Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 8, 2017 17:06:38 GMT -8
Kar'Orzh got up, groaning as his knees creaked and back popped doing so. The older Tusken followed behind Nartaga and Mig to the bridge. The younger Tusken marveled at the ability to track every living thing in the ship, amazed that the technology was still working after so long underground. Kar'Orzh was impressed, but it was not like some unknown magic to the engineer as it was to Nartaga. Their own ships had sensors with the ability to track living creatures in the vicinity with heat readings. It was something he had used extensively during the Tusken Civil War years ago, they still used it occasionally on scouting missions. Still, being able to pinpoint individual life signs was an excellent gain for clearing the ship. The older Tusken pointed up at a room where red dots kept appearing and disappearing from the ship.
-Kar'Orzh in Tusken-
"I take that is one of the breached rooms of the ship."
Nartaga nodded and pointed to several dots standing still outside of the room.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Indeed, those are the Sentries we left to guard that room. Once we have more of the ship locked down and can send the forces to patch the holes we will clear the room out and repair the damage."
Kar'Orzh moved a bit closer to the display to watch it while he ate his cooked dune worm. Nartaga turned to Mig.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Your clan is very fortunate to have found this ship. It makes one wonder what else is buried out there in the sands."
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 18:35:52 GMT -8
-Mig
The sensors we are placing are based on the designs we found with the starfighter parts. They should be better than they are, but we haven't gotten them quite right yet.
Mig took a few minutes to eat his food & beam at the work his boys had done. When they started, this room had been yet another empty hole in the ship. Now it was proving very useful indeed. As he watched, slowly but surely, the map projected into the air was growing.
-Mig
We hope to find out. I do wonder why the ship is so empty. You would think at least some of the rooms would have cargo. There were some personal effects in quarters near the top. No bodies, but that is not a surprise given the number of things surviving down here.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 8, 2017 19:42:21 GMT -8
Nartaga looked back to the map of the ship, trying to work out how many rooms there were and how little they were finding in the ways of cargo.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Maybe when it crashed someone came and recovered whatever it was carrying, leaving the ship since it was expendable? Outsiders tend to throw old ships away when they've outlived their usefulness...I believe the term they use is their bottom line. Probably cheaper to leave the ship then to repair it or call in another group to scrap it."
Kar'Orzh looked over the map again while eating the last bites of his dune worm. He finally spoke up when he came to a realization, his mouth still part full of worm meat.
-Kar'Orzh in Tusken-
"Either that or the cargo wasn't in the ship. Could've been towing it."
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2017 19:56:42 GMT -8
Mig ran the two possibilities through his head a couple of times.
-Mig
If they came & got the cargo, why not the personal belongings as well. Or the tools & equipment we have found at the engines?
Something about that just didn't quite fit. The other option was just as mind boggling.
-Mig
What could be so big that it would need this monster to tow it? Are all offworlder ships so large?
If this was a normal size ship out in the stars, the Sand Lightning were truly still poor. He had thought the two offworlder ships the clan had salvaged were large, but both could easily fit size be side in the hanger of the command pod with room left over.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 8, 2017 20:15:55 GMT -8
Kar'Orzh rattled some thoughts around in his head before speaking again. His eyes turned back to the map, trying to imagine the missing pieces to get the full size of the ship.
-Kar'Orzh in Tusken-
"There are a lot of planets out there, and Outsiders aren't exactly known for simple living. If I have to guess, and this is just a guess, I'd say it could've been hauling food, tech, smaller ships. Something this big could haul anything. If it was towing it though, it was probably lost in the crash unless they had some kind of shielding or safety system in place. Even then it'd take a large scale effort to recover everything."
Nartaga chimed in.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Tatooine was mostly controlled by the Hutt Cartels back then. Dealing with the Hutts is never a thing anyone likes to do. Even if they got access to the planet, they still would have had to deal with sandstorms, mercenaries, scavengers.....and Tuskens."
Nartaga lowered his head at the realization that the savagery of his people in the past could have kept Outsider from recovering their ship. A good thing for them, but a harsh reality of the violence of his people. Kar'Orzh nodded in agreement with the Councilor and shrugged in summation of his theory.
-Kar'Orzh in Tusken-
"If its true, it would mean Tatooine's bad reputation as a planet back then made the ship too risky to recover. As the Councilor said, the bottom line. They probably just took the loss and got another ship and mass produced more of whatever they were carrying."
