Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Nyaa
Jan 7, 2010
Like, Nyaa.

:colbert:
BJ

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Nothingtoseehere
Nov 11, 2010


J Now seems as good as time as any to pick up the corpses for 1 or 2 wealth, and an extra day is extra time a job might drop into our lap.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

nothing to seehere posted:

J Now seems as good as time as any to pick up the corpses for 1 or 2 wealth, and an extra day is extra time a job might drop into our lap.

Send the team to do this low risk job, plus go with Connie to see his mate who might have a job. Froggo and Herr Doktorman can finish armour and rest up accordingly.

Give our cousin the kobold suit armor he so desperately wants.


Also gently caress the frog already.

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

J

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?
J, then I with Konnie, while the rest of the team does H

RandomPauI
Nov 24, 2006


Grimey Drawer
Actions in order.

J: Should be a quick buck
H: Info is good
B: I want an old man and a demon marsh horse dammit!

Mr. Nemo
Feb 4, 2016

I wish I had a sister like my big strong Daddy :(
J
G


Do the time sensitive one first. We need to train and some point people, and doing it now provides an advantage for any mission. Who knows when we will be "free" again.

Lanky Coconut Tree
Apr 7, 2011

An angry tree.

The angriest tree
JGH

alpaca diseases
May 19, 2009

Tempted to leave the Salmonster corpses where they are so that

Johakim posted:

some monster more wealth comes looking for an easy meal

Just voting I for now, since it'll lead to another round with at least the same choices available anyway

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

BJ

Because why NOT get a crotchety old dude on the not-payroll? We need an owlbearsitter anyway.

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

Outrail posted:

Send the team to do this low risk job, plus go with Connie to see his mate who might have a job. Froggo and Herr Doktorman can finish armour and rest up accordingly.

Give our cousin the kobold suit armor he so desperately wants.


This has my support

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc
DHI

We know how to rid ourselves of an Ankheg. What's an extra horse cost anyway?

Booze after to celebrate.

Let's see what Totes McGoats has to offer.

There Bias Two
Jan 13, 2009
I'm not a good person

J

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer
ITEC HQ – Expedition to the Buried Cache
Month 3, Week 4, Day 1.
Morning

You decide to deal with the more time-sensitive and nearby task first, namely to retrace your steps and unbury the cache of Salmonster corpses you left behind nearly a month ago, on the trip back from Grüw to Harst.

As you expect little difficulty beyond a day of back-breaking labour, you elect to leave Skvababt behind so she can continue work on the new armour. Kvelar as well, for he has much work to do if he is to adapt the Kobold Plate to fit him snugly.
The rest, Johakim, Khami, Tommy, Konnie and Abigail and you, begin packing shovels and work-gloves, ropes and whatever else might be needed to cart the loot back home.



Your all-purpose adventuring wagon is more than fit for the task ahead. It has served you well the past four months and will hopefully perform as well for many ore to come.

There is very little traffic on the road these days, what with winter fast approaching and attacks becoming more and more frequent I'm general. Citizens prefer riverboats for their speed when available or the company of Imperial troops when they are not.
Still, with some cities effectively landlocked, ground based transport is a necessity.

The Imperial Road is the bureaucracy attempt to make this as safe as possible. A cobbled lifeline stretching from city to city across the world, a network of trade upon which all can rely.
In better times it was patrolled by the Imperial Army, but nowadays you would be more likely to see a merchant caravan accompanied by a private mercenary force or a company of hired monster hunters, depending on the region.

Even then, transports do not always make it to their destination. If worse comes to worst, a Paladin of Quackeen might be dispatched to at least fetch the contracts and certificates of the diseased,
but more often than not the same task falls to adventurers hired by the Church or the merchant or noble who would claim the salvage for their own ends.

