An Initial Task (Scene 0)

Introduction:
No one in at least a generation has seen The Oracle from a nearness that would allow his identification, only his voice is truly known. He must be old, very old. The elders remember that voice from when even they were younger. From the high desert on the top of a ravine, the Oracle always appears at the same perch, overlooking several established clans. He always begins by holding his staff above his head and gripping its headstone in his left hand. He then inverts the staff and slams the stone onto the ground three times. Each strikes sounds like the peal of a giant gong. He then says, in a voice that carries far greater than one would imagine, "Let all who have ears hear the words of the Gods!"

Generally, everyone does listen. The words of the Oracle hold great portent, but most have learned that there is a pattern. No one really knows why the gods deliver messages in the way that they do. Everything is cryptic and sounds like riddles. The same message is usually delivered more than once but not necessarily sequentially. Some sound like rants, most like warnings. Once a message has been repeated, village elders seek advice from the Seer. The Seer has the favor to ask questions of the gods. The Oracle speaks only what he is told.

Technical Information:
All characters have the talent to Manipulate Waylines (use magic), but none will want this talent to be common knowledge. It is believed to be a gift from the gods and is greatly feared by those who do not have it. There are respected offices for those known to wield such talent, like Oracle, Seer, Healer, and Atoner, having understudies or acolytes beneath them.

At a young age, those seen to demonstrate the gift are most often given up by their parents and relegated to the care and instruction of one of the offices of Healer or Atoner, as an Oracle or Seer tends to live alone and away from the common people. For characters, to be relegated to such, despite the respect, would be a life of sheer boredom; instead, it is a life of adventure and exploration that offers appeal.

An Odd Issue:
There is a vertical crevice between two neighboring villages used to store supplies of grain and root vegetables, because the temperature within the shallow depth is more stable and can protect the food from the burning highs of the open air. This small cave has been used for an entire generation without incident, but recently some creature or creatures have found the store and begun raiding the food. The elders say that this has happened before when they were young, and a few budding youths were sent to locate and eliminate the culprits. The elders are certain that the thieves are animals, probably rodents, and not other people, so youths are sought to investigate the problem.

Loncoyrun, leader of the Hunters from the clan of Orngaddrins, is rather young for his station, but his skill at returning with meat is unmatched. He is aware of his own talent and lacking in social grace because of it. He can be rather petty and egomaniacal. His attempts to joke are often more insult than funny. He points his javelin at Triasen and wobbles it as he speaks. "Triasen will volunteer. The youngest hunter should be enough for a few rats."

Natspru, leader of the Prospectors from the clan of Hebrians, is much older and no longer does much for prospecting, himself. He is always calm and meticulous, lacking much for emotion on his face and in his speech. "The prospectors should aid in this venture, as the loss of food is an important matter. I will offer Aguila to help with this investigation."

The central region is moderate in topography and holds good access to the life-giving river. Farther upstream the land becomes more rocky to eventually host a towering ravine. Monsters are reputed to live there. Farther downstream the desert becomes nothing but sand, waves of inhospitable dunes that can rapidly suck the life from a lost and thirsty traveler. The mountains on the far eastern horizon are capped in snow, though there is no word for or understanding of snow, but it is known that as the white on the mountains fluctuates, so does the flow of the river, giving the idea that it is water in some form.

The members of the party as well as others of various local clans, who will not be directly involved in the mission at hand, are gathered in the Hebrian Settlement, as is a common occurrence. The Oracle, when he appears and speaks, does so from the peak of a small cliff on the other side of the river. As a convenience, the Hebrians are also centrally located to the known settlements.

Eagle will collect as many good (normal) stones as he can, while keeping an eye out for special stones, which radiate invisible energies that he can sense.

Leaving the Hebrian settlement, it is about an hour walk along a well-trod path, toward the Orngaddrin settlement, to the solitary butte, whose facing crevice is large enough to be used for storage. While this may seem to be an excessive distance and not in the least convenient for the retrieval of food, it is the structure of the semi-cave and proximity to two clans that makes its use so desirable. Also the daily fluctuation in temperature is lessened within the cave.

The sandy bottom of the crevice is a relatively flat surface, and the entrance is wide enough to allow three people to walk side by side. It is deep enough to be dark on the inside but not so deep that a person’s eyes cannot adjust, somewhat. Usually the same people take and retrieve items, because they know their exact placement. When greater inspection is needed, there are some branches from a creosote bush at the entrance that can be ignited with a piece of flint. As a bit of a surprise to the investigators, as they stand just outside the opening, thinking on how to proceed, there are faint scraping and clacking sounds coming from within the storage cave.

OOC: Eagle pauses, and signals (silently) to Shaethon that he should throw a lit stone in ahead of him. When the stone lands, it is Eagle's intent to hurl a slingstone at the nearest intruder.

