Session 56

The air does not ruffle the party's hair as they fly toward the mountains. Nor is the party decelerating as fast as the back of Max's mind quickly calculates they should be. It is almost as if the party is floating inside a transparent rocket, aimed more or less at the highest peak in the range.
Sam Spade: "This is awesome!"
Linnea: "This is bullshit! ..but also awesome!"
Esme: "It's… something."
Even at the party's high speed, it will still take several minutes to reach Onix Peaks. That is, at least, faster than the days a Route often takes to traverse.
Max Thorn: "Man, Jack'd get a kick out of thiiiiiiiiiiis~"
Linnea: "I have so many questions."
Max Thorn: "I think they can be answered with your pick of SCIENCE! or MAGIC!."
Linnea: "Or both, these days…"
Tim and Sands are utterly silent, looking at the water far below and hugging each other in mind-locked-up paralyzed fear.
Max Thorn: "Sufficiently advanced technology, indistinguishable, so on and so forth."
Sam reaches over and hugs Tim and Sands. "Enjoy it while you can! I'm positive we'll be fine."
They relax - but only slightly - at Sam's touch.
Max Thorn flips open his 'dex to look up the Shady Narrows badge…
A quick navigation of the public databases soon pulls up a page on the badge. It is the Play Badge; one of the notes suggests that few gym leaders have anything like the sense of that name that Shady Narrows uses, and no self-respecting gym leader would ever use the other sense. Another note suggests this was later conflicted by a certain young gym leader from another region, but uniqueness
WC GM: is only needed within any given region and its neighbors.
Max Thorn: "…Of /course/ he'd name it the Play Badge."
Sam Spade: "Of course. The play is the thing, after all."
Linnea: "Heh."
Badge Notes: "'Passions are the core of dark type essence,' claimed the founder of the Shady Narrows Gym, 'and plays tame and encapsulate passions, much like a pokeball.'"
Badge Notes: "The Shady Narrows Gym is noted for being the most often destroyed gym on record in Amoda. No iteration has lasted more than a century without being mostly or completely destroyed, most often by being burned down during an especially spectacular pokemon match."
Max Thorn: "…You would think that if the Gym were destroyed by fire as often as this claims, they'd invest in nonflammable furniture and suchlike."
Badge Notes: "The current gym is 62 years old, leading some residents to joke that it is due."
Linnea: "You'd think. Other people don't."
Esme: "Probably want to keep the tradition going."
Max Thorn: "Sounds about right."
Sam Spade: "Wait."
Sam Spade: "This is a gym with a record for being burned down. In a town where a pokecenter and the police station *were* burned down. Why didn't Iggy get the gym?"
Esme: "Maybe it seemed…/too/ obvious?"
Esme: "No, still definitely out of character for her."
Further inspection of the notes page shows it was last updated 5 years ago, before the Jaeger invasion.
Thinking about it, the gym did seem to be colored a bit more brightly than its neighbors, as if the paint was still somewhat fresh.
Max Thorn: "…Then again, this entry was filed about five years ago. So I guess it did get burned down in the interim."
With that, the mountaintop approaches. The air seems to crack and shatter - maybe it was a transparent crystal rocket - and now the wind is in full force, as the party's flight path dips toward a cave entrance.
Linnea: "Ohgodsnowitshorrible."
Esme braces for inevitable impact.
But not for long. It is a very short fall, from the peak of the party's arc, and almost a gentle landing - especially for those who can roll. Sands quickly burrows into the cave floor, Tim scrambling behind him.
Linnea: "Rghrghgrhgrhl-"
Max Thorn tumbles with the grace of an eagle. Piloting a blimp.
The party is in a T junction, tunnels leading into the darkness to the left and right. Behind the party is an impressive view of a seemingly unclimbable slope down, gentler slopes below that, leading to the beach and then the sea.
Linnea: "… …"
Max Thorn pokes at his 'dex, attempting to load a map.
There is no immediate response from the town network.
Linnea: "You'd think I'd be used to things like this by now…"
Esme dusts herself off. "Give it a few more."
