Act I: Mercurian Underground

[Ebiris]

"Yes, there may be more sealed doors," Rowan nods. "For now, simply follow until I give further directions."

Turning to Arkian, she inclines her head towards the door. "Well, shall we?"

[Halbarad]

Golem dips its head in recognition, again acknowledging the request with only a simple "Yes."

[Carthrat]

Arkian gives a low whistle at the Golem.

"Yes, on we go," he comments, walking in the door.

[Halbarad]

The first floor of the facility is almost completely nondescript. There is a bank of elevators at the far end of the open area you walk into, and a large, low desk off to your right. A computer sits atop the desk, and beyond the desk is a sign marked 'Stairs' that points to an open doorway a few feet beyond.

[Carthrat]

Arkian moves over to the desk and looks for some shelves or items upon it.

[Halbarad]

Not much to see, really. The only thing you find is a set of drawers on the right hand side of the desk, and a shallow central drawer above the kneespace. Only dust is in the larger drawers, but the central drawer contains a number of small plastic rectangles - very much like badges, although they don't have pictures on them.

[Carthrat]

Arkian slips one of the badges into his pocket; could do no harm.

This done, he goes over to have a look at the computer!

[Halbarad]

The computer is completely dead; even fiddling with what looks to be the power switch has no effect. Whatever is providing power in this complex is apparently not hooked up to the main power supply, as you haven't seen anything at all working since you entered.

[Carthrat]

Satisfied that the room has been checked, Arkian heads towards the stairs, motioning Rowan to follow him.

[Ebiris]

Rowan does just that, keeping her eyes open for any signs of what this building was actually for...

[Halbarad]

The stairwell is, well, a stairwell - not much has changed in their design over ten thousand years and the collapse of a civilization. You know from Chris' readouts that whatever is consuming power here is on the fifth and lowest floor belowground, but other than that there's no indication of what the facility's purpose was - just a general floorplan in the central database.

The stairs go down without obstruction, although Golem has a rough time getting through the doorway to reach the stairs, and doorways open out onto each floor - a black plastic pad mounted on the wall next to each door. All are locked, when given a cursory examination.

[Ebiris]

Upon reaching the lowest floor, Rowan steps back from the locked door and gestures Golem forward. "Open this door, please."

[Halbarad]

With its usual silent demeanor, Golem nods, and a few moments later the door has been replaced by a Golem-sized hole in the wall. Your lights reveal a sophisticated laboratory beyond; several large machines stand silent around the area, with plastic tubing running from several of them to a couple of glass tanks several meters away. The power drain is coming from an enclosed lab on the far side of the floor; your flashlights only reveal a partitioning wall and door in that direction.

[Carthrat]

Arkian carefully starts walking towards the far side of the room, cautiously taking note of his darker surroundings and being especially careful not to trip over anything.

[Ebiris]

Rowan slowly follows Arkian, walking closer to the glass tanks and playing her flashlight across them as she looks inside.