[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
OOC:
Note that "dialogue suggestions" don't need to be exact lines of dialogue, though they can if you want.
It could be like "try convincing him in this way..."
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
Hmm... I wonder whats the likelihood of the installation being transposed to somewhere else instead of things coming here?
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
Might be smarter just to say screw and and head for shelter but I feel it would be an even worse idea to split the party as no one has any idea what's happening right now.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Try to convince Tieran-Sha to shelter with Zalan and the others. - Dialogue suggestions may prove useful.
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
While being in a shelter is better, being in a secure location is most important for safety. At this point, with some sort of airship monsters or whatever roaming around outside, getting other dragons out of their lairs is likely more dangerous for them than simply sheltering in place.
In addition, making sure everyone in said shelters is safe is important. There likely are several dragons already working on this, but more is better and going from our messages it seems pretty disorganized, Tieran-Sha and the associated high-viz jacket might be useful for getting people organized.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize staying in the armored shelter, even if you have to split up with your friend. - You've been out of your mind for hours. Sit down before you fall down.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
Tieran-Sha might need some convincing to let you come with, but his heart is in the right place.
Zalan, say: "I can't let you risk yourself when I can help. You need someone to watch your back, and I have access you don't. You might be able to tear your way through doors, but it'll be faster if I help you. The faster we are, the more people we save, the safer it is for everyone. And if we get caught out together, I know some places we might be able to shelter in, privately, alone, cuddled up for hours.
Plus, if dragons are being attacked, better two sets of claws than one."
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
... I'm picking these two because my gut feeling is that something has already happened to the shelters that means this is the best option.
[x] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[x] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
Mom would be proud of us for doing our best here, so let's do that. Also being around Tieran-Sha is nice.................
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
My guess the evacuating group is likely going to have an accident.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Don't discourage Tieran-Sha from trying to rescue people. - He's right. We can't just leave them out there!
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
Shelters are doomed given their high tier defence magic is about to invert and turn them into prime hyperspace horror or whatever emergence points.
Scheduled vote count started by Ralson on Jan 14, 2022 at 10:02 AM, finished with 19 posts and 16 votes.
[X] Prioritize sticking with Tieran-Sha, even if that's more dangerous. - Zalan feels surprisingly alert. His elixir's still active. He can help solve problems, provide a second pair of eyes, has authorizations Tieran-Sha doesn't, and knows the arcology better.
[X] Prioritize staying in the armored shelter, even if you have to split up with your friend. - You've been out of your mind for hours. Sit down before you fall down.
Tieran-Sha might need some convincing to let you come with, but his heart is in the right place.
Zalan, say: "I can't let you risk yourself when I can help. You need someone to watch your back, and I have access you don't. You might be able to tear your way through doors, but it'll be faster if I help you. The faster we are, the more people we save, the safer it is for everyone. And if we get caught out together, I know some places we might be able to shelter in, privately, alone, cuddled up for hours.
Plus, if dragons are being attacked, better two sets of claws than one."
Tieran-Sha doesn't answer immediately. Zalan thinks he can see the conflict on his friend's face.
"I can't let you risk yourself when I can help. You need someone to watch your back, and I have access you don't. I could open doors you'd have to tear through..."
"Very well," Tieran-Sha says. "I suppose trying to dissuade you would brand me a hypocrite. I ask only that you stay cognizant that my harness can serve as makeshift armor and you're in robes."
"Yeah I fuckin' know."
A distant sharp impact, or perhaps an explosion, sends tremors through the station. The three trot to a halt at an intersection, looking around, expecting to see smoke or debris, hear screams, something. But the station is big enough and packed with enough sound dampening that they can't be sure what happened. As they accelerate again, they hear another, and another.
They arrive at the shelter, with Zalan breathing hard. It's positioned near a main throughfare, deep within the habitat. In theory, the entire arcology could be smashed apart around it and it'd float to the ground as gently as a leaf. Zalan always considered these the product of paranoid hoarding instincts in overprotective parents. Now, he isn't sure what to think. Perhaps the facility's builders had considered a scenario like this one, even if its occupants didn't.
There's a fairly normal looking set of outer doors, and then a thick inner door, like a vault. The airlock-like double gate allows entry without completely exposing those already inside.
"Professor!" Tieran-Sha says. "I return with friends. I trust that you're all still safe?"
"Y-yeah," comes a voice from the door's signal stones. They sound older than Zalan, but not greatly. "Everybody's okay in here, just spooked by the exterior telemetry. Some more dragons showed up while you were out."
"How many does the arcology spirit believe remain stranded?" asks Tieran-Sha
"Just get inside quickly."
"How can I, knowing more are out there? How many...?"
