//------------------------------// // Chapter 25: Down the Rabbit Hole // Story: Borderlands 2 DLC: Vault of the Consular // by NightStream //------------------------------// “You… did WHAT!?!” “Great job, you two,” Maya groaned sarcastically as she looked at Gaige and Brick, “I’m getting shouted at by a teenager pretending to be an older version of me.” “Hey, in our defense no one stopped us.” Brick simply stated. “If anything, I thought that Gaige would at least have some self restraint,” Starlight added. “Well sorry for failing to meet your expectations,” Gaige rolled her eyes. “We didn’t know that they were the good guys until it was too late.” “Look all of us are at fault for some reason or another… besides the more important question is what exactly is going on?” Axton brought up. “Well despite all that, I think I won the contest.” Brick said smugly. “And because you won that ‘contest’, you killed the ones responsible for the camps defenses!” Tina shot back, doing her best to stay in character, “They were the only things keeping those bastards at bay and you uprooted them like trees in a forest!” “Well excuse me, I didn’t know in the first place.” Brick responded. “Ok besides that, can we please try and find out why you are in this current situation?” Axton said to try and bring the conversation back on track. “Apparently, we ended up murdering the people responsible for keeping the camp safe… Why do I have the strangest case of Deja Vu?” “Ok, so we can still put a stop to the others in time, right?” “That you can,” Brick the siren (portrayed by Tina) replied, “However, we’re going to need replacements for those you killed. If I am even thinking of letting you step one foot outside the camp, I need the two people responsible for this mess to stay here and take their place as guards.” “Honestly, I think they are the best guards.” “But I would miss out on the action.” Brick brought up. “Yeah, but unfortunately you were one part of this mess.” Axton retorted. “Guess we’re stuck in the same boat,” Gaige grumbled. “You reap what you sow I guess.” Roland commented. “I don't need the backseater telling me.” Brick grumbled. “Hey, hey! Let’s not bicker about the little things here.” Maya replied, “If anything, Tina could’ve done a lot worse and spared you from that fate” “Fair enough.” Brick just shrugged. “Maya’s right,” Spike added, “We don’t have much time, so the sooner we get this done, the quicker we can come back for you.” “Alright, off to the next location it is.” Axton brought up. “Don’t have too much fun without us.” “Oh trust me, you won’t be heading too far,” Tina spoke as the resistance leader, “You’re going to be heading to Bloodshriek Cove farther down along the edge of the coast. Word from some of our scouts claim that one of the Sorcerer’s followers is trying to conscript the Merfolk into their cause… by force if they have too. Hope you aren’t afraid of getting wet.” “A trip underwater sounds fun… I think.” “We’ll inform you with details on the way. I’ll mark where you’re headed along your map.” Tina monologued, before drawing a big circle around the northeast coastline using one of the crayons that was on the table. “Alright, so Gaige and Bricky stay behind. Rest of the party, go forth!” “I think you guys might have a decent challenge ahead of yourselves.” Roland commented  “Yeah I’m just going to wait until we actually get there.” Axton simply replied. “Don’t be so sure, Axton. Who knows what we’ll see along the way.” “Fair enough.” Axton relented. “We can either breeze right through or find ourselves in combat and whatnot.” “We should be careful and observe first, before doing anything rash.” Lilith added, “God knows what would happen if we went in without preparation.” “So Lilith… what was that about Preparation again?” Axton brought up as they made their way to the next location. “Well, we’re going into unfamiliar territory and our party got split, so we should try to be cautious.” the siren advised. “Yeah, that is a fair point.” Axton just shrugged. “Just saying we shouldn’t go overboard with it.” “Would you like to explain to Roland what happened if we end up getting one of the heroes killed then?” “She does have a point, Axton.” Roland said. “All I’m saying is, there is a point where having too much… ok nevermind.” Axton began but stopped from the look Lilith was giving him. “As you get closer, you begin to make out a better