The covered truck stops at a large stretch of sand, featureless, barren nothingness seeming to extend in all directions. The driver, casually smoking a cigar, turned in his seat before remarking, "Well, here we are. A barren spot in the middle of nowhere, devoid of any landmarks and barely registering on my GPS. I'm trying my best not to question why you are out here, American, but first, I need payment."
Our lead, not saying a word, slides a credit card through a reader on the dashboard of the car, deftly inputting the PIN number attached to it. The driver smirked, and replied, "Well, I hope you have another ride out of here, American, because this is pretty far from my rounds. Ah, well, as long as you sent me some money before you died. Take care. Oh, and don't forget your things."
The driver carelessly tosses out a canvas rucksack before restarting the engine and pulling off towards the north. Picking up the pack, a beeping sound was heard from inside, the woman -- that is, the woman who is currently the main character of this story -- sifts through and finds her PDA, looking through the message that she had recently received.
TO: Ms. Wilde
FROM: Mr. KB Boseman
Dear Ms. Wilde, we have recently received an update on your assignment to find Artifact SN: W249, aka the "Tablet of Ancients". Due to the faith invested in you finding and locating this artifact, failure to retrieve it may be replied to with demotion or termination, as well as withdrawals of all services and goods entrusted to you. Payment will be suspended until completion of assignment. According to the latest cartographer report, the location is 50 yards SSE. Reply upon confirmation of secured artifact.
- Boseman
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sure enough, the location was there, behind a very massive dune. A house-sized structure stuck up from the ground, blocky and red, with an opening on one side. With a cursory look, it was gathered that there were no footprints or tire tracks. At least, none too obvious. It was past noon, the sunset feebly peeking over the dune behind her, a slowly greying sky ahead of her. She checked the coordinates on the map. It was correct: 29.51611 N, 45.83313 E.
As far as she saw it, if someone got to the Tablet first, she was dead. If she didn't find out where the real Tablet was, she was dead. And, if she was able to not only get the true location of the tablet, but also keep it from getting nabbed first, and it broke on the way... she got a pay cut. Still, not really a good thing. Ah, well, time to get on with the job.
First action?
Scholar Quest
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Scholar Quest
Last edited by EnigmaticD on July 30th, 2011, 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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EnigmaticD - Posts: 38
- Joined: July 28th, 2011, 4:41 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
>Check inventory.
>Look harder for tracks leading to the objective.
>Approach slowly.
>Look harder for tracks leading to the objective.
>Approach slowly.
Spoiler: show
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Darkandus - Posts: 3003
- Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Check self in addition to the above. Are we Lara Croft or Jessica Fletcher?
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
----Jack Layton
----Jack Layton
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gman391 - Posts: 3288
- Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
The ziggurat itself was about a minute of walking away. Still, there was a hunch in the back of Ms. Wilde's head that there was a bit more going on than she was seeing right now. She took one last look over the area, not taking any chances.
Perception Roll: 1d10+2 = 7
The area around her was roughly bowl shaped, with a dune, much smaller but still present, opposite of where she was standing. Sticking up from the smaller dune was a black slab, nearly a speck on the horizon, just barely visible. Looking closer, Ms. Wilde could also spot an indent on the top of the submerged ziggurat, a square hole that seemed to be for accommodating something. Sliding down the dune, Ms. Wilde reflected on herself, and how her life had been up to this point.
She was pretty much the runt of the litter in her family. She never liked sports, and almost always tucked in and read a good book, or maybe a few scientific articles on the 'net. She tried running for track back in High School, but she could never keep the pace. But, she always kept her senses and her mind keen, filled with knowledge and intuition. Didn't keep her away from looking for artifacts in Iraq, though.
She was skinny. Not "just crawled out of a labor camp/fashion show" skinny, but she was definitely less fit than average. Used to be really touchy about it back in not only high school, but college. Still, she was healthy enough. Lot of people liked petite girls, even if she was close to pushing it a bit, and she knew a few who liked redheads, too. At least one benefit came out of this grueling job: a physical trainer.
Perception Check: 6
Ms. Wilde looked over the ground in front of the ziggurat. As far as she could see, there were no footprints around it. There was something of a trail, however, leading towards the black slab on the far side of the bowl. Something of a seam in the sand ran from the edge of the dune behind her, going straight across.
Explore the ziggurat? Follow the seam?
Perception Roll: 1d10+2 = 7
The area around her was roughly bowl shaped, with a dune, much smaller but still present, opposite of where she was standing. Sticking up from the smaller dune was a black slab, nearly a speck on the horizon, just barely visible. Looking closer, Ms. Wilde could also spot an indent on the top of the submerged ziggurat, a square hole that seemed to be for accommodating something. Sliding down the dune, Ms. Wilde reflected on herself, and how her life had been up to this point.
She was pretty much the runt of the litter in her family. She never liked sports, and almost always tucked in and read a good book, or maybe a few scientific articles on the 'net. She tried running for track back in High School, but she could never keep the pace. But, she always kept her senses and her mind keen, filled with knowledge and intuition. Didn't keep her away from looking for artifacts in Iraq, though.
