This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#RuinsOfRakhana – September 10, 2016
The vehicle that blocks the doorway is rammed into one of two large pillars that flank the entrance at the top of the crumbling stairs. It is an old military vehicle of some sort, rendered useless long ago by battle damage and the elements. A small climb will bring them to the wide-open entrance, once sealed with glass doors of which little remain, shards carried away by the wind.
Renala nods. "That was the plan," she says. "Watch your step and speak up at the slightest warning of collapse." She climbs over the vehicle blocking the entrance and raises her weapons. She aims around as she steps a little bit further into the building.
Nathan scrambles over the car with the elegance of a flailing elephant, the heat and exhaustion of the past day taking a toll on him. He rolls off the car and hits the ground with a thump before standing. "Nailed it..." he says as he brushes off the dust from his armour. "And would blind panic and screams be sufficient warning of collapse?" He asks as he falls into
Inside the entrance is a large lobby, with several intact, but rusted doors to the right wall, and an open doorway straight ahead which leads into a corridor that twists off out of view. There is very little left of any decorations and furniture in the lobby, scattered debris and even piles of sand that have found their way here covering the floor.
Korio nods as he follows Renala, gripping his rifle in one hand as he mounts and dismounts the vehicle with effortless agility. "These buildings have went without maintenance for a long time. But given the force of the winds we experienced during the sandstorm, perhaps the fact that this place is still standing may mean it is not as fragile as it looks."
Renala chuckles. "As long as they're coherent panicked screams," she says to Nathan before addressing the drell's point. "It could also be poor timing on our part and the next push is going to be the last." She looks around the lobby, and points at the door ahead. "Let's clear this floor first," she says, "to make sure nothing's going to sneak up on us from behind."
Nathan nods to Renala and starts advancing on the doorway. "After yesterday, it wouldn't surprise me if something did." He moves through the doorway, keeping his weapon half-raised and his eyes sharp.
Day (2PM). After three hours of searching through the floors of the skyscraper they have found most of it to have been cleaned out long ago, anything useful taken. The bottom floor held an intact fuel tank in the kitchen, the only remotely useful thing found so far, but it is too heavy to carry easily. Subsequent floors, accessed through the still-intact stairwell, and not the empty elevator shafts, have held a great number of
smaller rooms lined along corridors. A hotel, at some point, most likely. Many of the walls have fallen, and on the south side of the building the entire outer wall, and large parts of the floors themselves, have collapsed. They have reached the topmost of the accessible floors, about halfway up the building. They have a good view of the surrounding area, but little else to show for their time and effort. Standing in the
restaurant area that covers most of this floor aside from the missing south, they can see the city ruins to the north, and the cliff running south towards them before trailing off west into an area of uneven terrain of large rock formations, impressive in size and intricacy, arches and mesas abundant. To the south are more ruins, and a handful of additional standing towers, while many more lay fallen in the dust and concrete. To
the southeast is what looks like a dried-up river, surrounded by ruins and even holding a few ships, half rusted to pieces on the riverbed. To the west, something that might catch their attention is the glint of a reflection in one of the windows of the lone skyscraper still standing in that direction, the top half of which has already fallen to the ground long ago, leaving a jagged, ugly tower shorter than the rest, but still
standing tall over the ruins. It stands right on the border of the concrete rubble, and beyond it the terrain transitions into wilderness of dry earth and massive rocks.
Korio stands near the edge of the building, scanning the surrounding area slowly through the scope of his rifle. His even temperment has persisted throughout the day, despite them coming up mostly empty-handed. As the reflection catches the lens of his scope, he immediately lowers to a knee, sighting in on the location, though he says nothing for the moment as he inspects the situation.
The reflection disappears as soon as Korio sights in on it, and just after there's a faint hint of movement in the dark space inside the window. The bright sun makes it hard to see anything of the inside of the building.
Renala did not notice the glimt in the window, and thus approaches the window where she can get a good look at the drier up river. "Maybe these ships have some salvagable comms equipment."
