Drancis immediately summons another aether bubble around the bound jagdaline, wrapping it tightly around him. "Last chance Lomrick. Spill the beans or I start squeezing..."
if needed.
"Let's finish him off and find his notes. I'll bet they will be just as useful and they won't regenerate like he's doing!"
At Rikkan's words, Zoreck nods. "Agreed."
He turns his attention to Lomrick. "Enough of your lies."
Still pressing the barrel against Lomrick's head, Zoreck pulls back the hammer of his pistol...
**ka-CLICK**
"No Zoreck...Lomrick is MINE." Drancis' voice is calm but inside he can feel his heart breaking. Fighting back the urge to pick up and smash the jagdaline into the wall, he instead concentrates until the aether bubble around Lomrick starts to tighten...
Andretta...I...I am sorry I could not save you...
"Lomrick...you had your chance to help up. Now you die."
There is a pregnant pause as the hammer of Zoreck's pistol clicks back... and then, as the world seems to move in slow motion, the sash wrapped around Lomrick's thorax erupts in flame...
...each of the group are caught in the sudden blast - and the rope binding the jagladine disintegrates to ash. No longer held by mundane bindings, the jagladine is still wrapped within Drancis' unseen aether... and now there is a cracking sound as the kineticist squeezes...
Rikkan stabs at the insect with his dagger.
Attack
Damage
,
Mayenyi jerks back from the flames, but her instinct is to stab forward too, and the point of the spear goes deep.
Drancis continues to squeeze the jagdaline tightly...
At the burst of flame, Zoreck's ire is truly raised.
"You f**king son of mangy b**ch!!"
Even as the flames dissipate, the friends rise to the challenge of putting Lomrick down for good... Drancis ensures the monster cannot escape and then Zoreck's pistol smashes an oozing crater into the jagladine's skull whilst Mayenyi's spear cracks through carapace with ease...
Bursting free from Drancis' aether, the jagladine escapes the grapple.... his mandibles click excitedly as he reaches for a flask slung from his thorax.
"Not so fast Lomrick..." Drancis calls out as he manipulates the aether to surround the jagdaline...
Mayenyi, wooden teeth bared like bloody thorns, keeps stabbing.
,
Rikkan tries to distract the insect and make it easier for Zoreck to hit it.
Aid another attack
Still furious at the bug, Zoreck continues to try to kill it.
Grit: 2/2
Mythic Power: 1/5
Bullets: 2
Powder: 2
Alchemical cartridges: 5
Drancis catches the jagladine once more, chitin clicking against invisible bonds as they tighten... and, much as Lomrick squirms against his captivity, he cannot escape. Mayenyi steps forwards once more, her spear cracking into flesh... and then Zoreck, his mind lost to rage, thrusts his pistol against his foe's head.
Turning to face Zoreck, Lomrick scratches, "You have no clue as to what your blood tells us... what your existence means... soon my brethren will unlock the secrets of your genetics and then the Hegemony will sweep all before them".
Lomrick's defiance means nothing though... Zoreck squeezes the trigger and the blast sends the jagladine limp
Mayneyi pauses, looking down at the broken body of the jagladine... and then collapses, her spear falling from her hand, weeping sap-like tears.
Drancis gives the jagdaline corpse a reflexive squeeze with his mind, further pulping their former tormentor, before releasing the aether bonds. He stares at the corpse dully, the chlorvian sobs washing over him.
So it ends now...Andretta...what have I done? This...Hegenomy has much to answer for...but now I must be strong...
He glances about him listlessly before focusing on the far doors. "We should check that out. Make sure it is not trapped first." Kicking the corpse idly with his foot, he reaches down to examine the body closer. "Maybe we can free your friend now, Mayenyi."
Rikkan was exhausted, bomb less, and the last thing he wanted to do was to open another set of doors. However, knowing May's friend was located inside, he knew they had to hurry. "Can we get everyone exhaled up quickly? There's no telling what he put Amy's friend through, and we need to find them now."
Once the others were ready, he moved to the doors and checked them carefully.
Perception
After just a few moments, Mayenyi gets her emotions under control, picking her spear up and wiping the sap away from her eyes. "I have never hated someone like that before..." she murmurs, as though explaining herself, but it is not clear to whom she is directing the explanation. She looks quickly around the room, hoping to spot some kind of notes or papers here before they move on.
Pushing through the door to the south, the group find Lomrick’s hidden offices - the small chamber contains a heavily-stained table against the east wall, covered with beakers, burners, and numerous vials and containers of chemicals and strange, alien substances. A smaller, wooden desk and chair stand near the south wall.
