Air 2012/03/04(Sun)16:52 No. 390341 ID: c460ad
File 133090872447.jpg - (47.38KB , 960x544 , 01.jpg )

"This is what that Egghead was looking for?"

"What? Is there a problem?"

why hello~

Have sex with the voice.
Hope it's a dragon.

that better not be condescending I hear in your voice.

*yawn*
Ten more minutes...

Sethrine 2012/03/04(Sun)17:41 No. 390365 ID: c460ad
File 133091166658.jpg - (63.73KB , 960x540 , 02.jpg )

"Who's there!?"
"Seth! What's going on down there!?"

Us, we're here! Please don't go, we've been lonely. Down here, in an abandoned crypt, no one to talk to. Stay with us, please?

Whoo boy, we have a new face here. Alright kiddo, I want you to look at the shiny blue pendant. Wave hi. That is us. Whatever your buddy wanted, they likely have us in mind. We are basically a collection of voices/souls/spirits that tend to give advice. Kind of our job.

Now that the basic info has been dumped, what is the situation?

We are the droids you are looking for. Well, pendant you are looking for. Same difference.

By the way, your friend probably can't hear us.

that's a lovely plumage you've got there. might I ask which hairdresser you go to?

Ooh, a grand purpose this time?
Got any cute siblings?

Sethrine 2012/03/04(Sun)19:33 No. 390380 ID: c460ad
File 133091840552.jpg - (67.39KB , 960x540 , 03.jpg )

!!!

Sethrine 2012/03/04(Sun)19:37 No. 390381 ID: c460ad
File 133091862398.jpg - (61.26KB , 960x540 , 04.jpg )

>>390369
>Whoo boy, we have a new face here. Alright kiddo, I want you to look at the shiny blue pendant. Wave hi. That is us. Whatever your buddy wanted, they likely have us in mind. We are basically a collection of voices/souls/spirits that tend to give advice. Kind of our job.
...So you're worth what he's paying me, then. Seeing how easy it was to get you, I was starting to worry that this was a trap.
Funny though. You look like a junk crystal.

>Now that the basic info has been dumped, what is the situation?
Sure. Since I'll probably be stuck listening to you the whole way back, I'll fill you in.

I'm in the center of the dullest ruin in the entire damned sky, picking you up for some academic. You must be really important to him though. Old fool paid me a fortune to come out here to get you. Told me exactly where you were, and said to keep the whole thing hush-hush. Not a word about it to anyone.

Did I tell you how boring this place is? No working security golems, no deadly drops, no hazardously broken machines. Not even any loot. Just a buncha old junk sitting out in the open. Ugh, I need to get out of here.

>>390375
>that's a lovely plumage you've got there. might I ask which hairdresser you go to?
That's really a really inane question. It just grows like this.

>>390376
>Got any cute siblings?
I take back what I said about you being worth the money. And yes. I do. If you like powerhungry bitches, anyway.

"S-Seth... are you there still?"
"Yeah. Talking to the rock."
"Don't scare me like that. I'm happy you're still-"
"Wait, what?"
"I'll explain later. Get the ship ready for me. We're getting out of here."
"Oh...Okay."

That's my spotter, Keira, by the way. She keeps me alive.

How does a spotter do that? It doesn't look like she's in the room, is she a rearguard or something?

Wow, what did you do to piss that scholar off badly enough to send you after a cursed item?

>>390381
We know many things, Sethrine. The scholar is likely more interested in our knowledge than our charming personality.

Shall we go, then? Or do you wanna rummage around in the other storage units?

gimme a break, I don't even know what year this is, or what species you are, or which universe we're in, or even why you're- oh dear god you have some pretty eyes.

>>390383
Probably watches the exit to prevent that thing where the explorer's rival waits outside the ruin to ambush them and steal the artifact they retrieved.

Yeah. We are sort of a mish mash of various voices from different planes of existence. Hell, I've seen golems rule before. To say the least, we are use to crazy stuff and dealing with crazy stuff. If your scholar wants us, he has a reason for it.

Sethrine 2012/03/04(Sun)21:13 No. 390402 ID: c460ad
File 133092443383.jpg - (81.96KB , 960x540 , 05.jpg )

>>390385
>Shall we go, then? Or do you wanna rummage around in the other storage units?

