Just Do It.

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*after about five seconds the statue was dissolved enough to pick up completely, strings of the floor dangling from the bottom of the griffin until they dissolved in mid-air a moment later. The awkward shape of the griffin still fit through the hole, and soon the two dropped down into a tunnel made of the same material as the rest of the chambers. The hall climbed upward at a dramatic angle, and at the top you could see the reflection of moving water against the ceiling*

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 19



*Gens soggy reed garments rubbed against the griffin as he walked down the squishy corridor, accompanying a collection of sounds from his sloshing footsteps and irritated grumbling that echoed in the chamber all the way to the end of the hall where he looked up and would attempt to make his way out to the surface.*

"Oh yes me' lady... of course, I'll jump down into a disgusting hole for you! What mistress? You want a fancy statue, heres a shiny one I found for you... Now you can stare at yourself all day! *BAH*

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*As soon as he reached the top, he would see that it is filled to the brim with water, the ripples occasionally sending small sloshes of it over the sides. It was able to be walked up, though the walk would be somewhat steep, the wall that reinforced the barricade creating a sort of ramp that went to the water's edge. Looking into the water, he would see that it led back into the body of water he had entered the place through. As soon as he entered the water and started toward the surface, a rumbling shook the ground and vibrated through the lake. The sounds of stone shifting came from behind him*

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 19



*Gen got a strong grip on the griffin and swam hard to the edge of the lake he had entered from, staying below the surface in the shallows as to prevent the surface from icing over too quickly as he tried to breach it, he stayed prone under water, and when he was in only a few feet for water he braced himself on the lake bed and launched himself up quickly, trying to jump clear of the water before it would ice up again, hoping he would be able to land on the ice as it formed. At the same time he jumped as close to the shore as he could get hoping if he couldn't reach it, he would at least be up to his ankles worst case scenario.*

*He jumped with everything available to him, and even his mind drove him forward as he refused outright to be trapped*

(3 sxs STR + ATH roll - 1wp Conviction rolled)

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*on his way toward the surface, Gen would hear an odd swishing coming from a yard or so behind him. The thrashing sounds from the area he had just left grew louder and he could feel the water being shoved against him. Upon turning around, he would see large tentacles ripping up from the lake floor and a giant squid head started to rise from the silt. The tentacles that were free flailed around as it freed itself, whipping close to Gen as it tried to grab him, just barely missing, but coming back for another round*

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 19




"Now you wake? Well too bad you're stuck in that puddle!"

*Gen sneered and turned to run up the beach to a safe distance outside the squids reach. He waddled away as quickly as his legs could carry him while clutching his prize, and cackling like a madman. He glanced over his shoulder periodically to check if the giant was still able to reach him.*

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*the arms of the aquatic beast flailed, causing waves that crashed in all directions, slopping up onto the shore. One arm shot out and tried to snag Gen-Gora's leg, while another just punched straight out for his person. There was a large bubbling near the body, and when the bubbles popped a scream like that of an enraged raccoon erupted from them*

((Arm 1=1 suxx -Miss
Arm 2= 2 suxx-Miss))

*Arachnia watched from her position off to the side, sitting on a large rock that looked like some sort of bug with camouflage patterning to match the surroundings. Her hands were behind her on the seat, and she looked fairly relaxed and unconcerned with the flailing hands. The water from the waves came up on the shore, stopping a few inches from her shoes. Arachnia's black gaze turned on the creature as the tentacles drew back into the water and the waves suddenly stilled as if none of that had ever happened*

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 19



*Gen payed no attention to the Squid as soon as he deemed he was out of it's reach. He scanned the beach looking for Arachnia, and when he found her he made his way around and set the mirror down in front of her with a heavy grunt.*

"One statue; Seemed to be the most prominent one of a selection...

*He slopped his wet hand over the mirror attempting it seemed, to clean it off.*

"And for the record the inscription is nonsense. Some vein, egotistical ancient exalt wished to give justification for being brainless and beautiful."

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

Good job, Gen-Gora, you got the right statue and didn't die in the process

*Arachnia offered a smile with a sparkle in her eye that could be either interest or humor, depending on your lighting. She gestured to a spot next to her and an egg just large enough to fit the mirror appeared. A slot opened to reveal it's empty space. Bending at the knees, the Empress picked up the statue and set it inside of the egg's hollow center. Once inside, she closed the door over the mirror and the egg dematerialized*

There, now, shall we get going to the next destination? You have finished the first trial, but there is more

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 19



*Gen looked at Arachnia his muddy Iridescent eyes narrowing at her to the point they almost looked closed. Reluctantly he shrugged as he looked away... any other direction to look in other than Arachnias was really his goal. Not surprisingly Gen was remarkably clean for a change, his normal overall coating of earth stripped away by his plunge in the lake. Being clean, his tell was clearly visible with his short thick flesh-like dark hair which continued down to his scruffy round face and finger length beard braid, discernible under his scruff were short saw blade teeth following his jawline. His skin was the color of oats and where his soggy reed shirt did not cover, dark speckles set within faintly visible marbled tones on his arms and back. Another obvious trait was that he looked older than he seemed to be, despite his facial hair and gruff demeanor. His body and face were both fittingly thick and squat, heavy boned and noticeably meaty but not well toned.*


"Yeah... lead the way your highness."