Out of the left tunnel runs the local Officer Jenny, waving her left hand. "HEY! HEY! WHY HAVEN'T YOU EVACUATED?!?" Her right hand brings a walkie-talkie to her lips. "Found four stragglers. I'll try to get them out."
Linnea: "I-what? We just got here."
Sam Spade: "Uh oh."
Sam Spade: "What's up, Officer? Any way we can help?"
The tunnel behind Jenny rumbles. She looks behind her, eyes wide. "No time. GET DOWN AND KEEP YOUR MOUTHS CLOSED!" She tries pushing the party prone.
Linnea flattens down and shuts up.
Max Thorn hits the ground, covering head and ears as best he can, eyes squeezed shut.
Esme is confused, but complies.
Out of the left tunnel bursts a crystal onix, spiraling while bouncing from wall to wall, gleaming - dazzling - in the sunlight, leaving brief afterimages in any unprotected vision.
The onix seems to spy the party but thunders on, rumbling down the right tunnel out of sight. Where it passed, the once-plain rock wall is now studded with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, the occasional diamond, and other gemstones.
Sam Spade waits.
Max Thorn waits a minute longer, then rolls over and sits up, risking a quick peek with one eye before pulling his shades out and putting them on.
Moments later, the local Nurse Joy emerges from the right tunnel. "Are you alri-JEN!!!!!" Panic in her voice and plain on her face, she runs over to Officer Jenny, who is very, very still and now sporting a fist-sized shard of that onix impaled in her back.
Linnea: "Uh-"
Max Thorn: "…Oh dear."
Linnea: "Cripes, here we go again…"
Linnea: "Jeez…how far to the Center?"
Nurse Joy: "Short breaths, Jen. Don't move." She GLARES at the party. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING never mind that. Chansey's brewing an antidote. GO GET IT!" With fury, she points to the tunnel she just came from.
Linnea: "Lady, we just got shot out of a cannon. We're just as confused as you are."
Esme: "Seriously!"
Linnea shrugs and starts hauling ass toward the Center.
Sam Spade hauls as well.
Max Thorn doesn't bother making excuses and just springs to his feet and sprints toward the center.
A short ways into the tunnel is a stairway. Given the path of gems, the crystal onix did not go that way.
Linnea keeps following the stairs.
One flight of stairs later, the party emerges into a cavern that looks a bit like a refugee camp, though much smaller than Fort Blaston's. Lights are strung up, temporarily buildings are here and there - one with a painted red roof suggestive of a pokecenter, though the "walls" are just stone poles and there is no door.
Linnea isn't going to question it, just tries to find that Chansey.
Max Thorn heads thataway.
Sam Spade: "Chansey? Are you here?"
Max Thorn: "Come on *pant* out, Antheia!"
In the improvised pokecenter is a familiar counter and healing machine, with drag marks on the floor suggesting they were hauled here. A chansey pokes her head over the counter. "Cha-an?"
Antheia pops out of her ball and levitates, tilting her head quizzically.
Max Thorn: "Officer Jenny's hurt, and Nurse Joy needs the antidote, ASAP!"
Chansey nods and holds up one paw, then busies herself behind the counter.
Max Thorn: "Antheia can take it to her faster than the rest of us, so give it to her and she'll run it back."
Esme: "Poisonous rampaging crystal onixs, huh."
Linnea: "Weird."
Chemical smells waft the party's way. Upon approach, a variety of alchemical brewing equipment - old-school stuff, including a miniature cauldron - is arrayed in front of the chansey.
Linnea perks up at that.
Esme: "Been awhile since I've seen a classic…"
Linnea: "Hey, this is interesting - easier time using this stuff here, eh?"
The chansey brews, tapping in trace amounts of this or that ingredient, then pours into a beaker, carefully eyeing the amount, and puts a rubber stopper in it before offering it to the party.
Linnea: "Cool, we'll give proper thanks once we're back."
The chansey nods, and shoos the party back toward the stairs.
Antheia scoops it up and damn near /flies/ back to Nurse Joy, with the party trailing behind.