The inner door begins to cycle. It's slower than the outer door. Zalan can feel the local etherics shifting as powerful defensive magicks disengage one by one.
When it opens far enough to see nervous students milling around inside, and not some hyperspace beast mimicking a dragon's voice, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Hey," Ramntha says. "Thanks for ah, escorting me? I guess that sounds weird since we didn't run into anything, but I probably would've stayed in my room if I hadn't seen friendly faces so thanks again."
Zalan suspects she's mostly thanking Tieran-Sha, but he seems busy arguing into the signal stone, so Zalan forces a smile.
"I'm just happy to be useful," he says.
Ramntha looks like she means to say something else.
"Hey you coming?" hisses someone in the shelter. Ramntha freezes, then rushes inside. Zalan makes a cutting gesture to the insistent dragon, and the heavy door swings closed again.
"Professor, please," says Tieran-Sha "Tell me who returned and I can check them off the list we prepared earlier."
The professor replies: "...O-kay. I'll message you the names. Just give me a minute."
Those notes talked about defenses being subverted, but that couldn't possibly sabotage the kind of stuff built into these things, right?
"Excuse me," Zalan says to the signal stone. "But could you contact someone about if the current uh, interplanar effects might impact a shelter's teleport wards?"
"That's..." There's a pause. "I could try? Why do-"
"Please try the Dynamics department," Zalan interrupts, louder than he intended. "If they can't answer, try Augury instead. Someone there predicted an inversion of planar defenses. I thought they meant the global ones, but now I'm not sure if that means locally as well."
Tieran-Sha interjects: "To my knowledge, Zalan here was the first to sound the alarm about this disaster. I trust his judgment on the matter."
"I'm just repeating what I read," Zalan mutters.
"Pursue this matter with all vigor," says Tieran-Sha.
"I will," says the voice. Then adds "I promise. Good luck to you."
---
The hallways are eerily empty. It makes Zalan listen hard for each sound, cursing the luxurious soundproofing. Despite it, when he listens close, there are distant thumps, sharp sounds, longer noises with an alien edge to them. He can identify very little about it.
Tieran-Sha approaches the door to another set of quarters. It reads as locked. But unlike prior ones, the signal stone is tinged with a halo of emergency indicator light, indicating distress.
Tieran-Sha doesn't seem to recognize the significance. He rears up and puts on a stern expression to give his speech to please open up.
"Wait," says Zalan. "Let me take a look-"
The stone flickers.
"[Authorization recognized: Zalan Iniri Skatheon of the Hyperborean Institute. Would you like to unseal the door?]"
Zalan blinks. Tieran-Sha barks a laugh.
"Ha! It recognizes your authority, just as you suggested."
"No, that's not normal," Zalan says. "They locked it but then authorized the entire school to unlock it."
"Well, hurry and do so."
Zalan hesitates.
"I just. Wish I knew why they did that."
"Zalan," Tieran-Sha says. "I understand. But there is no time to hold back until we know everything. Do you think the right answer is to turn and leave?"
"...No."
Zalan unlocks the door.
Suddenly, a blast of air races past them, howling through a huge, ragged hole in the side of the habitat. The whole lair's been reduced to a crater of twisted wreckage.
"God!"
Environmental enchantments take effect, tapering the pressure differential down to a gentle gradient to stop the habitat wing from depressurizing. As soon as it reaches equilibrium, they step into freezing wind. They can breathe at this altitude, but less comfortably.
Outside, the aurora blazes. He had hoped to see it with Tieran-Sha. Now, it silhouettes a huge, dark shape.
For seconds, the dragons just stare. Thin tendrils trail for what looks like miles beneath the looming black craft like some deep oceanic creature. They twist in the air, visible in places, then invisible.
The aurora itself seems drawn down. Not to the airship-monster, but to the Institute's laboratory tower complex. Zalan suspects the creature is drawn towards that light, though he can't even be sure which way it's facing.
"By Tiamat, I've never seen anything quite like that," Tieran-Sha whispers. "Hurry, let's get out of its line of sight!"
Across the room, veiled by darkness, a dragon wheezes in the thin air.
"Oh, shit," says Zalan. "Are you..."
He doesn't finish asking if they're okay. They aren't.
"We're here to help," says Tieran-Sha, sounding brave. "You're Seyr, yes?"
Seyr doesn't respond. Tieran-Sha approaches and examines the wreckage pinning the dragon down.
"Can you get him free?" asks Zalan, trying as hard as he possibly can not to think about the shape outside.
"I have a cutting implement, and means to achieve tremendous mechanical advantage," Tieran-Sha says. "But first I need to make sure I won't bring this whole wall down on him. Do you know if there's anything particularly heavy above us?"