Whatever is making or causing the noise cannot be very large. The sounds are too faint and do not create an echo. To everyone’s assessment, based on attention and past memory, it seems a bit like beetles clambering over stone. "Some beetles do eat plants," comes to mind for everyone.

After signalling to Shaethon, Eagle presses himself onto the rock wall and eases into the mouth of the entrance, momentarily holding his breath and hoping to obscure his presence from whatever is inside. He instinctively feels that there is more he can mystically do, but he can currently find no inner talent to cause it.Likely due to the proximity of the river and the shade that revolves around the butte during the course of the day, some hardy vegetation other than cacti grows around the base. What might grow to obscure the entrace is always cleared by those who use it; but since Shaethon is going to toss an illuminated stone, he switches locations with Triasen so she can take partial cover by the scrubby bush to the right of the entrance. Eagle is just inside on the left.Like the others, Elzian immediately recognizes that it is not other people inside the storage cave. He stands to the left of Shaethon, prepared for whatever reaction is to come from the release of the lighted stone.

OOC: Mind (1), Mental (1), Essence (1), Mystical (2): Stealth = 1d2+2; Initiative = 1d2+5.

Shaethon tosses his stone, which bounces inward a few hops. The initial change in lighting seems really bright compared to the original darkness; but overall, it only increases the total illumination by about 20%. It is enough to immediately see a typical storage area. There are clay urns and burlap bags hung from rudimentary framework, most made from the long, straight, flower stalks of a common cactus. The clacking noise also immediately increases as the dark-dwelling cause of it skitters away from the light, continuing to make a strangely pitched tapping noise, which is obviously indicative of its irritation.

Unlike wood, which is a natural inhibitor, the bone club of Triasen readily holds the standing node of her electromagnetic manipulation, and the total illumination within the cave increases by 40% more. Not harmed by the light, but highly agitated by it, the several desert scorpions that have evidently taken residence within the cave begin to move about in a clear show of aggression, though they do not move closer to the opening, at least not yet. It is a guarantee that any closer movement will trigger an attack.

Mystical Tasks

OOC: Eagle's intention is to augment himself, making his skin harder, and (hopefully) increasing his strength. He will approach the nearest scorpion, and attempt to smash its body with his foot, while at the same time, grabbing the tail, and giving it a sharp twist, in an effort to rip off the stinger before the scorpion has a chance to use it. I am not sure how many of these actions I can attempt in a single move; I will list the rolls, and then let the DM figure out how many turns it will take to accomplish all of them.

It is not really known if any of the party can literally augment physical abilities or if it is merely a mystically motivated jolt of adrenaline or simply psychological. There is no visual change; but especially for Internalist, the talent to mystically augment physical combat and defense is reflexive, instantaneous, and functions as long as consciousness remains, and each person immediately feels better about the impending confrontation.Shaethon crosses in front of Águila and moves in coordination with Triasen, who swings her club at the first scorpion to charge her, while Shaethon tries to stomp at his. There are at least 6 scorpions. With them constantly moving around the other contents of the storage cave, it is difficult to know the exact count. Águila stays closer to the left side wall as he moves forward. A scorpion races out from behind an urn and clambers up the wall to launch itself at him. The thought of his foot disappears as if it never was, in that fraction of a second, and he reflexively punches at the beast. Another scorpion appears from the far right and makes its way toward Elzian.

As the scorpions skitter back and forth, Shaethon stomps his foot forward, Triasen smashes her club down, Águila punches with his right hand, and Elzian loads his sling. The voracious little monsters are fast, way too fast. Everyone misses their first opportunity and finds two scorpions attached and stinging. The physical sting is merely an irritation. It hurts but does no real damage. The neurotoxin, however, is more of a problem.

Reflexively, since Shaethon and Triasen were already concentrating on light, the four scorpions that sting them are immediately electrocuted upon contact, blasting them back away. Not currently focused on light, Águila and Elzian both default to generating heat. The instantly cooked beasts fall to the ground. Eight scorpions, the whole pod, are down. This registers before vision blurs, and everyone loses consciousness.

Scorpion stings are not fatal, not even to smaller animals. Most people who have been stung recover in about a day. With the rare mystical talent that has been imbued upon the four investigators, their down time is far shorter. Once everyone is awake and rises to at least a sitting position, Triasen’s club and the illuminated stone have gone dark, but the daylight outside indicates that it is about midday. Only a couple of hours, three at the most, have been lost. The storage room smells of cooked scorpion, which is not only edible as Triasen had previously voiced, but considered a delicacy.

OOC: Eagle shakes his head and blinks his eyes forcefully about 3 or 4 times. He was unprepared for how fast the toxin would work, and also for how effective it seems to have been. The party of investigators has triumphed, but it could have easily gone the other way.