Linnea books it back because who knows what's happening.
By the time the party returns, Nurse Joy is pouring the antidote into Officer Jenny's wound. Joy stops before it is all done, applies the rest of the antidote to a toothbrush, and begins brushing Jenny's teeth.
Sam Spade: "It breathes out the whatever-it-is?"
Linnea: "Thorough, isn't it?"
Nurse Joy: "You'll be fine, Jen. Here, just a moment and your bones will return to normal. Short breaths, come on." She seems to be talking to convince herself as much as her patient.
Linnea: "…Bones?"
Linnea: "What the hell are we dealing with?"
Nurse Joy looks up at the party, frowning and tense, until Officer Jenny finally starts moving, flexing an arm up to pat Joy on the shoulder.
Sam Spade: "Can we move her? Where's safe? They didn't tell us about this before they launched us here."
Officer Jenny: "It's OKAY, Joy. Given where I found them they probably just got here."
Esme: "Technically we're here to help?"
Nurse Joy: "What are you…" She blinks. "…waaait. Gem's Point cannon? Seriously?"
Max Thorn: "Good work, Antheia." The flower fairy chirps and nods, then vanishes with a flicker of red light.
Linnea: "Like I was saying…!"
Max Thorn: "Seriously."
Nurse Joy facepalms. "Ugggh. NOW, of all times?!?"
Esme: "Gem Jane sent us to find Gem Jim to deal with… whatever this is."
Nurse Joy: "…she's almost too late. He's still alive, but he'll need a long time to recover IF he recovers."
Sam Spade: "Uh oh."
Sam Spade: "Got a bad gulp, huh."
Linnea: "Welp."
Officer Jenny slowly, carefully flexes each of her limbs and fingers in turn. "Tell them about Midas?"
Nurse Joy: "Jen! Don't risk yourself like-"
Officer Jenny: "I'm FINE, Joy. The antidote's working. Tell them about Midas so you can stop worrying about me."
Max Thorn doesn't take long to understand the reference, and winces.
Nurse Joy: "…alright." She sits down and faces the party. "Alright, if you insist."
Nurse Joy: "Did you see the crystal onix that was just here?"
Linnea: "Oh, this is going to be a fun one. Yeah."
Esme: "Mmhm."
Max Thorn: "That was Midas, I take it."
Nurse Joy: "Yes. You saw what it does."
Max Thorn nods.
Esme: "Rampages around, apparently poisons?"
Nurse Joy: "Any rock. Flesh isn't close enough, but bones are. One tap - through your skin or if it hits your teeth…it's more like a very quick virus."
Sam Spade: "Oh. Wow."
Esme: "When did this start?"
Linnea: "This is…this…hmm. Troubling."
Nurse Joy: "Thing is, the type of gem it turns bones into? Very brittle. Try to move around - just BREATHE normally - and it shatters. Death after that is painful and not fast enough."
Linnea: "And I'm venturing a guess that the material it leaves behind does the same."
Nurse Joy shrugs. "It depends on what kind of rock it was. Much of it yes, but it leaves enough stable gems that, well…" She shakes her head. "The miners won't let us chase the onix away. We're all getting way too rich."
Sam Spade: "…That's rich."
Esme kicks at one of the gemstones left behind. "Yeah I can see that."
Max Thorn: "I think I'd prefer healthy to wealthy."
Linnea: "Yeah, seriously."
Nurse Joy: "Midas, as we're calling him - I think it's a him; nobody's gotten close enough to tell and survived - showed up a few months ago."
The gem shatters into dust under Esme's forceful touch.
Nurse Joy: "Nobody knows where Midas came from. Some claim it's a Team Jaeger experiment, others say it was slumbering deep below and woke when we dug too deep, and those are just the more coherent theories."
Sam Spade: "I…huh."
Sam Spade hesitates for a second, then looks at Max.
Sam Spade: "What do you think?"
Nurse Joy: "We've had to take shelter in the narrow-access caves. We've abandoned our main town…well, mostly abandoned."