"Uh, I think there's a park... I want to say two floors up?"
"Oh. That's quite bad. I'm surprised this area isn't more reinforced. Unless... were these columns bisected...? Perhaps some kind of cutting weapon?" Tieran-Sha shakes his head. "Can you examine the state of him? I brought a medical construct."
"I brought mine, I think."
Zalan wasn't in a very organized state of mind when he grabbed whatever seemed useful. He fishes into his voidspace inventory, and retrieves a node module. The module thrums briefly in midair, then vanishes into his Crown node. At once, Zalan's perception of the world changes.
"Got it."
"Good. Now show me why you scored better than I did in Life and Health." Tieran-Sha says.
Well, Tier, Zalan doesn't say, mostly it's that I got real interested in elixirs around that time...
The half-crushed dragon has weakened life signs, but it isn't quite as bad as it looks. A structural element that looks like it pierced his lung was actually stopped by a rib. It's "only" sunk into the scales and muscle. The pressure's stopping him from breathing more than shallowly, and each shallow breath makes him tense with pain. In the thin air, his blood oxygen is dipping.
Seyr's bleeding from more places than that. When Zalan examines closer, there's pieces of shrapnel in him. Not all of it is metal. It actually pings in his medical sight as recently-living matter, with low confidence. Does that mean he needs to worry about disease? Or poison? He doesn't see signs of that, but it's hard to tell.
His mangled wings are artificial, so they only look bad.
Zalan gets to work performing first aid. His general purpose medical construct can do more than sense trouble. He can work life magic through it to heal, though it requires some skill.
He considers some other medical supplies: Three healing pills, and a one-use corrective patch. The pills work best mixed with water first, but Zalan can just shove one down Seyr's throat to supercharge his body's healing abilities. Unlike CERTAIN elixirs, it should provide as much energy as it uses and not drain him. It may have some side effects that Zalan can't predict with confidence, but he's pretty sure it'll help a lot more than it hurts.
The corrective patch is a device you're supposed to slap over a wound, like a magic bandage. It can even help if applied to healthy flesh, doing things like cleaning toxins or oxygenating blood, which could prove useful. The trouble is that they only have the one, and the best place to put it is over the wound in Seyr's back, which he can't access until Tieran-Sha gets that spike out...
[] Give Seyr a Life magic pill. Hopefully it'll kick in when Tieran-Sha frees him in a few minutes and he'll be able to move himself.
[] Apply the corrective patch. Should help stabilize him, or at least not make anything worse. But Zalan only has one.
[] Just use the general purpose medical construct to do first aid.
[] Focus on helping Tieran-Sha.
[] Panic.
... okay, alright, great. We saved a friend from the horror of discovering or passing by a dying dragon he could not help on his own.
Now we just need to save the dragon before we only fix the "on his own" part of "could not help", because it will really suck to open that door just to shove failure in Tieran-Sha's face.
I don't trust the direct magical medicine for two reasons:
1. That patch should probably go on the wound if/when we get the dragon out of the rubble and can access the actual wound.
2. I am a bit uneasy about the pill interaction with the bio-contaminant, but not enough to dismiss that out of hand.
So I'm thinking the second or third option, with the hope that Tieran-Sha can handle the obstructions on his own. Alternatively have Tieran-Sha try to focus on clearing the puncture site so that can be properly medicated to stabilize this dragon before they finish getting them out.
Alright so here's my read-
The biggest problem this dragon's got is being crushed to suffocation.
The Patch is a trap- it can't be applied until AFTER Tier moves the debris, so it's throwing away valuable medical supplies where it's not needed. The pills are a decent stopgap and might not be a bad idea, but the unknown side-effects are slightly concerning when paired with that unknown material in his wounds…
So, this is the choice I'm going with:
[X] Focus on helping Tieran-Sha.
-[X]"Seyr's suffocating and needs this off him, let's start with that."
I don't think the patch is a trap. Even if it can't heal the wound, oxygenating Seyr's blood supply is one of the most important things to do right now. Removing him from the rubble will take time.
[X] Apply the corrective patch. Should help stabilize him, or at least not make anything worse. But Zalan only has one.
I'm not saying the patch is BAD, but like…
It almost sounds like to use the patch we need Tier to take that spike out of Seyr first, which means that's dead time for Kieran to fret while Seyr suffocates. Meanwhile, if we help we can cut the few minutes Tier would take down a minute or two, and doing that we can hopefully relieve the pressure preventing Seyr from breathing.
Every second matters in a medical emergency, so being efficient is important, as well as not blowing good supplies on cases where they're not needed or worse, spending them on someone who's too far gone to save.
