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>>6474353 >>6474443 >>6474459 >>6474507

"Who's Tommy?" Anne asks, looking at the empty display case as well as the placard. "And why was he sticking to things?"

"It looks like it's a mining tool. Something a bit like a candle holder for mines before electricity was in use." Zul says, fiddling with her instruments again. Glancing over her shoulder you thought you would see some complicated mash of programming and alien language, but to you it just looks like the Martian equivalent of a search engine. "Though I suppose these exhibits are a good place to start looking for information. Are there any notable miners mentioned anywhere?"

Your group starts to comb over the historical society. Since it's literal more than a single room it doesn't take long for you all to go around it. Anne hovers at the door to the mine for most of the search, looking at the posters and timetable for tours on the wall, and picking up some flyers that had been knocked down at some point and never picked up. "Aw sweet they did haunted tours of this mine during Halloween! Not as creepy as the mansion I'm sure, but it'd be close."

You stifle a grin remembering her pervious workplace was in fact, above a creepy mine. Kamiko steps next to the zombie and picks up one of the advertisements herself."Does it have a map or anything on it? That might be useful."

"Nope, just explaining how the place is an affordable and unforgettable vacation destination, and fun for all ages and call ahead for accomodations blah blah..." Anne says, folding the piece of paper into an airplane and throwing it.

You mention that you focused on any names you saw among the exhibits, but very few of them were about people in the mine who weren't the owners or the foreman. In fact, a lot of them were about people famous to the area, such as oddballs or mayors. Funnily enough, one of the citizens claimed they to and for Llastay among other gods in the area.

"Yeah, A lot of the exhibits here aren't just about the mine." Kamiko says motioning to the space at large, "It did say something about 20-40 people on average dying each year in the mine. I couldn't find anything about the specific people though."

"Dang, that many? And this place was open for how long? Are we sure it's just one ghost?" the zombie asks.

"As far as I'm aware, yes." Zul says, putting away her device and looking to the mine entrance. "Looks like we are going in."

Kamiko sighs, which is a bit understandable to you. Your own head is barely a few inches below the top of the door frame, so you can't imagine how squished she'll be. You see Zul search through her backpack and then hand the zombie a flashlight along with one for herself. While you go for your own you see Kamiko has an Anglehead flashlight attached to her belt, and has picked up one of the old pickaxes sitting nearby.

What do you do?

>>6474335
>Descend
Welcome back, QM!

>>6474335
maybe we should grab a shovel if there is one available, never know when you might need to dig something while underground...

>>6474443
Good thinking. +1. Adding it to >>6474353 (me)

>>6474335

>>6474335
+1 >>6474443

Welcome back!

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>>6474718 >>6474759 >>6474784

You look over the area beside the door where Kamiko grabbed the pickaxe and see if there is anything useful there. There are some other tools, such as a weird rectangle on the end of a stick as well as a hammer, but you pull out the shovel. It's in much the same shape as the half-oni's pickaxe. That is to say they are both chipped and scratched up, with a bit of rust flaking off the business ends of the tools.

Kamiko careful tries the door knob, opens the door and then steps back quickly. After a second, she steps forward, over the cut chains and lock collecting dust on the floor.

"That's not a good sign..." Anne says looking down as Kamiko secures her flashlight on her belt and peers into the mine. Even from here you can see how dark the tunnel is.

"It was probably just some ne'er-do-well looking for valuables." Zul says, and though she says it in an offhand manner you catch a bit of an unsure tone from her.

Seemingly deciding it's safe, Kamiko steps into the entrance, and after a second the rest of you follow.

You were expecting something like the mine underneath the mansion, however just a few steps in and you can already see the difference. It's still mostly stone walls with thick and wooden supports, but buttressed by more modern but still worn pieces of steel. There is also a string of bulbs disguised as industrial looking lanterns going down the tunnel. Unfortunately because of either their age or lack of electricity they don't provide any light. The floor is also made of connected metal grates instead of bare stone, and luckily for a Kamiko the tunnel is a bit wider than the one under the mansion. Every few feet there is what was once an exhibit, indicated by a placard, a display case, or a large alcove set in the wall that was clearly meant as some sort of diorama before it was emptied.

Your group walks in claustrophobic silence, only stopping to examine the plaques or get a closer look at something. As you make a right turn towards an alcove with a minecart you notice something. There is a path blocked with several boards as well as a sign indicating danger and to not approach.

You ask if they should search down this path.

"Whoa! Hey. Listen, as the former tour guide of the group I should say that if a section of your path is blocked off you should definitely not go down it." The zombie warns, "Because that means whoever owned the place felt like the liability outweighed the money they could make by showing it off, so it must be super dangerous."

"I mean, we are looking for a ghost." Kamiko says, taking her flashlight and scanning the immediate area. This path looks much closer to the one you saw underneath the mansion.

What do you do?

>>6474687
as much as i want to go down the closed path, i say we first reach the end of this obviosuly accessible path before we go into the closed one, but hey, thats just me.

>>6474687
Closed path! (Anomalous) adventure ahoy!

>>6474687
There didn't seem to be another exit to the mine, so we'll probably be heading back this way. We can try that path on the way back.

>>6474718
>>6474784
+1

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>>6475260 >>6475264 >>6475384

You say that they should just continue on the safer path for now. They aren't in any rush so they can come back to it if necessary. The party deems this reasonable, and you continue on until the tunnel hits an end at a large bit of rusted machinery anchored to the walls. It's little more than a frame with a motor connected to a large chain. The chain extends so far down that even with the flashlights you can't see where it ends.