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 22,

*Arachnia took note of Gen's appearance, repressing the desire to ask him if he wanted to brush his hair once it dried, but she could already fathom his envenomed response to her "civilized" request. She could almost hear his taunting reply of "does my unkempt appearance bother you, Empress?" which would be accompanied by a sardonic smirk. She had no intention of giving the squat young man the pleasure of vocalizing those thoughts. Instead, she smiled and indeed led the way.

A few days later, Gen and Arachnia came upon a wide grassland where a gentle breeze blows in the background. There are clouds in the pale blue sky, and by the geography, one would see that they weren't too far north of Imperveress. In the not-too-far distance a collection of very tall, spiraling buildings can be seen, with fields of grains and other foodstuffs swaying contentedly in the wind*



((Please make a Perception + Occult roll))

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 22



"What the devil..." *He paused knowing he was expected to know what he was looking at. He sighed, realizing he had just broken a long enjoyable silence, which had in fact increased his opinion of the Empress.* "Eh and what is to be done."

*He didn't bother to look at Arachnia as he lit up another wad of green plant in his hand made pipe that was part of him as any limb and puffed casually on it watching the breeze carry away his troubles. He would need whatever tolerance available if this meant dealing with strangers.*

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*what looked like some sort of large cylindrical device was puffing light grey smoke and moving rapidly back and forth across the horizon. It was trailing a smaller light brown streak of dust, which looked to be a small crowd of people*

*Arachnia rolled her eyes a little at his dependency on substances, but didn't begrudge him his use of it; especially not in a place where his ashes would be all over her home. She looked out over the scene in the distance, and gave a short single nod of her head. It must look pretty funny for someone who didn't know what was going on yet, but it was important nonetheless*

Yes, this is your challenge. Obviously, something has gone wrong with that silo, and it's your task to solve the issues at hand, however that may be. You are always allowed to ask questions or for help, though I might not give it depending on the circumstances. Now, shall we?

*Arachnia closed her eyes for just a moment as the breeze ruffled a lock of hair over the gentle sculpture of her face*

[Gen-Gora]

Descending Fire 22



*He replied in a tone of barely contained sardonicism, masked well enough that it seemed like just maybe he was being sincere. This tone was a step up from the usual belligerent sneering that usually crawled out of his mouth.*

"Ok... Look's to be a machine of some sort chasing those folk through a field... I suppose I'll go save them from their terrible plight. Now that I've wowed you with my grasp of the obvious, I'll move on."

*He looked up at Arachnia, then back at the field, once more back at Arachnia... and then walked away without saying anything else. He rolled his statement about saving the people around in his head and decided he could care less about the people, and might as well check out the machine while it was preoccupied with them. His thoughts backtracked a few steps and he thought more on what Arachnia told him, to solve the issue at hand...

He supposed those words in that order suggested the importance of the people; He couldn't imagine why, they would just distract him and slow down the investigation of a seemingly interesting machine. In the caboose of this train of thought he decided he best not let these strangers die if he could help it, or risk Arachnia downgrading him.

He tucked his pipe away, and transformed himself into a Swamp Harrier, and took flight while exhaling a thick plume of noxious smoke that trailed from his beak. He flew off in the direction of the activity and made his first observations of the situation up close from his birds eye view.*

{4 SXS Per + Inv Roll.}

[Arachnia of the Hour]

Descending Fire 19,

*As Gen gets closer, he would see that the cylinder wasn't chasing anyone. In reality, the people were chasing the thick, 15-foot-wide cylinder. It was a patchwork of metals, with steam coming from the top and side pipes, and it creaked a little as the speed of it stressed the joints. It was rolling around on industrial-sized wheels in what seemed to be an erratic way, with no real course or direction, sloshing the grain around so that it spilled some as it turned sharply. The people themselves were all tall and Eastern, their skin dark from the days under the sun, and their practical and sturdy clothes suggested that they were workers. They shouted at each other as they tried to coordinate efforts to stop the thing, but so far it continued to elude them. One man pointed up at the swamp hawk that had so boldly come into their space, amazed and distracted for a moment*

"Hey look, a hawk!"

*a moment later, the silo jerked in his direction, and he had to jump out of the way or be trampled by the 20-foot tall rolling death machine*

"Aiyahh!"