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 8:45:31 GMT -8
Mig was about to reply when his commlink dinged. Checking the message, he nods.
-Mig
Come on gents, let's leave the boys to their work.
With that, Mig led the way back to the hanger. A fair number of the nearby chambers had been temporarily converted to living spaces for everyone. They need to sleep in shifts & in rather crowded quarters, but that would change once the main hull was secured. Of course, that wasn't the main draw for the moment. The first of the new reactor plates was being lower down on an AirTIE. The plates were heavy enough, only a single one could be lifted at a time, though a loose cloud of the airspeeder uglies were coming down the shaft. Each one was unloaded directly onto a cart that would then head off toward the reactor. Once unloaded the airspeeders would head back toward the surface. The cracked plates that had been pulled from the reactor & packed into one of the nearby empty rooms. The plan was to relocate the forges out to the ship as well, in time, but if that didn't work out, they could always move the cracked plates back to the Palace.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 9, 2017 13:55:30 GMT -8
The two Tuskens walked alongside Mig back to the hangar. Nartaga was silent, thinking on all the things that the bad reputation his people had helped give the Tatooine might have done to hold them back as a species. It was something he had not thought of in quite some time, at least not this seriously. Even if they eventually united the planet, it would take an unimaginable effort to win over the hearts and minds of the Outsiders. Kar'Orzh smacked Nartaga on the back, rescuing him from his thoughts. Nartaga nodded in thanks as the older Tusken followed the carts transporting the reactor plating. He would not miss out on something as exciting, at least to him, as replacing the generator shielding.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Well why we are alone, I was hoping to speak more on our clans' futures. I know you have a lot of sway with the leaders of the clans you're allied with. I was wondering what you thought about us so far. I know we have not been here long, but your opinion could be the difference of making a meaningful alliance. First impressions are important."
A large group of R'Crurak Tuskens armed with Cycler rifles and gaderffii moved past the duo, headed out into the halls of the ship to continue scouting and clearing it out. Moments later several other Tuskens and a few Jawa headed out as well, carrying tools and crates of scrap tech, components, and metal. They were headed to the generator room to help repair what remained after the plates were put in place.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 16:14:05 GMT -8
If he had been tall enough he would have put his hand on the younger being's shoulder, as it was he had to settled for about halfway up his side.
-Mig
Never judge a man before a good night's sleep. Ask in a few days time, I think.
Taking his leave of the tusken, Mig headed back to the Silver to rest. He was after all not a young jawa anymore. He trusted the Doc to do whatever was needed with the reactor as well. Not much need for an advisor to be standing around nudging people's elbows. He would have strange dreams tonight.
Below, in the reactor room, work was progressing fairly quickly. The plates were heavy, but they fortunately didn't need to be ground down any to fit in the slots they belonged in. The warboys back at the Palace had done a good job with them. At the rate they were working, the reactor plating would be in place by mid-morning.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 9, 2017 18:14:44 GMT -8
Nartaga nodded, realizing he may have been pushing the topic a bit too hard. Persistence was something that had helped him learn his skills as a Shaman and Warrior, but it was sometimes ill suited for conversation. His goal here was to make friends of and help with the Sand Lightning clan's goals, not pester about opinions and treaties. He was so used to being official, formal, and well mannered that he feared he may have forgotten how to relax. A knot formed in the stomach of the Tusken as he walked to the R'Crurak shuttle to meditate on his thoughts.
Kar'Orzh waved a flashlight guiding the Jawas and Tuskens fitting the new shielding plates into place in the generator, making sure they were installed perfectly. Hundreds of R'Crurak Engineers, aided by their own Jawas as well as those of Sand Lightning, continued to work through to the dawn of the twin Suns. Little sleep was had for those who felt the adrenaline sprung forth by bringing the dead ship back to life. For the Tuskens this was also a learning experience, they had never dealt with a ship this big. It was an adventure worth weaving into their families' oral histories, at least in their minds. There were a few small fires from torch sparks on robes but nothing that caused any significant damage.