Nurse Joy rolls her eyes. "There're a few holdouts there, including the gym leader. They're probably all dead by now."
Sam Spade: "We should probably check on them."
Linnea: "Worth a try."
Esme: "Mm. So you've got an antidote going?"
Max Thorn: "Heck of a thing to handle, given you'd have to be wearing PPE just to survive encountering it."
Nurse Joy nods. "Fortunately I had some, well, 'classical' training, and my chansey was able to pick it up well enough. Never thought that would be useful, let alone save lives."
Linnea: "It's a classic for a reason."
Linnea: "It's how it all started."
Esme: "Of course it's useful!"
Sam Spade: "Not that kind of classical, I think."
Nurse Joy: "If we get through this I am SO going to thank Mrs. Maylithos."
Esme: "Uhh."
Max Thorn: "Maylithos…?"
Nurse Joy: "Yeah. Last time I visited, she had some books lying around - apparently her daughter studies this stuff - so she let me read. She walked me through a few parts of it, even."
Linnea: "Ehehe. The family name, you know? We've been meddling with things in this world for quite some time. My mother, Saya…continued the eccentricities of our line. To great effect, it would seem!"
Linnea looks a little embarrassed, despite the bluster.
Nurse Joy nods. "Yeah, Saya May…" She blinks. "Your mother? You mean…?"
Linnea: "Huh?"
Linnea: "I mean what now? Yeah. Saya Maylithos."
Nurse Joy finally stands up, and bows. "So we have both studied under the same teacher. It is a pleasure to meet you, fellow student."
Nurse Joy then gets on both knees in front of Linnea, clasps Linnea's hands, and looks up at her eyes pleading. "Please help me save my town?"
Max Thorn: "…I wonder. Would it be possible to brew up a sprayable liquid to either discourage Midas or neutralize its alchemical reaction?"
Linnea: "Abuhhuh…"
Linnea: "Y…yes?"
Nurse Joy HUGS! "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Linnea: "Y…you don't have to plead like this. I'm not some goddess, not ye-OOF."
Linnea: "Eheh…wow…"
Linnea reddens further. She totally wasn't expecting this line of events.
Esme: "Crystals, chemistry, with a little 'classic' thrown in…Yeah, we can probably solve this!"
Max Thorn: "…Well, I guess I can confidently let the three of you take charge this time…?"
Officer Jenny has, by now, gotten back to her feet. "To her you kind of are. I mean, she's been dabbling, but from what I hear you're the real deal." Then she looks at Max. "We've been keeping what antidote we've been able to brew for treating cases. If you could help us make more of it - and keep it stable - we could try spraying it, see what happens."
Sam Spade: "I hope so!"
Linnea: "Right! Let's get to work! We need to see what we have, what we're dealing with - not just Midas - and what our options are."
Max Thorn: "Might I suggest going down to the camp rather than standing around here? It might come back."
Sam Spade gives Officer Jenny a hand if she needs it, but otherwise just goes along with the crowd.
Officer Jenny has been fumbling trying to apply a large gauze bandage to her wound. She offers it to Sam upon Sam's approach.
Linnea: "Yeah. Camp first."
Sam Spade puts the bandage on with slightly less fumbling.
Nurse Joy finally lets Linnea go. "Good idea." She leads the way back to the stairs.
Linnea follows, already pondering.
Officer Jenny: "Oooh, thank you. Joy's been so focused on alchemy lately, she's let her nursing go. Not that I'm complaining - this is the third time Midas got me, so she's saved my life that many times."
Esme: "Yeah…not like we'll have to go far if we need more samples."
Esme: "Ouch! Up to three?"
Nurse Joy flashes a smile back at Officer Jenny. "I'll save your life however many times it takes. Because you're worth saving."
Officer Jenny blushes, stumbles a bit, and watches her footing intently.
Officer Jenny: "W-well, it's kind of my job to look for stragglers, you know? Take one for them?"
Esme: "I suppose…"
Nurse Joy: "Don't put yourself down like that! Thanks to you, I've only had to save you three times instead of, like, thirty people once. We don't have that much antidote."
