[Mercy Merchant]

Athos laughs.  "No one ever led successfully from the rear.  I will lead."  With that, he descends into the hole.

[Mulcarn]

Maxwell trails after Athos, making sure that there was at least a dozen paces between the two.

[gilga]

You decent into some underground pipe, a large one and with a very distinctive smell. Rotting flesh, you can hear and perhaps see the heat signature of hundreds of rats as they follow you through the pipe. They seem to keep their distance but you can tell that their number grows as you proceed.. It is easy to miss but there is another troll hole above you. The reason it is so easily missed is that this one has its ladder removed.

The conditions are terrible and you already feel that your breakfast wants out. Further, every little sound you make is augmented by the terrible acoustics of the place and seems to attract even more rats. If this is indeed your lab, they are not exactly receptive to guest work.



You'll need to pass a threshold 2 survival test or become a bit sick from the conditions 1 stun damage and -2 to all rolls until you have fresh air. (may need a composure test depending on your characters personality, if you want to somehow climb to the manhole you'll need to do some athletics (threshold 3) or you can continue walking the pipe and in that case give me a second survival test threshold 2 as it would mean another minute or two in these horrible conditions. 

[Mulcarn]

That stench is nothing new to Maxwell.  He has braved worse before and he's not going to back down now just because it stinks a little.  Before moving any further however, he checks to see how his companions are handling this unpleasantness.

Composure: 13d6t5 6

[Mercy Merchant]

At first sign of stench emanating from the pit, Athos calls out to have the others wait at the surface.  He climbs out of the hole and walks to the van.  "Smells like something died down there.  Check that; it smells like lots of things have died down there.  Be right back."  At the van, he rummages through his equipment locker, grabbing his spare gas mask and pulling the Rain Forest, some spare clips for it, and his ballistic mask from their places in the smuggling compartment.  Returning to the hole he offers the spare mask to Yulia and slips his own ballistic mask on, checking to make sure that the internal gas mask was functioning before going back down.  Once at the bottom, he cradles the carbine and gets the wireless up and spinning. 

That the fetid conditions are not so much an issue anymore does not prevent the small fear of what must be a horde of rats from bringing bile to his throat.  He remembers that he almost fled from the zombies and uses that to stiffen his resolve. 

Roll composure with edge for misses:  Compusure with Edge: 9d6t5 3  Reroll misses:  Roll misses for composure: 6d6t5 2  5 hits total is pretty good.

[Jack_Spade]

Composure: 9d6t5 3
Survival: 6d6t5 1 Survival+Respirator/Chemical Protection: 6d6t5 4

Gymnastics: 13d6t5 3


Kynos followed, but made sure to employ his respirator and make sure the chemical protection on his armor was properly sealed. As an afterthought he added the mask, helmet and other armor pieces, before freeing his rifle and putting the sling over his shoulder.

When they reached the hole in the ceiling, he said: "I'll just take a look up there. Won't do if someone uses this route to get into our rear."

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos turns to look at Kynos.  "Do you want a boos up?  You can stand on me to get higher if it helps."

[Shaman_Yuri]

I follow after the men, choosing with my senses and close-in fighting skills to maintain the rear.  The smell is unpleasant but doesn't affect me much.  My tail and ears aren't all that make me as much mouse as human.  The rats on the other hand...

I focus on keeping myself calm rather than react to the challenge their squeaks and screeches cry out to me.  Mice and rats may look very similar to humans, but we are very different creatures.  Mice are not just little rats.  Rats and mice may coexist, but it is an uneasy association.  Many a mouse pup has filled the belly of an enterprising rat.  Despite my enforced outward calm, the rats surrounding us and I are in a battle of pheromones.  A battle the humans are blithely unaware of.  I am no ordinary mouse, though, and I intend to make it very clear who is alpha here and that my associates and I are NOT to be trifled with. 

Squeak in your impotence all you want, rats.  Do NOT mess with Queen Mouse!

Toxin resistance - inhalation: 8d6t5: 2 [8d6t5=5, 1, 4, 6, 2, 2, 3, 3]
Composure to rat taunting: 10d6t5: 3 [10d6t5=1, 5, 4, 5, 2, 2, 3, 1, 3, 6]

[Mercy Merchant]

When Minnie says that she is fine without the spare mask, Athos offers it to Sovereign first, then Kynos.  After all, he has seen Kynos at work and is pretty sure the smell and the rats will not bother him.

[Mulcarn]

Maxwell would have normally turned the troll down but he started to feel his nose and lungs clog up with the stench of death and decay.  He grabs the mask and quickly throws it on before he keels over in a coughing fit.  "Thanks."

[Mercy Merchant]

While Athos waits to hear what Kynos finds up the hole, he observes the others.  Sovereign seems to have some of the same issues he does and he is glad that he had the mask to give him.  Minnie, though, is a surprise.  She seems to be unaffected at all by the stench and even bristles a bit at the rats.  Perhaps there is some relationship between them that makes it easier for her.  He nods when Sovereign thanks him.  "No problem.  It is likely I would be losing my breakfast and lunch if I was not protected with one of these masks."

[gilga]

@Kynos when you climb above you find that the hole itself is closed someone heavy is place. There are talking there and the sound of a chainsaw. "The bone lacing is badly damaged, throw it but the skilljack survived, careful not to damage it as you disconnect it." ... The other voice said "Guy... I learned from the best, with your precision with the laser blade you could have been a real surgeon... you know to install these things without killing them..." ... the other one laughs and say "Oh... I was a real surgeon but it was in another life... nobody is going to hire me in my condition." and then you can hear a bitter laugh. The rest of the conversation is obscured by the sound of some loud machinery.

@All the rats seem to be getting bolder and Minnie is sure that they are eyeing her specifically. Suddenly all the rats rush to toward the end of the tunnel and almost overwhelm you you hear a voice saying. "Who is a good rat? who is? Grog is sharing! Yes Grog is sharing!"

[Shaman_Yuri]

"Well that's one way to take out the trash," I mumble from behind the guys.

If any of the guys up front look back, they will note that Minnie had dropped to a crouch on all fours, her tail sticking up and out proudly and her ears at attention.  Anyone who looked back during the swarm would have seen an expression on her face and a baring of inhumanly pointed teeth that could only be described as "feral".  Only as she speaks and the swarm of rats has passed is she rising to stand again.

[Jack_Spade]

Kynos waited for the noise to die down again and knocked with Titanium improved knuckles against the lid:
"Hey, you, open up. You've got some customers here."

To his comrades below he called: "We are under the chop shop. Careful if you go further. Those come usually with a family of ghouls who take care of the leftovers."

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos needs no further warning and brings the carbine up.  The bullets may not be totally effective here, but there is one way to find out.  Looking around, he calls up to Kynos.  "Do you know if bullets work against ghouls?"