The messenger bag is covered with blood adnd stuck to the leg at an angle, leading to a general conclusion that the spider probably killed the messenger and got caught with the bag. Inside the tube is a single piece of parchment rolled up.




The Symbols at the bottom are a form of Orcish. It is not quite the dialect Lum is used to but the words mean - This is the way send more "something".


The doors are metal and have no power to them. After a quick check for traps from Tomiki, Lum pushes them aside easily. Beyond is a plain room with nothing in it except steel walls and another door. Although sealed, the doors are not locked and with effort, Lum and Tomiki can slide them aside easily.

Beyond the second set of doors is a (20x20) room that is very dark. With flashlights, you can see this is/was a control room at one point with both sides of the room lined with panels and large multi-screen monitors. All are currently off, other than a blinking red light on the control panels to the left. The security door on the opposite side of the room is sealed shut. On the right, there are a series of cabinets under the control panels.

When Rhy brought out the messenger bag and they all saw the blood and its condition, it was obvious that the Firebugs were not the messengers, but had in fact killed the messenger. When the contents were brought out and the parchment unrolled to reveal an intricate map, Máiréad gasped.

"Such a beautiful map," she said in awe, "this is fine craftsmanship. But what is this writing? This is the same symbol as on the spiders?"

When Lum translates for them, she nods and then asks, "Send more ‘what', I wonder?"

(OOC: Allowing any discussion regarding the map; will back post if needed)

"Rhy," she said once the map was done and secured back in it case, "you found the map. Keep it well."

Once they were done with the room they moved on to the doors that were partially open. Tomiki declared the door free of any traps, and Lum used his strength to push them open, they see another room and another set of doors which were closed.

"Well," Máiréad said with a small smile, "I guess we can be sure the Firebugs didn't come through here; unless they have learned to close doors behind them." She chuckled slightly as they moved on to the next set of doors.

Those doors were not locked and yielded to Lum and Tomiki's strength and they see another dark room. Taking out their flashlights, she binds her light to her staff with straps as usual, and they find it looks like a control room. The many panels and large monitors appear off, but there is a blinking red light on one of the panels. (Note: Whenever she mentions taking out her flashlight, she always secures in as mentioned above. Just assume it is, since I don't think it necessary to say the same thing over and over. )

"Let us check out this room carefully," Máiréad suggests with a faint smirk, "before we flip any switches, shall we?" She is referring to a previous mission where ‘someone', who she doesn't need to mention, thought it was a good idea to start turning dials and switches to see what happened? They had all barely made it out of there with their lives, when the mechanical beasts came from doors that opened in the walls.

(OOC: I know I just made it up, but I figure it's ok since it doesn't really affect this adventure in any way, and I didn't mention any particular name. If anyone wants to take credit for that ‘slip up', they are welcome to do so. )

They find another set of security doors which do appear to be sealed. The cabinets that she sees under the control panels don't interest her at the moment. She moves over to the panels where the light is blinking, and ‘without' touching anything, she looks for any sort of writing or indication of what these panels actually do.

"Spirits guide me," she mutters softly.

(OOC: If she needs to do any sort of Knowledge or skill checks, please make them. I don't know how this all works. )

(Edit: Just made a couple of minor changes)

As Tomiki watched Lum move the egg away from the heat he was still of a mind to destroy them himself. However it was clear he was outnumbered in that action so he said nothing as the Orc finished repositioning them for later withdrawal. As the contents of the bag were revealed to be just a rolled up piece of parchment the oriental raised elf was not so much interested until he glimpsed that one of the symbols matched the brands upon the Fire Bugs.

Bringing this to the attention of the rest of his companions he next checked the door for anything dangerous. Upon finding no traps or surprises waiting for the four of them he helped him push the door aside then followed behind Lum as the large Orc lead the way into the 20x20 room.

With the power out the room was very dark with flashlights out he could see this was some kind of old control room that at one point had both sides of the room lined with panels and large multi-screen monitors. Clear to the four of them that all the monitors and tech within the room was currently off thanks to no power. However a blinking red light on the control panels to the left was still working giving Tomiki cause to believe there was power somewhere within this complex . A quick check of the room revealed that the security door on the opposite side of the room was sealed shut.

