Mef urges Trigger back five feet, then fires twice at the ogre.
The ogre swings at Mef but misses, the gnome's firearm putting two holes in the ogre's side instead! The ogre sways and falls over, leaving an ogre-sized heap of flesh lying bloodily on the ground...
Attempting to remove the distraction of lesser foes, Taran moves to strike the remaining ogre, calling upon Torag to send a shield of faith.
The ogre swings at Taran as the dwarf moves in but Taran's aim is better than the ogre's and the ogre is left with a few crushed ribs.
Jorac begins casting enlarge dwarf on Taran.
Helskarg pushes some buttons and the cable whirs back into his rifle. The ogre, meanwhile, swings at Taran again!
Reloading quickly, Mef fires off two shots at the remaining ogre.
Mef and Libri work together to take down the ogre!
Taran gives a properly dwarfy shout of battle, turning to fight the troll. He lays fire upon his weapon as he does so, through the divine will of Torag.
"Hey greenskin, not so tough when you've got someone your own size, eh?"
plus
plus
Taran delivers two solid hits on Helskarg. With the Big Dwarf closing in, she decides to abandon her autograpnel and switch to a more primal fighting style.
A bite sinks into the dwarf's shoulder, but the pain doesn't seem to slow him down. He simply smashes the hammer head into the troll's skull as it grabs on - awkward but effective.
plus
plus
Confirm?
Mef urges Trigger to the west, then fires a shot at the troll.
Mefindio and Taran make quick work of the troll and take her down with expertise!
She had spiked leather armor, a +1 Medium autograpnel, and a gray access card.
Further in is a large wooden platform sitting twenty feet above the battleground where you just entered. The squat metal tower it extends from is obviously part of a different, much older structure. There are monitors mounted on the outer walls next to the doors leading in. When you approach within ten feet of the monitor, it flickers on and hisses with static for a moment before manifesting an image of a wrathful demonic face with curling horns on both sides of the snarling red face. The speakers blurt out, "Visitors. How unusal. Know, apes, that you now stand in Hellion's domain. You must bow before your new god-me. Accept me and kneel, and I shall suffer your presence. Deny me the obedience I deserve, and you shall be punished."
After you fail to respond, the image in the monitor spits, "Such insolence!" and a wave of evil energy washes over you.
"Why are you calling me a damned ape? And I'll show you service, I'll serve it up..."
Taran's retort is cut short as the waves of energy hit him.
"That's enough of this!" Roaring, he falls into a crafter's wrath and starts beating against the walls.
Mef glances at his companions, but when it becomes evident they are not going to speak up, he starts to say something. Right before the words leave his mouth, the voice insults and begins trying to hurt the party.
"I think this must be some kind of nihilist god!" Mef shouts.
He watches Taran, wondering how there going to fight a god.
The dull gray metal walls of this H-shaped chamber are adorned here and there with rectangular panels of flickering glass mounted at head height. Bits of garbage and rotten food lie strewn across the floor, and the air is thick with the rank stench of unwashed bodies.
The monitors in this room again flair up with the image of the demon or devil, this Hellion that they worship here. "Go and leave this place lest the true faithful rise up to flense the skin from your bones!" His image then disappears the monitors go quiet.
There are two sets of stairs going down.
"Huh, I think he's afraid" The dwarf uses one of the technical gewgads to address wounds briefly, before continuing down.
The dwarf scans the room quickly for anything of note and then heads down the left stairwell.
Mef leaves Trigger outside, then follows along.
The stairs lead down to a large room lit by tracks of glowing panels of light set in the ceiling, ten feet above. To the west, the room ends in a ragged wall of rubble, rock, and twisted metal. To the east, a ten-foot-diameter circular platform sits on the ground before a pair of large doors. Rectangular panels of glass adorn the walls between crude paintings of a mechanical talon.
The reception awaiting you in this room includes the half-orc cleric Nalakai leading four human acolytes bearing shields.
Jorac blinds all but one of the acolytes and Nalakai the priest!
