The corridor collapses inward, the heavy iron ceiling buckling like paper under the strain of the shifting void. Thava and Kael scramble forward, their boots clattering against grating that threatens to vanish into the deep dark below.
Thava Tymont
We cannot look back. Just keep moving toward the light ahead.
Kael
It is not light, dragon. It is the core exhaust. If we do not make the jump to the service ladder, we are incinerated.
They burst through a final bulkhead into a massive, vertical shaft. Massive brass pistons rhythmically pulse, venting blinding white steam into the freezing upper atmosphere. The maintenance ladder hangs detached from the wall, swinging wildly over the hungry abyss.
Thava Tymont
On my mark. We jump for the rungs together.
Kael
I hope his scale-hardened grip is as strong as he thinks it is.
+ Scene Quest Added
Escape the collapsing facility
“Jump for the ladder”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Thava explodes into motion. He leaves the solid metal grating, his teal body arching perfectly through the dense, searing vapor. Time seems to stretch as he catches the swinging ladder with a violent, bone-jarring impact.
Thava Tymont
Got it. Reach for my hand, Kael.
Kael lunges, his fingers brushing the cold, vibrating iron rungs just as the platform behind him gives way, dissolving into the roiling abyss below. He hangs by one hand, his boots dangling over the void while the ladder whips erratically in the exhaust pressure.
Kael
My strength is failing. You have to pull me up before the next steam burst shreds us.
Thava Tymont
The metal groans under our combined weight. If I pull him up, we might lose our grip on the entire structure. If I let go, I am alone again.
“Pull up”
SUCCESS (Great Strength, rolled +3)
Thava locks his legs around the vibrating rung, his draconic muscles coiling with focused, raw power. He shifts his weight, anchoring himself against the violent oscillation of the ladder. With a grunt that echoes against the shaft walls, he lunges forward, seizing Kael’s forearm in a crushing grip. He hauls the man upward in one fluid, unrelenting arc.
Kael
Gods, you have the strength of a forge-giant!
The ladder shudders, the metal screeching in protest as it groans under their combined weight, but it holds. Thava slams Kael onto the rung beside him, both men panting heavily as the searing exhaust heat licks at their heels from below.
Thava Tymont
That was too close. The rungs are starting to shear away from the main support. We need to climb, and we need to do it now, before the next wave of steam turns us both into charred remains.
“Climb out of here”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Thava surges upward, his claws biting into the iron rungs as he hauls himself and Kael toward the upper maintenance hatch. The ladder swings violently as a blast of superheated air roars up the shaft, turning the red glow beneath them into a blinding, white-hot furnace. Each movement is a race against the failing structural integrity of the wall-mounts. With a final, desperate heave, Thava reaches the hatch grate and kicks it outward, tumbling into the relative coolness of the tertiary corridor just as the ladder behind them tears away and vanishes into the abyss.
Kael
You reckless lizard. I thought for sure those rivets would give before we cleared the heat.
Thava Tymont
The ladder is gone. We are out of the shaft, but we have no idea what level this hatch leads to. If the facility is collapsing at this rate, we have to find a secondary exit immediately or we will be buried alive in this metal tomb.
Quest Complete
Escape the collapsing facility
Skill Upgrade: Arcane Awareness Superb→Legendary
+ Story Quest Added
Find a secondary exit