"So what now do, we try to get power?"...............


((Making any needed skill/Knowledge checks while checking over the room))

Rhyson panned his light around the room. There would be a lot to look at here. And there was power. A blinking light, that bode well for finding more things of interest. But there was also reason to be cautious. Where had those bugs come from? Had someone put them there? Why? If there was power, was it in use by whoever controlled the bugs?

"Wait." He said before anyone entered the room. "Before you disturb anything, lets see if the dust has any stories to tell." And so he carefully moved his light around the room, starting with the floor. Was there dust? Was it disturbed? Where? As they entered he added, "look for signs of disturbance before you touch anything, especially around that light."

Taking his own advice, he moved cautiously into the room, looking around at everything and looking for signs of threat or disturbance. He moved first to the door opposite, taking the time to look for signs that it had opened recently and then listening at the door. Threat assessment was always the first concern.

Once he was satisfied by his investigations of the room, the elf moved to the cabinets. "Everybody should look at the controls, who knows which of us might find something we recognize. Once we are done here, who wants to help open the cabinets? Lets start with the one under the light. I'll open the doors if someone else wants to be ready in case anything goes bump in the night."

(OOC: Ok, so Rhyson does the following.
1. inspect the dust or anything else for signs of tracks or movement.
2. Inspect and listen at the door.
3. Look at the light and controls.
- first the one under the light. Then he'll start from the left of the door they came in and go around to the right, one at a time. Others may take part in this, but this gives us an order of operations. )

For a room that has been sealed for what looks like along time, there is very little dust in here or on the control panels. The panels ae all labeled in Ancient Saurian but that only helps so far as even though Máiréad can read the labels, they are mostly acronyms and short forms. Between Lum and her looking over things, you get the feeling this was once the main control centre for a facility that required a lot of monitors and safety systems. Perhaps a military base or a mine or even a huge sanitation centre, either way the main power is cut to this room and the red light indicates that everything is in standby mode.

Lum starts by flicking the switch to the lights, which doesn't work and then starts to pull the control panels up to look at the wiring underneath. If he can figure out where power came in before, it might be able to restore it.

Tomiki and Rhyson examine the sealed door before them. The mage hears no noises beyond the steel frame Tomiki pulls open access panel nearby. Having worked a few jobs with security systems before, Tomiki is reasonable sure he could bypass the lock by using one of the batteries you have on you. It would drain the battery but it would get the door open at least.

Máiréad tries to communicate with the spirits of this place but they are strangely silent here. In fact, it is more quiet here spiritually speaking than any place she has been before.

Lum finds something in the cabinets under the control panel. It is an old emergency fusion generator. It would normally run on water but it has been down here for years. If he could get it working, the generator allow would be would a lot to Dwan back home.

Rhyson looks at Tomiki and speaks. "I like the idea of using a battery to try and open the door. I'd rather not shut the other door behind us. It just feels a bit like a trap that way. This place didn't look like it was abandoned for ages and ages."

If the others agree, Rhyson will move back a bit and let Tomiki go to work. He will place himself about 15' back from the door - where he will have a view of things when the door opens.

"This writing on the panels are Ancient Saurian," Máiréad told the others as they were looking about the room, "Lum come look at these; I can't seem to understand what this means."


(Assuming Lum complies)


"It seems some sort of instruction," she said to him as they looked them over, "but if these are controls, they are only things that the original users would know what this means. But I think this is some kind of Main Control Center for this place; with all these monitors and safety systems. I don't know what kind of place, Military perhaps, or a mine, or even a sanitation center." She snorted at the last, she hoped it wasn't the last.

She listened to what the others had found and thought on it. She had prayed to her spirits, but for some reason the Spirits were unusually quiet down here; that troubled her. She didn't like places where she couldn't talk to her Spirits. This place made her uncomfortable and she would be glad to find out what this place was, what was there to take, and to get out of her and back to the Pegasus.