Throughout the ship's insides R'Crurak Sentries and Sand Lightning Warboys scouted the halls and rooms still unmarked by earlier parties. A few Jawas hauled carts behind them carrying the sensors that were being made, and placing them at even intervals along the hall and at doorways. It was their job to not only leave the sensors but also scan the ship, mapping it out for the constantly updating holo display in the bridge. Worms were a rare problem, but the more pressing concern was the sheer amount of gizka and other vermin. Using the sensors they could receive slightly delayed comms from the bridge giving them updates on any new readings given by the map. The parties made slow progress, but it was steady. They were in no rush at the moment to map out the ship, as it was still under several tons of sand. Better to keep things slow and not risk any casualties because of impatience.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2017 20:28:30 GMT -8
Mig awoke somewhat troubled the next morning. His dreams had been of fire & glass. It was still fairly early, so he made his way up to the surface to check on the status of the war rigs & speeders there. While he was wandering the camp, the suns rose. Seeing that everything was still well did much to raise his spirits.
As work progressed on the reactor, secondary preparations were handled. Scouting Parties were rerouted to follow the power supply conduits. The main section was a loop that connected all six reactors into a single power grid, with a main trunk line leading off near the center of the ship. It seemed that the primary power for the decks themselves were provided by secondary trunks leading off from the main loop. It was uncertain what the main trunk line powered, but exploring it was put off until later. The main task of the scouting parties was to ensure that the main loop was undamaged. In addition, every deck line was disconnected, as were the other five reactors. It would be pointless to restart one of the reactors only for the energy to be bled off in shorts & used up in damaging other sections of the ship. Once the reactor was working again, scout would focus on the cleared sections of the ship, checking along the power conduits for any damage before restoring power to that section. Judging from the layout of the secondary trunks, each deck was on its own feed.
True enough to their reports, the reactor was ready to fire by mid-morning. Several minor tests had already been completed, all of which showed that the reactor should fire up without problem. Already a chain of power conduits had been daisy chained down from the war rigs above, linked in with Silver & run down to the reactor itself. Arriving back from the surface, Mig was in time to join the group that had gathered in the reactor's main control room. The Doc in charge of the operation waved Kar'Orzh over to him. Without his help the repairs would have taken much longer. As such he was offered the option of being the one to fire the reactor. At the press of the ignition switch, the chamber would flood with hypermatter & a power surge of energy from the war rigs would power the reactor.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 9, 2017 21:12:43 GMT -8
Kar'Orzh was barely standing upright by the time everything was said and done. The old Tusken had pulled longer shifts working on ships, drawing up plans for fortifications, and building new additions to the Enclave. Sometimes for several nights straight. He was beginning to accept that his old age was catching up to him. He thought of his granddaughter for a moment as he walked over to the controls of reactor. She was still supposed to be off on some adventure among the Outsiders, but the older Tusken wished she was here to see this. It could very well be one of the last big projects he was able to do.
Nartaga rested his hand upon Kar'Orzh's shoulder, gripping it at the feeling of his old friend's troubled thoughts. Kar'Orzh mind cleared of doubts and hit the ignition switch. The generator was slow to spin up, starting as a sluggish grinding. Lights and consoles flickered on and off as the generator was barely creating enough energy to do anything. After a few moments the power from the War Rigs kicked in and the reactor came to full power, lighting up and emitting a loud hum. Kar'Orzh and several Sand Lightning Jawas moved over to some of the lit up consoles, pulling up a reading of energy output. Cheers erupted from those at the computers and Nartaga looked at Mig.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"I take it we have stable power."
Nartaga tilted his head after speaking, sensing something was wrong with the Jawa.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Did you sleep well Mig? You seem troubled."
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2017 12:31:13 GMT -8
Having the ship's reactors running again, even if they were only providing power to the reactor control rooms felt like a real success. & the Sand Lightning could use every success it could get. Mig was quick to congratulate the Doc in their work. Already teams were scouting out the power line on the first deck to check for shorts or breaks. After a short time, Mig found himself in a quiet corner of the semi-party with Nartaga. Mig waved off his question without much worry.
-Mig
Just bad dreams. Nothing to worry about. Yes, we have power. Soon enough, we will be able to unhook the Silver from the command pod & run it off the reactor. This should speed up our search & repair efforts as well.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 10, 2017 13:53:53 GMT -8
Nartaga's hand went instinctively over the crystal that hung around his neck under his robes. He realized how ridiculous he must look, putting his hand up. The Tusken set his hand down and calmed himself. Just because the Jawa had a bad dream did not mean anything, everyone had bad dreams every now again. Still it made Nartaga uneasy. He knew the dangers of having the crystal so close to large groups of people, yet he had still decided to come here in person.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"I hope not. Bad dreams are something I have much experience with. Sometimes they do not seem like much at first...If I may ask a favor, please let me know if they get worse or well....more..."