Linnea: "Hm."
Linnea: "First order of business, would it be possible to created a reduced version of the antidote for slighter cases, or is it treat-now in all events?"
As the party talks, they finally return to the camp. Nurse Joy sighs. "There aren't any slighter cases. If you're hit, all of your bones are affected."
Linnea: "So much for stretching the stuff via patches, then…"
Nurse Joy: "There are smaller doses for smaller people, or pokemon, but that's it."
Linnea: "At least we get the foolish ideas out of the way first. Kinda puts me on the spot, but hey, what else is new? I've fought through worse. We all can get through this."
Sam Spade: "Yeah."
Max Thorn: "How well does the recipe scale?"
Nurse Joy: "Linearly. If you have a pokemon with twice the bone mass as an adult human, double the dose."
Linnea: "Troubling."
Max Thorn: "Do you have to brew it to fit the patient, or would you be able to brew a lot of doses at once given a large-enough cauldron?"
Nurse Joy: "Also with relative bone mass. Gravelers need a lot for their body weight; fortunately, they're basically in stasis once hit. I imagine a muk would be invulnerable to this."
Esme: "Hmm. What's the basis for the antidote? What are you using as your reagents?"
Nurse Joy: "A larger cauldron would help, but it's ingredients that's the problem."
Max Thorn: "Depends on the muk's composition, I think."
Linnea: "Restocking would be the best first course of action, especially if you're currently running short."
Nurse Joy: "…honestly? It's…eeerrr…clefairy, ah, 'extract'."
Sam Spade: "What do-"
Sam Spade: "…..Oh."
Linnea: "Interesting."
Nurse Joy: "And the only clefairy we have around here…well, my blissey's the only one she'll let do the extraction."
Officer Jenny: "Because anyone else would run my clefairy dry."
Linnea: "…Awkward."
Esme: "W-well."
Esme: "Anything else that could serve as a meaningful substitute?"
Officer Jenny shrugs. Nurse Joy sighs and replies, "I haven't had time to do the research, and my notes are all back with…" She glances at Linnea. "…your mother."
Linnea: "Well, as long as you haven't heard of her recent or not-so-recent demise, we're still on a good track."
Max Thorn pinches the bridge of his nose. "I don't even want to know how /that/ was discovered."
Nurse Joy: "If we could only find a moon stone, we could evo-WHAT?!?!?"
Linnea: "Ah, and away we go."
Esme: "Ugh, moon stones."
Linnea laughs quietly to herself.
Nurse Joy stares at Linnea. "Your mother…y-you were just joking, right?" She gulps "Mrs. Maylithos is still alive, i-isn't she?"
Sam Spade: "She was speaking hypothetically."
Linnea: "What? Of course she is. I would have heard of it already if she had passed."
Nurse Joy: "Oh." She sighs. "Right, of course you were."
Linnea: "Jeez…didn't mean to be so light about it. Shouldn't make light of it when we're in the middle of a crisis."
Max Thorn: "…Is it specifically a clefairy thing, or would any Fairy-type work?"
Nurse Joy: "I don't know. I mean, I'm reluctant to TEST it, for obvious reasons, but maybe?"
Max Thorn: "I mean, I have a florges with me, but…how are you doing for the other ingredients?"
Linnea: "…and this is the part where Miator would have slapped you silly, I think."
Linnea: "Thankfully, she's not currently summoned."
Nurse Joy: "It's mostly that, flower nectar, and water. We've got nectar from our gardens, and water from our-"
A voice breaks out from the other side of the camp. "MIDAS BROKE OUR PUMP!"
Max Thorn: "…"
Linnea: "Oh, okay, that's not the kind of pause I was dreading."
Max Thorn: "I *had* to ask."
Linnea: "WAIT NO THAT'S TERRIBLE."
Esme: "How broke is it?"
Officer Jenny: "Joy, you hang back." She glances at the party. "If any of you have mechanical skills, FOLLOW ME." With that, she runs off down a side tunnel.
Linnea: "Nnnnnnnot me."
Linnea: "Esme, at least."