view of the coastline. Outside of all the doom and gloom as well as the scent of murder, things seem sort of nice.” “Sort of?” “Roll a perception check.” “Ok, I think I got this…” Axton stopped what he was saying. “Got myself a 5.” “Isn’t your class meant more for that kinda stuff?” Roland added. “Tell that to the dice.” Axton replied in monotone. “Despite being in what you could say hostile territory, things look relatively normal,” Tina replied, “Perhaps even peaceful.” “That sounds ominous.” “Yeah, I’m not a fan of how this is going right now.” “Blame the dice, it’s dictating our fate right now,” Maya groaned. “Damn straight.” “Why don’t I give it a try?” Starlight replied, before rolling the dice on her side of the table, “Uh, 13?” “While it might feel peaceful, you in particular can’t help but feel as if something’s amiss,” the bunker master now replied, “You notice an entrance to what looks like some kind of camp in the far distance. However, there aren’t any guards. Mayhaps they were changing shifts?” “Or got called in because something’s happening,” the unicorn grumbled, “Okay, I relay that to everyone else so they’re on the same page as I am.” “Alright, so maybe the guards are distracted elsewhere, so attempt to sneak in this time?” Axton brought up. “Now sure if that’s really our strong suit,” Lilith replied back, “Anyone got any other ideas?” “I think I might,” Spike replied, “It says here under my abilities that I have something called ‘Charm Creature’.” “Isn’t that a spell that Bard’s would have or something?” “Well, technically, charming a creature is kind of like enchantment,” Tina replied, “Hey, don’t look at me, I don’t write the sourcebooks. I’m just the Bunker Master.” “True, that is a good option.” Axton thought for a moment. “Other than that, anyone else?” The room was filled with silence and some of the players and onlookers only gave mere shrugs to Axton’s question. “Alright, so little man your time to shine here.” Axton said to encourage Spike. To which, the dragon nodded as he looked back towards the others, before having his character step forth towards the guards. “As you approach, one of the guards points their spear at you and says ‘Hhhhhaaaallllttt, sssshorewalker! You aren’t wwwwwelcome on sssacred ground-’.” At this, Spike looked towards Tina, “Is the other guard doing the same thing?” “Nope, he’s just watching you.” “Alright, what I’m going to do is take a bow and say ‘Oh, my apologies, I didn’t know this was your territory’,” the dragon replied, “And as I bow, that’s when I cast Charm Creature.” “What’s the DC on that?” “Hmm, I think it’s 15?” Immediately, Tina rolls the die… and even she was surprised by the roll she got. “That’s a 14 huggaboo, he fails. So, as you are speaking and the other guard is right about to get aggressive, his homie is like ‘Come on, bbbbuddy, let’s hear hhhim out. Besides, if wwwwe finish this sooner, then we can go celebrate your hatching-day’.” “Hatching-day? Like what, his birthday?” “To quote a certain stallion at Sweet Apple Acres… Eeeeyuuup.” Tina mimicked Big Macintosh, before looking to Spike, “The other guard now loosens up a bit and then looks to you. ‘Wwwwwhat bbbbrings you here to our ccccove’?” At this, Spike had a new question for Tina, “Since I’m a siren, are the markings I have rather visible?” “You can say that.” “Alright,” the dragon replied, “I’m gonna have them light up a bit and then say ‘I’m a traveling fortune teller. I heard that some back luck had come this way, so I was hoping to see if I can turn things around.” “Roll a deception check.” “… 13?” “The guard you charmed believes you, but the other one looks away for a moment and see’s the rest of your party. ‘Iiiif you are wwwwhat you cccclaim to be, tttthen why do you travel wwwwith such provocative sssshorewalkers’?” “They’re some mercenaries I hired. Protection is something you can’t be too sure about out here, especially with talk of the Handsome Sorcerer’s men causing trouble everywhere you go.” “ … Roll a deception check again, but at advantage since… well, the rest of your party kind of accurately fits the bill with your description.” Tina said. “No need, I just rolled a Nat 20.” “Damn. Little’s guys carrying the entire party on his back at this rate,” Maya smirked. “Hey as long as it's working, it's fine by me.” Axton said. “The guard you charmed looks back to the other and then tells him ‘Wwwwell, it is