"I highly doubt that..."
Gregory continues to fight for his life.
Gregory continues his assault...
...but unhappily, does not score a single hit.
Gregory shrugs.
"I would argue that we are, in fact, fairly evenly matched..."
Sadly, once again, he does not score a single hit.
Gregory shrugs...
...and punches a claw straight through one of the troll's ribs, lacerating its left lung!
+++Error: System Approaching Overload. Warning: Biofeedback Will Be Initiated To Prevent System-Wide Collapse+++
Realising that he is starting to get into serious trouble, Gregory redoubles his own efforts!
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Gregory reaches out with both claws, and like a second-rate ME in a cheesy horror movie, spreads the troll's ribcage wide open with a sickening crack.
It drops to the ground, but then, incredibly, its chest snaps shut, and its eyes open again.
Gamely, it takes a swing with one of its claws...
...but is unable to land a blow, before lapsing back int unconsciousness.
Round 10: Troll(-97), Gregory(-48)
Gregory tears into the unconscious troll...
...making sure that it stays down.
He then casts Acid Splash to make sure that it *doesn't* get back up again.
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Gregory spreads the troll across several dozen feet of the arena, and then liberally applies acid to ensure that it doesn't regenerate.
Amongst the blood fragments, Gregory discovers a (thoroughly destroyed) suit of spiked leather armor, a Grey Access Card, and the troll's spear gun.
Gregory restores his shielding...
...and then turns his attention to his prizes.
"Cool! An autograpnel. This could be fun to use..."
He then heads inside the building.
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This large wooden platform sits twenty feet above the battleground to the west. The squat metal tower it extends from is obviously part of a different, much older structure. A large nest of furs and rags and bones, appropriate for something the size of a troll, sits in the middle of the platform.
As Gregory nears the entrance, two screens mounted either side of the doors crackle to life, revealing the image of a wrathful demonic face.
"Visitors. How unusual. 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."
Gregory snorts.
"I do not know whom or what you are, but I have been contracted to put an end to the threat you represent. Screw you, buddy!"
He then flips the bird at the screens, and continues forward.
Gregory winces as the energy washes over him, but continues forward, stopping only to smash both screens.
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The dull grey 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 of and rotten food lie strewn across the floor, and the air is thick with the ranks stench of unwashed bodies.
Again, several monitors flicker on, and the demonic visage once more booms:
"Flee, lest the true faithful rise up to flense the skin from
your bones!"
Before the screens go dark again.
"No."
Gregory manages to fight-off the supernatural command, and continues on down the stairs.
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This large room is 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, while 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 wall between crude paintings of a mechanical talon.
Gathered around the room are eight figures dressed in robes, wielding spiked gauntlets and small shields, whilst at their head is a tall half-orc in ceremonial robes, flanked by two constructs that appear to be made out of scrap metal.
As Gregory steps into the room, all of the panels flicker to life, showing the same fiendish face. There is a humming noise, and in the middle of the circle, the fiend suddenly appears out of a swirling mist, raising a taloned finger to point at Gregory.
"There is the infidel! Destroy him!"
It then throws a multicolored explosion of leaping, ricocheting energy at Gregory...
...as its minions move to attack.
Round 1: Gregory, Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Remembering what one cleric did to him last time, Gregory focuses on taking out acolytes whilst there is still time, pouncing forward right into the middle of them.
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Gregory cuts down one acolyte, and badly wounds a second.
The High-priest casts a spell...
The remaining acolytes surround Gregory and try to punch him...
...mostly with laughably predictable results, although the injured one does manage to get a good hit in.
The two robots then shamble forwards with jerky movements, but are unable to get at Gregory through the sea of acolytes.
Round 2: Gregory(-14), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Ignoring the spell, Gregory continues to wade through the acolytes.
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With one claw, Gregory crushes the skull of the injured acolyte to a bloody pulp.
The remaining Acolytes gamely attempt to hit Gregory...
...but despite their best efforts, none manage to land a blow.
Roundly cursing the quality of his acolytes, the high priest Commands Gregory to drop to his knees.
Meanwhile, both robots stagger forward...
...and incredibly, one manages to land a blow, scratching a rotary saw across Gregory's shielding.
Round 3: Gregory(-22), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Ignoring the command, Gregory continues to focus his attention on the acolytes.
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Gregory slams his claws together around the skull of one acolyte, showering the others in pieces of bone and brain matter. He then horrifically injures one of the other acolytes.
The remaining acolytes continue to flail away at his shielding, without any luck.
The high-priest grunts in frustration, and glares at Gregory.