"Man they have an elevator too?" Anne says, her flashlight aiming at some signs next to the machine. They are a bit corroded, but the notices seem to be rules for riding as well as announcing the max capacity and weight limit for the lift. "All the Mansion had was a dumbwaiter... We going down?"

"Even if there was electricity, no." Kamiko denies firmly, already scanning the way you came with the flashlight. "Way to dangerous."

Your party illuminates the area, and you spot something odd. You hadn't realized it but a bit of the wall looks oddly shiny for stone, and there is a red plaque set into it near the middle. The letters are nice and big, so even through the rust you can read, "MAINTENANCE SHAFT: EMPLOYEE'S ONLY".


"Oh, It's plastic, or something like it." Kamiko says after you point out the oddity and she examines it. She picks it up and puts it aside, revealing a branch of the shaft similiar to the one from before. The walls of this tunnel hav thick but frayed electrical wires running down along it. This shaft is also much steeper than the previous branch from before. Lighting up the floor you see some smaller, more rectanglular metal panels making somewhat of a staircase into the abyss.

It's scary, but it doesn't exactly look dangerous.

"Still no ghost." Zul says, looking gingerly down into the black depths of the shaft, "We go forward."

"So uh... I guess that's me then?" Anne asks.

"If you are offering." Zul replies, "You did say something about how you can't get stuck or die, so I suppose you taking lead makes sense. On the other hand that's a bit of pressure for someone on their first mission."

"Oh uh, right." The zombie replies, looking nervously down the maintenance tunnel. She pumps herself up a bit and then says, "Alright, tour guiding skills don't fail me now!"

"U-uh, I can do it if you don't want to." Kamiko offers kindly.

"Nah don't worry, I got this." Anne says, trying to hype herself up.

You mention the other tunnel from earlier, in case they wanted to check that path out first.

"Hmm... Actually, why don't you decide that one." Zul says, giving you a smile grin.

What do you do?

>>6475243
is Zul being cheeky with us? thats unusual...
but hey, we are already here, might as well go down i guess, we should all tie ourselves us to eachother, just so nobody gets lost or they have an anchor in case there is a drop/fall, and kamiko should be in the end so she can act as the anchor

>>6475243
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea >>6475260

It's a maintenance shaft, I'm sure it can't be TOO dangerous, at least back in the day.

>>6475260
+1

>>6475243

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>>6475530 >>6475613

After a bit of thought you say you are fine with heading down the maintenance shaft. Honestly, you don't really feel like walking back since there only appears to be one exit anyway. That, and despite the makeshift nature of the staircase there is at least a clear path back up to the surface unlike the other tunnel you peered into.

“Sounds good.” Zul says with an uncharacteristic chuckle. “Thank you, Mr. Anomaly.”

The zombie steps through the entranceway and onto the metal panel stairs, testing her weight on each step several times before she goes down. This might take a little bit.

“Watch the walls, who knows if that current still goes through these.” Anne says, avoiding the wires and cables running along the stone. “Hey, you think this would re-kill me?”

You start to make a joke about Frankenstein's Monster when much to your horror Kamiko grabs each of the wires in turn. Zul doesn’t seem perturbed by this, but you and Anne gawk.

“Completely dead, I think.” Your taller co-worker comments, and as she turns back to you she continues, “What?”

“Whoa, you are kind of crazy, huh?” Anne asks, with a sort of worried guffaw.

“Oh, it’s part of my glamour. I’m not really affected by electricity. I’m even sort of okay with flames.” Kamiko says proudly.

“Ah-ha right, you are a fairy too.” The zombie asks, looking to the half-oni in awe. “I keep forgetting since you look so normal.”

“O-oh, thanks.” Kamiko says giving a happy smirk.

You continue for a short while longer until the zombie starts to make it a habit of stumbling. Kamiko tells her to stop, and she removes a rope from her backpack. As the half-oni wraps the ropes around both of their waists Anne says, “Gonna be my anchor? Sounds good. No way I'm pulling you down with me.”

Your party comes to another branch off the mine, going perpindicular on level ground off to your left. At the junction there is a badly worn vertical cross section of the mine. Barely any of it is legible.

"Looks like we made it down one floor." Zul says, pulling out one of her instruments again, "Air is clean with good oxygen content. Nominal radiation. What now?"

What do you do?

>>6475518
>Zul says with an uncharacteristic chuckle. “Thank you, Mr. Anomaly.”
ok, we might want to keep an eye on Zul, she is acting unusually...cheery.

>What do you do?
i wonder, can we FEEL anything when any anomaly might be happening? like a tingling or something like that? because if we are sorta like a magnet or a compass for anomalies, perhaps we could follow that feeling? idunno, just spitballing here

>>6475518
>The F-2 / F-3 area looks promising.

(No update tonight, sorry. Out of curiosity...

What sort of things would you like to see more of in the Quest? In a general sense.)

>>6475690
you know, for a quest called "Hatch that egg", we´ve already accomplished the "main" goal. However, we still dont know basically nothing about the egg itself, where did she came from? who put it in our house? does she have an actual mom? she has to, right? what im saying is, i would love to see more about Tamako´s backstory

>>6475690
I also want to know more about how Tamako arrived our home, and a mystery app appeared on our phone. And what the Unseelie are up to. And to get Martin a girl.

