Chapter 49: Bucket Time
"A good engineer always tries to improve on previous designs. And broken machinery needs to fixed. So, it wasn't much of a step to applying the same doctrine to our own bodies. Accidents happen and a missing hand or leg shouldn't be the end of a promising career. Mechanical replacements for missing limbs have been common among the brotherhood going back a couple of thousand years. A few didn't wait for an accident; they just had an arm replaced by a mechanical one with multiple tools and increased STR. It was a practical thing." The engineer paused.
"Yes, totally practical. Like polishing your gilded body armor every day or competing for the best beard." Throttlecog added with a wink.
The Engineer glared at him, but acknowledged the comment. "Hush you. But yes, some of us do care a bit about our appearance. That was much more important back when this outpost was crewed by a thousand engineers. Not so much now, I suppose."
"It seemed to be a natural progression at the time to go from replacing limbs, to fixing a fried nerve ending with a bit of thin-wire, or aural-compensators used to replace shattered ears. Dwarves are naturally long lived, but eventually we do wear out. We started using some 'preservative potions' to help keep us going another century or two. I think that is where the engineering started taking a back seat to the necromancy." As he said this, he watched Milo carefully for any bit of censure or disgust. The new member of the guild just sat there unperturbed. "That doesn't seem to bother you, brother Milo?"
Milo considered his words. "Too complicated a subject. Too much overlap with other things."
"The preservatives your people used might be called medicine by some. And while it came from necromancy, an alchemist might also be able to brew it. From what I've read necromancy seems to incorporate medicine, alchemy, anatomy, and all kinds of things that don't involve making zombies and other undead."
"Aye. That's a decent way to look at it." The Engineer looked thoughtful, then continued. "After the cataclysm that sealed the roads to the surface, we were pretty much on our own. We continued our work. But a schism was growing in the brotherhood. Those that had the knowledge and special skills to construct their own preservation suit did so. But a lot of the brother hood were mechanics, pipefitters, machinists. An engineer who knew the old runes and had the right magitech skills could do it. The rest were just getting old and worn out."
"Engineer Malvos thought he had a way to help the lower ranks. He devised a pressurized tank that preserved their entire body at once. While the council debated for half a year about his designs and theories, he used the process on most of the lower ranks. They were desperate and we were blinded to that desperation. And Malvos was correct, it did preserve their bodies, and even granted some regeneration. But there was a cost."
"It was a constant strain on their minds to constantly be holding themselves together. These weren't mages with the WIS or INT to manage the constant drain. Slowly over time, they became how you see. The schism is complete. The lower brethren are a collection of parts held together by Malvos's process. The senior brothers are tucked away neatly in containment suits, but we can't stray from the complex or we start shutting down. We're like any other machine here, needing power from the broadcasters."
While Milo was happy having things explained, he was still a bit upset about why they told him. "Which is just a very long explanation as to why I'm going down the shaft in a bucket."
The Engineer said "Well..."
Throttlecog just laughed loudly. "Oh hell, Chief, just be straightforward with him. Yes, that's why you get the honor of hopping in a bucket and heading for the nether regions to see what's gumming up the works. You don't need power, and hopefully you'll be able to talk when you get back."
"What's down there? How deep does it go?" Looking down the borehole Milo only saw the metal sided shaft going into darkness.
Milo lowered himself and swung Shadowblight at the mass of white goo. As expected, he didn't seem to do much damage. He saw a flicker of a message.
........#!........?
Interesting. He swung again. And again, the strange flicker. The mass didn't seem to do anything. Hoping that he was actually doing some damage and his weapon was increasing with each swing, he hacked a dozen times at its mass.
Eventually, his experiment paid off. Not in a good way.
The borehole vibrated, and the drill shaft moved back and forth several inches rapidly like it was being shook. Pseudo pods erupted from the mass, much bigger and longer than before. Milo barely got out of the way. He'd started scrambling up the shaft, pulled by his tail, at the first vibration.
Ooblipimux the Ever-Pudding Sees You!!!
You have dared to hurt Ooblipimux! Current health: 999117/1000000
You have stolen mass from Ooblipimux!
Ooblipimux has decided that you will be its next acquisition of mass. Please jump down into the pleasantly waving pseudopods. Ooblipimux promises it will be fun.
Milo thought fast. That really did sound fun! Should he take off his coveralls first though? He really shouldn't damage guild property just because he wanted to swim in acidic slime.
He started to take off his hardhat and fell to his knees in pain. The pain cleared his head.
The thing had almost got him to jump with a powerful suggestion. It was too strong though. His hardhat offered a bit of protection from the mental intrusion. Quickly, he jerked on the rope for emergency extraction as the slime creature began it's slow, determined ascent up the shaft.
"Don't worry Ooby, I'll be back. You just tried to eat the wrong engineer!"