Max Thorn follows, a bit belatedly, as he comes to the conclusion that he probably qualifies.
Esme hustles off. "Hup hup!"
[OOC] Max Thorn: I'm assuming Tech Ed would be involved here?
Sam Spade runs, at least she has hands
[OOC] WC GM: Very much so.
Linnea: "…Anything for the rest of us while this is goin' on?"
It does not take long to reach - well, this is a well. Or was. Now it is a long shaft drilled into the floor, a pulley with buckets, and the shattered remnants of an electric engine.
Esme: "More 'classics'."
Max Thorn: "Welp." Max pokes through the remnants of the engine to see if anything's salvageable.
Esme takes a look down the well.
Nurse Joy: "Well, if we've studied under the same teacher, what would you recommend for making something flexible again? Like, from stone to leather - or in this case, stone to bone?"
[OOC] WC GM: Tech Ed check to salvage the engine.
That…is a very, VERY deep well. This is a tall mountain and the well goes all the way down to the water table beneath the mountain.
Max Thorn rolled up 5d6: 16 (5 2 2 3 4)
There is a side shaft for service and access, with a crude elevator that does not seem to have been used in a while.
Esme checks the elevator. Functioning? Rusty?
Fortunately, the metal of the engine is untouched, aside from falling apart. Max quickly identifies the missing components, and has some idea how to manufacture them - but replacement magnetic stone will be needed.
[OOC] WC GM: Esme: Tech Ed check for the elevator.
Esme rolled up 6d6+1: 27 (4 3 1 6 6 6)
Linnea: "Stone to something more flexible is simple enough, you need a creation with Water and Grass materials. Bone is probably a little more tricky, since it also requires its own rigidity without being too floppy or too brittle. So you'd need Ground and a bit or Rock."
Max Thorn: "Any magnetite or other magnetic stone available?"
The elevator is rusty but functional. It could use some oil, though.
Officer Jenny: "Not here. There may be a cache in the main town."
Sam Spade: "Well, we needed to visit the town anyway."
Max Thorn: "Lovely. Well, in that case, I need to visit the town."
Nurse Joy: "Water, grass, ground, and rock? Well, we certainly have ground and rock here." She gestures at the walls.
Officer Jenny: "Right, then let's…"
The walls shudder.
Esme perks.
Officer Jenny: "Oh come ON, not again!"
Linnea: "Shiiiiiiiiit."
Officer Jenny: "Back to camp, BACK TO CAMP!" She runs back up the tunnel.
Sam Spade grabs a straggler and RUNS!
Linnea: "Right, another thing we need to do? Take care of Midas. To hell with the miners."
Max Thorn skedaddles!
Esme chugalug.
Midas flashes through the well room after the party has evacuated.
Fortunately, the tunnel back to camp is too narrow for Midas to pursue.
Once back at camp, Officer Jenny plants hands on knees and huffs to recover her breath. Nurse Joy looks up. "Midas again?"
Max Thorn: "Yup."
Max Thorn: "We /really/ need to figure out a solution, because you folks can't continue like this."
Officer Jenny: "No. Kidding." She stands up, breath recovered. "I'm just glad he can't infect-"
Tim: "ZOOOMBIIIEEES!" Tim drops down from a hole in the ceiling that was not there a moment ago. Sands follows him.
Max Thorn: "…"
Officer Jenny: "…who are you and how did you get here?"
Max Thorn: "Those two came with us, but they burrowed before you showed up.
Sam Spade: "He's Tim, he's our minder, Sands is really good at getting him out of trouble but apparently it wasn't enough this time!"
Linnea: "That's a looooooong story."
Sam Spade: "What's this about zombies? Are they moving?"
Tim: "What they said." He runs up to the party. "Gem zombie pokemon! Sands and I were digging about, when we saw these crystal gravelers start punching other gravelers and turning them to crystal. They seemed kind of out of it, just like zombies!"
Esme: "Great."
Linnea: "Sigh."
Max Thorn: "Lovely. It's infectious."
Linnea: "All the more reason to get this over with as soon as we can."