She heard talk of opening the door using one of their batteries; she thought it was a good idea, "Yes, that might be a good idea. We could see what is beyond. It might be more powerful than the generator that Lum has already found. I say we do it."

She waits to see what the others think; whatever the decision she will be ready to back up the group in case it is needed.

Dwan had realized early that Lum was able to perceive complex features of machines and wiring if it was related to him as simple items in nature. He took his time to tell the Orc how wiring was similar to roots and plants. How power traveled through the wires as nutrients traveled from source to the fruit. The Dwarv explained the strength of the flow was like water through rivers and streams, the larger the wire the larger the flow, the smaller the wire the faster the flow. Lakes were as batteries holding the power to be released when needed. This knowledge gave the big green guy a knack to figure out how many things worked.
Walking into the control room Lum scanned the room to see where the power might be coming in.

"This writing on the panels are Ancient Saurian,,,Lum come look at these; I can't seem to understand what this means.",,. "It seems some sort of instruction, but if these are controls, they are only things that the original users would know what this means. But I think this is some kind of Main Control Center for this place; with all these monitors and safety systems. I don't know what kind of place, Military perhaps, or a mine, or even a sanitation center."
The big guy brushed aside some of the dust, "Them only letters..don't know what they mean." The flashing red light indicated that there was power coming from somewhere. Taking the chance it might work Lum did the obvious and flipped the wall light switch,nothing.

So he must find where the power was. Pulling open panel tops he traced the wires from the switches to the main lines. Noticing that the lines were coming from two places he found a possible power source. "May be power maker,if I make it work we can try to use to open doors. Save batteries for later."

Lun traced the items that lead to the unit. "Water come in,power go out." Finding what looked like a water valve he moved it to the open position. If there was still water in the system then it would be gravity fed to allow it to flow to the generator. There was a crank that would either move the water or build a charge to start the generator. Lum turned the handle several times and then pressed what appeared to be the activator button. The big green hands repeated the process while Lum listened to hear some indication that the generator was running or the water was flowing. "If no water in pipes me try my water ..may not need much."

Looking back to the party, "If this not work maybe find power wire in red light to hook up to doors."

"So what now do, we try to get power?"

"Wait." Rhyson said before anyone could enter the room. "Before you disturb anything, lets see if the dust has any stories to tell." he added, "look for signs of disturbance before you touch anything, especially around that light."

Pausing to allow the Mage to move forward Tomiki begin his own visual search of the area. As he finally moved forward he paid close attention to what Máiréad was saying about the writing.

"This writing on the panels are Ancient Saurian, Lum come look at these; I can't seem to understand what this means."

"Them only letters.. don't know what they mean." The large Orc said moving over to look at the writing.

"It seems some sort of instruction," she said to him as they looked them over, "but if these are controls, they are only things that the original users would know what this means. But I think this is some kind of Main Control Center for this place; with all these monitors and safety systems. I don't know what kind of place, Military perhaps, or a mine, or even a sanitation center." She snorted at the last, she hoped it wasn't the last.

As he moved forward listening to the ongoing talk between Máiréad and Lum he paid close attention to the un-powered door, finally coming to the conclusion it could be easily opened yet cost them one of there precious battery's.

"I could get the door open however we'd have to use one of our battery's and what may be beyond may not be worth it."

"I like the idea of using a battery to try and open the door. I'd rather not shut the other door behind us. It just feels a bit like a trap that way. This place didn't look like it was abandoned for ages and ages." This coming from Rhyson as the first to respond.

However Lum having found an old but intact generator brought it forward to the others view.

"May be power maker,if I make it work we can try to use to open doors. Save batteries for later. Water come in,power go out."

Finding what looked like a water valve the Orc moved it to the open position. If there was still water in the system then it would be gravity fed to allow it to flow to the generator. There was a crank that would either move the water or build a charge to start the generator. Lum turned the handle several times and then pressed what appeared to be the activator button. The big green hands repeated the process while Lum listened to hear some indication that the generator was running or the water was flowing.

"If no water in pipes me try my water ..may not need much. If this not work maybe find power wire in red light to hook up to doors."