I've already checked entire rooms like this. I'm sure there's nothing useful here.

>>390388
>gimme a break, I don't even know what year this is, or what species you are, or which universe we're in, or even why you're- oh dear god you have some pretty eyes.
Uh... Thanks? Just don't get any ideas.

>>390383
>How does a spotter do that? It doesn't look like she's in the room, is she a rearguard or something?

She mans the airship while I'm searching for loot. She does all of the techy stuff like watching for changes in the ruin, like silent alarms or failing countergravity. That last one is really important. These places fall out of the sky all the time.

She's also supposed to come and save my ass if it gets too hot. Keira'd probably get herself killed doing that though. She's kind of a wuss.

She does appraisal and repairs too.

>>390390
>Probably watches the exit to prevent that thing where the explorer's rival waits outside the ruin to ambush them and steal the artifact they retrieved.
You'd be surprised how often that happens. Always some pirates or upstart scavenger that-

Sethrine 2012/03/04(Sun)21:14 No. 390403 ID: c460ad
File 133092445248.jpg - (81.96KB , 960x540 , 06.jpg )

"Uh, Seth? We've got company."
Speak of the devil.

from this i say museum. aka a building full of old crap that you just look at.

>>390403
Hey, that crown (is that a crown over there) is blue like us! Considering we can't see any other colors that might be important.

Grab it quick and let's go.

uh. what.

Alright, we are going to need to know how many and what type of enemy you are facing. I hope you are skilled with that sword, because they will likely not be here for tea.

We can handle on the fly stuff though, just get ready and prepare an ambush position. Might want to tell your friend to hide for the moment.

>>390416
point

By 'company', does she mean 'be here in five minutes' or 'running through the entrance right now'?

Well, since she knows what she's looking at better than you, I'd ask her,
"Do we flee, dodge, fight or bribe them Keira?"
But that's just me--a voice who thinks you're a strange and mildly repulsive looking alien in a strange and mildly repulsive looking world. The other voices probably can come up with more amusing advice.

Sethrine 2012/03/05(Mon)14:16 No. 390540 ID: c460ad
File 133098580583.jpg - (50.80KB , 960x540 , 07.jpg )

>just get ready and prepare an ambush position.
Done.

>Hey, that crown (is that a crown over there) is blue like us! Considering we can't see any other colors that might be important.
Can't see very well, can you? Don't know what that thing is, but it's not a crown. It's attached to the platform. I see stuff like this all over the place. Bunch of junk crystals stuck to a flat round thing. Nobody's got any idea what those things are or what they do.

>from this i say museum. aka a building full of old crap that you just look at.
That's stupid. Who would build something that that pointless? Maybe these people went extinct for a reason.

>>390425
>>390418
"Keira."
"Yes?"
"How many, what kind, how long do I have? Have they seen you yet?"
"Looks like pirates. At least a dozen, judging by the size of their ship. There's no way I could take that thing in a dog-fight; just too much artillery. Whoever these guys are, they're either really rich, or really well-funded. Velocity seems to indicate that we've got around five minutes. And no, they haven't spotted me just yet."
"Good. Hide then."
"Already done. I've found some cloudcover."
Well, damn. I'm impressed.

>>390472
"You've got a better grasp on what's up. What should I do, Run, Fight, or Bribe?"
"Finally valuing my input, huh?"
"No, the rock told me to ask that."
"Um-"
"Later."
"Fine. Here's my input:"

Uh, Bribery's out of the question. We're broke, remember?

You might be able to take them in person, provided they don't have any crystal weaponry, which given the looks of thier ship, they might. However, if they find our airship, they'll shred it. That would, needless to say, be bad for me. I could abandon it, but then we'd be stranded here.

Running might be a good idea, if you think you can get out quick enough without getting spotted.


My counter-gravity pack is a couple floors up. If I run really fast, I might be able to get to it before they get here, and if I play my cards right, I might be able to slip back to our ship without getting noticed. If they do spot me though, I'm kinda screwed. I can't outfly an airship.