Nathan has just finished rooting through a pile of rubble, grumbling as he comes up with nothing... yet again. He stands and stretches out, craning his neck from side to side. "Sure, if they haven't already been stripped clean too," he says, gazing upwards at the ceiling. "Did we check to see if there was anything on the roof on our way in?"
Korio holds his rifle in place with one hand on the grip. With his other, he reaches across his chest, giving a gesture over his shoulder to get the attention of the others. "I have movement." he states calmly. "In the short building to the west. It was just for a moment, but someone may be inside. A reflection caught my eye. Perhaps a scope. Or it could have merely been the wind pushing things around. Hard to tell in these
conditions. If it was indeed a person, they seemed to make themself scarce when I attempted to hone in on them. It may be best if we assume our presence is no longer hidden." he explains, slowly scanning back and forth across the building for any sign of their new friend.
Nathan turns and walks over to Korio, peering over the scaly man-fish. He looks toward the skyscraper, narrowing his eyes at it before falling a few steps back. "Yeah, probably the safest bet. For all we know, those drell from the settlement have assigned someone to watch us...".
Renala frowns, but doesn't step away from the window. "We'll have to watch out for an ambush on our way out, then," she says.
Korio nods silently, bringing his other hand back to his rifle as he continues to scan the shorter building. After a moment- eye still pressed to his scope- he asks, "What is our next step? Check the ships and watch for a tail?"
Nathan folds his arms over his chest, pacing idly back and forth. "Well, I don't really see any better options."
For a brief moment a shape can be seen moving in another window, but it quickly disappears out of view once more.
Renala nods. "That does seem like our best option," she says. "It's going to take us hours to get there, though, but I think it's less likely going to be picked clean than a tall building."
Nathan puffs out a breath through closed lips... making it a raspberry. "Well, suppose we better hop to it... and then we should consider that we may have to camp out in one of the husks."
Korio rises to his feet, eyes still peering through his scope. If there was any doubt that it was a person, the constant moving has removed them. "I agree, it seems to be our best course of action." he says, "Although, I must admit to no small amount of unease given the building's location. In a building so large, our observer may have long sightlines. I would recommend we do our best to put whatever we can between us and the
Renala nods and turns around. "We'll see," she says. "I might be overestimating the time it'll take us to get there." She starts walking towards the doorway they came from.
Day 2 (6PM). The group has arrived at the dried out riverbed, having passed several of the skyscrapers as well as the ruins surrounding the river. The riverbed itself is full of debris, but otherwise consists of dry, cracked earth. There is only one of the rusting hulks nearby, the next one far in the distance. The pile of metal is half-fallen apart, and what's left looks like it could crumble at any moment. It's hard to tell
what the ship might once have been used for, but it is not very large in size. Perhaps a ferry, or something similar.
Nathan stares up at it, unable to mask his wonder... well, except for his helmet. "God, that's... pretty cool, actually." He places his hands on his hips, gazing around as he takes but a moment to admire it even in it's rusting and decrepit form.
Renala uncaps her canteen and takes a long swig of it. "It doesn't look very stable," she sighs. She looks around for any accessible entrance.
Korio has paused every now and then to check the building of their shadowed friend through his scope, only easing up once their view of the skyscraper was obscured. "It is hard to imagine a civilization such as this-..." he gestures towards the boat then back towards the enormous buildings at their backs, now nothing more than ruins and rubble, "...One capable of building such vast cities- simply caving in on itself. It serves as a
warning to us all. If it could happen to them..." he trails off, his gaze moving up and down the rusted ship, "...What I wouldn't do to see this place in its prime..." he sighs.
The sun is low to the west, but the heat of the day still remains. A closer inspection of the ship yields no suitable place for entering it. The parts of the hull near ground-level are still intact.
Renala turns to the others. "I did not consider how we were supposed to enter the vessel," she admits. "Any ideas?"
Nathan claps his hands together, patting his case on his back... and then his launcher. "Eh, eh, eh?" He says suggestively to Renala.