Nartaga left without another word leaving the celebration in the reactor room and heading back to the troopship. The Tusken took off a few layers of clothing and took off the necklace holding the crystal. The small cube glowed a rainbow of colors, lighting up the darkness of the powered down bridge. Nartaga set the crystal down on the deck and sat down to meditate, trying to feel how active the crystal was.
Just over a week had passed and progress was good. Nartaga had been slightly less willing to leave the ship for the past few days, instead helping ensure the rotations of scouts and engineers went smoothly, ensuring everyone was well rested. The Shaadlar shuttle had left several times to rotate the volunteers with fresh people. By the end of the week just over two hundred more Tuskens had also been brought to the ship, more heavily armed than the previous Sentry warriors. They had been brought to help clear. Among them were several Dunewalkers, sent by Kal'Shor himself to help lead the charge into the lower sections of the ship. A few of the Tuskens had old blaster rifles, scavenged, inherited and traded for.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2017 14:24:57 GMT -8
The top three quarters of the ship passed quickly & unremarkable. With power restored to the top few level, & additional levels making good progress in regaining power, the SL jawas spread out in the rooms nearest the lift to the command pod. With working lights, doors & the environmental system finally back to full power, it was actually surprisingly comfortable. The worms were kept out by the various doors & guards posted along the outer edge of the reclaimed zone, but there was little that could be done to stop the persistent gizka. On the other hand, they provided a steady source of fresh meat.
Roughly halfway down the ship, scout found a massive spin structure that extended out into the sand. Even with their scanners they couldn't find the end of it & the eyeball rig was brought around to try & trace its path from the surface. The ease of exploration ended rather suddenly roughly the three quarters mark. Hull tears & widespread damage began to become more an more common. Four more of the giant dune worms had been spotted within five decks. One was killed, but the other three escaped after being injured. Mig was in fact gathering up a party at that very moment to try & track down one of the beasts.
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Post by Jawas on May 10, 2017 14:29:00 GMT -8
The two war rigs, one belonging to Doc Brown & one the new one of the DD clan, landed well to the outskirts of the collection of craft gathered in the dune sea. They were far enough away from the shaft that it wasn't visible past the other gathered vehicles. The trip had gone smoothly enough. Crews with AirTIE mounts were already waiting to begin the unloading as soon as the two craft set down. While they went about that, Doc Brown wandered off to find Tikk again. While they had been given free roam of the Palace, any wandering jawas here would find their way quickly blocked by roughriders not far from their craft. |
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 10, 2017 18:45:28 GMT -8
Kar'Orzh pressed the brow of his mask again his forehead to soak up the sweat trailing it. The older Tusken was halfway into a panel in the wall of a long hall. Several Sand Lightning Warboys and R'Crurak Sentries guarded the Tusken and the team of R'Crurak and Sand Lightning Jawas that were doing repairs to several decks to try and get the power restored. There were too many of connections to count that they had to check, inch by inch. The repairs were done quickly, but the tediousness of the work was enough to drive someone less stubborn and motivated insane. That, coupled with the small spaces, was one of the reasons he had picked an all Jawa crew for this job. Kar'Orzh clamped down a power coupling and pressed his hand against his work, feeling the hum of power moving through it. Giving a thumbs up to the repair party's escorts, Kar'Orzh was helped up. Flipping through a data the Tusken engineer moved on to the next panel. He passed by nearly five dozen Jawas doing similar things along the path he took.
The Shamans of the R'Crurak had set up a small field infirmary for the injured to be tended to near the Tusken's troopship. Nartaga was doing his knelt down by a Jawa who had been burnt from an accident with a plasma torch. Nartaga smelled the wound, drawing the scent into his mask before turned aside and exhaled. By the stench of the injury the Jawa had not been keeping the wound very clean, or had not came to see them when it happened, or possibly both. Nartaga gave the Jawa a look of dissatisfaction, the Jawa yanking his arm away from Nartaga's reach, fearing that the Tusken might say he needed to amputate. Horror stories were told around campfires about the brutal nature of some Tusken clans' medical practices. After several curses and a raised fist Nartaga was able to calm the Jawa down.