I could have Keira pick me up from here instead. It would be a lot faster, but would risk getting our ship spotted, and I'd have to abandon my counter-gravity pack. (and those are pricey!)

So, any advice, Great Interdimentional Rock of Soul-Voices? Or whatever you are.

Touch us to the blue crystals!

I think going for the counter-gravity pack sounds best. Even if they are too close for you to go back to your ship, being able to fly sounds handy in a fight.

I suggest a fighting retreat. Play smart, play cautious and get that anti gravity pack. If they are well funded, they likely have better, quicker gear. Being able to move in all three dimensions can give you a better chance.

Now, I take it crystal gear is not just shiny U gather?

Grav pack. No shiny left behind.

get that pack ASAP. fly towards your airship. if the enemy sees you, engage them without blowing Keira's cover.

Sethrine 2012/03/06(Tue)06:49 No. 390669 ID: c460ad
File 133104537884.jpg - (88.78KB , 960x540 , 08.jpg )

>Touch us to the blue crystals!
No time for that. I'll touch the next set. Believe me, there's plenty of 'em.

>>390546
>>390547
>>390549
>>390661
Done.

"Keira. I'm taking off now. Where did you hide?"
"In the opposite direction of your entry point. Probably somewhere behind you, in a big cloud. It'll be hard to miss if you know what you're looking for."

They're getting pretty close. Any ideas on how to avoid their attention?

is that the sun or a floating ball to the left? if ball then throw it so it flies past them if they turn to look at it you will have a shot.

CHAAARGE

No charging in. I would rather not fall a ludicrous number of feet because of bravado. By the looks of it, the enemy air ship's flight system is controlled by those blue crystals, yes? Those break and it loses power, correct? Does your air ship have a cannon of some sort? Because this may be important on our whole escape plan.

Simply put, that is a large ship, you are small. Not sure if you are quicker, but you could likely skim the edge of the floating ruins easily while they cannot get to close. Use that.

Use the various grooves, holes, debris and such as means to not only avoid getting hit, but also as short cuts or ways to avoid direct line of sight. Just make sure you keep moving and that you do NOT move in a straight line. It's harder for their guns to lock on you if you move erratically and that may be key to our survival.

If you make it back to your ship and they follow you AND you have a cannon, fire ONE shot at one of their crystals. Shouldn't sink them outright, but it might slow them down or possibly make controls a lot harder for them.

>>390669
Use the island itself as cover. Hide behind it, over the edge.

>>390708
you hit a spike for 100 yards? don't think so. hitting those things isn't exactly a cakewalk.

ANIMATED Sethrine 2012/03/06(Tue)16:06 No. 390772 ID: c460ad
File 133107877557.gif - (143.47KB , 832x512 , 09.gif )

I take off for the bottom of the island. More cover there, and they might not spot me there.

Sethrine 2012/03/06(Tue)16:10 No. 390774 ID: c460ad
File 133107905809.jpg - (41.52KB , 960x540 , 10.jpg )

*THUK*
Shit. Was that what I thought it was?

yes but they can't get a bead on you. have your friend get under the island below the clouds. then circle it a bit and drop.

stay under cover, maybe they'll move in to get you and that's when you jump onto the ship and, uh, bring a sword to the gunfight.

What is below the ruin, and how far down is it? If it is something like a cloud layer or trees, dropping downwards might be viable.

>>390774
Yep, they spotted you. We've got some sort of view window now but I can't quite make out what's on it just yet. You're gonna want a pickup from your buddy. Maybe you should like, try to make your way over to his cloud while keeping behind the island.

Sethrine 2012/03/06(Tue)17:20 No. 390834 ID: c460ad
File 133108324469.jpg - (40.42KB , 960x540 , 11.jpg )

*THUK*
>>390782
But sure how much of a chance I'd stand against a ship full of heavily-armed pirates, but I've got nothing better right now.

>>390775
>>390789
Nobody knows what's under the clouds, only that nothing that goes below the them ever comes back up. I'm not going down there, and neither is Keira.

>>390802
>We've got some sort of view window now but I can't quite make out what's on it just yet.
Looks like the room with the model airship and the Junk-Crystal-Thing.