Korio casts a glance up the side of the hull, placing a hand on his hip. "There is no telling what sort of structural damage that may cause, but I'm not sure if we have any other options. Do you have anything more... stable? Perhaps the shaped charges? It may cause less damage if we only open a passage large enough for us to fit through."
Nathan taps the case again for emphasis. "I have some shaped ones. Came prepared in case we had to do some demo-work in the bunker," he says, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.
Renala hums thoughtfully. "That might work," she says, "Can you set it and trigger it from a distance?"
Korio casts a glance in the general direction of the skyscraper, "An explosion may attract more attention from our shadow. But, as stated, I'm not sure we have many other options."
Nathan is already half-skipping towards the hull, case in hand and opened. "Making a new door~" he says with barely contained glee. He always enjoys using his more refined explosives. He kneels down at the hull and starts setting the charge up, whistling a jaunty tune.
Renala chuckles while watching Nathan work. "Let's get clear," she says with a shrug. "Our shadow probably knows where we went anyway." She starts walking away from the ship, and won't stop until she's at least roughly 2 ship heights away.
Korio follows Renala, giving Nathan room to work. "Do you believe we will find what you need on one of these ships?" he asks, "The technology here is quite old. My people did not even possess knowledge of the rest of the galaxy when our planet fell. Nevermind the knowledge or technology to contact them."
Nathan places the final touch to the charge and closes the case, setting it back on his... back. He turns and jogs over to the others, clapping his hands together in glee. "Alright, charge is set and ready to detonate. On your go, boss!" He declares to Renala.
Renala nods. "We don't have to contact the galaxy," she says. "It has to reach at least one spot where ships might land, especially Pilgrim's Haven should the Chief send another Redrock team to search for us. It's a gamble, of course, but it's the only one with acceptable odds." She stops after a few moments, looks over at the ship, and nods. "Detonate it, Tennhausen," she says.
As the charge detonates a large dust cloud flies out as rusted metal crumbles, obscuring the view of the breaching area. As the dust settles, it becomes clear that the force of the explosion, even though directed, was too much for the ship, and a considerable portion of the hull, as well as the deck within, has collapsed into a pile of jagged, rusty metal. Entry through the hole may be possible, but it will be slow, and care will
Nathan claps his hands and turns, raising his hand into the air. "Volle Deckung!" He calls out before flinging his hand down. As the cloud washes over them and the result is clear, he sags and tisks. "Well... that was... actually to be expected. But, uh, was kinda hoping it wouldn't."
Korio looks back towards the direction of the ruins one last time before collapsing his rifle and holstering it onto his back. He brings his hands up to the side of his head to mitigate the sound as the explosion sounds out. Once the dust has cleared, he looks to Nathan, "As you said. Expected. At least we now have a point of entry." he says as he approaches the hole, looking it over for a moment as he waits for Renala to take the
Renala manages barely to stand upright as she didn't expect the explosion to be felt all the way there. "At least the ship is still standing." She appreaches the vessel, watiching it carefully for any further collapses.
Day 2 (8PM). A search of the interior of the ship has yielded absolutely nothing of use. All of the internal systems are far too badly decayed to be of any use, metal rusted and plastics corroded, rendering all of the ships electronics, and more or less anything else, useless. The exploration has been a slow and dangerous affair, with the decks threatening to cave in at several points. The sun is halfway down the horizon in the
Renala stands up after searching the last bit of what might have been an old computer in the cockpit. "Fuck," she says, looking like she is about to kick it for a second. "Of course a vessel like this would be rusted throughout." She sighs and starts walking towards the nearest exit. "Let's just get out of here."
Korio remains in place for a few moments longer, staring at the old computer with disappointment. Finally, coming to grips with it, he merely nods. "Yes. We searched and failed to come up with anything. While I know that may be infuriating, there is still a benefit in that: We now know this location does not hold what we are looking for." he says as he begins to follow Renala, "Now is not the time to let frustration take hold. We
Nathan glares at the rusted old computer, tapping his finger against his thigh... "Can I let my frustration show and waste a 'nade on it? Please... pretty please?" He says to the pair.