Hearing Tomiki and Rhyson talk of opening the door using one of their batteries and then Lum finding the generator Máiréad spoke up,

"Yes, that might be a good idea. We could see what is beyond. It might be more powerful than the generator that Lum has already found. I say we do it."

Looking at the other 3 Tomiki went to work attempting to open the door with generator or battery.

((OOC: OK again using any checks as needed. Also will add water to the generator to get it started. If not possible, will use a battery.

Lum works on the backup generator for about twenty minutes, swearing in orcish under his breath about rust and clogged intake valves. He takes apart sections of it, cleans them as best he can and then reassembles the unit. After pouring water into the manifold and turning a hand crank to start it up, the machine begins to purr like a kitten - a mechanical kitten. Tomiki and Lum then connect the generator to the doorway control panels and ,.

The magnetic seal on the door releases and slides open,.

Through the security door you see a long corridor before you (at least 100" or longer, 20' wide). The floor is the same steel grate that the stairs were made of and the walls are metal with many conduits, power junctions, steel boxes and cables running along them. Some lights are operating in here; many are flickering rapidly though giving a strobe like effect to the scene. There were a few windows along this corridor at one point but they are now completely blackened on the outer side with centuries of dirt and dust. Looking down the corridor, there are piles of debris and equipment scattered throughout, some of which can be avoid, others that will have to be climbed over to pass. The ceiling is at least 25 feet above and was covered with ceiling tiles that have now rotted away to reveal all the torn and falling HVAC vents that were previously used in this facility. The air is humid here, and smells of rotting cardboard and plaster.

Rhyson was not surprised that the big orc was able to get the generator running, he was used to such efficiency in his companions, but he was impressed. Such skills made many things much easier - like opening doors. And as if proof of the thought were needed, the door slid open in front of them.

Rhyson joined the others in looking down the revealed passage. "Hang on - like last time, lets look to see if the dust and dirt reveal anything before we mess everything up with our footsteps. The first time we find footprints will be pretty creepy." So saying he followed his own advice and carefully looked at the dust and dirt that went down the passage. Was anything interesting to be seen . . .

(Assuming nothing of note is found - if it is, the rest might need to be changed.)

As the group moved into the hallway, Rhyson moved to the first of the windows - it was filthy on the other side. But could it reveal anything? Did it appear to be dirt? Could anything be seen? Was there any indication of light? Did the window give any indication of leakage? Leaking what? There probably wasn't much to learn, but you never knew unless you tried.

He then moved with the rest of the group to the first pile of equipment that they would need to traverse. Could they tell what sort of equipment it was? Why was it here? Who left equipment in the middle of a hallway? Of course, there could be something of value as well, but that was doubtful. What he really hoped for was some sort of hint about the purpose and fate of this place.

Máiréid's eyes widened as the security door opened wide to reveal a long corridor. She smiled as she saw all of the equipment; it increased the odds that they would find something valuable to take back with them.

She walked up behind Lum and Tomiki where they had connected the generator to the control panels and laid a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Good work guys," she said with a smile. She was always one to praise her companions when they accomplished something that helped them on their mission. She was also one to admonish them as well if they did something stupid and dangerous, which thankfully wasn't that often.

Rhyson joined the others in looking down the revealed passage. "Hang on - like last time, let's look to see if the dust and dirt reveal anything before we mess everything up with our footsteps. The first time we find footprints will be pretty creepy."

"Agreed," Máiréid said as she moved to the entrance and studied the floor closely for signs of disturbance. Once they were done, she moved slowly into the corridor as she closely examined everything as they passed. Anything that looked like writing she was studying extra carefully.

"Check everything," she said to the others, "if you see any writing that you can't read, let us know so we can all check it out. Odds are one of us should be able to make out the language even if we don't know what it means. By the Spirits, don't try to activate anything just yet."

She remembered the other markings on the panel inside the last room. She could read it but didn't know what it meant. It was like some code or shortened abbreviations that were not familiar to her.