N: blind
red: blind
green: blind
blue: blind
Mef puts a bullet in one of the acolytes! The blind acolytes take defensive positions but the unblind and undaunted one approaches Taran.
Nalakai casts a spell on himself.
N:
red: blind
green: 9 dmg, blind
blue: blind
Taran begins to sing an out of tune song as he wades into the conflict.
"Father worked the mine,
hammered all damn time,
and beat them rocks
into tiny rubble
Now a hammer I swing
and fight I bring
knock some heads
while causing trouble!"
Nalakai covers his ears before Jorac's grenade can detonate. Taran easily swats aside the acolyte who approached him.
N:
red: blind
green: 9 dmg, blind
blue: blind
Mef steps to the north of Taran and fires twice at the acolyte in red.
Mef's first goes off, but the second misfires. Gritting his teeth in anger, he quickly clears the jam
One of Mefindio's bullets bites into the acolyte!
N:
red: 6 dmg, blind
green: 9 dmg, blind
blue: blind
Libri's cut digs past the acolyte's shield and into her side! The blue-clad acolyte swings back blindly at Libri!
The others retain their defensive positions.
Nalakai then tries to stop Taran from his singing rampage!
N:
red: 6 dmg, blind (DC 17)
green: 9 dmg, blind (DC 17)
blue: 10 dmg, blind (DC 17)
Taran laughs gaily and reaches over the henchmen to knock around Nalakai.
"Everyone's a critic!"
Taran's heavy blow leaves Nalakai stumbling back! Jorac's acid flies past the fight.
N: 15 dmg
red: 6 dmg, blind (DC 17)
green: 9 dmg, blind (DC 17)
blue: 10 dmg, blind (DC 17)
Libri cuts down one of the acolytes of Hellion!
Mefindio then puts down the other two acolytes, leaving Nalakai to defend himself! The priest backs against the altar and calls out to Hellion for assistance!
N: 15 dmg
Mef kicks Trigger's flanks, urging the pony southeast, then fires at the remaining man.
Mefindio riddles the half-orc with a pair of bullets and Jorac's acid sends the priest toppling over, unconscious!
Acolyte gear (x4):
chain shirt, light steel shield, spiked gauntlet, 20 silverdisks
To the northeast lie Nalakai's quarters. The eastern portion of this room is a shambles of twisted metal and debris, leaving the western portion to serve as a combination bedroom and personal shrine.
There is a journal sitting on a small table next to the cleric's cot filled primarily with prayers to Hellion. The journal is written in orc.
To the south are the barracks of the acolytes. There is no privacy and little in the way of personal comforts.
The room to the east is a tangle of ruins and debris, while in the center of the room stand four tall pillars with glowing bands of pale purple light pulsing along their sides. With a little bit of study, you determine that these are essentially immense banks of batteries. In all, over 450 charges are stored here and can be used to recharge technological items with a power cable or another method of transferring a charge.
Finally, in the very back lies a room full of the bitter stink of chemicals with an underlying reek of decaying flesh. A platform of gray metal, worn smooth and free of dust, extends over a ten-foot-deep pit filled with rubble.
Taran leans over the pit. "What'cha think is down in here? Looks like a place they might throw sacrifices to this false god of theirs."
Taran will use the last of his enlargement to lean over the edge and pick through the rubble, to see if he can find anything of note (bones or otherwise)
Taran finds mostly the half-dissolved remains of humanoids who have been sacrificed.
"Ugh! Just as I suspected. Poor folks; apparently this Hellion is a bloody god. I'm glad my folk worship sensible gods; sacrifice to Torag is a day spent in labor on a hard project." he shakes his head as he shrinks back to normal size.
"So master Jorac, what'd ya find?"
|
"Most interesting. Hellion's prime goal is apparently to destroy something known as "the Source", or "the Prime". What's more, Hellion could very well be the offspring of a greater threat, perhaps one it is trying to eradicate? Hellion may have served the Source as a slave and could be seeking vengeance. However, Hellion doesn't seek to simply destroy the Source, it's a necessary step to take control of the Source's resources. Finally, I do remember that the Source - whatever it really is - must be located below Silver Mount."