A chemical stained formulae book sits upon the wooden desk… well used and extensively annotated, it contains formulae for many alchemical extracts (in time they are determined to be Invisibility, Touch Injection, Cat’s Grace and Transmute Potion to Poison Adhesive Spittle, Ant Haul, Comprehend Languages Cure Light Wounds, Identify, Negate Aroma, Reduce Person, Targeted Bomb Admixture, and True Strike). Additionally, placed in a corner are several items Lomrick seemingly had no use for but has confiscated from some of his past victims and enemies, including a mithral breastplate, a silver longsword, and a living steel heavy shield (all of the items are exquisitely crafted . The desk, forcing it open, contains a coffer with 1,200 gp and assorted coins of lesser denomination.
Despite Relstanna having wordlessly directed the group to the south from her prison, there is nothing within the room that seems to be a key… and so, retracing their steps back to the broken corpse of the jagladine, the group sift through his equipment – finding a particularly cruel looking dagger, and a loop of keys. Hurrying, for this place feels increasingly oppressive, Mayenyi leads the group back to Relstanna’s cell… and, sorting through the keys, finds the one that fits the recess in the floor… the chlorvian turns it and, with a hissing of escaping gas as the pneumatic seals release, the glass cell opens…
Relstanna, quite weak from her captivity, limps out into the main chamber… and placing a hand upon Mayenyi’s shoulder whispers ”Thank you my friend… and Lomrick? Is he gone?”
"He's gone." Mayenyi confirms, a bit shakily. "And with him, possibly the life of one of their friends. Unless you can offer them the knowledge Lomrick would not..."
"Relstana, right? I am called Zoreck. Lomrick is dead. But before he died, we tried to ask him some questions. He kept lying to us, but he did tip his hand at one point. We need to find out which planet a friend of ours is from... it seems that the air on this planet is poison to her. He refused to tell us, but he did say the he would need to consult with you for the answer... So, would you be able to tell us where she's from?"
"Lomrick is dead?", the elali, even though she is quite frail, is momentarily excitable... "That is a blow that the Scions will feel - you have brought us some time, a moment to breath, with your actions today". Taking Mayenyi's hand, and then leaning on the chlorvian for support, Relstanna suggests leaving the manse before any of Lomrick's affiliates happen upon the scene here...
Back out in the fresh air, and in a cool evening breeze, Relstanna finally has answers, "I'm not sure that I will be able to tell you much that you weren't able to squeeze from that insect... Lomrick kidnapped me with a view to aiding him with the repairs to the gate that he was using - but, from all of the informations - drawings, records and aura measurement - that he collected, I was unable to assist him. Even had I the knowledge to do so, of course I was never going to help him..."
There is a sadness in her voice, "So you see... I may not be the help that you needed. I am sorry".
"Forgive me, I am somewhat exhausted from the constant questioning and mental assaults from Lomrick's cronies... could we return to Zel-Argose and, once I have recuperated, we can talk further", she turns to Drancis, Rikkan and Zoreck, "I would be keen to know what grudge you hold against the Jagladine?"
Drancis perks up as a memory floods into his mind. "Maybe that robot we found back at Garsilt holds the key to Andretta's origin! I think...BR it called itself...survived the destruction of Garsilt just as we did!" He nods excitedly, "We just need to reactivate it!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"That what?" Mayenyi repeats, confused. She spends the last of her magic to try to close the worst of Relstanna's wounds as they walk, heedless of her own rather substantial injuries. "You found a rowboat?"
"Oh, its much neater than a rowboat. It'd be easier to just show you than to try and describe. I wouldn't have believed it myself before I saw it," Rikkan exclaims.
The trek back to Zel-Argose passes without event, there is a moment where it seems that a group of auttaine driving a wagon of covered cargo northwards seem to pay Relstanna more attention than is polite... but it amounts to nothing. And so, finally within the city proper, Kasia leads the friends through the network of alleyways that ends up at Kaetrix' safehouse.
...clambering up the ladder into the loft, the friends are finally safe. Lomrick has been defeated and a bloody revenge for the jagladine's crimes has been dealt. There are still questions to be answered though...
Can Andretta be saved and does the inert robot back at the friends' rooms hold the secret to her survival?
For what purpose had Lomrick taken the friends from their worlds? What were the secrets that he hoped to unlock?
...and what next for the friends, will those who were taken ever see their homeworlds again?
A low light burns in the loft where Kaetrix, Illonna and Locke are all waiting - Jumping to her feet, with the typical elegance of a catfolk, Kaetrix embraces Relstanna... and then, one by one, each of the friends who rescued the elali, "You have the gratitude of the Accord, may Alrenjae forever bless your path... and Lomrick is gone as well? Few shall mourn his passing..."