Thus it is that when you eventually pass the battered section of road where you fought the Ankheg, most of the wreck of the trading caravan has already been picked clean.
Two bored looking guards stand watch as workers sift through the rubble and dig the soil fruitlessly to attempt to find trace of the corpses of those who died here.
Not for interment, but for a chance to reclaim lost gear or equipment. Ever is the loss of goods felt harshly in the Empire, for The Forest creeps closer with each passing day.

You nod as you pass, happy that your efforts around Braav have made sure there citizens can work in relative peace, though still wary that more danger might lurk in the shadows of your surroundings.

The Ankheg crater that marks the spot of your recent victory is being filled in by worker ducks with shovels, and as for the road itself new cobbles are already being laid.
The road workers, a dozen or so all in all, wear uniforms emblazoned with the heraldry of the Lord of Braav. The road, no matter the danger, is of paramount importance.
Maintenance of the same is one of the many tasks the leader of a city is responsible for, failure to meet the requirements of upkeep would be met with severe punishments indeed.



---

Your journey continues for another two hours at least, the slow pace in part due to the damage the road has taken which you can see now that you follow it extends for much longer than you had anticipated.
The road plows through a lightly forested area and curves south east to meet and follow the river, a path deemed safer overall, despite the threat of river monsters.

Trees lay uprooted here and there and blood soaked ankheg mounds mark spots were the beasts of the wild met their untimely ends.
Judging only by what you can see from the road and extrapolating to what little you know of environmental statistics, you are quiet certain that the local deer population will take years to recover.
Another small blow to the Empire.

Things rapidly take a turn for the worse when you at last come upon the buried cache, in that it is no longer buried.
The spot where you camped and subsequently fought the Salmonsters resembles more the pockmarked and scarred battlefield of a formerly pimply faced teen, than the pleasant rocky if ichor-spattered beach that you left behind.

ITEC, battle-alerted and ready for anything, get of their horses and spread out, finding quickly that the place is abandoned and devoid of the corpses you had hope to find.
At least there aren't any corpses you had not expected to find here either. By all accounts it seems like an Ankheg has already been here for what to it must have been a ready made and scrumptious banquet.
Judging by the general direction of the carnage you have a good idea just what Ankheg that might have been.

You stare at the scene for a while, trying to take it all in. Anything to distract you from facing Johakim in this one moment for he is, perhaps understandably, furious.



---

1: Well. This is awkward. Now what?

A: Stay and search the place.
Surely it couldn't have eaten everything?

B: Try and figure out where it came from to start with.
Note: with Skvababt busy working on your armour and Kvelar working on his own, you are currently lacking a tracker.
You will have to rely on the wilderness skills of the brothers Loman, Khami or Abigail which are of considerably lesser quality since you have none to speak of of your own.

C: Head back to Braav.
Never speak of this again.
You already killed the monster responsible so it should be fine, right?

D: Pray.
To whom? About what?

E: Something else?
Write in.

---

Party thoughts:
Konnie: “Can't 'ave eaten everything, can it? 'Sbound to be somethin' left if we look around.”
Kvelar: Unavailable for comment.
Johakim: Is busy fuming and mumbling things such as “out of all the...” “irresponsible!”
Abigail: “Woah, cool! Maybe if we follow the tracks we can find another one and kill that one as well!”
Khami: “For every action; consequence. Such is the way of the world.”
Skvababt: Unavailable for comment.
Tommy: “Eh, what's done is done. The beast has been dealt with. Best just head home and forget we were ever here.”
Owlbear Cubs: “Hoot, hoot hoot hoot.” (Feed us large bugs! Tasty!)

Nettle Soup
Jan 30, 2010

Oh, and Jones was there too.

C
:|

Nyaa
Jan 7, 2010
Like, Nyaa.

:colbert:
b. Kill another one, recreate loot

There Bias Two
Jan 13, 2009
I'm not a good person

C dang

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Wait, so why is he so furious? It's not like we could have foreseen this?