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>>6476095 >>6476323 >>6476541

You say that the large, lower floor with the ore deposit looks promising. Your party continues down the dark slope, the oppressive claustrophobia increasing with each step. If anyone else feels it then they aren't saying anything. Your party moves in silence except for the shuffle of clothes and the clang of boots touching metal paneling. The quiet is so deep and unnerving that when you hear a noise it nearly makes you jump out of your skin. It's not a harsh noise, in fact it's quite pleasant. A medium pitched sort of continuous musical sound. It takes you a second, but you realize that it's your smaller green co-worker.

"Are you humming?" Kamiko says, briefly looking back to Zul before returning her eyes and torch to the path ahead.

"Oh, I suppose I am." Zul says, stopping both the humming and the futuristic tool she was reading to respond. "Guess I'm just in a good mood today."

"We should hit up a karaoke place sometime. I bet you'd enjoy it." Kamiko offers.

"Not even if you paid me." Zul responds back, smiling.

You make it down one floor, but the side entrance is impassable. The floor here is nothing but a dark void and planks of wood still clinging the best they can to the stone walls. You decide to continue to the bottom. The maintenance shaft terminates against another plastic cutout and next to the industrial elevator, which you can tell because of the metal caging and a large sump cut into the bottom still full of what might be water and hydraulic fluid. The cavern is a large circular cave, easily reaching up to the floor above and farther back than your flashlight can shine in the darkness. In the distance you spot rotted and crumbling wooden walkways leading up to the higher level of the cavern, though they are so collapsed that it'd be unsafe to attempt to walk on them. The ground has some half-buried cart tracks, as well a few derelict shack sized structures. The only thing you expected to see, a large vein of ore, is not here."

"Hello? Mr. Ghost? You around?" Anne asks, her yell echoing around the cave. After a moment she continues, "Well, was worth a shot."

"Indeed." Zul says, looking down at her electronic tool, "There is a fairy here, but it's not spirit in nature. It also keeps flickering on and off the sensors."

"Are you sure it's not a ghost then? That sounds like something a ghost would do." Anne says, removing the rope from around herself and handing the end back to Kamiko.

"It might just mean they are going in and out of effective range for my scanner." Zul says, fiddling with some knobs. "Shall we search the area?"

You shine your flashlight around, and on the ground spot a collapsed sign. The bottom is rusted away, but the rest is still mostly legible. It mentions that the mine was closed briefly before being prospected again and reopened briefly in the 90's, only to be shut down again in the early 2000's.

What do you do?

i dont know why Zul being in a good mood feels off to me...
i suggest we split but explore in pairs

>>6475695
>>6475911

(Well perfect! That's the direction we're heading.)

>>6476087
Narration keeps drawing attention to it, too. Worrisome. Possession?

>>6476082
>Wonder aloud if it could be the Unseelie playing at something again

>>6474333
I like this cover art lol

>>6476082
I’m fine with splitting into pairs like >>6476087 suggested, though I’m not sure what the best way to pair up would be. I was going to say we could have Kamiko with us and Anne with Zul, or vice versa so that each pair has someone who can handle themselves in an encounter with something unfriendly, but now that you point out how strangely Zul is acting, it might be prudent to have her go with Kamiko in case she starts behaving irrationally.

>reopened briefly in the 90's, only to be shut down again in the early 2000's.
So the mine had recent activity within the last twenty years or so. That implies that there’s still valuable ore down here. Was it stated anywhere what they mined from this place? I know gold and silver were among the things the Eastern side of the Andes was known for hosting. I wonder if the fairy signature Zul is picking up is something drawn here by all of that, and the culprit for disturbing the spirit.

>>6475690
I just caught up after reading the archives, and although I’m not usually the kind of person to care much for light-hearted stuff like this, I am a fan of this world you’ve built up. It’s unique to me, and very creative! If there’s anything I think I’d like to see more of, it might be Tamako’s own challenges and development.

I also respect that you casually had the protagonist strapped with a handgun at the start of the quest. Pretty much never see that. I would have fully expected him to be utterly defenseless. It was a nice change of pace.

>>6476082
Contemplate you place in the universe....
Then realize you have better things to do.

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>>6476622

You look around, appreciating the inky blackness surrounding you only lit up slightly by the small bit of light coming from your flashlights. You aren't sure you've ever been anywhere quite this dark. You wonder if this is what it would be like without stars or a moon in the night sky. You shake yourself out of your reverie, and then say you guys should split into pairs and search, just to speed up clearing out this large cavern.

"As long as we stay nearby that shouldn't be a problem." Zul says, "If the need arises, rally at... Hmm..."

"Kamiko. She's the easiest to see." Anne says, and then briefly thinking continues, "Yeah just raise your flashlight up and wave it around. We should be able to see it. You are almost a walking watchtower."

Zul gives a genuine laugh at this.

"You sure are in a mood today, something happen?" Kamiko ask, seemingly also surprised.

"Can't I be in good spirits?" Zul asks with a grin, not really answering the question.

"I suppose... So how do we want to split this up?" The half-oni asks, continuing with business.

"I'd like to be with either you, or Mr. Anomaly here." the LGM says pointing a thumb over to you.

"Wow. What'd I'd do?" Anne asks.

"Nothing, but I need to be able to concentrate to use my instruments. Something I don't think I'd be able to do while watching you." Your small green co-worker says.