Wasting no time, Eagle tries to gather as much scorpion meat as he can; he takes off his shirt, and lays it flat, so as to be able to place the meat on a clean surface, rather than on the dirt floor.


Eagle says, "We should also check the contents of the items stored here, to ensure that the containers are sealed and unbroken. If the scorpions have displaced anything, we should put it back in its proper place. Also, we should try to collect the stingers and the claws. They might prove useful, to people such as us, who have the talent to use them properly, if you guys know what I mean."

Two scorpions are enough to make a meal, and there are 8, all cooked pefectly by heat or shock. Each character can eat his fill, as the meat will not keep. Unlike beetles, the exoskeletons of scorpions do not have a commercial use, but the stingers have a practical application for leather working and would be appreciated as a worn talisman. All 8 are intact and collectible.Triasen quickly realizes that the chitinous exoskelteton has become rather brittle in death and will continue to deteriorate to become like chalk. It can be ground into powder, which might be good for ceremonial decoration, but no other use for it is currently known. The stinger and last segment of the tail remain hard, like an animal tooth or claw.

It is known that scorpions eat insects and tiny animals. Their presence was an unfortunate encounter, though getting rid of them was still beneficial to the settlements that use the storage cave. The scorpions have displaced some of the evidence that remains inside the crevice; but lead by Elzian, it is observed that holes have been cut in some of the satchels that hold grain, and a few broken bits of tubers are littered about. It seems very likely that tiny rodents are the cause, especially with finding the desiccated remains of a couple of their carcasses. Perhaps the scorpions eliminated that problem, but further investigation will be needed to know for certain.

After taking one of the stingers for himself, and adding it to his necklace, Eagle offers the other stingers to the rest of the party. He adds, "The ones we don't use, we can sell. I've heard they're useful for leatherworking.

After eating his fill, Eagle begins to study the tracks inside the cave, and to carefully search for more rodent carcasses. He wants to make sure that the rodents were indeed the primary source of the problem.

As a matter of instinct, Triasen illuminates her club again, while Elzian and Águila each illuminate stones to greatly improve the ability to see. Time is taken to examining the area and each person compares and discusses the findings. In the end, it is concluded that it was not rats that had been the thieves, even though there are some carcasses. A tiny trail that could only have been left by the repeated passing of insects is running along the ground at the side of the cave and continues around the edge of the butte on its eastern side. Once recognized, it seems a fairly easy task to follow it.

Shaethon takes the lead, keeping his eyes mostly focused on the tiny trail which is rather difficult to see. He is followed closely by Triasen, who continues to carry her club at the ready. The party moves back out of the storage cave and around the Eastern side of the Butte. Several randomly dropped pieces of grain and a few bits of tubers are discovered, indicating that the tiny trail was definitely made by the food thieves. As characters tend to be more astute than the general populace, it is reinforced that the thieves should not be rodents, as rats would retrieve dropped pieces of food. Insects will get confused and return to the source or their destination.

With Shaethon fixated on the path, the other investigators scan the surrounding area as they proceed, for the Badlands can be dangerous at all times, except possibly midday, when the heat provokes everything to look for shade and take rest. Ironically, even though the party departed early, after succumbing to the scorpion toxin, waking was about midday. No one senses any omens on the wind or sees signs of bad portent, but it is this wariness that allows the investigators to recognize the domain that they are approaching before stumbling directly upon it.

At almost half the distance around the Butte and opposite of the storage cave is an artificially constructed gravel mound, set only a few strides distance from the natural rise of stone. The tiny path leads to that mound. Staring at the mound for about a minute reveals an ant exiting from a hole and another returning from a different direction. Desert ants use acquired vegetable material to grow phosphorescent fungus in dug tunnels beneath their hill, consuming the fungus for food and vital moisture.

Eagle says, "Hmmm... if we were to destroy the mound, the worker ants would eventually emerge to rebuild it. When they do, we could simply use heat to kill them all. Then, with all the workers dead, it would be easy to dig up the rest of the mound (the underground part), find the queen, and kill her. What do the rest of you think about such a plan?"

Eagle waits in silence several moments, before responding again, "I have heard legends of people in the ancient days who could speak with animals and insects, and even get them to obey orders. But if such a talent exists today, it is beyond my power. My grandfather used to tell everyone who would listen that he could speak with the birds of the sky, but I never actually saw him do it. And I think most of the other tribesmen didn't believe him. I wish we had such a talent among us; even if we couldn't force the ants to obey, if we could just speak to them, maybe they'd be willing to cooperate with us. There might not be a need to kill them."

Eagle nods in agreement as he begins to gather handfuls of dry grass from the surrounding area.