She was skinny. Not "just crawled out of a labor camp/fashion show" skinny, but she was definitely less fit than average. Used to be really touchy about it back in not only high school, but college. Still, she was healthy enough. Lot of people liked petite girls, even if she was close to pushing it a bit, and she knew a few who liked redheads, too. At least one benefit came out of this grueling job: a physical trainer.
Perception Check: 6
Ms. Wilde looked over the ground in front of the ziggurat. As far as she could see, there were no footprints around it. There was something of a trail, however, leading towards the black slab on the far side of the bowl. Something of a seam in the sand ran from the edge of the dune behind her, going straight across.
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
Last edited by EnigmaticD on July 29th, 2011, 10:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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EnigmaticD - Posts: 38
- Joined: July 28th, 2011, 4:41 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Explore the Ziggarut!
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
----Jack Layton
----Jack Layton
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gman391 - Posts: 3288
- Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Muse on our first name and age.
Ziggurat.
Ziggurat.
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serbii - Posts: 4584
- Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Nessa mused on her age a bit. Thirty four years old, about eight years since she was roped into scouting out for artifacts. Not exactly her expected career choice, but ah, well. She never managed to cultivate a social life in those eight years, either. Too busy reading up about old objects before being whisked away to far off locations. Maybe she could fix that when she got back. Ah, well, that's for whenever she isn't in the desert.
Structure roll: 1d8 = 8
Nessa walked into the opening of the ziggurat, looking down into the hallway. It was a long, winding stretch, barely tall enough to accommodate someone without them having to crouch. The corridor was surprisingly intact, despite the outside being buried under sand for who-knows-how-long, with no major obstacles despite the fact that the passage got progressively darker. Luckily, her PDA has a light.
Search skill: 94
Search Difficulty: 25
Turning the corner, Senna saw it, plain as day. A pattern of pressure plates, pretty much coating the floor. Somehow, these things kept popping up. From the looks of the pattern, there were at least a few spots where she could step into without fear of being put in the hospital, but she would need some fancy footwork for it. She could also simply disarm the things, but she wasn't too sure how good her knowledge was when it came to traps. Either way, she had to make her way down.
Decision?
--------------------------------
Since I wasn't sure on age, I decided to roll for it. The Dice Gods have given you all a Christmas Cake.
Structure roll: 1d8 = 8
Nessa walked into the opening of the ziggurat, looking down into the hallway. It was a long, winding stretch, barely tall enough to accommodate someone without them having to crouch. The corridor was surprisingly intact, despite the outside being buried under sand for who-knows-how-long, with no major obstacles despite the fact that the passage got progressively darker. Luckily, her PDA has a light.
Search skill: 94
Search Difficulty: 25
Turning the corner, Senna saw it, plain as day. A pattern of pressure plates, pretty much coating the floor. Somehow, these things kept popping up. From the looks of the pattern, there were at least a few spots where she could step into without fear of being put in the hospital, but she would need some fancy footwork for it. She could also simply disarm the things, but she wasn't too sure how good her knowledge was when it came to traps. Either way, she had to make her way down.
Decision?
--------------------------------
Spoiler: show
Last edited by EnigmaticD on July 30th, 2011, 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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EnigmaticD - Posts: 38
- Joined: July 28th, 2011, 4:41 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Attempt to disarm the traps. No sense charging in without preparation.
Are those our actual coordinates? That would put us in Ukraine, near the Black Sea coast, with the closest large city being Odessa.She checked the coordinates on the map. It was correct: 29.51611 East, 45.83313 North.
;)A barren spot in the middle of nowhere, devoid of any landmarks and barely registering on my GPS.
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Magnificate - Posts: 1239
- Joined: January 20th, 2011, 5:14 pm
Re: Scholar Quest
Mechanical: 14
Trap Difficulty: 25
Paranoia of Ancient Civilization: 1d8 = 2
Senna knew she should have minored in Mechanical Engineering. Despite the mechanism being distinctly crude, she somehow manage to bungle it with her incredibly limited technical aptitude. For a few seconds, nothing happens in the wake of the trap going off. All of a sudden, however, a puff of yellow dust gets in her eyes, and they begin to water and blur, stinging uncontrollably.
Status Effect: Something in your Eye - a -10 modifier to all skills involving sight. Stacks three times.
Well, one trap down and about twenty others to go. The cheapskates at the Society should have issued some goggles, or something. Stupid Society.
Trap Difficulty: 25
Paranoia of Ancient Civilization: 1d8 = 2
Senna knew she should have minored in Mechanical Engineering. Despite the mechanism being distinctly crude, she somehow manage to bungle it with her incredibly limited technical aptitude. For a few seconds, nothing happens in the wake of the trap going off. All of a sudden, however, a puff of yellow dust gets in her eyes, and they begin to water and blur, stinging uncontrollably.
Status Effect: Something in your Eye - a -10 modifier to all skills involving sight. Stacks three times.
Well, one trap down and about twenty others to go. The cheapskates at the Society should have issued some goggles, or something. Stupid Society.
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
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EnigmaticD - Posts: 38
- Joined: July 28th, 2011, 4:41 pm
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