>Maybe you should like, try to make your way over to his cloud while keeping behind the island.
Might work if I'm fast enough. If I'm fast enough, and it's not too far between this island and that cloud Keira's hiding in.

I need to make a move quick. They're gonna find a way to flush me out sooner or later.

hmmm... i think we got the window for a REASON. let's wait a little be longer see if something moves into view of it.

>>390834
Oh, that's an actual window, then. Reviewing the history, it looks like that was there all along! I thought it was a painting, but it was an alternative exit. We probably should've used it. Drat. Well, you can just go back inside and wait for the pirates to come in to get you, then take them on in melee? It's either that or find the location of your ship to see if it's possible to get to it.

Hey, are you able to read the writings in the 'museum'? Maybe we can, if not... then we'd be able to tell you what the mysterious objects do.

Sethrine 2012/03/07(Wed)15:14 No. 390992 ID: c460ad
File 133116209803.jpg - (78.46KB , 960x540 , 12.jpg )

I land inside.

"Seth, they're boarding the Ruin. Expect company in less than three minutes. Another one followed you by air."

>Hey, are you able to read the writings in the 'museum'? Maybe we can, if not... then we'd be able to tell you what the mysterious objects do.
Nope. Nobody can read it, that I know of anyway.

grab the model ship thign and drop it on the guy following you

>>390992
What weapons do you have? Also um, take a closer look at some writing, maybe hold us up to it so we can look at it. Maybe there's something here of use that we can activate.

what's with the blue spikes jutting out of your back?

>>391004
blue crystals are apparently a main component in flying machines.

Sethrine 2012/03/07(Wed)16:56 No. 391012 ID: c460ad
File 133116818233.jpg - (30.40KB , 960x540 , 12.jpg )

I hold you to the plaque.
First Modern Multiple-Passenger Flying Machine
Built in 1123AI by Aurine M.D.
See projector for details

So we can read it. It says the little airship is a model of one of the first multi-passenger airships.

>>391012
It says:
First Modern Multiple-Passenger Flying Machine
Built in 1123AI by Aurine M.D.
See projector for details

if we can get the projector on it could be a great distraction. the projector is most likely the thing with the ring of crystals.

1/2 Sethrine 2012/03/07(Wed)18:33 No. 391049 ID: c460ad
File 133117398374.jpg - (50.68KB , 960x540 , 13.jpg )

>>391014
>>391019
I'm sure the eggheads'll love that. Me?

2/2 Sethrine 2012/03/07(Wed)18:36 No. 391052 ID: c460ad
File 133117421582.jpg - (43.50KB , 960x540 , 14.jpg )

I couldn't give two flying shits about that stuff.

PIRATE: "Well... Fuck."

wave bye sarcastically and if you can grab the crystals that popped off. having extra probably can't hurt. and if the projector can come off the stand it could be useful if re-rigged. have it set to project what looks like you and then people will think you are one place when you are actually somewhere else.

Ask your pilot if any of them are carrying weapons.

This one doesn't seem to have. Make sure he doesn't grab you or anything!

Flip him the bird

Sheesh, you think they would at least put a protective cage over those vital and easily breakable spines...

These guys are bound to have communicators, so they will be hearing your position from this guy shortly. You need to relocate, probably around the outside of the ruin. (Now that I think about it is there a chance they have something that can intercept the signal from your communicator?)

>>391093
maybe they need exposure to operate properly? basically they are ether exposed or don't do the floaty thing.

Sethrine 2012/03/08(Thu)14:03 No. 391208 ID: c460ad
File 133124421225.jpg - (39.98KB , 960x540 , 15.jpg )

>>391055
"Bye."
PIRATE:"Bitch! She's got the Crystal, I repeat, the scavenger's got the Crystal! She's on the third floor down, near the window overlooking the west side!"

>if you can grab the crystals that popped off. having extra probably can't hurt.
Tough to go anywhere without trippin' over one. Besides, it'd put me in wing's reach of him. I'm sure he'd love to try to take me with him.

>and if the projector can come off the stand it could be useful if re-rigged. have it set to project what looks like you and then people will think you are one place when you are actually somewhere else.
What part of "nobody's ever turned one on" did you miss? I don't know if I, or, hell, even Keira can make it work. Besides, it's welded down.