Nurse Joy: "…ooof course. Geodudes and onixes have rock-based biology including their brains. I've treated some of them, so the antidote works, but…"
Officer Jenny: "Where were they?"
Tim points down a tunnel. Jenny looks, and facepalms.
Sam Spade: "Let me guess. We have to go that way?"
Officer Jenny: "I know you just got here, and I hate to ask, but…from the looks of you, you're all pokemon trainers, right?"
Sam Spade: "Officer, we are glad to help."
Linnea: "Correct."
Officer Jenny: "Well, it would be a good idea. I mean."
Sam Spade: "Come on!"
Max Thorn: "At the very least, I need to send one back to Scale Mount so they can have a poke. With protection, that is."
Officer Jenny: "That's the way to town, and if the zombies are there? It won't be long until they find town. And any stone caches that are there."
Sam Spade: "Malta!"
Linnea: "And the people."
Officer Jenny sighs. "And the people who don't want to be saved. Or their remains."
Linnea: "Always a bigger fool."
Max Thorn: "Well, might as well get going, then…Suijin, lead the way, and wash out anything looking like it's going to try going for us."
Sam Spade: "Malta, stay out of their reach."
The azumarill pops out of his ball with a squeak and a nod, then waddles on forth.
A small crowd of people - mostly miners, guessing from their clothing and gear - gather. "We're making a run for town?" "I've got some equipment it'd be good to get over here." "Lead the way, and my partner and I will follow."
Officer Jenny smiles. "…and this is why I took the job. Alright, everyone, follow us and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING SHINY!" She begins marching off down the indicated tunnel.
Max Thorn follows behind Suijin.
Sam Spade does so as well.
As the makeshift platoon heads forth, the walls rumble again. Midas's head peeks out, and peers toward the group.
Sam Spade covers her mouth and holds her breath.
Officer Jenny freezes up. "Err…a…heh…maaaybe this wasn't such a good…"
Suijin sends forth a Bubblebeam.
Esme: "Hoo."
[OOC] WC GM: Roll to hit, but no damage needed.
Max Thorn rolled up 1d20: 12 (12)
The bubbles splash Midas right on the nose! He shakes his head irritably.
Linnea: "So it begins."
Max Thorn: "Find somewhere else to be, or there'll be more where that came from."
Miner: "…hey. Hey, good idea. Gem Polisher, Water Pulse!" A jet of water blasts over Max's shoulder, nailing Midas in the same spot.
Sam Spade steps forward. "You don't really want to be here, do you?" Then she blows a kiss - Sweet Kiss!
Sam Spade rolled up 1d20: 10 (10) (AC6)
Linnea aims a finger-gun toward the beastly thing, takes aim…BLAM! Then fires a terrifyingly large beam. [Moonblast]
Linnea rolled up 1d20: 2 (2) (AC 2)
The beam hits the tunnel - but in these confines, that is close enough.
Linnea: "Tch…"
Encouraged by the party, the miners throw more moves Midas's way. The small torrent of abuse soon drives Midas back down the tunnel!
Esme claps, being pleased at having to do absolutely nothing.
Officer Jenny: "He's on the run!" The miners cheer.
Max Thorn: "For now, anyway. Let's move on."
Officer Jenny: "Right." She heads down the tunnel past where Midas intruded.
Suddenly, the path ahead lights up like a kaleidoscope. Jenny gets out some shades and puts them on.
Sam Spade has her own shades on already.
Max Thorn shaded.
Linnea dons shades almost on instinct.
Miners: "What IS that?" "It's the crystal zombies, duh." "Scattering the light like that? I didn't bring eye protection." "…hey, you in front! Y-you take care of them, we'll guard your rear in case Midas comes back!" "Yeah!"
Esme was luckily prepared to deal with it. Thanks Jane!
Linnea: "We're on it."
Sure enough, around a corner, and there is a tunnel full of crystal geodudes, gravelers, and golems, converging on a small group of steelixes guarding a nest of small onixes.
Max Thorn: "…Oh boy, it's smashin' time."

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