Pulse of the Imperium

The gorge, after some winding and narrowing, turned into a volcanic cave burrowing into the heart of the cliff. Basalt rubble cluttered the entry, and the canopies above it captured whatever light the moon could give them.

The lava tube faced them agape, its spiralling throat inviting the daring into the bowels with rocks perhaps as sharp as in lamprey's mouth.

Kiran looked to the other two present. "Who goes first? Careful of the moss - your head hits one of those rocks and we'll be hauling your body back to camp."

[Pool Consolidation. Player: Advantage 6, 1 Triumph; GM: Threat 6]

"I'll take the lead." Efren replied.

He didn't know what dangers would jump out at any time and he seemed the most battle-ready of the bunch.

"That looks inviting." Ambrose remarked, "I'm passable at climbing and marching, but I'm no spelunker. I can be the anchor and watch the rear."

He pulled a bundle of krimskel fiber rope, "We can tie off so no one gets separated or drops into any widowmakers." He dug around in his pack some more and pulled out a rebreather, strapping it around his neck, "Cave gasses, you never know."

Kiran nodded, taking the respirator out of their emergency kit. "Good point. This is lava rock. All sorts of poison could be down here."

A second rebreather came out of Ambrose's kit, "Here Efren, you'll be our canary in the mine taking the lead."

With the self reminder, Ambrose looked over to his shoulder at the bird that'd taken up residence, "Hope your smart enough to save your own tail if it comes down to it."

Efren nodded and took the mask.

Training with a shield meant breath control. He was confident to some extent that he'd have the resilience to not die immediately should something gaseous become a problem... but everything that could help that was appreciated.

"Alright. We'll take this slowly."

The moss was one danger, unpredictable rock formations another, but there was also slippery moist. Still, people had been getting in and out of there, at least to some point. Because there was no telling yet if this path led to the base of the cliff.

[The climbdown is Athletics, Coordination or Survival at Average, but with a Challenge. Krimskell Rope between you three gives a Boost; Darkness is a Setback unless you have a way to nullify it. I spend all Threat to give each of you an additional Setback.]

Efren helped tie the rope between the three of them as he began walking down the tunnel.

He kept pointing to safe spots as he went through. It appeared that commando training had prepared him for moving through difficult terrain, and he did his best to share that training with his partners.

---

D1 Spelunking, Athletics, "Roots" Statement, Rope Bonus, Phys Train x2 Bonus: 3eA+1eP+3eB+1eD+1eC+2eS 3 successes, 3 advantage


Player Pool: 9 Advantage, 1 Triumph

As they reached the mouth of the cave and the little moonlight failed to penetrate, Ambrose pulled his glowglobe out and deployed it to shed some light on their path.

This seemed to work against his favor as he lost his night vision and stumbled.
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D1, Evening, Scattered Bodies, Climb, Athletics, glowglobe, 2adv for boost: 1eP+2eA+2eB+1eC+1eD+1eS 1 failure, 1 advantage


Player Pool: 8 Advantage, 1 Triumph

Between Efren and Kiran, he didn't pull them both off and down into a tumble, but his desperate search for footing turned out rather unfortunate...

[Roll for a Critical Injury -20.]

Ambrose deftly caught himself from falling, but caught himself by grabbing onto one of the jagged stalagmites. To his luck, his hand found purchase in a relatively smooth section of the rock formation, only causing a minor abrasion on his hand.

Although minor, it did leave his hand feeling tingly and slightly sluggish. He'd have to take a better look at it once they were out of the cave.

"Watch your footing," he called out to the other two, "that moss is treacherous." He gave a bashful smile to Kiran, remembering their own warning from moments ago.

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D1, Evening, Scattered Bodies, Critical -20: 1d100-20 0
01-05 Minor Nick: 1 strain

Kiran makes their way down like a mountain goat, drawing on their experience living by some of the largest cliffs on Caladan to maintain their footing.

They chuckled at Ambrose's comment with a friendly smile. "I'll try to keep it in mind," they teased gently before continuing the descent. "Once we get somewhere more flat I can look at your hand."

Survival Average, 1 upgrade: 3eP+1eD+1eC 2 successes, 2 advantage


(Oops forgot this)
Survival Average, 1 upgrade [adding Boost and FD to avoid S]: 1eB+1eS+1eF 1 Dark Side


Using pip to see in the dark.

"I'd appreciate that. It's awkward enough trying to patch yourself up, much less down one hand and trying to angle the injured one so you can get a proper look."

Apart from that small incident, their descent was relatively seamless, given how the whole trio was otherwise prepared for similar challenges in their own distinct ways. Even that slip wasn't entirely Ambrose's own fault as what betrayed him was a surface carved off by a lasgun, industrially smooth, an apparent intervention to make way further. Interesting how it had already overgrown with moss.

They finally reached a spot with reverse forking, an underground stream joining their tubular tunnel from another direction, and flowing down further. The current wasn't too brisk, but enough to challenge footing and carry one down... This is where the 'easy' path ended, and so did lasgun interventions. It looked like the previous spelunkers descended no further, finishing their jobs here.

Even so, there was something downstream. A faint glow...

[Once you're ready to go further down: the same routine, just with one more difficulty die now, so Hard.]
[Player Pool: 10 + 1]

Ambrose was much more careful on this leg of their journey. The close encounter he'd had caused him to slow down and carefully find his footing before proceeding.

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D1, Evening, Scattered Bodies, Climb, Coordination, glowglobe, 2adv for boost: 4eA+2eB+1eC+2eD+1eS 2 successes, 1 threat


Player Pool: 8 Advantage, 1 Triumph

[Pool: 8/1 vs. 1/0]

Efren was good on smooth surfaces, coarse surfaces, wet surfaces, and everything in between. He continued to lead on through the tougher part of the tunnel, making sure to be around to help the two following him down in an emergency.

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D1 Spelunking 2, Athletics, "Roots" Statement, Rope Bonus, Phys Train x2 Bonus: 3eA+1eP+3eB+2eD+1eC+1eS 3 successes, 2 advantage


Player Pool: 10 Adv 1 Triumph

It wasn't the first time Kiran had navigated a stream bed, and they continued without incident, helping out with guidance in the dark.

Survival Hard, 1 upgrade, 1 boost, Farsight active: 3eP+1eB+2eD+1eC 1 success, 2 advantage