Vermin Queen
Such exquisite trinkets. These humans build monuments of steel and glass, only to lose the keys to their own forgotten history.
The Vermin Queen reaches into the open display case, her long fingers trembling as they brush against a shimmering orb.
LUBE MAN
She is fully distracted by those glowing trinkets. Her guard is completely down.
Lube Man shifts his weight, the soles of his yellow boots barely making a sound on the slick, ozone-scented stone floor.
Vermin Queen
Look at them, jester. They vibrate with a pulse like a trapped heartbeat. Tell me, do you see the value in such things, or are you too dull to comprehend power?
She turns her head slightly, waiting for his response while keeping one hand buried deep within the energy-rich confines of the cabinet.
+ Scene Quest Added
Seize the spherical artifact
“... *He wonders, do you?* *He just watches, merely an observer now, with no stakes beyond just watching*”
LUBE MAN
Do you?
LUBE MAN only watches as the moment stretches. The vault hums, blue sparks drift past the dimming runes, and the Vermin Queen stays fixed on the shimmering orb.
“*People always focus on the baubles, it's always about the baubles*”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +2)
LUBE MAN
People always focus on the baubles, it's always about the baubles.
LUBE MAN lets the line hang in the blue crackle. The orb’s glow catches in the Vermin Queen’s eyes, and her attention slips away from the shelves of sealed records.
Vermin Queen
...Clever. He sees the bait before I say it.
She turns from the display case with a slow, appraising tilt of her head, claws resting against the stone rim of the vault pedestal.
Vermin Queen
Yes. And sometimes the bauble is the key. Go on, LUBE MAN, show me you understand what matters.
A fresh burst of sparks skitters across the floor. One dim rune flickers hard, then goes dark, and a thin seam of light appears along the display case edge.
Vermin Queen
Take it, if you can. Or prove you can make something worse happen before I do.
“*He laughs, he doesn't need artifacts of dubious origin, he's clever but not that kind of clever, he leaves that to the folly of others.* Y9u go ahead. *He waves her off as if he's seen it before and knows where it's heading* (no offense but no thanks lol)”
FAILURE (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
LUBE MAN's wave lands flat in the humming chamber. The Vermin Queen's smile thins, and she steps closer to the pedestal instead of away from it.
Vermin Queen
No offense taken. Refusal is still useful data.
Her tail flicks once. The blue sparks drift lower, crawling around LUBE MAN's boots as the seam of light in the display case widens another hair.
Vermin Queen
You want to watch? Then watch closely.
She reaches into the glowing crack and the vault answers with a sharp mechanical groan. One of the nearby shelves shudders, and a hidden latch somewhere in the stone wall clicks open.
Cold air spills from the newly opened slit, carrying the dusty smell of old paper and metal. The orb brightens in the case, as if fed by the disturbance.
Vermin Queen
Still think this is about a bauble, LUBE MAN? Then prove you can outsmart a lock before the lock outsmarts you.
The hidden opening widens by another inch, but the display case seam is now nearly free, and the vault floor begins to vibrate under a rising, uneasy pulse.
“*He's confused by what she means, so he just stands there, raising an eyebrow at her”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +0)
LUBE MAN
The air in here is getting heavy, and that vibration is rattling my teeth.
LUBE MAN tilts his head, an eyebrow arched behind the yellow mask as he stares at the opening wall slit, refusing to let the Vermin Queen's cryptic warning rattle his composure.
Vermin Queen
You are quiet, little man. Perhaps the prospect of a collapsing vault finally registers as a threat.
With a fluid motion, the Vermin Queen retracts her claw from the wall, leaving the metal latch exposed and ticking like a time bomb.
Vermin Queen
The case is yours to claim, provided you can reach it before the floor gives way entirely.
The floor tiles buckle upward, and a jagged crack races across the floor toward LUBE MAN's boots, releasing a blinding hiss of ozone.
“Fuck it. *Grasp it, you know what? Screw it*”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
LUBE MAN
The floor might be a deathtrap, but the prize is finally in reach.
Ignoring the spray of debris and the ozone, LUBE MAN lunges across the shifting terrain.
He slides past a surging arc of blue electricity, his suit providing just enough glide to keep his footing secure despite the tilting tiles.
LUBE MAN
Gotcha.
LUBE MAN plunges his hands into the display case, the glass shattering under his grip as he pulls the glowing sphere free.
Vermin Queen
Impressive, Lube Man. Now let us see if you can carry it out while the ceiling descends.
Quest Complete
Seize the spherical artifact
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
Glowing sphere