Suicide Mission

The squad were sent in after being directed to obtain a vial of silver fluid for the guards. After being ushered in with the help of heavily armed guards, the squad (excluding a hiding Lok'tar) went into the facility. Carl was quick to attempt to make friends with his new cohort. Flah'fle was quietly disdainful and Sakiran openly expressed her disdain through guttural growls. Jaxon, however, took it upon himself to act as caretaker for Carl.

Carl's lack of intelligence led to him licking the wall and complaining of a stinging sensation. Jaxon gently chided him, while Sakiran sped off in disgust when Carl looked to her for comfort. This led to a pair of turrets firing upon Sakiran and Carl, though it only did minimal damage to them both before running out of ammo and sending out some spider guardians that were quickly dispatched. Flah'fle advised that he go ahead to look for traps, and expertly guided the party through the facility. It was at this point that Lok'tar, or Lock, appeared, having been apprehended and sent in forcefully. Carl was experiencing a severe amount of pain and feeling unwell, with Jaxon comforting him gently.

The party came to a sealed door and opted to come back once they found a way to get in without hurting themselves by trying to pass powerful warding runes. They continued onto a containment room, marked 280, which warned that "clean suits" were needed and was also protected by warding runes. Flah'fle, identifying himself from now as Flea, was able to pass the warding runes with the coats around the room, and the rest of the party followed.

They came to another room, which had more warding runes and a sign advising them of the danger within. The party determined that the white environmental suits were what they were looking for, and were able to pass the warding runes without incident. They came upon a central silver pipe matching the description given by the guards, filled with the silver fluid.

The party climbed to the top by using the ladders connected to multiple gangways, trying to ignore the impaled bodies as they ascended. They found many copies of the vials they were looking for. Flea took some vials and made his way down, reasoning that he had gained what they wanted and they would be granted freedom without further danger. The rest of the party chose to investigate the console at the top, wanting to see if there was more to it than they expected.

Sakiran and Carl, having come into direct contact with the nanophage in high amounts, were both experiencing pain at this point the higher they ascended. They were spoken to by a being within the tank, with Carl being urged to release them while Sakiran pondered if it was a message from Yutmaya. Against his better judgement, and against warnings from Lock and Jaxon, he pressed the button to release the being. The fluid drained out of the central pipe and revealed a humanoid connected to the roots that they had seen throughout the dilapidated facility. It lacked angularity and its form was smooth, though corrupt.

At this point, Carl's mutation began. He whined in pain as sinewy, incomplete wings burst from his back and his deformed eye was turned normal. His hunchback was gone as the source of it had left his body, and he was now able to stand at his full height. He also had full use of his formerly deformed right arm. However, the pain of such quick transformation knocked him to his knees as he struggled to comprehend what was going on, and he was forced prone. Jaxon went to him, but the being was reaching towards them. Jaxon bravely swung with his mace and made contact, though he feared it may have been too powerful for them.

Sakiran, in immense pain herself, was told by the being to kill - though this went against the teachings of her entire life of Yutmaya. She succumbed to a blind, zealous rage at this false idol implanting messages within her head and roared as she tore into it with her greatsword. The sword became lodged in the humanoid and she tore into it with tooth and nail, her rage only subsiding when it was decimated. Jaxon and Lock were covered in the silver fluid and blood, such was the extent of the carnage, to their horror. They decided it best to aid Carl with his pain and hurry out.

The party was quick to notice that Carl was grateful and was now speaking more coherently. He and Lock had a philosophical conversation about the name he was given, though Carl expressed distaste at the name. The mutation had also healed Carl's arm to an extent, though it was still weak. Lock had a mental realisation as to why Carl didn't know Orcish, but decided it best not to share with the party. He ushered them out.

They reached the entrance of the facility, where two bored guards awaited them. Lock produced the vial they wanted, but sensing a trap, both he and Flea produced their weapons and prepared to fire upon the guards for their freedom. Before they could, they saw a flash of furs fly towards one of the guards.

Sakiran's mutation had taken place, with her left hand becoming huge and deformed into a giant claw, growing further pronounced canines and a long, spiked tail. The guard tried to fire upon her with his powerful weapons, but he was blinded by fear and knocked prone by this beast. She tore into him, having completely lost control. Flah'fle and Lock were quick to redirect their fire towards the upright guard, though it was Carl who dealt the finishing blow with his arrows. Lock then dealt the finishing blow towards the resilient guard, firing upon him with his arrows, who was not killed by Sakiran's assault.

Flea was quick to take some of the guard's armour and affix it to Carl for protection, taking his weapon for himself and getting into the APC. Sakiran's rage had subsided and given way to exhaustion, collapsing on the ground as her hand shrunk to normal size but still bestial, though the tail stayed. Lock took shotgun position within the vehicle. Jaxon helped Carl and Sakiran into the back of the vehicle and mused about the events that had just taken place. He noticed that he too was in some pain, though was happy to be able to have a relaxing drive. Carl expressed concern that his wings were still there, so Lock gave him his coat to hide them.

They had earned their freedom, and the world was theirs to explore.