is a bad time to mention that we've seen much-larger-than-normal monsters out here before, huh?"

Duke sort of wonders if the gator-creatures have claws, but that's something that could be solved in the bastion, probably.

... Yeah no someone else can take the handcuffs, Duke doesn't see any point to them.

The other offices in this area are much the same: full of paperwork and Marshall equipment. Very few guns can be found, though: the Marshalls usually kept their guns on them.

Also, remember those claw marks on the door? Well, they continue down the hall, to a final door near the end. They are old, but dare you investigate?

If no one else had thought to take the handcuffs, Megaera would have - she's sure she can figure out some use for them.

"... That last door." Megaera pointed it out. "The marks end there. They're old enough that whatever's inside is likely dead, and it likely hoarded something of worth. But the key word is 'likely'. Weapons out, I suggest," she said, drawing a shortsword.

"The only offensive spells I have that are suited for indoor use are rather weak." Duke explains quietly. Potential trouble means no loud talking, and the knight follows her example.

"... How does that door look like it opens?" Or is it half open already. That honestly will change how the knight wants to proceed with poking into the potential lair.

If there are other handcuffs to be found in the other rooms, Ghaleon will have taken at least one pair. They would make a lovely gift for Anya.

"I'm not sure. However, I do know a few spells that are both powerful and not so likely to bring the building down on our heads," Ghaleon offers in an equally hushed tone, drawing his own sword. Not that he's all that keen on using it unless necessary; three uses of any sort of special skill per day means that for missions like this he's more keen on saving that for any emergency healing that might need to be done.

"... Yeah, I don't favor my chances of surviving that even with my own magic. We'll need to stick to the light stuff, if anything," Megaera observed, as she approached the last door. "Ready?"

When they do go in, there is no monster within the room.

There are, however, eggs. At least twenty of them, gathered together in a nest made out of broken furniture and other assorted things.

Ghaleon takes one look at the eggs, spins on his heel, and calmly exits the room. Possibly contend with a mother defending her children with only three people? No thank you.

Ghaleon wins the intelligent party member award.

Duke remembers that the rattle tail nest had shards in it, and sort of wants to make sure there's nothing stuffed in the corners of the room.

On one hand, that is a large amount of eggs, and the claw marks are pretty big. On the other hand, the claw marks are old. Unless the thing had gotten better about now clawing anything up, it probably hadn't been here a while.

... Duke stays long enough to look for anything glowing before following Ghaleon. If there is any glow, Duke wants to go back in.

"I believe the correct phrase for this situation is, roughly..."

Megaera quickly moved out of the room. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope..."

There are shards in the mess of rubble that is a nest, but not that many. Maybe 20 or so.

But look! The sound of talking and the door opening has disturbed the eggs! And now a couple of them are starting to crack open.

Wait around, and your characters might be mommies and daddies to monsters! Or they might get their faces gnawed off, that could happen too.

Eggs hatching or no, Ghaleon is leaving the building. Even if they aren't carnivores by some chance, herbivores can be just as dangerous if they're in a mood. Or worse, they might be the sort of omnivore that will eat pretty much everything in its path.

Hang around? No. Nuh uh. Not a chance.

No, he's just going to tell everyone that yeah, there maaaaay be a bit of a snag in the plan.

Duke takes hatching eggs as a sign of "mom monster is around somewhere", and being around the babies when Mom comes back is a no.

"... Anyone think they can identify what sort of monster they are by the noises they make after hatching?" That could tell them what Mom is, wherever it is, and that could help. ".. maybe from a window or something, rather than the doorway."

"Their mother can handle it, let's just go back the way we came, now, quickly," Megaera said, as she kept right on moving the way they came in.

"I meant in the way of 'So we know what the mother is' Or what we're potentially going to have to deal with if they react to the core." Or so they can tell the rest that there's a nest of what sort of monster in here. It seems like important information.

Of course, running into the mother would solve that just as quickly, so yeah, exiting. But Duke is going to circle the building for windows.

There are indeed windows! And from one of them, the sounds of newborn monsters can be heard, squalling and wailing for food. The exact type of monster is unidentifiable, since it is one nobody present has encountered yet. But there is no sign of Mom yet, so that is good at least?

"With luck, we may even be able to get back to the others to report our findings without being pursued."

Though phrased as a jest, the way Ghaleon's ears twitch slightly at noises as he follows Duke is a bit of a clue that he was half being serious. Call him paranoid, but he knows a potential snafu when he sees one.

"Catching up would be the wisest choice. I'm the one who can escape with the stone in tow once we find it, after all..."

"... I have no idea what they sound like." Well, that plan meant very little. On the other hand, they can now say 'a nest of unidentified monsters', which is still sort of helpful.

".. so we have a nest of baby monsters, no sign of mom, and a core to find. Great." ... If there is no sign of mom, can they keep the babies? ... if the babies don't go crazy when they pick up the core.

Okay, since she's pointing that out, Duke gives her a half bow. "Do you want me to lead?"

Maybe. If the babies truly don't go berserk when the core is retrieved. Then maybe, just maybe the others won't veto taking them back as pets.

Also, that is a useful bit of information to know. "If that is the case, shall I take the rear guard then?"

In any other case, that might not be a terrible idea. Monsters had been adopted by people in the Bastion before, and it certainly could be done again.

But these babies are hungry. Ravenously hungry. So hungry that they are screaming out and scuttling down the hallway in the building, following the scent of the humans who had just been nearby. Humans they intend on eating.

At the same time, another monster is coming. This one is much larger than the eggs had been, but seeing as how it is headed towards the nest with a large, dead animal in its jaws, it is probably the mom.

This monster is easily bigger than a van, and it looks like it could bite a human in half like it was nothing. It is lizard-like in appearance, with the same coloration as most monsters on the Skyway: primarily black, with some blue and orange mixed in.

Also, the mama lizardthing happens to have a glowing spot in its underbelly, definitely large enough to be a core.

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