"For now, you should rest... tomorrow, maybe Relstanna can offer help"
**************
The next morning, with both of Argosa's suns burning majestically in the sky and over a breakfast of coffee and local fruits, Relstanna asks to hear the friends' story...
Over the course of the morning, Zoreck tells Relstanna of his adventures, starting on Golarion, through their attack on Lomrick's villa.
"So... where areound here should we go to get a robot fixed? All Lomrick told us about Andretta was that BR-3N would have the information we need about her origins."
Mayenyi tells her version of the kidnapping tale, which bears some resemblances to that of her companions, but is very unlike it in some ways as well.
"I'm from a small town called Bistan on a world named Shinshatila. There is a Gate on my world, in Meios, Shinshatila's largest city, on the southern continent,but off-worlders were simply unheard-of in Bistan. All the native intelligent life on Shinshatila are plants - I'd never seen an intelligent mammal or insect-being until I got here! Things at home weren't precisely idyllic, but I was happy, I was respected, and I had a role in caring for my people that I was excited to fulfill.
"Until the jagladine took me. I went to bed one night in my cabin on the edge of town and woke up back there, in Lomrick's lab. I still have no idea how he or his klaven reached Bistan, why they took me, or even whether I was the only one stolen away. All I do know is that I lost weeks, maybe months, in a haze of agony and merciless experiments.
"Finally, there came a day when the drugs they gave me did not work the way they should have, when the klaven that appeared at my cell door weren't ready for me to be conscious and waiting for them. The worldspirit gave me a weapon, turned away the klaven's attacks, guided my hands as I struck out against them. Then I ran... and eventually found my way here, to Zel-Argose.
"And now that I am here, no one has ever heard of Shinshatila or the traditions of my people. Even the other chlorvians here come from other worlds. Our myths say that Lianthus brought us to Shinshatila from elsewhere, to redeem us from our sins by binding our rotten flesh to our healthy wood, but I honestly had never really considered that idea until I came here. And now it would seem that I am as lost as the rest of you."
"I knew that there were worlds beyond our homeworld of Golarion. Scattered across the deserts of Numeria, the land I was from, are the remains of a great ship that sailed among the stars. It crashed on our world thousands of years ago, in an event we call Earthfall. For millennia, the people of Numeria scavenged these marvels: items of strange power, yet not magical. But I had never heard of gates that led to other worlds: I thought you needed a ship that sailed the void. As far as I know, there are no gates on Golarion... but that doesn't account for how a jagledine minion like Vuelib the xoraphod got there! The jagledine are planning an invasion of our world, and we were plucked as test-subjects for their invasion plans."
"Yes, Zoreck speaks truly here, and while we managed to send a warning to one of our friends back on Golarion, I fear it would take the nations unifying as one to defeat such an invasion...which I believe will not happen." Drancis soberly adds. "While I share the same predicament as my fellows here, I must admit I am more confused than you in certain respects. No one I encountered on Golarion had ever shown the ability to manipulate the aether by just using my mind. Wizards and sorcerers required magic to emulate such abilities yet, as you can see, I am no wizard!" Drancis continues. "Lomrick mentioned he was working for the Hegemony...but we still have little information as to why the Hegemony would be interested in Golarion. Perhaps BR knows more of this...so our next step would be to reactivate him!"
"Fascinating... fascinating...", Relstanna listens to the stories told by the group with great interest. When they are done, she sits quietly for a short while - swirling the crimson juices in her glass as she considers all she has been told...
"Lomrick was indeed, as all jagladine are, part of the Ultari Hegemony... the order with which I, and others of the Bellianic Accord, are fighting against as they try to exert dominion across the Weave. Lomrick, from his ravings whilst I was his captive, was part of a particularly vicious religious order within the Hegemony - they call themselves the Scions of the Celestial Helix and have assigned themselves the mission of scouring the multiverse for fragments of the ancient cultures that preceded ours. They hope to find undiscovered secrets, new weapons, long-lost technologies or magicks... anything to turn the tide of the war in their favour"
"I fear, from what you have told me, that they may have found such a secret... the fact that Lomrick was studying your genetics - and was so desperate to return to Garsilt to continue his research suggests that it is not Golarion... nor Shinshatila that has caught the Hegemony's eye... it is their peoples"
There is a sadness in Relstanna's voice as she mulls over the friend's predicament, "I wish that I were able to offer you a way home... to send you back to a more innocent time... but I, myself, could not hope to repair the damaged gate at Garsilt. But there is hope, there are people I could speak to off-world, people who will look kindly upon you... and may be able to determine a way to get you home once more".
...and then turning to the issue of BR-N3R, "There are backstreet purveyors of technology here in Zel-Argose, people who operate discreetly and provide technological services to off-worlders whose culture requires such things... they operate within strict guidelines set by the Auditor for it is her, and the Peerage behind her, who manage the spread of technology in the city", Relstanna turns to Kaetrix, "Kaetrix will be able to direct you towards one such vendor".