"DOOOOOM!"
The two robots continue to attack with saws...
...and once again, one manages to screech across the surface of Gregory's shielding.
Round 4: Gregory(-33), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Gregory ignores the cleric yet again, and continues to hack away at the acolytes.
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Gregory dispatches the injured acolyte.
The four remaining ones redouble their efforts...
...and this time, their persistence is rewarded, with one managing to connect.
Thoroughly frustrated, the high-priest casts another spell.
Meanwhile, the two robots continue to attempt to saw Gregory in half...
...once more scoring a solid blow.
Round 5: Gregory(-49), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
+++Error: System Approaching Overload. Warning: Biofeedback Will Be Initiated To Prevent System-Wide Collapse+++
Knowing that his shielding is failing, Gregory does his best to finish off the acolytes.
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Gregory rips apart one acolyte, and then delivers a nasty bite to a second....
...who woozily manages to score a hit, before following over.
His two remaining colleagues, however, have no such luck.
Seeing an opening, the high priest roars, and a burst of sound explodes around Gregory.
Finally, the two robots continue to grind away at Gregory's shielding...
...but this time, do not manage to cause any harm.
Round 6: Gregory(-57), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
+++Error: Overload Threshold Reached. System Protection Protocols Engaged To Prevent Catastrophic Collapse. Biofeedback Initiated+++
Overwhelmed by exploding sounds and biofeedback, Gregory stands stunned.
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Heartened by the fact that Gregory is stunned, the two acolytes try to press their advantage...
..without any luck.
The High Priest then moves forward, casting a spell, and attempts to pimp-slap Gregory...
...but somehow, manages to miss.
The two robots then continue to attack with their saws...
...but only manage to scratch the surface of his armor.
Round 7: Gregory(-57), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Snapping out of it, Gregory tries to finish off the last acolytes.
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Gregory drops one acolyte, and then badly wounds the last one, delivering a nasty bite to his shoulder.
The acolyte tries to punch Gregory in the mouth...
...but does not succeed.
The high priest continues to try and pimp-slap Gregory...
...but only succeeds in nearly tripping over on the blood-soaked floor.
Similarly, the robots have no luck penetrating Gregory's defenses.
Round 8: Gregory(-57), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
Gregory continues to attack the clerics.
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Gregory annihilates the last acolyte.
All of his followers dead or dying, the leader snarls:
"Hellion take you!"
Holding his gauntlet high, he then channels...
The robots, utterly indifferent to the negative energy being thrown about, continue to saw away at Gregory.
...but can't find the weak parts of his armor.
Round 9: Gregory(-57), Priest, Acolytes, Constructs
"Damn it!"
Gregory quickly tries to finish-off the high priest.
Gregory focuses all of his attention on the high-priest frantically trying to finish him off.
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Gregory tears into the high priest, ripping off one of the man's arms.
He remains standing through sheer force of will alone, staggering backwards, and casting a spell.
"Hellion, protect me!"
Healing energy washes over him, his wounded closing over with angry red scar tissue, and he remains standing (albeit barely).
Unfortunately for the high priest, his robot allies continue to *not* be a credible threat.
Round 11: Gregory(-59), Priest(-30), Constructs
Scenting victory, Gregory tries to finish-off the high priest.
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Gregory shoves a claw straight through the chest of the high priest, who glances in despair at the floating image of the fiend, before collapsing to the ground.
Gregory the twirls around, and claws and bites one of the robots, causing a fair amount of damage.
The two robots attempt to return the favor, but are unable to do so.
Round 12: Gregory(-59), Construct 1(-24), Construct 2
Gregory focuses on the injured robot.
Realising that this is almost over, Gregory redoubles his efforts!
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This time, Gregory's good luck continues, as he finds a weak point in the robots construction, and he capitalises upon this, tearing it asunder.
The manifold images of the fiend roar in anger, before snarling:
"You may have defeated this group of my worshipers, but the other Lords of Rust will not fall so easily!"
All of the images then blink out of existence.
Searching the bodies (and the room!) reveals the following:
Single doors exit the room to the North East and South East, whilst double doors exit to the East.
Gregory breathes a sigh of relief, and then starts repairing his stuttering shielding.
He then drinks his last potion, and, feeling completely restored, moves through the door to the North East.
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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.
or the "Prime." They make it obvious that Hellion is some sort of offspring of an even greater menace, one that Hellion seeks to eradicate in part as vengeance for a period of time that Hellion served the Source as a slave, but primarily so that Hellion can take control of this more powerful entity's resources.