"Ah-ha, okay. I guess." The zombie says, and then turning her attention away remarks, "Well either of you guys fine with me. I know Martin is cool, and I bet Kamiko and I would get along."

"Oh?" Kamiko asks. "I'm uh... Glad I made a good impression?"

Anne nods with confidence and says, "Yeah, I don't know why but I bet we'll get along."

Who do you go with?

>>6476617
voting to let Kamiko and Anne hang out for a bit, Anne could use somebody else to hang around and they do look like they could be good friends, also, we could kill 2 birds with one stone if we pair up with Zul and keep and eye on her, and maybe figure out why is she in such an unusual good mood, something is definitely wrong with her...

>>6476622
+1, sensible approach.

>>6476622
I can’t find any objections to this plan, so +1.

>>6476236

(Glad you like it! Both the uniqueness of the quest and the OP image lol.)

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>>6476991

You say that Kamiko and Anne pairing up sounds wonderful. You don't say this out loud, but it's good for the newly turned zombie to make some fairy friends since she'll be spending a lot of time around fae now.

"Nice. Anne/Kamiko adventure time." Anne says getting herself pumped up again. "I'm excited."

"E-excited? I'm not sure it'll be all that fun..." Kamiko remarks.

"Is it that weird someone might want to hang out with you?" Anne asks, raising an eyebrow. "You seem pretty badass, you know."

"N-no, nothing like that." The half-oni says as her face reddens in embarrassment from the compliment. "It's more that uh... Undead usually don't like being around me very much."

Kamiko then does her best to explain what she is and her glamour is again to Anne.

The zombie remarks, "I mean, you do sort of terrify me, but it's nice to know that's because you are a literal demon from hell and not because you are a bad person."

"I-I'm not though." Kamiko says.

"Oh sorry, I mean half-demon." Anne corrects.

"That's not what I meant." Kamiko says with a sigh as they both start to walk away. "I've never been to the underworld. My mother is from there."

"Ah, fair. Hey you into horror movies?" Anne says, speeding up to keep with the half-oni's stride.

"I haven't watched too many. Have any suggestions?"

"Nah. I just figured I should try to get into them now that I could be a star in one."

You feel a tug at your sweater cuff, and looking down you see Zul looking back up at you. The LGM points to the collapsed structures nearby and says, "And remember, keep an eye out for that other fae that might be down here."

You nod, and giving a final glance to the other two in your group you ask how she thinks Anne is handling things.

"It's going well. She seems trustworthy, though a little silly. I'm not so sure she's showing much competence, but that might come with time. She has a lot of adjusting to do now that she's a fae." Zul says, stating to hum happily again. "Honestly, we still don't know if she'll even stay with us. Who knows? Maybe we can find a nice necropolis for her sometime."

You shine your flashlightYou do your best to surreptitiously glance to the LGM every once and a while. You aren't sure why, but Zul's good mood makes you a bit unnerved. You want to dig into it a little, but you aren't sure what questions to ask her.

What do you do?

>>6476979
perhaps we could be a bit more direct with her? i dont think she has ever been one to beat around the bush
>just ask: "what got you in such a good mood lately? any good news to share?"
keeping it casual so she might not be suspicious in case anything actually unusual is going on

>>6476991
This, and ask her what kinds of fae might be attracted to the minerals or ores in a mine. If this place held precious metals, it could very well attract humans after a potential profit, too.

>>6476991
>>6477011
+1 to both. Maybe something like "you seem pretty happy given we have no real leads yet... or do you have some idea what we might be dealing with?" Either she'll tell us what's up with the mission, or with her.

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>>6477345 >>6477348 >>6477368

You ask if there might be a fae here who is interested in gems and valuable minerals.

"Oh yes. Fairies in general do, though in the modern age things like gold and jewels aren't exactly rare in the faeworld. It's to the point that they only have value specifically if they come from the real world" Zul remarks, "I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't at least one fae who picked this place clean."

As your light continues to reveal more of the derelict structures, you can see that they were probably some sort of break room, and/or field office. Most of the rubble is made of corroded file cabinets, broken chairs, and documents that have been weathered so bad they can barely be picked up much less read. The pair of you sift the wreckage, hoping to find something that might indicate the ghost is around.

You ask Zul why she's in such a good mood recently. Did she hear some good news or something?

"Things have been going well with work and life in general really, so why can't I be happy?" Zul says. "We've successfully completed all the missions we've been to and in record time. Most cases are solved over months, but we've hit all of them in days! No casualties even!"

You remarks that there were injuries, your hand unconsciously going over the place the clown shot you. The LGM gives an apologetic look, though ruining it slightly when it turns back into a smile. She then says, "Nothing permanent luckily. Plus I've learned quite a lot in my own research thanks to your anomalous nature, and I've even got some new data with those weird transforming machines we stopped.

You think back to those strange robotic fae that could impersonate other fae's glamour. That spidery one led you to being haunted by a enamored ghost, and the other is the whole reason a kingdom of clowns and mimes nearly fell into fighting. You ask if that's all the reason she's happy, as none of that is really new developments after all.

"Well, I got to see my daughter yesterday also, despite Hilde's best efforts. I even got to punish that silly robot because of her failure." She says, humming as she pushes some rotted wood and rusty metal aside. "WIth her gone and your daughter in daycare this has also become less babysitting and more professional."

You frown and say that if it bugged her that much why did she let Tamako come.