Mr. Nemo
Feb 4, 2016

I wish I had a sister like my big strong Daddy :(
Am I missing something? How much was this loot worth?

A

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?
1A

Outrail posted:

Wait, so why is he so furious? It's not like we could have foreseen this?

You've got a point.

1E: Ask Johakim why he is so upset.

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc
A. We should take a look around. This is odd. Keep away from the river's edge for now.

Dog Kisser
Mar 30, 2005

But People have fears that beasts do not. Questions, too.
A

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

I think Johakim is pissed because ITEC has been doing a lot of incredibly risky jobs lately, and he just wanted an easy score where nobody had to get hurt for once.

Nettle Soup
Jan 30, 2010

Oh, and Jones was there too.

No he's mad because we buried meat here and the monster found it and people died because of it?

Mr. Nemo
Feb 4, 2016

I wish I had a sister like my big strong Daddy :(
He had clearly hidden his drug/porn stash there.

Dog Kisser
Mar 30, 2005

But People have fears that beasts do not. Questions, too.

Nettle Soup posted:

No he's mad because we buried meat here and the monster found it and people died because of it?

Yep, that's my bet - though I don't feel particularly guilty about that, because that's hardly our fault

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

I am confused. I thought we buried the teeth, not the bodies?

Nyaa
Jan 7, 2010
Like, Nyaa.

:colbert:
The meat suppose to be the least valuable thing too, so... Some monster really need that calcium? :shittydog:

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

Blasphemaster posted:

I am confused. I thought we buried the teeth, not the bodies?

You were in a rush. Out of a total of eleven Salmonsters, you harvested six for their meat and buried the rest, teeth, claws and all in the hope to come back for them later.

Swedish Thaumocracy posted:

Fully Loaded

Mouth salivating at the thought of delicious monster meats, but head full of worry for your ever ticking deadline, you decide to not overload your poor startled horses overly, taking only half the meat (replacing what rations you had before) and finding a good spot to bury the rest.


[04 Load]
+01 Salmonster Jerky Rations (+00 Load) (replaces old rations)
+02 Roasted Salmonster Meat (+01 Load) (01 replacing old rations)
+01 Demeated, detoothed, declawed Monster Corpse (+0.5 Load)
= [05.5 Load], putting you at just under what your horses can carry without additional strain.


You spend a few hours doing all that needs to be done; guarding against additional attacks from the river, recovering your horses and harvesting what you can from the monsters you killed.
It is grizzly work, and at the end of it you feel more tired than ever, but the sun has risen and you must continue onwards. To Braav then, and from there, Harst.


Mr. Nemo posted:

Am I missing something? How much was this loot worth?

That depends entirely on what you want to do with it. You gave one of the bodies, containing a strange blood-transforming-Ichor to the Gnomish Alchemist, whom in return promised to make a potion for you should you find the rest of the ingredients needed. The meat you used to replace your own rations that you would have food enough for the trip to Harst, and tasty at that.

Salmonsters have sharp claws that could be crafted into blades and long, needle-like teeth ideal for making crossbow bolts or piercing arrowheads.

In short, for a normal citizens they are next to worthless. For the monster hunter on the move? A veritable treasure trove of resources.

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer
The Field Medics Fury



Why am I mad? I'll tell you why I'm mad; I've spent the last ninety-odd hours knee deep in blood and guts cleaning up after a monster attack; and I come back to this!
One monster. Hundreds of wounded. You're an accountant, what do you think our odds are, with numbers like that?

And what, do you think our chances are any better if we invite them in?! The sheer incompetent, irresponsible malice!
That you took your time to harvest half the corpses for their meat but not the five minutes it would have taken to burn the rest!
For Lolths sake we can't even have proper graveyards any more! What did you think would happen if you let a feast like this rot in the ground for a month before you did anything about it!?

I thought being a monster hunter was about helping people. About fighting back. And if we got rich on the side all the better. But I didn't expect this.
Nine people are dead because of you. That's nine families broken, nine less citizens to stand against these accursed monsters.
May the Gods show the dead the mercy that you are clearly incapable of.

