In the shadowed depths of the ancient ruins, the gathering of adventurers found themselves caught in the whispers of a peculiar exchange. Bucks, the mutant with the unsettlingly penetrating gaze of his holographic skin, had been ignoring the insistent voice in his head. Ratso, the small creature who had chosen the inner confines of Bucks’ bag as its sanctuary, had grown tired of the darkness and yearned for the thrill of adventure once again.

“Hear me, Bucks,” Ratso’s thoughts implored, telepathic waves weaving through the mental barriers of his host, “I crave the sight of our exploits, let me out!”

But Bucks, wary of the voice, tried to dismiss it as a trick of his own mind. The others, oblivious to Ratso’s silent pleas, watched with a mixture of amusement and concern as Bucks debated with the unseen entity.

“It’s madness, isn’t it?” Bucks muttered, half to himself, half to the group, as they shared a chuckle at his expense.

Yet, as Ratso recounted his tale of survival, from the days with XO to his daring escape from Flesh Feaster, Bucks realized the truth of the creature’s existence. Ratso, the adrenaline junkie of a rat, sought only to continue his escapades with the only companions he had come to know.

Their discussion veered into the realm of the extraordinary, musing over the existence of telepathic animals within their world. It was then that Bucks understood XO’s peculiarities—the silent conversations, the sudden decisions—all a dance of thoughts with Ratso.

In the end, Ratso struck a bargain, promising to reveal his telepathy to the others if only he could breathe the free air more often. Though when Bucks threatened to revoke this newfound privilege, the small creature’s teeth found his flesh in protest. Yet, peace was made, and Ratso perched proudly upon Bucks’ shoulder, ready to prove his worth.

Their attention then turned to the surroundings. A labyrinth of cubicles, a burial chamber, a stubborn locked door, and a mysterious shaft invited their curiosity. Paulo rummaged through the cubicles, uncovering a red stapler—a relic deemed of great value. Prodigy, servant of ADEONA, examined a door with a fervor, believing a magic stone would reveal its secrets.

Elsewhere, his three-legged form a testament to the mutations of their age, searched for the fabled stone, hindered by the rampant vegetation. Dust, the two-headed blob, explored the space, opening drawers and uncovering a strange box that spoke of “reports” and weekends—words that held little meaning to them.

As the group delved deeper, the “big brains” pondered over the mechanisms of the locked door. Elsewhere, Smokey, and Prodigy, frustrated in their efforts, speculated on the existence of a “master key.”

Their exploration led them to an impenetrable barrier. Bucks, wielding a Dura alloy knife, tentatively probed its edges, haunted by memories of past robotic assailants. Dust, with his unique plasticity, pushed through the narrow gap, pulling on the handles he found obstructing the other side. With Smokey’s strength, the doors yielded, granting them passage to a new chamber.

Within the sterile room, reminiscent of the one beneath the hive of the burrowers, they found a metallic throne and an altar. Upon the throne sat a skeletal form, entwined with yellow fungus akin to that on walking corpses. Around its neck hung a pendant with a stone, and beside it lay a laser pistol. While Smokey handed the weapon to Paulo, recognizing his own ineptitude with ranged arms, the party eyed the corpse and the throne warily.

After some debate on how to safely retrieve the fungal-entangled stone, Smokey’s illusionary magic and Dust’s spearwork secured the key, the rock of passage. Their discovery of a desiccated corpse led to musings on the identity of this figure from a bygone era.

Confronted with a barricade blocking their way, Smokey and the others worked in tandem to dismantle it, while Jeffries, too large to continue, stayed behind. The group descended a moss-covered stairway, cautious and prepared for the unknown. They discovered more rocks and debated whether to burn the moss away.

At the bottom, a door blocked by a mass of vegetation and rocks of passage awaited them. Paulo, ever practical, collected the stones, while the group speculated on the nature of the small room they found themselves in, lined with cubby holes.

Their search yielded a backpack, an oddity of the Ancients, which sparked a tangent of conversation about the powers of legendary figures from far-off tales. The backpack, humorously imagined as adorned with a cartoon character, was recognized for its utility by Dust.