"Because I needed to see if you were both trustworthy." The alien says, "Like I've said before, I know you think of her as your daughter and maybe even she thinks that. That doesn't make her any less a changeling, and changelings don't exactly have the best reputations. For all I knew at the time, you were just playing a part and her little girl aesthetic was a facade to make us let down our guard.

What do you do?

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>>6477451

>>6477323
> For all I knew at the time, you were just playing a part and her little girl aesthetic was a facade to make us let down our guard.
reply with: "feels a bit offensive that you thought of us like that, but i guess thats fair since we were all strangers at the time, glad you no longer feel like that."
also, what is that in the background? almost looks like some sort of bird, too shapely to be a random thing.

>>6477323
I guess I can’t really fault her for being frank about not trusting us to begin with, but I’m a bit miffed that she sort of implies that she isn’t quite sure if Tamako actually considers us her father. I wouldn’t bring it up, though. I don’t want to sour the mood if we’ll be stuck together down here.

Just tell her that Tamako is as much a daughter to us as her own is to her. Tamako’s been nothing but a sweetheart, if mischievous in the way all kids generally are. She willingly shared her cake with those gnomes when she wasn’t even more than a couple days old. If she has any bad bones in her, they’ve yet to come out.

I have kind of a hunch here. Ask Zul if she’s ever known any changelings, or had many encounters with them. If the factor here is our daughter being gone, then maybe she’s a bit biased against changelings?

Also, is that something behind us in the distance?

>>6477323
No harm no foul. I understand the precaution.
>I'm glad we earned your trust.
>Tamako’s been nothing but a sweetheart, if mischievous in the way all kids generally are. She willingly shared her cake with those gnomes when she wasn’t even more than a couple days old. If she has any bad bones in her, they’ve yet to come out.
>Say, can you tell me more about Changelings?
Do you think the app we got on our phone and Tamako's appearance could be related to the Unseelie schemes? Do NOT bring that up with Zul, btu I'm considering...

>>6477368
>Spoiler
That wasn’t an angle I had considered before, but I don’t think that’s too unrealistic to be possible. The only other idea I had was that maybe Tamako and that app were provided to us in order to raise her in a manner counter to how changelings are typically raised. Basically, someone wanted us to raise Tamako to be more “good” than changelings usually are.

I assume changelings usually don’t wind up in someone’s house as an egg. They’re probably hatched first, find a target, eat a child and replace them, then do other nasty stuff until they get to adulthood and reproduce. It’s definitely confusing how much of an outlier she seems to be. I am this anon btw >>6477348

>>6477345
I immediately thought of a bird too.

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>>6477720 >>6477726 >>6477752 >>6477757 >>6477762

You tell her it's fine, as long as Zul finally trusts you and Tamako. Frankly, you think you've been through enough at this point. You say that you know Tamako has been a bit mischevious, but no one is perfect and she's just getting better by the day. You even mention that barely days old and she already knew the value of justice and sharing. Even though she heard it before during your interrogation, you retell Tamako's hatching and first days before you were swept up into the SHR.

"You really do love her, huh?" Zul says grinning, "Sorry about our suspicion. Shape changers just don't have the best reputation, even among the Unseelie. Even just being able to transform can make you suspect. That, and most shape changers are poorly understood, even by themselves seemingly."

You ask if Changelings are among the group that aren't well known. You think back to the app you had on your phone and remind Zul about it. The software seemed to imply the same thing, though it still had some information on it.

"That app that mysteriously is missing from your phone now?" Zul says grinning again. "Even though there wasn't any proof of it, I do believe you. There isn't any other way you could have known jargon from fae cladistics otherwise."

You ask if knowledge in that sort of thing is rare. You'd like to know more about Changelings if possible.

"You know fae cladistics is my field, right? Some would even say I'm expert." Zul says, and you are surprised to hear the reserved pride she says it with suits her. You try to think of something to ask, however your thoughts are interrupted.

As you turn to take a look at your surroundings something catches your eye. A bit away there is a soft, warm glow sitting atop a collapsed roof. It's almost like the dimmer light of the sun at dusk coming through a window, but fixed into a roughly avian shape. You lean back down towards the LGM and whisper to her that you spotted something.

"What did you see?" Zul whispers back, standing up and looking around.

You shine your flashlight in the direction you saw the glow. There isn't anything there, but you think you may have seen a streak of light head into a nearby tunnel. You describe what you saw, and ask the alien if she saw any of that.

"Maybe...? You sure it wasn't just your flashlight? Should we check it out?" Zul asks while pulling her torch back out.

What do you do?

>>6477713
definitely check it out, make sure to have something at hand to use as a weapon just in case

>>6477713
Any birds that can make light you can think of?

>>6477713
>>6477720
Let’s check it out, but I think we should take point ahead of Zul. She’s the most knowledgeable person in our group, we don’t want something to happen to her. I also don’t trust that whatever is down here might be affecting her.

>>6477713
Notify the rest of the group that something is up, and we're going to check it out/follow after it.
Then this >>6477752 I guess.

>>6477752
>>6477757
+1

>>6477713

>>6477757
Yeah, sending out a message is a good idea.

(No update tonight, sorry.)

>>6478088
No worries, it happens. Thanks for letting us know.

>>6478088
All good, OP!