>>391088
>Flip him the bird
Uh, what?

>>391075
Don't even need to ask Keira about that one. The guy I just doomed's got a sword. I'm sure the rest are armed. They're PIRATES for Gods' sakes!

>>391102
I'm not an expert or anything, but that's what Keira says about em'

I hear voices yelling down the stairwell. They sound pissed.

climb up.

again, tap us to the crystals on the projector.

actually just noticed, on the bottom of the projector stand is a hole.

Shit they're after us too. Why the fuck but don't answer that now. You have to keep us out of the pirate's hands at all costs! Can you just skim the lower cloud layer to make it look like you fell in? Even if you get to your ship unseen they'll just hunt around until they find it, while you're stuck hiding in a cloud. Man, this sucks.

Sethrine 2012/03/08(Thu)15:28 No. 391233 ID: c460ad
File 133124928506.jpg - (23.70KB , 960x540 , 16.jpg )

I try putting you into the hole on the projector. I hear the machine whirr something in a language I can't understand.

"Ignition key accepted. Starting playback from last known point."

Sethrine 2012/03/08(Thu)15:30 No. 391236 ID: c460ad
File 133124941206.jpg - (59.25KB , 960x540 , 18.jpg )

"...despite mocking from his colleagues and lack of funding, Dr. Aurine continued his reasearch into countergravity, finding..."

I pull you back out, there's no way I'm leaving you in that thing. I keeps going. The yelling from the stairwell is getting louder.

hide in the stuff on the ceiling. they will probably get distracted by the working projector and you can get the drop on them.

also it's the story of where your flying machines come from.

why not keep it running as a distraction? you could jump on 'em while they check us out.

>>391236
Are those curtains hanging from the ceiling? You could tangle everyone up in them.

Too bad we don't have time to rummage in the storage unit for some sort of weapon that we can turn on.

Sethrine 2012/03/08(Thu)18:27 No. 391275 ID: c460ad
File 133126002579.jpg - (92.56KB , 960x540 , 19.jpg )

>>391243
>>391238
Already done.

>>391239
*Yawn*
Tell it to Keira when we get back. She might care.


Dog Pirate:"The hell is that thing?"

Bat Pirate:"Ah-ha, Ah-ha, so that's what those things do!"

Lizard Pirate:"Guys, Wer supposed to be lookin' for the scavenger, 'memeber? Somethin' ain't right here. She's suppos'd to be here."

Damn. Looks like they're armed to the teeth. Looks like that bat's got a crystal rifle too.

Looks like one with melee weapons who is under you and two others with ranged. If you drop on the lizard-man you could probably do away with him and get the one with the rifle due to the awkwardness of rifles in close quarters, but that would still leave the one with the crossbow...

Can you flight pack accelerate with enough force to let you quickly shove the sword guy (or his body) into the crossbow pirate?

does that crystal rifle have spikes sticking out the top? if so then yeah, ram lizard into dog, spin around and kick the rifle up so the guy spikes himself, keep momentum and sword next guy.

Or we could just stay up here until they check the other room.

Hmm. You could take out the one with the gun first, steal the gun, and use it to kill the other two. Or just take the one with the gun hostage.

If you do go for a quick end for the Lizard, be sure to use his body as a meat shield. Not sure how good the penetration power is, but having a body in the way is always a plus when dealing with twitchy gunners.

stab the rifleman dead and quickly put the burly guy between you and the crossbowman.

Sethrine 2012/03/15(Thu)16:34 No. 393086 ID: c460ad
File 133185448605.jpg - (73.61KB , 960x525 , 20.jpg )

"...welding a standard catalyst crystal to a power crystal..."

>>391278
>Acceleration
The counter-grav pack doesn't push me anywhere. Only makes me near-weightless.

Expect less frequent updates. Classes started back up, so I've got less time to work on this.

If the anti-gravity field extends to things you are carrying you can probably use it to make the bat near-weightless so you can use him as a shield against the lizard's strike while taking cover behind the pedestal from the crossbow pirate.

throw dude at lizard. duck behind pedestal. crossbows only get one shot between loads. then rush them.