As the session drew to a close, amidst exchanges on the potential of a Twitter account for their adventures, the group checked their schedules, eager for their next encounter with the mysteries of the Ancients. With one player’s personal matters briefly surfacing, the group parted ways, ready to face the enigma of the cubby hole room when they next convened.

Key Events
  • GM reminds themselves that Bucks is the character who has Ratso, a rat companion.
  • Ratso communicates telepathically with Bucks, asking to be let out of the bag to see what’s happening.
  • Bucks initially ignores Ratso but eventually acknowledges the voice in his head.
  • The other characters do not hear Ratso’s voice, leading to a humorous exchange where Bucks questions his own sanity.
  • Ratso reveals his backstory, explaining that he used to be with a character named XO before being sold to Flesh Feaster, from whom he escaped by stowing away with the party.
  • Ratso expresses his desire to continue adventuring with the party, claiming to be an adrenaline junkie.
  • Bucks is the only one who can hear Ratso, which leads to a discussion about telepathic animals in the game world.
  • Bucks realizes that XO’s previous odd behavior was due to communicating with Ratso.
  • Ratso negotiates with Bucks to be let out of the bag more often in exchange for proving his telepathic abilities to the others.
  • Ratso bites Bucks when threatened with loss of privileges, then agrees to show his telepathy by climbing onto Bucks’ shoulder.
  • The party discusses the intelligence of animals, comparing Ratso to a horse that could perform simple arithmetic.
  • Bucks is advised not to drink glowing water, which disappoints him.
  • The characters spread out to explore the room, which includes a maze of cubicles, a burial chamber, a locked door, and a shaft.
  • Paulo searches the cubicles and finds a red stapler, which is considered valuable.
  • Prodigy examines a door, hoping to find a magic stone to open it, and begins searching the room for such an item.
  • The group is searching for a magic stone that might help them access a locked area.
  • The area is overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult to find anything.
  • Elsewhere attempts to search for the stone but is unsuccessful due to the dense vegetation and the small size of the stone.
  • Dust, who is typically carried by Jeffries, is exploring on his own due to space constraints.
  • Dust investigates the rooms, looking for drawers or compartments under the platforms that resemble desks.
  • Upon opening a drawer, Dust finds it filled with fungus and accidentally activates a box that emits a voice message about “reports” and needing to come in on the weekend.
  • The message is mostly incomprehensible to Dust, who only partially understands the words “reports” and “weekend.”
  • Elsewhere recovers from breathing in spores and is no longer in immediate danger.
  • The group is observed to be exploring the area without finding anything of significant value.
  • The “big brains” of the group, including Prodigy, are trying to figure out how to open a locked door.
  • Dust and Bucks discuss the technological level of the area compared to a previous location they explored.
  • Dust expresses a desire for more knowledge to understand the purpose of the place they are in.
  • Jeffries attempts to break the transparent wall of a conference table by throwing a chair at it, which leaves a spider web crack but does not break through.
  • Dust tries to use his pseudopods to slip through the door’s hinges or underneath it but finds it completely sealed.
  • The group is considering whether to find the specific card that opens the door or to attempt to break it down with their mutations and weapons.
  • Elsewhere, having failed to force the door open, discusses with Smokey and Prodigy about their efforts and the possibility of a “master key.”
  • The group contemplates the nature of the artifacts and the mechanisms of the doors, with some characters showing frustration at the lack of progress.
  • The party encounters a thin, fine barrier that seems impenetrable.
  • Bucks, with a Dura alloy knife, attempts to find purchase between the seam of the barrier but is hesitant due to a past robot attack.
  • Dust takes over and uses the knife to create a gap, hearing a hissing sound of pressurized air for about 60 seconds.
  • Dust uses his mutation, plasticity, to extend his body through the narrow gap, feeling an obstruction and handles on the other side.
  • Dust pulls the handles, causing the door to open slightly but hit something on the other side.
  • Smokey uses his strength to push the obstruction, allowing the doors to open enough for the party to enter.
  • The party takes a break, with humorous banter about bathroom breaks and a song about letting people poop.
