Archimedes

Moonfiend

@Mokley Not a stupid question.

Otto doesn't know or see the person who pulled the brake. He does have an idea of the person who yanked the motor, and is confident his strength can handle the task of controlling the loaded trolley's descent with the brake. That is Otto's train of thought, anyway. Ultimately, its up to the group to decide what actually happens!!

Moonfiend

@MokleyGot it, makes sense. I can see quite a few more PC posts for the current predicament they're in. Thank goodness someone created a character with some genuine strength! @OnlyThePie

Moonfiend

<---Familiar with Matt Mercer. A pleasure to experience him as a D&D GM.

It looks like we have all the PCs, aside from the inactives. @Mokley Do you have a preferred timeframe that we should wait to move on?

Moonfiend

Otto slid aside as Ethan yanked the trolley's motor loose. The trolley shifted downwards a bit, but the emergency brake held it steady. "Strong as a forest ox, I see..." He nodded approvingly to the young man who easily doubled his old, tired strength. The trolley was swinging back and forth with the movement of several people--one of which had found the brake--and all of which seemed as startled and terrified as himself. He took a series of heavy breaths to restore oxygen to his blood flow and directed Ethan as calmly as possible,"I need that strong back again, lad. That hand brake should work as a throttle for this vessel. I need you to slowly release the lever and guide this thing down one level. I'll attend the injured folk in the cabin. Assign someone to help you, if you must. Unless someone has a better course of action, I recommend we move fast."

Otto hinged his gloved fingers on the edge of the trolley's roof and swung into the cabin, careful not to step on another passenger. Injuries didn't look likely, but scars are not always visible. "Everyone alright?"

Moonfiend

"This wall should hold for a bit," he managed to choke out.

Otto put his foot on the hatch opposite the wall's summit, and heaved his way to the trolley's roof. The gears for the pulley system were rusted. It looked as if they hadn't been maintained (or even noticed) since the trolley was put into service. "Figures.." He pulled the gear assembly upwards on it's hinge and rigged it onto the same thick cable the motor was attached to. The motor smelled of burnt windings and showed visible signs it had lost the fight against lightning. It would take a minute or two to break through the motor and detach it from the cable, hence holding the trolley in place.

"Young man,"he looked towards Liam. "...pull the brake lever. It's right there, by your leg. Give it a hard tug. We don't want this piece of scrap falling to the earth when I get this motor detached!" He leaned down and hollered at two other fellows--Florence and Ethan--hoping for one of them to have the wherewithal to take lead,"If we have stragglers nearby, they should be here with us. And one of you lend me a strong back to get this damned thing off!!

The motor was all but disconnected...it was one strong tug from biting the dust and enabling the trolley's crew to wind itself down 25 meters to the next landing.

Moonfiend

The opening act is moving along nicely, guys. I think we're waiting on two more PCs to make a move. No sense in leaving characters behind unless they are meant to be written that way!

@MsChimericKat's monologue is a bit heartbreaking.

Moonfiend

@MokleyExcellent! Thank you for clarifying. Very good plan to include late-bloomers. It almost seems as all/most of the PCs are in the same area; either working on the wall, seeking the HMFIC or sightseeing. I seriously have no idea how this is gonna go down. My PC is noticeably past his prime years, so it seemed a knee jerk reaction was fitting!

Edit: This is the song playing in my head during the lightning storm---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vFOahAeVjQ

Moonfiend

Only a handful of those around Otto seemed to be animated. Tourists, laborers, retired folk--they were stone-gray and frozen in place. The ringing in Otto's ears began to subside, though the restoration of his hearing did little good at this point. He instinctively yelled,"GRAB SOMETHING HEAVY THAT YOU CAN SWING AND GET IN THE WALL!"

He tucked his pipe into an outside pocket of his garment and snatched up the nearest tool he could find: a sledge hammer, approximately a meter in length with a light alloy shaft. The angry foreman had a permanent determined look to her. Otto imagined the woman was fiercely serious about her job; she was likely an honest person...a natural leader. He cupped the pink orb in his gloved hand and maneuvered it into his satchel. "You're comin' with me."

Otto knew the elevator was a terrible idea. A small group of folks could squeeze into a trolley; each was equipped with a pulley-style system to move them slowly along the wire when the power wasn't available. With practiced grace (and a massive amount of pain to his back and knees), Otto leaped from the wall summit into the trolley he used minutes earlier. He anxiously waited for the others to gather their wits and make a move. "Maybe one of these youngsters knows somethin' I don't, but we need to un-ass this area," he breathed to himself in angst.

Moonfiend

@Mokley Holy bananas, Batman.

This is nuts! I didn't see this coming.

@Dud

every single man, woman and child within the walls was turned to stone.

GM

It looks like it's everyone, but I also think it's possible there are others on (or in) the wall that are still animated since it says 'within the walls.'

Can you clarify this, Mokley? Also, are the robots functional after the storm subsided?

Moonfiend

Thou w/o Smert, we'll see you on the flip side.

@MokleyNot a bump.

*bump*