Renala shakes her head. "No grenades," she says. "Knowing our luck, that'll bring the entire thing down ontop of us." She takes a deep breath and starts making her way down towards the hole. "We should find a location to make camp," she says, "because I don't think we'll make it home in time to get a full night's rest while it's still dark."
Nathan deflates and follows Renala like a scolded child. "I suppose back towards the skyscraper? It'll be dark, but it seems safer than sitting underneath this wreck." He glances upwards, expecting the thing to collapses on his words.
Korio continues to follow behind Renala, giving a nod. "That sounds like a good plan. Perhaps we can cover a little more ground in the morning and continue our search a bit before we return to the bunker." he suggests, "Returning empty handed does not sound like a good option." As Nathan chimes in, he glances to the man, "We are quite a walk from the skyscrapers. I'm not entirely sure what our plan is for the morning, but perhaps
we should decide on that before picking a camping spot." he says, casting a glance back to Renala as he awaits her orders.
Renala frowns. "We won't have much to eat tonight," she says, "so it's probably for the best if we return early tomorrow." She keeps going downward, though she's taking it slow and steady.
Korio gives another nod. "If you feel it is for the best. But we may be able to provide food for ourselves out here if the conditions are right. Something to consider. The longer we're able to remain out here, the better our chances of discovering something that may help us get home. It is, ultimately, your decision, T'Iavay, and I will support whatever choice you make."
Nathan shrugs lightly. "What he said. I'll do whatever you say, boss-lady. You know, within reason," he clarifies with a chuckle. "But we need to still be aware that we have a potential shadow too. At least we should set up in a somewhat defensible spot. Shit, even dig a hole in the sand and nestle into it."
Korio nods yet again. "It troubles me that I saw no sign of them during our journey here from the skyscraper. Surely they would want to keep tabs on us for a multitude of reasons regardless of who they were. If they mean to do us harm, then we are at a great disadvantage having lost any sign of them."
Renala nods. "If the explosion didn't attract any attention, then I doubt shooting the bird is going to be an issue," she says, "but then again, how can we know if it's safe to eat?" She reaches the bottom of the entrance Nathan made and leaves the ship.
Nathan stays close behind, simply listening in on the two for the moment. However... "Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I bet it'll taste like chicken~."
Korio gives a shake of his head, "I do not believe there is any way for us to know for certain. But there are usually telltale signs when a creature possesses any form of toxin or poison. Bright colors, distinct odors. At the very least, I believe it would be worth an attempt. If it seems like it may be unsafe to eat, then we can simply go on our way."
Renala nods. "Then go ahead," she says. "Try to make sure it falls somewhere where we can easily retreive it, though." She starts walking away from the ship, in the dierction they came from.
Korio wastes no time unfolding the rifle from his back and lowering to a knee to better steady himself. He brings the scope up to his eye and begins his search for the creature in the sky.
Nathan watches Korio, rapping his fingers on his arm idly as he observes the drell. "You're going to miss," he taunts with a chuckle.
Korio sucks in a deep breath, blocking Nathan's taunting out. "Amonkira, Lord of Hunters, guide my hand." he whispers under his breath as his finger slides across the trigger. He sights in on the flying creature, steadying his aim. With a squeeze of the trigger, the shot rings out.
Renala turns around upon the hearing the gunshot and looks up for any signs of whether he succeeded.
The carrion feeder's flight is interrupted as the shot rings out, and plummets, hitting the ground just at the top of the riverbank, out of sight from their current position.
Korio's finger slides free from the trigger and he rises to his feet once more. He closes his eyes and bows his head respectfully in silence for a moment before starting towards the bird's location. "I am merely a vessel for Amonkira's grace." he states humbly, "Let us assess our bounty. Should it prove edible, this may lend us more options for aquiring food."
Renala grins as she watches it plummet. "Well, give Amonkira my thanks then," she says, and starts making her way towards where she lost sight of it.