  • The room they enter is sterile, similar to the ancients’ room beneath the hive of the burrowers, with a large altar and a metallic throne.
  • A skeletal form with a yellow fungus is found on the throne, similar to the fungus on walking corpses.
  • A pendant with a stone used on magic doorways is around the skeleton’s neck.
  • A laser pistol, similar to Jasper’s device, is found on the floor next to the throne, likely dropped by the skeleton.
  • Smokey examines the laser pistol but hands it over to Paolo due to his poor ranged weapon skills.
  • The party is apprehensive about the corpse and the throne but bored with the current room.
  • Dust is asked to retrieve the magic rock from the skeleton’s neck amidst the fungal colony.
  • The group discusses how to handle a potentially dangerous object, a rock, which is entangled in yellow fungal bulbs.
  • Dust, a shoggoth character, is suggested to retrieve the rock using a pseudopod, but the idea is dismissed due to the risk of fungal spore contamination.
  • The group debates various methods to safely retrieve the rock, including using telekinesis or other mutant powers.
  • Smokey creates an illusion of the rock being in his hand, but it’s just an illusion.
  • The group eventually decides to use a spear to remove the rock from the fungal bulbs without disturbing them.
  • Dust successfully retrieves the rock using the spear and places it on the ground, handing the spear back to Paulo.
  • The rock is identified as a key to open doors of the Ancients.
  • The group finds a desiccated corpse, which they speculate could be a priest, executive, or king from the past.
  • They discuss the concept of stairs and how to navigate them, leading to a humorous moment where they question their understanding of stairs.
  • The group discovers a barricade of metal tables and shelves blocking a stairway, which they decide to dismantle to proceed.
  • Smokey and others form a bucket brigade to clear a path through the barricade, making a gap just big enough to pass through.
  • Jeffries, a character, is too large to fit through the stairwell and remains behind.
  • Dust uses the retrieved rock to unlock a door at the bottom of the stairway, which leads to a staircase covered in slick moss.
  • The group descends into a humid, lichen-covered staircase, where they find more rocks similar to the one they have, buried in rotting vegetation.
  • The group debates whether to set the moss on fire to clear a path.
  • Jeffries decides to stay in the room at the top of the stairwell, unable to descend with the group.
  • The group prepares to explore further down the staircase, despite the potential dangers of the slick moss and the unknown below.
  • The group discusses the need for assistance and the possibility of calling for help if they encounter danger.
  • The party descends a stairway, being careful not to slip.
  • They find a door stuck open, blocked by a mass of vegetation.
  • Magic stones of passage are seen sticking out of the vegetation.
  • Paulo decides to take a handful of these stones, brushing off the moss and dirt.
  • Beyond the blocked door is a small, narrow room with another closed door on the opposite side.
  • The walls of the room are lined with tall, narrow boxes, resembling cubby holes or lockers.
  • The group speculates that the room could be a mail room.
  • A search of the boxes is conducted, with a 1d6 roll resulting in an average outcome.
  • One box contains a backpack made of strange materials from the Ancients, with multiple pockets and adjustable straps.
  • The backpack is sturdy but contains only small, seemingly meaningless items to the group.
  • The group debates the usefulness of the backpack, with Dust acknowledging its utility.
  • The backpack is humorously described as possibly having a big cartoon character on it, specifically a Yoda backpack.
  • A tangent conversation about Star Wars ensues, discussing Yoda’s powers, the abilities of other characters like Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the logic of Jedi battles.
  • The group jokes about the idea of a Twitter account for the game, discussing the potential growth and engagement of such an account.
  • They also touch on the costs and limitations of using the Twitter API for automated posting.
  • The session ends as the group checks their availability for the next game, with most players confirming they should be free.
  • The group decides to end the session at a good transitional point, as they are about to enter a new area after solving the mystery of the cubby hole room.
  • There is a brief mention of personal matters, such as one player’s mother testing positive for COVID, but it seems unlikely to affect the next session’s scheduling.