2: How do you respond?

A: Defensive
Write-in

B: Offensive
Write-in

C: Accepting
Write-in

D: Rejecting
Write-in

E: Silent
Ignore the problem and hope it goes away!

Nettle Soup
Jan 30, 2010

Oh, and Jones was there too.

C I think: Listen, I'm aware that we hosed up, that we have hosed up recently more than once but I'm doing my best. I'm new to this, I've been out of the mountainhome barely 3 months(??? citation needed) and we were in a rush. Next time, come with us, help us, so that this sort of thing doesn't happen again. I'm not gonna get mad if you criticise something I'm doing, that's what I need you for.

Try not to break down into tears while all this is going on.

I guess this is a lesson about actions having consequences :v: Nobody else seemed to think much of it but I guess that's our job as leader, to think of this poo poo.

Nyaa
Jan 7, 2010
Like, Nyaa.

:colbert:
E



Cornuto
Jun 26, 2012

For the pack!
B: gently caress this guy.

Cornuto fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Mar 16, 2017

Cannon_Fodder
Jul 17, 2007

"Hey, where did Steve go?"
Design by Kamoc

Cornuto posted:

B: gently caress this guy.

Who the gently caress do you think you are? We have also brought back supplies and stopped creatures that could have done terrible things to many more people than those who were hurt here. Look at the big picture, get your head out of your rear end, control your temper because this isn't the cleanest business in town. We do good, but must recognize a margin of error. Think of those we pulled from the riverboat. Think of how if the Ankheg was close enough to get to this, he was also close enough to get to the town.

CourValant
Feb 25, 2016

Do You Remember Love?
1D

"I understand that emotions are high right now; you've spent the past few days tending to the dead and the dying, which is a noble and worthwhile calling.

Remember always that it was the monsters, the forest, the wilderness that killed these people. Not ITEC, not me, and not you.

We are helping, in the best way we know how. Even in the looting of these Salmonsters, it is so that we may become better equipped to handle the fangs and claws coming our way.

And it is coming. Have no doubt. Things will get a whole lot worse before they get better, and we're on the front lines now.

I need you with me, the Team needs you, the people we'll be sent out to help will need you. There will be more dead, more dying, and they all need you.

Focus on the job at hand; you can't tend to the present if you can't see beyond the past.

If you doubt our cause, ask yourself, would the world be better off if we all just stayed home? Or did we do some collective good these past months."

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

C

Mr. Nemo
Feb 4, 2016

I wish I had a sister like my big strong Daddy :(
I can't even deal with this poo poo. Paradise lost is too stressing on its own.

How easily do we think we could get another doctor for our group? If he decides to leave, what do we feel his brothers would do?

alpaca diseases
May 19, 2009

Cannon_Fodder posted:

Cornuto posted:

B: gently caress this guy.
Who the gently caress do you think you are? We have also brought back supplies and stopped creatures that could have done terrible things to many more people than those who were hurt here. Look at the big picture, get your head out of your rear end, control your temper because this isn't the cleanest business in town. We do good, but must recognize a margin of error. Think of those we pulled from the riverboat. Think of how if the Ankheg was close enough to get to this, he was also close enough to get to the town.

Cornuto
Jun 26, 2012

For the pack!
.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

Cannon_Fodder posted:

Who the gently caress do you think you are? We have also brought back supplies and stopped creatures that could have done terrible things to many more people than those who were hurt here. Look at the big picture, get your head out of your rear end, control your temper because this isn't the cleanest business in town. We do good, but must recognize a margin of error. Think of those we pulled from the riverboat. Think of how if the Ankheg was close enough to get to this, he was also close enough to get to the town.

Also add in how many people we've saved per life lost. It's probably something like 100 if you factor in the poo poo we did for Toil.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply