>Last time on Freelance Ghost Quest…
>You had some Stalkers live up to their name, had a psychic call with Quartus who seemed to be relatively friendly, warded off an ambush of two stalkers on the expedition, and discussed the implications of solitary herbivores attacking in pairs with professor Haverdam.

You wake up the morning after the stalker attack, and as you wake up you can see people have dug graves in the middle of the camp. Not long after you wake up and pack the remains of your tent, Haverdam wakes up everyone, and holds a small ceremony. It’s short and sober, but at the end, he mentions you.

“I do believe any of us could have gotten killed here, and the main reason no one else did is standing right there. Mr Artemis has more than proven his worth and killed a stalker on his own, while all of us together had trouble facing just one.” Some small cups are passed around and filled with a transparent liquid. You thought it was water at first, but the cups are too small and there’s a strange smell coming from the drink. “Here’s to Artemis, without whom we may have all died this night!”

There’s a round of “To Artemis” going around, and while most men who are looking at you are clearly impressed, morale seems to have taken a hit.

>1. Drink the shot. Who knows what it is, it might taste well.
>2. Try to fake drinking the shot and throw it over your shoulder. There’s a lot of people looking at you though, and you might insult them.
>3. Politely refuse the drink.
>4. Write in.

>>30524467
>1. Drink the shot. Who knows what it is, it might taste well.

Can we add. I just wish i could have done more

so who is here

>>30524467

It's a trap.

Walk right into it.

Bottoms up!

>>30524467
>1. Drink the shot. Who knows what it is, it might taste well.

Damn, this starts right as I'm heading to bed, good luck fellow anons, bag us a trophy or two.

>>30524565
>>30524567
>>30524570
Writing!

“If only I could have done more.” You say, quietly, but loud enough to still be heard.

Mimicking the people around you, you throw the drink back in a single gulp. Huh, that’s odd, a bit of a weird taste… Oh What the hell is… ? AARRRGGHHH!

You grab your throat, for a moment your ghost instincts flare up. You’ve been poisoned! The trust you had been building up betrayed! All around you you can see the men laugh at you. After a second or two, the feeling starts fading though. You’re glad your mask still covers most of your face, or the men would have been laughing even harder. You take it this must have been liquor. You’ve heard about it of course, but being a ghost you never got to touch a single drup of alcohol. At least the little incident seems to have upped morale a bit more.

After a while, the crowd disperses, and as the rest of the expedition is getting packed up and ready to continue, Haverdam approaches you. “What I said there at the burial, I meant it. I can’t imagine how this would have ended had you not come to this planet.” He gives you a small pat on the back.

>1. Bring up transporting the stalker corpse to Lisa.
>2. Accept the thanks, move to your position at the rear.
>3. Write in.

>>30524726
>>1. Bring up transporting the stalker corpse to Lisa.

She may be able to find a better way to kill them, maybe see how the internals work and find a way to camouflage us from there sense of smell.

>>30524726

seconding >>30524769

>>30524726

>Accept the thanks, move to the rear. Rest your mind until alcohol gets processed, we dont want to accidentally someone's brain.

Something tells me there will be more stalkers to deal with, we can pick one up on our way back. Or maybe pick up this one on our way back (after wrapping it up or something). Right now it would probably be an unnecessary burden.

>>30524769
>>30524888
>>30524892
(combining of a sort)
Writing.

“I promised doctor Fringers I’d try to get a Stalker specimen for her. A dead one this time so she can cut it open. Any idea how to transport it? Doesn’t have to be this one, I’m getting the feeling we’ll run into more of them along the way.”

“Hmm… Not immediately. I guess you could build some sort of makeshift sled which some of the backup camels could pull, but you’d have to make it yourself. Maybe use some of the tents and materials that were broken during the attack? I’ll make sure we take everything with us.”

>Anything else you want to bring up or do you continue the trip? You should be arriving at the ‘temple’ somewhere in the early afternoon.

>>30525007
quick question, how protective are the stalkers hides? if the professor had to make a special gun to get through it and hit its side then couldn't we use them for vests, cloaks, arm guards ect..

>>30525068
It's fairly tough, but most of the problem is the bone platings they have at most locations. It's not tougher than most body armours would be.

>>30525089
k, could the settlement (dont know what it is called) use the bones and such for extra protective walls? just curious since i am assuming the settlement has a limited amount of resources.

>>30525089
>>30525068
As for the big gun, he had to aim for the spot they didn't have bone plating, and the ammo was specifically meant to deal as much damage to flesh as possible, not to penetrate the hide specifically.

>>30525122
Honestly? You haven't got a clue.

>>30525148
ok, thanks for the info.

Doesn't seem like there's anything else you want to ask Haverdam, continuing!

>>30525007
ask how far the temple is from here, and what were expecting to find at the temple

>>30525256
im assuming a good distance since we will be there around nightfall

hey can you get a name so i know who im talking to when more show up and use the same thing as u

>>30525301
sure

>>30525007
Continue the trip, leave the corpse. There will be more nightstalkers later.

>>30525435
thank, id prefer ever one to get a name so i can figure out who wants what. Plus its easier to find out how many people are posting

File: 1393531769439.jpg-(14 KB, 320x220, Temple.jpg)

14 KB JPG

You head back to the rear of the camel train, and the expedition goes on its way. You feel a bit lightheaded for an hour or so, but luckily it passes fairly quickly. You keep an eye out for more stalkers, but it seems you must have scared them off. As far as you can tell not a single stalker crosses your path.

About an hour after the lunch break you suddenly exit the jungle. The vegetation just suddenly stops at an invisible border around the temple. The temple is situated in what looks to be a crater or a valley or something, with the walls going down fairly steeply. Haverdam directs the caravan to a path of stone clearly man-made. Or at least, something-made. It doesn’t exactly look like human architecture.

Climbing down, you take the time to study the temple itself. It seems to be a pyramid structure in the centre, with four enormous arms resting on the inside of the crater. Above it a large crystal of some kind is floating. There’s no visible energy or support, it just hangs above the temple motionlessly. The crater is deep though, and the crystal barely gets any higher than most of the trees surrounding the valley. For a distance, you can see an entrance at this side of the temple, with several statues to the sides of the path towards it.

The climb itself takes roughly another hour, but it is mostly slowed down by the camels having trouble with their footing on the sometimes loose pieces of stone. You figure if you ran it on your top speed it would take roughly ten to fifteen minutes.

Once at the bottom, in front of the pyramid stairs, Haverdam calls everyone together.

File: 1393531833311.png-(405 KB, 500x667, Professor Haverdam.png)

405 KB PNG

“Right people. I set out with the intention of discovering things about an ancient and lost civilisation, but I found a new purpose. We’re here find whatever it is those stalkers are ‘guarding’, and we put an end to the attacks once and for all.” The men all cheer at this.

“Now, the first thing we need to do is find ourselves an easily defendable position inside the temple where we can make camp. The camels can join us there, they’d be easy prey out here, and the Stalkers seem to be intelligent enough to target them if we’d leave them here.”

The group starts to climb along the short path to the entrance, when suddenly you feel something strange at the edge of your mind. You focus on it for a moment and you come to the conclusion that these six statues lining the entrance have some sort of psychic presence, as if they were living beings, or had living beings inside them.

>1. Do a quick mind scan to find out more.
>2. Talk to Haverdam about this.
>3. Ignore it, continue on inside and help searching for a suitable room.
>4. Write in.

>>30525619
>>1. Do a quick mind scan to find out more.


this could be what they are guarding, granted that would be to easy.

>>30525619
>1. Do a quick mind scan to find out more.


Chance for knowledge? Yes!
Chance for it to backfire and the statues activate because they were really robots? Yes!
Continue anyway!

>>30525619
Best siddle up to Harverdam and let him know something is fishy, then do a scan. Spread the information that something is wrong or else bad things happen

>>30525619

Do we have any knowledge about the Protoss? If so, could we make a comparison to them?

If not, then inform Haverdam that our 'Hunters Instinct' is giving a bad vibe from the statues... just like the time when we were hunting a Hydralisk, we had followed it into a ruined building, only to be met with three rather angry Zerglings...


>>30525122

The Bone Plates might make for a substitute carapace plate for DIY armour, but it would be too dangerous and difficult to kill enough of the stalkers to gather enough of the bone plates to make it worth while...

>>30525619
>>1. Do a quick mind scan to find out more.
>>2. Talk to Haverdam about this.
scan them and if it's something dangerous or something we haven't seen before tell Haverdam

>>30525619
>1. Do a quick mind scan to find out more.

>>30525680
You know of the protoss. You haven't seen any yourself yet, but you've read all the files. The statues look vaguely humanoid but differeny enough to not be protoss. It seems the wind and time have scraped off most of the detail though.

>>30525650
>>30525656
>>30525674
>>30525680
>>30525687
>>30525693
Writing for telling Haverdam then scanning.

You quickly run up to Haverdam at the front, abandoning your position at the rear, and tell him of your findings. He slows down the caravan for a bit.

“Look out men, there’s something fishy about these statues.” He then makes a quick gesture to you that you may proceed, the rest of the caravan in full state of alert.

You reach out to the closest statue with your mind, and what you find there is ancient. Alien. You feel as if you were looking a giant into its eyes and it was staring back at you, having awakened it from its slumber. You can’t make out anything of what is going on in its mind, but you get the feeling it knows you’re there.

Roll me a D20, best of first three.

Rolled 7

>>30525852

Rolled 15

>>30525852
lady luck be with me

Rolled 11

>>30525852

rolling, rolling numbers

>>30525893
Success, writing.

As you try to push closer into its mind, you suddenly you feel its presence start to flare up. You retreat as fast as you can, and prepare your mental defences and draw your hunting rifle. For a few seconds, you wait, fully expecting the statues to come to life and start attacking you.

They don’t though. You do get the odd feeling that the temple seems to be more present somehow though. You nod to Haverdam who shouts for the rest of the expedition to continue, and you tell him about what you felt.

“It was… something ancient. Not necessarily powerful, but so alien it almost hurt to think about it. I think I almost woke it up. I’m thinking next time we encounter a strange thing with a psychic presence that’s not already moving, I better not disturb it…”

Haverdam nods, and you continue on into the temple. Once inside, there’s a strange teal glow coming from orbs hanging from the walls. They don’t seem to be powered, and you highly doubt any kind of battery could last that long, but the orbs don’t seem to care. The corridor is long, but after a few minutes you arrive in a central chamber with doors and staircases going everywhere.

“Right people, we’re resting here for a moment and I’ll be needing some volunteers in pairs to scout for a room afterwards while the rest of us stay here. The temple’s too big to explore in one group, and communicators don’t seem to work in here. Ten minute break now, and then off exploring. Meet up here again one hour after leaving.”

>1. Volunteer to look for a room by yourself.
>2. Volunteer to look for a room, you’ll see whoever your partner is. He might be a liability if it comes to worst though.
>3. Stay with the group and keep a keen eye for anything seemingly out of place.
>4. Write in.

Rolled 1

>>30526146
>1. Volunteer to look for a room by yourself.
wont need to hold back since we lack a partner, unless we get the professor but im guessing that he is staying with the group.

we really need to find some one who is a fighter we can trust and work with them

>>30526146
>2
He might slow us down but it would help to have another pair of eyes on hand in case we miss something.

Rolled 9

>>30526146
>2. Volunteer to look for a room, you’ll see whoever your partner is. He might be a liability if it comes to worst though.
Hopefully we get someone who is -somewhat- helpful

>>30526146

No preference. If someone wants to team up with us, then let them. otherwise, we are quite happy to have a solo adventure...

>>30526316
>>30526346
>>30526350
Writing.

>>30526283
And yeah Haverdam is staying with the group.

You volunteer, and when you do, Holmes immediately volunteers too. You’re put together in a group again, and you go on your way down one of the passageways.

“Say, erm. Sorry about doubting you man. About the stalkers I mean. I feel like an idiot now. If I had believed you those two might have still been alive…”

It’s obvious he’s at least partially blaming himself for what happened, thinking that if he’d have backed up your story the other two might have believed you.

>1. Tell him not to worry, you probably wouldn’t have believed it either in his position. It’s not his fault.
>2. Rub it in. Tell him that two men lost their lives because he didn’t trust an expert hunter.
>3. Stay silent.
>4. Write in.

>>30526447
>1. Tell him not to worry, you probably wouldn’t have believed it either in his position. It’s not his fault.

I kinda have a sixth sense for when im being watched. comes with being a hunter i guess

>>30526447

> What's done is done. No point in dwelling on it now.

>>30526447
>1. Tell him not to worry, you probably wouldn’t have believed it either in his position. It’s not his fault.
also say "There are strange things in the temple so if i say get down you get down, lets go try to find something important in this place."

>>30526447
these two sound good;
>>30526475
>>30526512

>>30526475
>>30526508
>>30526512
>>30526562
Writing.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got a sort of sixth sense when it comes to knowing when I’m being watched. Comes from being a hunter I guess. Now pay attention, there are strange things in the temple so if I say get down you get down. Let’s find ourselves a place to stay.”

He nods, and you continue. As you walk through the corridors you notice Holmes seems to be clutching his left elbow a bit. Must have gotten hurt during the attack. The path finally starts to get some rooms at the side, but most of them seem to be fairly small and having tables or similar furniture of some kind taking up most space. There doesn’t seem to be much of value in there either so you continue until you reach the end of the path. There’s a large room in front of you, and a staircase leading both up and down. The room seems be be entirely dark though, without any of the light orbs that hang from the walls every few paces in the halls.

>1. Check out the chamber. Might be we found just the right thing.
>2. Go up the staircase.
>3. Go down the staircase.
>4. Write in.

>>30526447
"Would anyone else have believed me, even if you had? Those things are deadly when they want to be. Don't blame yourself."

>>30526714
>1. Check out the chamber. Might be we found just the right thing

so creepy dark room more than likely a trap, yes, still going in, yes.

Chance of finding loot or place to camp, high,

So lets go in the creepy dark room, whos with me

>2. Go up the staircase.

I kinda like the high ground

>>30526714
quickly look around the room both physically and with our mind then head up the stairs

Are the light orbs removable? Because we can grab one if they are.

>>30526816
>1. Check out the chamber. Might be we found just the right thing.
>2. Go up the staircase.
I'm saying check this room first then head up the stairs after

>>30526816
You try to fiddle with one of the orbs, but they seem to be rooted firmly in place, despite them simply touching the wall with no other visible support.

>>30526852
second that

>>30526904
>>30526852
>>30526816
>>30526812
>>30526799
>Writing.

>>30526877
aw flashlights and torches it is then. wait don't we have night vision and all that stuff in our suit

You head to the dark room, and Holmes lights a torch. and shines across the room. It’s bigger than you thought, and could easily hold the entirety of the expedition, while the door itself is fairly small and easily baricadeable. Something catches your eye though. You quickly activate your night vision to try and get a better look, but the darkness is somehow complete, even with your enhanced sight. The object is in fairly deep, and the torch isn’t that strong.

Something metallic is standing there, at the back of the room. You can make out a vague circle shape, but you can’t see what exactly it is from where you are. You direct Holmes to shine at it directly, but mostly you just see the gleaming of something round and metal. Most of the furniture in the other rooms was stone and from the same stone as the walls and roof. This might be worth investigating, and if it’s safe you might have just found a perfect place to make camp.

>1. Check out the metal object.
>2. Back out of the room, check the staircase up.
>3. Back out of the room, check the staircase down.
>4. Write in.

>note, you’ve still got quite a lot of time before you have to go back to the rest of the group.

>>30527084

check metal object, have Holmes keep an eye on the stairs. Don't want any interruptions...

>>30526714

>that foreshadowing of horrific mysterious xeno infection that will lead Holmes to screaming death

>>30527084

>approach the metallic object
>psi senses in full passive paranoia mode

>>30527084
>1. Check out the metal object.
Tell Holmes to stay in the doorway and if anything happens(ie: room being sealing off) to go tell the rest of the expedition.Also light your own flashlight/torch and approach the metal thing with psi scanning around for movement

>>30527084
>1. Check out the metal object.

i get the feeling that this may be what the stalkers are guarding or something similar.

>>30527177
My, my. It seems I'm starting to brew some paranoia here. And I wasn't even trying.

Or was I?

>>30527117
>>30527177
>>30527201
>>30527205
Writing.

>>30527177

If he is infected with some horrific xeno infection, we can just cart him off to the Doc so he can either be healed, or samples of his corpse can be taken to synthesise a cure...

>>30527284
>If he is infected with some horrific xeno infection, we can just cart him off to the Doc so he can infect the rest of the town!

>>30527308
>>30527284

>implying the entire expedition won't get turned into xel'naga zombies, maybe except those with plot armor

>>30527284
Well could just chop off the infection area and THEN study it for later.
Be one hell of a stroy to tell at the campfire for sure

>>30527341
conventional survival horror wisdom suggests that by the time we know about the infection, it is too late to save him...

>>30527395
Well in most cases yes but if we were there when it JUST happened it could still work I would say something along the lines of 30/70 aginst us

>>30527337
>Implying they would be xel`naga zombies and not human zombies.

>>30527341
i want to point out that i dont think our buddy will allow us to cut off say an arm or leg just because he was bite. im more thinking were coming up to a sacrificial alter like in alien and predator (God i hope not)

>>30527256
Still writing, long post, sorry guys.

>>30527427

those are not human ruins, and I doubt any zombie plague left to accost graverobbers would be of human origin

>>30527509
dude it be fun to see the history behind that kind of stuff but having it happen to our expiediation super bad

>>30527509
long posts are good... i think

“Holmes, stay outside of the room and stand watch, I’m going to check this out.” Holmes quickly complies and you carefully move closer, maintaining a strong mental defence.

As you approach, you feel yourself become slightly less cautious. It’s just a metal disk right? As you come close to it, all caution is thrown in the wind. It’s just a metal disk, two meters diameters, roughly. What could possibly be…

You suddenly realise what’s going on, and pull back as fast as you can. It’s too late though. A green glow begins to shine from the disk as it starts turning, and you are pulled towards it relentlessly.

“ARTEMIS!” You hear Holmes shout behind you. But it seems so far. Miles away. You try to reply, but you can’t move at all as your body is pulled forward and into the ring. Your limbs stretched, metal tubes slide over them and lock you in place. How stupid could you be? It was mental influence after all, but so subtle and powerful you didn’t notice until it was too late.

All your thoughts are suddenly thrown aside when you hear a strange sound inside your mind. It sounds like a voice of some kind, but it’s unlike anything you’ve heard before. For some reason, you can make out what it says.
[1/2]

*SPECIMEN FOUND*
*PSI TESTS POSITIVE, RATED 1.3*
*LIFE FORM IS PRIMITIVE BUT HAS ACHIEVED SENTIENT THOUGHT*
*STARTING SCAN*

The next moment, agony washes over both your body and mind. You feel like screaming, but your body doesn’t listen to the simplest commands you try to give it.

*DETRIMENTAL MENTAL CONSTRUCTION FOUND*
*REMOVING*

Suddenly you feel a barrier break down somewhere in your mind. You feel memories wash over you. Too many to properly handle right now. It makes your head hurt even more. It’s unbearable.

*CRUDE MECHANICAL IMPLANTS FOUND*
*RECOMMEND REMOVING THEM AND ENHANCING FURTHER THROUGH NORMAL MEANS*

*CRUDE GENETICAL MODIFICATION FOUND*
*RECOMMEND IMPROVING THROUGH NORMAL MEANS*

*GENERAL ASSESSMENT: LIFE FORM ALREADY CRUDELY HONED FOR COMBAT, BUT MAY PROVE AN ASSET*
*RECOMMEND MOVING TO MAIN CHAMBER FOR OPTIMISATION, AND SEARCHING FOR MORE OF ITS KIND FOR FULL BIOANALYSIS*

----

When you come to, Holmes is carrying you on his back. You try to say something, but you don’t manage. You can see the rest of the group standing a bit further ahead, and you seem to be moving closer. A memory flashes through your head again, too fast to catch, but painful. Everything goes black again.

----

“Professor, he’s coming to!” You hear someone shout. There’s some movement at the corner of your vision, and after a few seconds professor haverdam appears in your field of view.

“Goodness, boy, Holmes told us what he saw of the events, but, what happened there?”

>1. I’m not too sure myself. It somehow grabbed me and I couldn’t do anything anymore.
>2. I think it… scanned me? I could understand what it was saying.
>3. Wait, are we someplace safe? We don’t seem to be in the main hall anymore.
>4. Write in.

>>30527636

>thank you, Precursors

I wonder what 'normal' means for a xel'naga...

>I think it... scanned me? I could NOT understand what it was saying

*knowing* the words is not the same as *knowing* the meaning

>>30527636
>2. I think it… scanned me? I could understand what it was saying.

>>30527636
>1. I’m not too sure myself. It somehow grabbed me and I couldn’t do anything anymore.

>>30527636
Think i was just scanned like a guine pig and for use in combat?

Be careful it has some kind of mental influencer thing that makes you want to do things

>>30527636
1. If we tell him that we could understand what it is saying, then they would ask us what.

It would be preferable not to tell anyone our conditioning just got removed, even if they are trustworthy.

Also where did all these namefags come from?

>>30527636
>>1. I’m not too sure myself. It somehow grabbed me and I couldn’t do anything anymore.

>>30527636
>3. Wait, are we someplace safe? We don’t seem to be in the main hall anymore.

And then

1. I’m not too sure myself. It somehow grabbed me and I couldn’t do anything anymore.

>>30527636
>2. I think it… scanned me? I could understand what it was saying.
>3. Wait, are we someplace safe? We don’t seem to be in the main hall anymore.

>>30527686
>>30527696
>>30527700
>>30527716
>>30527751
>>30527774
>>30527809
>>30527868
So pretty much combine everything.

>>30527636
1

>>30527895
Why do you even do voting if all options are just going to be chosen?

>>30527950
There can always be write ins, and it's actually mostly 1 and two and they can be combined.

And you never know, it wouldn't be the first time /tg/ did some unexpected shit.

>>30527950

because a QM can never guarentee how the hivemind will respond, not to mention the ever present 'write in' option....

also, in these situations, sometimes it is for establishing an order of conversations as they can chain in different ways depending on which topic is discussed first...

>>30527950
it was just this where we woke up and was freaking out because aliens scanned our brain meats
>>30528066
also that

“I’m… not too sure myself.” You try to glance around but Haverdam quickly puts you at ease.

“I sent them away to give you a bit of breathing room. You can tell me everything.

“It grabbed me. It had some strange mind affecting effect that compelled me forward and I didn’t realise until it was too late. I think it… scanned me.”

“Hmm, it’s a good thing this one’s wrecked then.”

“What?”

“We’re in the room exactly opposite of the one you were in. There’s some signs that there used to be one of those disks in here too but it’s mostly just some scrap and an indentation in the floor where it used to be now. It’s night though, so try to get some sleep now. You’ll need your strength tomorrow.”

With that, he leaves you, and weak as you feel, it doesn’t take long before you fall asleep.

-You see images, both moving and still ones. Memories. It seems that whatever the machine also did, it completely removed the lingering mind wipes. It’s all too much at once, but you slowly feel your memories returning, the most recent ones first.-

-You see yourself arriving at the ghost academy, in full ghost suit already, and put through several tests. You score particularly high on psionics, but your overall scores are excellent too.-

-Just before that, you see yourself taking off a black ghost suit with the number 2 on its chest, several men in white coats watching over you and a full marine escort watching your every move.-

-“Designation Omega Secundus is deemed a failure, but not a full one. It can still serve as a regular ghost if it is mind wiped regularly to overcome the Omega’s resistance to it. I just came back from the general and as long as we keep a close eye on it in case it generates some promising results, it can serve as a normal ghost under the monicker Gamma 4.”-

>>30528360

You wake up again, feeling well rested. It’s dark, but even without your night vision you can make out most of the room. There’s several men sitting at the barricaded entrance, keeping watch over it. Your adjutant tells you it’s still roughly 20 minutes before the rest should wake up.

You stand up and stretch. Despite the torture you went through you feel fine. Great even. Your body feels a bit more responsive, and your psychic senses seem to be on the edge.

>1. Wait a bit until everyone wakes up and join the group.
>2. Meditate for a while, try to figure out what exactly that machine did to you.
>3. Exercise a bit. Try to find out if something actually changed or if you’re just feeling better after the pain from the machine.
>4. Write in.

>>30528379

>Meditate

no need to disturb sleeping comrades.

>>30528379
>2. Meditate for a while, try to figure out what exactly that machine did to you.

Rolled 10, 2, 5 = 17

>>30528379
>2. Meditate for a while, try to figure out what exactly that machine did to you.

dont want to be tired from the workout, we can work out later when we don't have to worry about hostils.

>>30528379
>2

think about the machines analysis of us. It seems that there is a way to improve ourselves beyond that of the confederate modifications & conditioning...

also try and sift though our regained memories.

>>30528379
>>3. Exercise a bit. Try to find out if something actually changed or if you’re just feeling better after the pain from the machine.
also ask how far you are from where you split up from

>>30528422
>>30528433
>>30528439
>>30528484
Writing

You sit down and meditate. You enter your own mind and carefully go through it, trying to find out what exactly that machine did to you. It’s slow work, but you want to be thorough.

You don’t seem to find all that much different until you find your memories. The steel wall that used to be there is gone. Completely. Memories float around a bit too freely, still having to settle down before you can properly access them. The final place you visit is something you’ve hada bit of a nagging feeling about, but it seemed too much to ask. It did something though. At the location you managed to trace down your ghost conditioning to last time but void a void, there is now an enormous fortress. Trying to get closer to it results in a mental feedback giving you a serious headache.

An alarm goes off, disrupting your meditation, and you slowly come back out of your own mind. It seems Haverdam is already up and running, but he pauses with a surprised look when he sees you standing up like nothing happened.

“I take it you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah. I’m feeling fine.” He gives you a slightly suspicious look, but doesn’t dwell on it. He walks to the middle of the camp, where someone put a medium-sized generator and a large lamp.
[1/2]

>>30529142

“Ok people. Now that we’re all settled and we have a rough idea of the lay-out of this place, we can start searching for whatever’s in here these stalkers are so protective about.” He proceeds to divide people into groups, 4 people staying behind to guard the camp, and the rest in groups of three to continue scouting the place.

He approaches you again, a friendly smile on his face but he can’t hide the tinge of concern in it. “Right, I almost forgot, you weren’t there last night. It seems the structure is entirely divided into 8, with a main hall at the center of every floor. We, “He gets out a piece of paper with a crudely drawn map, “Are here in the northern room. The one you had your little accident in was the southern one. The entrance was where a west room would have been, and the east room seems to have caved in. There’s several rooms to the side of each of the eight paths, but only the main 4 have large rooms at the end. The other ones just lead to staircases.”

He glances at you to see if you’re still following his explanation, and you give him a quick nod. “So, from our initial glance at them, the upper and lower floors seem to be divided up similarly, but we haven’t gone past the immediate ones above and below us yet. Now, I think you won’t complain about joining Holmes again in your team? Murphy will be joining you two.” He nods at small but well built blonde woman talking to Holmes right now.

He leaves you be and Holmes and Murphy join you. ”Look, all I’m saying is that the RX-5 gravity module works 12% more efficient than that crap you’re using to transport those logs you cut. Consider it an investment. It’ll pay off in fuel cost in just a few years.”

“Oh, er, hey Artemis, this here is Murphy, she’s one of the mechanics from town. Can’t seem to stop talking really.” That remark earned him an elbow in the ribs.

“Hi!” Murphy extends her hand to you.


>shit, split my post badly. [2/3]

>>30529173

>1. Accept it. Ask her what a mechanic is doing on an expedition like this.
>2. Accept it. Ask her something else (specify)
>3. Accept it. Stay silent.
>4. Refuse it. Stay silent.
>5. Write in.

>Next post is the last one for the night.

>>30529188

>1. Shake her hand, ask her why she's with us considering we're using camels for burden

>>30529173
>2. Accept it. Ask her something else (specify)
ask "I'm Artimus. You know how to use a gun accurately, right? I fear we may need it today."

>>30529225
>>30529306
Writing.

>Seems like I spent a bit too much time writing that post, we seem to have lost some readers?

Rolled 8, 10, 9 = 27

>>30529306
second

>>30529398
nah i think there eating or something. or are deciding what to say

>>30529443
pretty much this. cooking requires attention and my laptop is only good as a paperweight right now.

>>30529306
third

or almost asleep

You shaker her hand. “Hi, I’m Artemis. I hope you can use a gun? I’m afraid we might need to use them today.”

She gives you a sceptical look. “You doubting me?” She pats her hips where you notice she has a revolver and a small submachine gun hanging from her belt. You smirk.

“No miss, just checking. Seems a bit strange to have a mechanic on the expedition when we’re using camels.”

Holmes chuckles. “Oh, that one’s easy to explain. She’s one of the best shots in town. She tried getting the CMC she uses on guard duty for this but the captain wouldn’t have it.”

She sighs, rolling her eyes. ”The dick… And I still haven’t managed to repair the one I got at home. Right, let’s get to it shall we? Plenty of opportunity to get to know each other in here. We’ve only got to be back by noon.”

She takes the lead towards the exit of the chamber, now un-barricaded, and you see several groups have left already. You quickly follow her out of the chamber, and she turns towards the staircases next to the chamber.

>End of Freelance Ghost Quest #8!
>Feel free to ask me stuff, criticise, etc. I’ll be sticking around for a bit longer.

File: 1393544252101.jpg-(24 KB, 416x323, 1364395184970.jpg)

24 KB JPG

>>30529651

Cheers for the thread OP, I like where this is headed.

Rolled 3, 4, 6 = 13

>>30529651
same time tommorrow?

>>30529651
Almost forgot to archive. Done now. Feel free to upvote if you enjoyed it.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Freelance%20Ghost%20Quest

>>30529826
Should be, except if the pfeiffer acts up some more. As usual, I'll keep you all updated through the twitter.

>>30529815
Thanks!

>>30529907
i hope they stay alive i kinda like them maybe we can get a group of friends.

Thanks for running it was fun