She examined everything she passed, being careful not to attempt to activate any of it just yet. As she walked, she softly mumbled to herself, or rather her Spirits, as always, to ask for any guidance. She was bothered by the strange silence she had been getting from the Spirits since she had entered this place. Was something blocking them? Keeping them out? Something that powerful had to be found, and stopped if possible.

Strong green finger worked on the mechanical box that should produce the power needed to activate the doors. Time and neglect had taken a bit of a toll on the item but Lum was determined to get it working. He also knew this would be something his boss would value.

Clearing some rust and corrosion, ,"Grombolar",, then pouring some water in," this must work now."
Lum gave the generator a few cranks and pressed the start button,,,,The machine started to whirr and hummm,"good.. it work now."

Tomiko helped Lum locate the wires for the door and soon they opened to a corridor lined with panels and chambers. When the party had all entered Tomiko was able to get the doors to stay open so Lum could disconnect the generator.
"Good, we can use portable power." Lum packed up the machine and headed down the passage.

Approaching the first panel Lun looked at the writing and reached out for one of the switches, but as his finger was about to flip the toggle he heard Máiréid ,.By the Spirits, don't try to activate anything just yet."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,,,,,, you no fun."

Once the door is jammed open, the party moves down the corridor. Máiréid gives a warning about toughing anything and Lum reluctantly obeys. From observation though, it appears most the panels are turned off or have no power. The corridor is definitely dusty and there are no signs of any tracks moving through this area recently. In fact, you'd guess you are the first people down here in perhaps decades if not centuries.

Rhyson looks at the dirty windows. It is so old and caked on that no light can get past the grime. Although he can not see anything pass it, it did mean that there used to be something to see beyond it at one time.

Máiréid feels the spirits again in the corridor. There is a sense of loss in this place - a sense of death as well. But most of all, she can not shake the feeling of being watched. Now she often feels watch by the spirit world by this time it is more maleficent and , longing.

After about 20 feet in, Tomiki suddenly calls out for a halt. He slowly moves ahead of the party a few feet and seems be staring at the air in front of him. Lower himself to the floor, he grabs a pinch of dust and then stands up scatter the dust into the air ahead of him. As the particles drift downward, some of them suddenly reflect light. "There are eyebeams here." He says to the party. "Two of them about waist height."

(I will assume you will crawl under the beams to get pass them. It is an easy skill check)

Once passed the laser security, there is a section of the passageway blocked but fallen tubes, wires and venting. It looks like the HVAC collapsed from above. It is about 5 feet high at the lowest point and will have to be climbed over.

As the power from the found generator opened the door before them the party found before them a 100" or longer, 20' wide tunnel of sorts. The floor the same steel grate that the stairs were made of, the walls metal with many conduits, power junctions, steel boxes and cables running along them. With a few lights still in operation it was easy to tell what lay before them to some extent. The few windows along this corridor completely blacked out and covered with centuries of dirt and dust. Piles of debris and equipment scattered throughout, causing in some spots minor obstacles to be dealt with.

The ceiling 25 feet above covered with ceiling tiles that have clearly rotted away over time to reveal all the torn and falling HVAC vents that were previously used in this facility. The air humid here, smelling of rotting cardboard and plaster.

Taking the lead the party followed Tomiki as they entered the corridor. With Rhyson looking at windows Tomiki kept his attention on the area in front of him searching for any sigh of trap or danger. Suddenly catching sight of something he stopped the rest from moving forward. Moving slowly his eyes on the area to his front he quickly found what had caught his attention.

"There are eyebeams here." He says to the party. "Two of them about waist height."

Showing the other three where the beams are using dust he slowly moves under them and to a clear spot. Motioning to the others the assassin went to one knee his blaster rifle up and scanning for any attackers as the rest of his friends crossed under. With Lum, Rhyson and Máiréid safely across, the next obstacle would be a climb.

Once more taking the lead the Elf assassin made his way to the collapsed ceiling HVAC unit and again checked for dangers..............

(Ok checking to see if it is firm enough and safe enough to climb over. If it is Tomiki will climb to a point that he can see down the corridor before climbing down to the other side)