GURPS Banestorm PBBB narrative thread

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Good job we went to the infirmary first, right?

Do we have what we came for?

Thwip

(based on info in the other thread)

He hears a ping. He sees Jabril immediately flinch and pull his hand back.

Good job we went to the infirmary first, right?

Seeing the man go slightly green around the gills… and attractive skin tone to be sure, but unnatural for his companion… Thwip tries to steady Jabril with one hand while holding out the other for the box.

Do we have what we came for?

Thwip addresses the others, “He got spikedt. Take 'im an make sure he’s okay.” He speaks to Jabril, “Lemme take a crack at t’ box while yi let t’ otters look at yi, please.”

Blue Hawk

Hawk kneels down and looks at Jibril’s finger.

“The bottles we took will not do much good if this was poison. We cannot know which bottle would have the cure. We should hope that whatever did this to you is either dried out or spoiled from age.”

He looks around.

“Did anyone here know poisons? If it is poison, the spirits can heal him, but it is much easier if I know what poison to heal.”

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM POST

Examining the base of the cabinet that Jibrīl was fiddling with when he got spiked, Thwip sees that the needle is still exposed and the trigger is still depressed. Apart from a drop of blood, the needle appears dry.

About a foot away from the spiked trigger, Thwip finds another similar hidden latch.

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar draws a crossbow bolt and holds it out between Thwip and Jibril. “Looks like ye may want to poke around with something else, try to keep your fingers safe.”

Thwip

He takes the bolt, “Tank yi. I left my ‘Collapsible Rod And Chain Device Fir Adventuresome Sentients’ back holdin’ t’ front dore open.”

Thwip begins to try and trigger the poison darts he’s confident are hidden somewhere around his groin because that would just have to happen, wouldn’t it?

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM POST

As Thwip pokes the second latch with the crossbow bolt, the mechanism clicks, and the first trigger returns to the raised position as the needle withdraws. Unlike the first, the second latch does not stay depressed, and did not reveal any needle; it is apparently untrapped, and returns to its starting position when released.

Both latch triggers are now as they were when you arrived; no secret compartment opened so far.

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

I feel a little…odd. Strange sensation in my hands, heart is pounding. Feels like it’s getting warm in here…

Blue Hawk

Hawk waits a few moments for someone present to volunteer previously-unmentioned knowledge of poisons. On the one hand, he wants that information for Jibrīl’s sake, but on the other hand, he’s not sure he wants to be in a group with someone who has reason to have that knowledge. If it were another healer, then sure, but who else would have a legitimate…

Hawk pauses that train of thought when, with no one having offered any poison knowledge, Jibrīl starts to react to whatever was on the needle. Whatever is on there, it must be working fast. As much as he’d hate to lose the extra time to make this work properly, he decides to do it slowly and carefully and get this right the first time.

Drum in hand, he starts tapping out a rhythm; it has the same basic beat as the one he has previously used for healing, but it has almost a sinister tone to it. He calls out to the spirits in his language, asking the spirits of the trees and plants, which clean the water and the air, to come forth and cleanse the impurities in his companion’s blood.

As the shaman nears the end of the chant, he feels the spirits flow through him with an almost eager alacrity, and he knows that he has called them properly. Almost a minute after he started, that “sinister” patterning gets softer within the drum beat, and gets softer, until only the basic underlying beat is there, and then that ceases as well, and, already on his knees, Hawk slumps further, not quite collapsing.

“If… you are not any more… trying to die,” the shaman says wearily, “I will be against that wall,” Hawk indicates a spot next to the room’s entrance, “so that you can not-die later, too.”

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM POST

As Thwip presses both triggers simultaneously, the mechanism clicks again. However, this time no needle appears; instead the inside base of the cabinets pops up slightly.

Carefully lifting the raised panel reveals a portable locked box within. The box is metal, octagonal in shape, about a foot across and two inches tall. There are four keyholes evenly spaced around the sides of the box.

The top is engraved with a single word: Haram.

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl sits to recover, although he is already feeling better.

“You have my gratitude, Blue Hawk. I’m beginning to build up quite a debt to you.”

He glances at the box.

“Forbidden, eh? By who, and for who, I wonder? Lord Arron - is this what you seek? Do you want us to try to open this, or shall we leave that to you?”

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM POST

“No”, croaks Aronn. “That is not what I was looking for”.

“We may as well find out what it is, though” he adds. “Think you can open it?”

Blue Hawk

Hawk has reached the doorway by this point, and uses the wall to help him stand.

“You owe no debt; I am here not to fight, and have been paid by Lord Arron for what have done.”

He raises an eyebrow, though, when they suggest opening the box. “If the outer box for what is in there gives poison when opened wrong, I will wait out of room while you try opening inner box. Be safer with spider. Or demons.”

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl sighs, and takes out his picks again.

I hope there’s nothing nasty in this box…

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM POST

As Hawk rests up, Jibrīl begins work on the box.

The first lock opens quickly enough; they’re of decent workmanship, but not beyond Jibrīl’s powers.

However, picking the second lock causes a curious click to come from the mechanism of the first. A quick poke confirms his suspicions; picking the second lock somehow reengaged the first.

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Evidently we are meant to unlock the locks at the same time. Thwip, can you assist?

Lord Arron - do you see anything else in this room where what you seek might be hidden? Should we try the room across the corridor?

“I suspect that we’ve found all this room has to offer. We keep on going until we’ve searched the whole place”.

(GM note: are y’all just hanging around while Hawk rests and Thwip/Jibrīl work on the box? Or will Ranar and de Courcy go exploring?)

Ranar Bolijyr

While the others are occupied, Ranar wanders over to guard the doorway. He briefly entertains curious thoughts about the large room outside, and considers slipping out to see what’s in the center of it all, but the sound of someone sighing (with effort or in relaxation?) draws him back to reality.

He turns to De Courcy, “M-maybe ah, perhaps we should go back and mark the doorway we came in from - in case we, um, we might need to get out in a hurry?”

Thwip

Thwip, can you assist?

“I vas hopink zat you vould ask.” he replies in Arabic. This week has been a great opportunity to practice his language skills. He places himself next to Jabril and follows his instructions as they prepare to open the locks.

Blue Hawk

When Hawk sees that they’re ignoring his warning and attempting to pick the box’s locks, he indeed exits the room and finds a place to sit a few yards down the hall from the doorway.

He enters his recovery trance and hopes that the explosion isn’t too large.

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