Harold’s hhhhatching day. A Ffffortune Teller might help rrrraise his spirits’.” “Hatching day?” “It’s the merfolk version of someone’s birthday.” Tina added. “I see, as long as it works.” “The guard leads you into the village as you see what looks to be a rather normal looking abode for the most part. Though, there are some structures in the far distance that looked to be in the far distance. After a couple of minutes, he then says ‘Our Oracle says you can frrrrreeely walk around, as llllllong as you don’t cause any trouble’. You are now allowed to look around and figure out your next course of action. What would you like to do?” “Hmm, well taking a look can’t hurt so that’s what i'm going to do.” Axton said. “I mean, may or may not be lucky in finding some things.” “You could roll an investigation check if you want to test that theory, Axy.” “Alright, coming up.” Axton then sighed. “Got a 15 there.” That had Tina scratch her chin for a moment as she looked around the room, before something came to mind, “While you walk through town, you notice a couple of things. First, a lot of the other merfolk in town are… rather shocked by your presence. Not like they haven’t seen your kind before, but more like they haven’t seen your kind freely walking around. Second, with the structure in the far distance, you can see quite a few guards heading over there. Mayhaps it’s because they’re late to their shift, or because they didn’t expect your arrival. However, it’s hard to really tell for sure.” “Well I mean we do stand out.” Axton then looked to the rest of the group. “Ok so I got my information, as best as I could, anyone else?” “Has anyone tried talking to the locals, or are they all just don’t trust us?” Maya asked. “You can roll Perception and find out.” “13, plus the proficiency bonus… 16.” “It’s not the fact that they don’t trust you… it’s the fact that whoever came here before left a lasting impression on them… and not exactly a good one.” Maya couldn’t help but grit her teeth as she looked at the rest of the party, “Well, that could either be a good thing or a bad thing and I’m not sure which-” “Wait a second,” they now heard Mordecai speak, “There’s something I have in here called… Primal Sight? Allows me to see through the eyes of my animal companion for a short duration? Would it be possible to have my animal companion just go on ahead and I can see what they see?” There were a few murmurs around the table after that was suggested. Though, it didn’t seem like Tina had a problem with it. In fact, she encouraged it. “I’ll allow it. Though… remind me what your companion is?” “It’s a gray hawk, you helped pick that out.” “Ah, alright. If that’s the case, roll stealth at advantage.” “... First one’s a 7… and the second is 18.” “While your companion looks like they’ve had one too many ales at Moxxi’s before they left… sorry if that stings a bit, they’re seeing their hawk from their eyes as they close in to the keep,” Tina replied, “Now, a quick question. Do any of you have language proficiencies or translation spells?” “Well, I definitely have a few language proficiencies due to my class.” Axton brought up. “Never hurts to learn more than one language.” “I think seduction and speaking their language are two separate things, Ax.” Gaige snickered. “Ok, just because I can do that out of character does not mean I can do it in character.” “Are you sure about that?” Roland brought up. “... Shut it.” “Haha, shot yourself in the foot again Slab.” Brick said with a smirk. “Look, ok I just did it on the off chance something might be brought up.” Axton tried to defend himself, but failed. “Would anyone actually bring it up?” Lilith asked, before turning her head to see that a few other vault hunters and some of the ponies that were watching shook their heads. “Thought so.” “Anyways,” Tina quickly spoke up to bring the conversation back on track, “Those language proficiencies?” “Alright, Let see here we got… Do you want the whole list or do you just want to look?” Axton deadpanned as he remembered the list. “I may have gone a bit overboard.” “Really?” Roland just shook his head at that notion.  “Hey, I had far more spare points for language than I thought ok.” “I thought languages were linked to traits? What did your character do in their spare time? Take classes on the ECHOnet in foreign languages? That sounds like something a bored wizard would do in their spare time.” Axton looked over his backstory again to remember. “Well you never know whom you would run into who might need your work style. But also yes.” “MOVING ON,” Tina interjected, “Are any of those language proficiencies Nagaen or Abyssal?” “Hmm. I do have Abyssal at least.” Axton managed to bring it up after a little bit of time. “Hmm… what I’ll say is that over the course of your earlier investigation, you heard a particular name that was spoken. However, when it is mentioned, it’s treated as taboo. Like the mere mention of it or doing something for them would forever doom them…” Tina replied, “Roll a worship check for me.” “Alright coming up.” Axton then let out a sigh. “How’s a 16 sound?” “Out of everything you hear, one name stands out. Dry’l. Rumored to be a voidgod of the deep that’s responsible for sinking any fearless ships that would go without a blessing-” “I KNEW IT!! I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD’VE BLEW UP THE F@$#ING OCEAN!!” “Torgue, how the hell did you-?” Gaige asked. “I WAS WANTING TO CHECK IN ON YOU, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT YOU’RE DOING BUNKERS AND BADASSES WITHOUT ME!!! THIS F@$#ING SUCKS!!” “It’s okay Torgue baby,” Tina interjected, “Once I get back, I’ll take some time to help you set up your character, alright? I already got some ideas cooking up in my brain for this, homie.” “ALRIGHT, TINA!! I WAS THINKING OF THIS MULTICLASSING S**T OR WHATEVER ITS CALLED! SOMEONE THAT CAN DO GUITAR SOLOS AND EXPLOSIONS!!” Mr. Torgue hollorered over Tina’s ECHO device, before immediately going into a guitar solo, “MAOW OWW NAOW NAOW NAOW NAOWWWWW! I KNOW YOU CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT BADASS!!” “Huh, I almost feel like that might actually happen.” Roland said more to himself. “Well, who knows? Maybe he’s just going to use Magic Missile on the ocean .” Axton shrugged. “So, as I was saying… you heard a name, said to be a rumored scary voidgod… some of the folk here are kind of afraid of it.” Tina repeated “Well that is definitely something to look into. Might be able to find out what may be happening here.” Axton took a moment to think. “Though if it might be what i’m thinking, this could go either a weird way or a bad way.” “That and the naga here are afraid of it.” Starlight remarked “Personally, I call them the Coiled,” Lilith shrugged her shoulders, “When I think of Naga, I think more of something with the body of a human with the legs of a serpent. These guys are just like snakes, but with arms and the ability to understand us. “I… you know what, girl, you make a good point. Going to keep that in mind for a future campaign,” Tina pointed out. “Anyways though, Axton, now that you know this information, what do you do?” “Alright, gonna let the others know and see what options we can take.” “Very well,” Tina replied, “So, before he does that, what were the rest of you doing?” “I guess just looking around? We know that Mordi and Axton were doing their thing, but I think we were just waiting for them.” Spike replied. “I believe we are now all finished on our end, so lets see what you guys found.” “Not much, from how things seem to be going,” Spike replied, “If anything, you guys are finding out more than us. And I am seen as a birthday entertainer.” “Good point, but then again, that was the main reason we got in here in the first place.” Axton then rubbed his chin. “Maybe be discrete on how we go about asking about this voidgod?” “Yeah, I’m with you guys on that one,” Gaige agreed. “As you guys are going about your business, some of the Coiled guards you saw earlier return to see you. “Forrrrrgive our intrusion, but ourrrrr Oracle wishes to speak with you…” And at this point, we’re gonna take a break! Mama needs to refresh on her BRAINJUICE for what’s gonna come up next!!” “Oh boy, but yeah I think a break is in order for now.” Roland said as he got up and stretched. “What are you talking about, you’re not the one who has to roleplay.” Axton shot back. “True, but I’m still here watching.” "Yeah, I think I need to stretch my legs after all that," Gaige added, "That whole scene left me in suspense." With that, the mechromancer got up and left the room. However, what she didn’t do was check her ECHO device. For a new message had been sent while they were playing their game. “Do not let your guard down. One of your allies is a traitor… and another will be framed.”