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>>6478390 >>6478400 >>6478722

You say you want to check it out, though you think you should probably tell the other two first. They are rather easy to find as you can spot their flashlights flickering between the rotted wooden supports and the piles of collapsed boards on the floor. You think you can even tell which is which, as of the two, one is noticeably higher up and more methodical with its searching while the other seems to spend the same amount of time pointing forward as it is pointing to the ceiling. You yell over to them, saying that you think you saw something and you are going to check it out quick.You probably didn't need to yell, as in the mostly silence your voice carries quite easy and echoes several times.

"You need my help?" Kamiko asks, her voice booms before almost immediately getting quieter as she realizes the same thing you did about the volume.

You say you aren't sure yet, and start to walk towards the tunnel. You pick up one of the sturdier pieces of wood you can find and make sure to stay in front of Zul. She notices and comments, "You don't need to protect me."

You say you'll be fine, though you wish you still had the gun from last mission, or really your own gun that was taken when you were brought to the SHR. Zul chuckles at this comment, "And yet you seem quite confident. Well then Sir Knight, after you."

You lead with your flashlight, shining it down the corridor you think you saw the light go into. You let the torch fall to your side pretty soon afterwards since the light it provides isn't necessary. The corridor is a mine tunnel like most you've seen so far, with a collapsed wall of rubble blocking it off after a few meters. You can see this because peeking softly through the holes and cracks in the pile is a warm yellow-orange glow.

You ask the alien if she knows any bird fae who give off light.

"Hmm... Maybe a phoenix? Did it look firey in nature?" She says.

You say it was more like the steady, constant light that comes from a fluorescent lamp as opposed to the flickering warmth of something like candlelight.

"There are a lot of avian fae. A lot of them give off light now that I think about it." She says, rubbing her chin in thought. She points her own flashlight at the glow and asks, "Excuse me, may we have a chat?"

The light does not answer her, nor does it say anything whe you ask if it's hurt or injured. Or scared. Or even when you question what it is.

What do you do?

>>6478373
Explain our purpose here, and say that the sooner we wrap up, the sooner we'll be out of these mines.
Worded to be perfectly non-committal as to whatever will happen to this place and any fae(?) that are here.

>>6478373
this is a perfect opportunity to use that shovel we got at the museum (i knew it would come in handy!)
we could dig around the light to slowly free it without hurting it, if its actually alive and could be a threat, we could keep it buried enough so it wont escape while also giving us a bit of a visual on it

>>6478390
I think this is a reasonable thing to do. If we don’t get any further response, we can start digging as >>6478400 suggested.

>>6478400
+1.

>>6478373

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>>6478886 >>6478900 >>6478922 >>6479192

You pull up your shovel. You aren't really sure how much you want to dig, but it might be useful as extra reach if you need it.

You explain your purpose in being down here to the light, that you are looking for the dead body of a miner. It's connected to a ghost that is haunting the surface so your group needs to perform last rites on his corpse. After that you'll leave.

"We are with the SHR. If you have any information that could be of help to us we would appreciate it." Zul adds, craning her head a bit to try and get a better look at the creature. The two of you wait for a moment to see if the glow answers, and just as you are about to ask another question you hear a squeak of a voice come from the pile of rubble.

"It's just past here! Come, I'll show you the way through."

What do you do?

>>6478884
smells trap-ish, dig slowly

>>6478884
Tell Zul to get the other two over here and keep digging slowly.

>>6478886
I agree. I wonder if this thing might be responsible for luring the miner to his death, or causing a cave-in. Or, maybe, responsible for this place being abandoned. Though we might also just be paranoid as hell. Not that that’s unreasonable given what we’ve put up with.

>>6478884
This >>6478900
Gather up the team; a random fae out in the wild being so helpful right off the bat stinks to high heaven. We should play the fool for the time being, though, lest it run off.

>>6478900
+1

>>6478884

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>>6479260 >>6479266 >>6479498

"A moment, if you don't mind." Zul says, beckoning you away from the light. She takes you far enough that you are out of earshot of the cave, but also still in sight of it. Zul raises her light to the air and waves it around, trying to get the attention of your other two co-workers. The taller of the flashlights in the distance walks over to the other, and then a second later they are making their way towards you.

"Are you thinking of going in there?" Zul asks turning back to you, juggling her flashlight while also taking out her instrument again.

You glance back to the cave and then says you aren't sure. Whatever fae is in there is being a little suspicious.

"Indeed." Zul says twiddling the knobs and pointing the machine at the cave. "If you weren't here I might consider taking the stranger up on it's offer. Unfortunately lot's of fairies like to mislead humans, especially ones found in the dark places of the world. On the other hand, you have that anomalous nature in you so who knows? I suppose it could be shy or something."

You ask if that's probably.

"No, but it's possible." Zul answers with a shrug.

"What's up? Something wrong?" Kamiko says as you get closer, taking her angle-head off her belt and flashing it around. Anne is following up behind her, and she seems to have found herself a beaten miner's helmet with a broken light. You and Zul explain the situation and then Kamiko mentions, "Do you have any clues on what it could be?"

"Not really. I don't have much experience in South American fae." Zul says rubbing her chin. "If it were European I could say it might be a kobold or a knocker, or maybe even some other kind of bogle. If it's using light to attract people than it could be all sorts of things. Wisps, or perhaps something akin to a bluecap?"

"And they are all bad?" the zombie asks.

"Unseelie? A lot of them. There are good fae in caves too. Knockers for instance are just as likely to lead you to treasure in some stories."

"Hm, but none of those are bird shaped are they?" Kamiko says, mirroring the LGM by rubbing her own chin. "All I can think of are phoenixes but they don't really act like this, nor do you find them in caves."

