Cave-In

[knux400]

Mudchuckers are a burrowing animal native to this part of Monte. They tend to enjoy rather humid environments, and will often burrow under soft ground to sleep. Draw in particular tends to have a lot of them, as the vast mudfields provide ample space for them to live. They're small, sort of reptilian in appearance, and they're omnivorous in diet, eating bugs, worms, plants, and occasionally a piece of discarded food. Their most distinct feature is their large mandibles, useful both for digging and processing different kinds of food.

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You hesitate for a moment before starting to duck under Exclusit's arm. They move their arm in response.
"Uh-uh. There could be a horror in there." They whisper.
"It could also be a person."
"Yeah, and if you're wrong, you're going to get your head clawed off. I'm not losing someone with your knowledge of machinery."
"But if you're wrong, they might die in there. We don't know if they need help or not."
"We can't stop and pick up everyone we find! Our priority is getting out of here."
"The plan is to gather more resources so that we can find a way out in the first place! And besides, the last fork was about twenty minutes back. Do you really want to try and go around?"
"When the last fork was doesn't matter because this place is rearranging itself. As soon as we get far enough away, we won't have to worry about it anymore."
"Look, I'm not making you come with me. Just wait here and if it does turn out to be a horror, I'll tuck up and roll away as fast as I can. My shell is what helped me survive the fall in the first place, I'll be fine."
"Wait, you fell? I just sort of slid-"
"Not important right now!" You and Exclusit shush Matri in unison.
"Fine. But leave the- leave your friend here."
"Obviously. I wouldn't want to try and sneak anywhere carrying all this. And their name is Ortho."

You gently set Ortho down and slowly skitter into the room, approaching the debris pile.
"Hello?"
The rubble jumps in response, and you back away, ready to make a roll for it- but you wait, just for another second.

Something inside lets out a burst of four clicks, then pauses slightly before doing so again. It continues this way in an odd sort of rhythm, over and over again.

You tilt your head, confused. You're not sure what to do before Matri bumps past you, tearing through debris.

"That's a Drumbeat! I know it from learning about Knights, but a lot of different professions use it. It's sort of like a universal distress signal."

Without another word, you and Exclusit follow suit. Underneath is a Sheala Frame. Their shell is dented, but still intact. The three of you pull them out of the rubble and they makes a rapid series of clicks in response.

"Are you alright? What's your name?" You ask.
They click a few times.
"Can you not speak?"
More clicking.
"Okay, uh, two clicks for yes, three for no?"
Two clicks.
"Did your voicebox break in the fall?"
Two clicks.
"Are you seriously hurt otherwise?"
A pause, then three clicks.
"I have some spare parts from a coworker of ours, do you want to take a few minutes to see if you can patch yourself up?"
Two clicks and an enthusiastic nod.
"Alright, great! We can bring you up to speed on what's going on while we work."

You drag Ortho into the room, allowing the Sheala to get a good look at them. The first thing they reach for is Ortho's head, which, thankfully, still has its voicebox intact. They wave the voicebox at you and point to their own head.

"Oh, yeah, sure!"

As you remove the Sheala's casing and install the voicebox, Matri and Exclusit recap what the three of you already know. You're inside a giant horror, the tunnels rearrange themselves, and you're working on gathering supplies before you try and find a way out. They simply nod, occasionally making two clicks to confirm they understand. Their body doesn't look too heavily damaged- everything has mostly just been jostled around, same as you. Their shell probably protected them from the worst of the impact, since it was designed for high-pressure environments. There are a few disconnected or torn wires, which you replace. Eventually the new voicebox is installed and their casing is closed again.

Almost immediately, a series of harsh tones emanates from the Sheala frame, causing Matri and Exclusit to recoil.
"It's alright! They're just calibrating their audio output!" You shout over the noise. It continues for a few more moments as the tones gradually get softer and easier to listen to.

"...eeeeeeee-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-uuuuuuuuhhh. Thaaaank-yooou. I-go-by-hee-pronouuns-actually. My-naame-is-Delve."

Delve is still speaking in an oddly stilted and monotonous manner, but that's just a natural side effect of a new voicebox. He'll get used to it the more he speaks.

"Nice to meet you, Delve! I'm Pillbug, or Roll-E or Pole-E for short."
"Three-names? That-seeems-like-a-lot." They stutter jovially.
"I like having nicknames."
"Faair-enough. Nice-to-meet-you-Rooll-E."