The Saltieunni Lab

Discovery, Exploration

A fort occupied by the Saltieunni was discovered near the expedition site, though they appeared not to have as many guards around it, hidden underneath the fort is a large basement structure that is much larger than the fort itself. Bravely, the expedition members seek out what secrets it hides.

Adventuring into the depths of this fort, the adventurers found it to be a maze-like construction, evidently built long ago by unfamiliar hands, it born signs of proper stonework and capable craftsmanship, The first room they entered would seem strange, an armory of some sorts - dull and uninteresting, Untouched by the Saltieunni, it would do well to dissuade most from further exploration.   Yet, unphased this group of adventurers would move onwards, finding a room adorned with another signs of beautiful construction, glimmering glass shapes adorning well-wrought chandeliers, yet hidden amongst them was the ground of an ambush, as several Saltieunni sought the deaths of those below them and set upon them with gory intent.   The resulting fight was a matter of swift justice however, as all explorers present had a mastery of time well suited for dispatching such unpredictable enemies, whether it was the alacrity provided by Anise's and Cassandra's spells, or Alexsanders manipulation of cause and effect, adjusting even their worst afflictions such that they had no happened in the first place.   Such strategy, along with Anise's unpredictable warping meant that despite their attempts, the crab-like creatures would quickly be overwhelmed and slain, allowing the explorers to continue on their path of discovery within the underground.   Notable amongst them was a strange evidence of religion amongst these creatures, a statuesque depiction of Lamashtu was found amidst a pool of corrupted water. Yet, unlike what was commonly depicted for the mother of monsters, this statue was enchained as it was enshrined. Her womb robbed, and her eyes weeping in torment.   A test by Anise would have her emulate the air of one of the faithful, such that when she approached the waters, she would instead meet the goddess's blessing rather than her bane. but in this moment of gift, intimately, Anise would be made aware of the desperation. A tortured cry, begging for help, for freedom from being controlled. from being abused, though such things were discarded underneath her loyalty to her own god - Yog-Sothoth.   A mercy was, however, spared in the statues destruction as they moved on to a room which contained a large number of books placed upon shelves. One of the first and few examples of Saltiunni literature, these books contained Psionic imprints rather than writing upon their pages, meaning that only a creature with Psionic powers could even begin to attempt to read them, though they would quickly find that - with their mind so dissimilar to the Saltieunni themselves, it was a challenging task to learn anything meaningful.   Still, Cassandra recovered these books with the intent to archive them, as they appeared to be instruction manuals for teaching the Saltieunni how to fight, and could be eventually used against them with proper research.   Attached to this room, were two other rooms; one in which numerous beds had been placed, raw and bloody with dissected and destroyed corpses that appeared to have malformed and inappropriate organs - bodies unsuitable and gangly, even had they been fully healed, yet - what would prove alarmingly, was that these bodies were almost recognizable.   In fact, they knew these people well, for whatever the creatures were - their faces, and structures at least resembled vaguely the various members of the expedition. Gabriel, Marrok, and Ali among them.   Moving onwards, they would discover thet in the next room were a variety of tubes, - saltieunni hatch-eggs, although with a different nature compared to what had been previously encountered as humanoid shapes were just barely visible through the shallow shell, with numerous scientific stations that appeared to be purposed for the manipulation of blood, and several vials used for storing it.   Destroying these tubes from the inside out, the initial creation of the Deviants would be delayed for weeks upon end, but still would not stop the Saltieunni from creating their enhanced weapons of war, all based on the stolen samples from Expedition members.   Yet, the damage inflicted by these explorers on the saltieunni would have other lasting consequence, as their next discovery would be a room that contained many chest-like shelves that hung from the ceiling, there was a defined uniqueness in how they were constructed, seeming to be kept away from "something" or from being "climbed up to"   Upon a minor examination, they were found to be containing herbs and other greenery, grown for some unknown purpose, but recovered for later usage - and cataloged to be a variety of poisons and other plants used for altering and controlling the reactions that could occur from a creature's blood.   in this deep underground, the party would also discover, and prevent further attempts of the saltieunni to terraform the area, discovering the flesh and ground eating worms that they would cultivate, and destroying them whilst also locating a vault, in which had been stored a sum of wealth in addition to - a prized treasure of the Saltiunni, three dragon eggs which they had collected to use in their "research" whose theft was considered an unusually "tragic loss" amongst the species.   Ensuring that they had not neglected a single space within this hidden laboratory, the adventurers would also discover the first instance of a Saltieunni graveyard - a composite mess of undying yet ineffective Saltieunni, all bundled together into a fleshy mass with nerves across every inch that would scream - both physically and psionically at even the mildest disturbance.   This was, however not the last discovery the group would make. Stepping into another room filled with test tubes once again, rather than eggs, they appeared to have crystals glowing with light, and within the room - a large beast prowled, and roared madly. flinging crystalline shards violently it immediately sought to engage the three explorers in combat.   Though they did not know it yet, this was actually the first encounter with the strange race known as the "Rockles", yet this one had become infested with a crystalline parasite that coated its body, making every one of it's attacks launch crystal shards that would embed into the body of it's victims and start hampering their movements and draining their blood.   This made each positional decision critical, and a choice. To have Cassandra block and patrol her guardianship amongst her fellows, whilst Anise constantly flitted in and out of position to launch ceaseless attacks against the crystal, shattering it and leaving bloody marks as she cut her hands against it.   Alexsander's reaving strikes were the back up and support required for Anise to have complete freedom, as his heavy blade carved hunks of flesh away, and distracted the creature, leaving it vulnerable to the spellthief's machinations, as she stole it's strongest defenses and abilities until the three of them would harry it into it's death throes.   Though it had been the last of the rooms to explore, this party of adventurers would likely never discover the hidden mercy they had granted this creature, as the parasitic nature of the crystal meant that, if he had been freed and left to do as intended by the Saltieunni, the resulting nature of his infection would've likely spread throughout the rest of his culture, and resulted in a near if not complete extinction of his race.   Although, cassandra more than anyone knows that the crystals make a mean flavorant, and the bodies of the Rockles for delicious steaks. Her other dimensional storage of such items have kept them from truly ending up in dangerous hands.