"Only ones I know that live in caves are trolls and dragons, but it's probably not one of those" Anne adds, "Wait it said the bodies was down here? I have a feeling that might be true."

You ask what she means, and she removes the mining hat and show it to you. "All this stuff is new. Well not new, but new relative to that ghost we saw. He looked like, super old fashioned you know? All these machines and equipment are more modern right? Did they even have machines that far back at all? Guess I should have paid more attention up at that museum, heh."

What do you do?

>>6479225
It’s the only lead we’ve gotten so far. We don’t have too much of a choice besides investigating it. So, we might as well get digging.

Also, is that a bullet hole in that helmet?

>>6479225
Well, whether the fae is leading us to what we're looking for or trying to lead us into a trap, the tunnel and the fae will need to be dealt with either way.
Ask Zul and Kamiko what is the best way to approach the fae in the tunnel given what we have?

>>6479260
aah, so she is saying she is sure the bodies of the ghosts are down here because they look basically ancient compared to the equipment thats currently scattered around, basically saying the ghost has been here for far longer than we thought.
we will probably need to dig a lot deeper if it has been that long.
nothing more to do other than to dig, i guess

>>6479284
That makes sense. From the little bit I know of mine accidents in history, it was sometimes necessary to leave bodies in collapsed mines due to the dangers of retrieving them. Maybe our ghost is one of those.

>>6479225
>Get to digging
>Check that hole on the helmet
Did someone maybe put down a miner's strike here?

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>>6479911 >>6479915

Anne does make a good point. The ghost looked like it was from an older era than the one you are in now. His body could be deep and buried somewhere far down, or where ever the oldest shafts are.

You ask if you can examine that hard hat closer, and Anne tosses it over to you. Not expecting that you fumble a bit but manage to catch it. You examine the holes and dents on the headgear, particularly the larger circular one near the top. You thought it might be a bullet hole, but it doesn't look like any sort of entrance or exit hole you've seen. It's a bit too jagged and the way it's caved in rather than blown out. it looks more like something larger than a bullet struck it. Considering where you are, it was probably hit with some falling debris.

You ask apprehensively if there was a body paired with this helmet.

"Nope. Haven't seen any bodies at all thankfully. It was just in a pile of other broken junk." Anne says nodding, "The doctors at the base said I might go crazy and eat them and there is no way to know for sure until I encounter one."

You ask if she's serious.

"Yeah, but I mean they said I might do all sorts of things depending on what sort of zombie I am." Anne says shrugging, "They said I might just bite you and try to eat your brains and I didn't do that. They even tried UV lamps or something to see if I'd catch fire in sunlight."

You remark that you are glad neither of those things are true, and then ask Kamiko and Zul what they think the best course of action is, and how'd they deal with following a suspicious fae down a cave. You glance over to check on the light to make sure it hasn't moved, and see it still see it glowing softly out of the cave.

"That depends. What did you bring?" Zul asks your taller co-worker.

"Caving gear, of course. Camping gear. Supplies, a few different ghost tools, though the doohickey you have is probably better than an EMF meter." Kamiko says with a chuckle while rooting around in her bag. A second later she pulls out a collapsible shovel.

"Technically Kamiko and I are the only agents here. I'd say she and I should probably check it out before you go. Wouldn't want to tempt it, whatever it is."

What do you do?

>>6479907
sounds reasonable enough for me, if the light is benevolent it might respond positively to Zul and Kamiko. If its malevolent AND we are the first to go, then we are very likely to "trigger it" in some way and maybe even delay the entire expedition, i say we let them go first.

>>6479907
Loathe as I am to constantly sit on the sidelines, both Zul and >>6479911 make good points. We can hang back with Anne for now then.

>>6479911
+1, but also
>Speculate that if we can't find the body of the thrust ghost, flooding the mine could solve his problem by bringing water to his body

>>6480103
This anon is on some psychotic levels of problem-solving. I fully respect the unhinged idea, but we may want to reserve that one for the last resort. For more than one reason.

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>>6480239 >>6480240 >>6480242 >>6480402

You frown, and say it's probably best that they go. You hate sitting around while others do the work. Kamiko goes in ahead of the little green alien, poking areas to make sure they were stable. Unfortunately to the pair with the huge height gap, it isn't the walls that give way but the floor. Kamiko dives deeper into the cave as the wall and ceiling slumps down, the crashing of the rock causing several seconds of noise followed by the same amount of time in echoes around the cavern. You run up to the pile and yell for Kamiko and Zul, asking if they are okay.

"We're fine, but no way we are getting through here now." You hear Kamiko yell through the wall of debris. There is some muffled talking and then she continues, "Head back up. We're going to see if this tunnel goes anywhere then try to get a distress signal out."

"But that will take to long!" The suddenly chatty ball of light says, streaking out of the debris wall and to a pile of boulders in another part of the cavern.. "Come! I know another way to get to them."

"Ah-ha, wow. I think I hate this guy." Anne says, leaning over to yo and whispering, "What do we do? I say we grab him and see if he really does know anything."

Considering it can fly you aren't sure how easy that would be. You aren't even sure you know what it is yet. Is it even possible to hold it?

"I dunno, wouldn't hurt to try. Or are we going to keep following this guy?" The zombie asks.

You grin and say that if worse comes to worse you could always try flooding the mine. It'll probably solve both your problems.

"Not sure if that is a joke or not." Anne grins back. "You think there is enough water? It is still a desert even if there is a weird salty lake nearby."