The Jawa lay flat on a mat with Nartaga knelt over the diminutive being, placing his hands over the burn. Nartaga began chanting beneath his breath to focus his mind, drawing Tatooine's power into him. This went on for nearly ten minutes before a glow began to appear between the Jawa's wounded arm and Nartaga's hands. The light was soft and warm, like the morning glow of Tatoo I upon rising. Small balls of light, the size of dust particles floated down from Nartaga's palms to the Jawa's wound. As Nartaga's chants became more audible a small wispy smoke came up from wound, intermingling with the light particles for a moment before moving into Nartaga's hands, just as the tiny specks of light had come out. The burned flesh of the Jawa began to heal, the blisters fading and the tissue repairing at an accelerated rate. After the procedure was done, the Jawa walked away feeling better than he had in years. Nartaga waited as long as he could, barely able to control himself as the Jawa left to go report to work. The Tusken vomited up a thick black liquid onto the mat in front of him. Coughing and trying his best to get all of the infection out of him, Nartaga grabbed a cloth rag to clean up the mouthpiece of his mask, as well as the mat.
After cleaning the mess Nartaga stood up, still a little dizzy from the experience. The R'Crurak Councilor saw Mig and bowed his head in greeting to the older Jawa.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"I hope if you saw any of that it did not make you lose your appetite, I hear we are having worm for dinner again."
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2017 21:19:37 GMT -8
Waving at Tikk, Doc Brown wanders over to talk with him.
-Brown
<So how did it run? Everything nice & smooth? Once we unload these heavy plates we will really push the engines to see what she has.>
True enough, a rather large number of the ugly airspeeders were waiting to begin hauling off the plates. It didn't take long for them to set up a steady stream emptying out the hold.
----
Mig shrugged, it seems the tusken magic wasn't without a cost after all.
-Mig
Yup, going to hunt another of the big ones. You fit to join?
Waiting just out of sight of the tusken was about twenty roughriders, all decked out with heavy weapons. Another ten warboys with a variety of blade formed the rest of the hunting party. A fairly good strategy of hitting the worms from behind & carving them into pieces had developed in the past few days. With the worms large enough to be a real threat, but small enough to still move around. The jawas had the advantage in being able to move through smaller access shafts & ventilation areas, often letting them drop right onto the backs of the massive beasts.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 11, 2017 15:59:14 GMT -8
Nartaga turned his head from Mig, looking off into the distance, weighing his options. He had been cooped up in the same area for some time, trying to limit his contact with the other people of the ship. Nartaga dusted himself off and shrugged, bending over to pick up his gaderffii laying on the deck. He stammered slightly over his answer.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"I...uh...yes. I have been keeping to myself. Maybe going on a hunt would help ease my thoughts."
The R'Crurak Councilor walked over to Mig, stopping for a moment. The Tusken began to immediately rethink his decision for a moment, but stood by his choice after a few seconds of thought.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"Sorry I...have not been sleeping well. I am good for the hunt. Where was the worm last sited?"
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2017 16:34:27 GMT -8
-Mig
Best cure for bad sleep is good exercise. Not good to be cooped up too long.
It didn't take long for the group to descend to the deep level that the worm had been seen at. One of the Doc had the bright idea to run the lifts from the top with a cable system. It made getting around much easier.
-Mig
It was last seen here. Let's see if we can't pick up the trail.
A number of the war boys spread out to see what they could find.
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Nartaga
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Post by Nartaga on May 11, 2017 17:06:52 GMT -8
Nartaga followed closely behind the Jawas, already starting up his chants again in his mind to reach out and try and locate the worm. Nartaga slid off his gaderffii from his should and gripped it firmly in his hand. He did the same thing as he had done with the first worm, touching the walls and staying silent for long moments as he searched.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"There is a lot down here, its difficult to pinpoint the exact location. The noise each creature makes is loud enough that I cannot..."
Nartaga stopped dead in his tracks, taking his hand off of the wall almost as if he had been shocked by electricity. The Tusken put his hand back on the wall and shook his head, concerned at what he felt. The Tusken spoke out to Mig, a small amount of fear could be heard in his voice.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"How far have the scouts gone down? Are there any currently ahead of us?"
Nartaga pulled his hand back from the wall again and turned to the Jawa. He looked over the group of heavily armed Jawas and weighed their chances in his mind.
-Nartaga in Tusken-
"I think there is something that has been eating the worms and the gizka down here. We should retreat and return with more weapons."
A very dull rumble echoed up from below the party, followed by a tearing screeching noise of metal being ripped apart.
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