What do you do?

>>6480232
gotta be honest...i did not see the cave collapsing on them coming...i guess the only worse thing that could happen is not to do anything, better follow the light

>>6480232
Take stock of what we have; do we have any rope? We're definitely not following the light, at least, not on its terms. Stay put for now, take stock and see what Kamiko and Zul can see down there, wait a bit, see what they say, then decide.
As for flooding the mine, I'm sure if we did that before solving the main objective that would be a hard fail. They'll have to send mermaids to clean up the mess.

>>6480239
Dude, the cave collapse was a trap meant for us

>>6480232
If this thing actually knew a better way to get to where they were, it wouldn’t have tried to lead us down that to begin with. It probably knew that was going to happen. This is almost certainly a trap. I say we either head back up with Anne and call for assistance, or we try and interrogate this thing.

>>6480240
Yeah, I agree. Let’s try and get this thing to talk. Let it know that if it’s playing us for a fool and lying we’ll be coming back with more resources to deal with it for good.

>>6480240
>meant for us
...oh wow, you are right, i even said it myself before that i was suspicious it was a trap...i should really go to bed.
disregard my suggestion then, changing it up to yours.

>>6480232
Hopefully we brought rope, or someone did at least. It was a mission near mines and cliffs and such, right?

>>6480243
+1, voice our suspicion and flex our associations.

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>>6480533 >>6480545 >>6480547 >>6480550

Knowing that this creature is trying to kill or trap you, you are feeling a little less gregarious towards this flying glowstick. You don't want to follow the light, at least not on it's own terms. While you think, you ask Anne to give you some light, and then remove your backpack and re-check what's inside of it.

"You have any rope by any chance? Oh hey nice hat, can I use it?" Anne asks, watching you look in the bag.

There is no rope, but you pull out the multi-tool and put it on your pocket and hand her the hat. You also take the trail mix.You aren't hungry yet but you are starting to feel a bit peckish. You are pretty sure Kamiko had some rope, but she's on the other end of a rockslide so that doesn't help you any. At least you can probably climb backup to the surface if you retrace your steps without the assistance of one, but it doesn't seem right to just leave your other co-workers down here. You say you want to try to talk to the glowing thing again. You want to see if you can get any information out of it, or at least delay it so Kamiko and Zul can look around where they are trapped and maybe finish the mission.

"Let's see if we can get it to tell us it's weakness. Fairies usually have those right? Iron or something? Garlic if it's a vampire and stuff like that?" Anne tries to explain.

You nod. You aren't sure what a winged creature that glows would be weak to. Holding out the shovel, you make your way gingerly towards where the light flew. You are forced over some large but thankfully sturdy boulders, and see a light coming from a corridor that was blocked from view.

You carefully creep up to the entrance of the offshoot hallway and ask the luminescent being if it's there. The path looks remarkably similar to the one Kamiko and Zul are now trapped behind, with it being already slightly collapsed.

"Yes. Hurry, this way!" The radiant voice says from behind a thin wall of debris ahead. If you are gong to convince this creature of anything you'll need to think of a good angle to come at it.

What do you do?

>>6480527
>The path looks remarkably similar to the one Kamiko and Zul are now trapped behind, with it being already slightly collapsed.
>"Yes. Hurry, this way!"
oh yeah, its trying the same trick again, no way we are going in there.
there HAS to be another way around.

Anne is a cuuute.

>>6480527
>Ask why it's so sure it knows the right way after it got our friends trapped to begin with
Pretend to not know it was intentional, but rather insinuate incompetence. maybe pride will do it in.

>>6480527
Convince it that we’re wary of proceeding on account of the dangers of the mine (a half-truth). We did just witness our coworkers nearly crushed, after all. If it argues this route is safe, tell it that it said the same of the last one, but not accusingly. Finally, let’s tell it that we’ll work with it if it stays and answers some questions for us: how deep the mine goes; whether there’s any other fae here; how many bodies are in the mine; where it came from and what it is.

If it’s very obviously bullshitting us, just turn and leave back to the main shaft, then check to see if we can make our way back out as Kamiko suggested to call for help.

Unless someone else has a better idea of what to say. I’m not sure how else to reason with this thing.

>>6480545
Actually, I like this angle. +1

>>6480527
>Anne wearing three hats
I love how nonchalant this woman is about being in a fairly dangerous situation. We’re in an unstable mine potentially miles from any human life in the middle of the single driest desert on Earth. I’m not sure if anyone can break her chill.

I also like the art, OP!

(For obvious reasons, no update tonight. Happy Halloween everyone!

>>6480550

>I also like the art, OP!

Thanks!)

>>6480550
>I love how nonchalant this woman is about being in a fairly dangerous situation.
Well she already got murdered and chopped into pieces, so... Like, she probably feels like quite the main character to have survived that.

>>6480704
Happy Halloween!

>>6480704
Happy Halloween to you too.

>>6480791
>Well she already got murdered and chopped into pieces, so...
I recall her being pretty relaxed even before that occurred, but now that you bring that up it reminds me that the prime suspect for that was our “ghost wife.” Who has been uncharacteristically quiet for a while now. We know Kamiko was keeping her at bay because of her Oni ancestry, but now that we’re separated, I worry that ghost gal might try something.

I sort of feel bad for her given what she went through, and I understand how she wound up with such, uh, skewed morals, but we need to be careful with her still in the picture.