"My friends, I will need to travel off-world for a few days... please, whilst I am gone, keep a low profile - Lomrick's demise will not have gone unnoticed - and, when I return, I hope to bring you better news".
"I suspect some of the rest of the Scions of the Celestial Helix might come looking for Lomrick. Laying low is probably a good idea. I need to work on some of those formulae that he was nice enough to leave behind for me. And there's a lot of new species to study, I think," he adds excitedly, as his tentacle beneath his cloak moves ever so slightly in excitement.
"Let them come." Kasia says, speaking for the first time in hours, preferring to let the others tell their tales while she remains in thought, soaking up the information. Lomrick's death had left her feeling empty, as most deaths did. "The Scions of the Celestial Helix sound like grave-diggers and thieves. They have no honour." She pulls her pistol from its holster and lays it on the table. "Wey and I have long fought those who would seek to oppress those weaker than them. If Lomrick's research would lead to people being exploited for the gain of this Celestial Helix, his research must be destroyed."
"Yeah, I can lay low for a while, too." He takes his gun from his holster and twirls it around, his index finger through the trigger guard. "I have a couple of ideas on how to improve Betty's accuracy, and I'll need some time to make those changes."
"While I agree it is a wise idea to lay low now, Andretta is...we do not have much time to waste. We HAVE to get the robot BR reactivated quickly, even if it means risking discovery!"
"If Lomrick's allies are looking for the escapees from 'Garsilt,' wherever that might be, then perhaps Kasia and I can go? We don't want anything worse to happen to your friend either."
The next few days are spent lying low and, after finding someone willing to help them restart BR-N3R, coaxing information from the badly damaged robot. Whatever happened to it as it passed through the gate seems to have had a quite catastrophic effect upon the majority of its functions - it is unable to move at all and the weapon that was once housed within its tail has been rendered inert. It does, thankfully, however have limited recollection of the information within its memory circuit - and, patiently interrogating it one evening, Drancis finally finds what it was that he was searching for...
The robot confirms that Zoreck, Rikkan, Drancis, Astraea and Locke are all 'bloodstock of Golarion' and were to be held in extended containment awaiting further analysis... whilst Illonna is reported as 'sentient automata discovered at Golarion'. It then goes on to discuss the bhagra, the 'tauslek' and Mayenyi, 'second bloodstock of Shinshatila' before finally recounting the records of Andretta...
"SUBJECT 3691A, HOMEWORLD DESIGNATED AS 'FHANTAE' - SPECIES, INDETERMINATE HUMANOID, TEMPORARY DESIGNATION 'FHANTAE BETA' - GENDER FEMALE"
It takes a little further coaxing, sifting past the records of other samples taken from 'Fhantae' and subsequently subjected to klaven vats or fed to the Tauslek, before Drancis happens upon a chemical analysis of the Fhantae atmosphere. Working with Rikkan and Kaetrix to establish exactly what it all means, Drancis finally has the information - the 'chemical formula of trace elements' the Andretta's respiratory system appears to need - to save the woman from Garsilt...
Upon gaining the information, Rikkan sets off to work, brewing a cure for the woman. "We need to keep BR up and running. I'd love to have more time to find out about all the species he has knowledge of. I never suspected there were this many sentient species spread throughout the galaxy."
"I'm the only... subject... from Shinshatila?" Mayenyi attempts to clarify, more than a bit lost by the technological discussions. "That's good, I guess. I may be the only one from my world here, but at least no one else was left behind on Garsilt or in Lomrick's labs. What does 'second bloodstock' mean?"
Drancis raises his face to gaze at the chlorvian, a tired look on his face mixed with a look of relief. He gives her a reassuring smile, "I have looked over these notes that we recovered from Garsilt, and also what BR has divulged here and, I must confess, I am not clear what it all means." He motions to the inert robot, "I would like to restore him to full operation, especially his memory. He would be a trove of information, especially when it relates to the Hegemony!"
"Rikkan, let me help you with your analysis. Believe it or not, I know my way around an alchemy lab." Zoreck assists Rikkan with his alchemical research
After they have isolated the chemicals Andretta needs, Zoreck turn his attention to his gun to improve its accuracy.
Alchemy
It is at least a week after the fall of Lomrick when Drancis, carrying a small but precious vial of purple-tinged liquid, makes his way through the quieter alleyways of Zel-Argose to Toiler's Square and the building where Andretta, still drifting in her unconsciousness, has lain for several weeks. Ushered inside, and on to the room where Astraea has maintained a constant vigil, Drancis eagerly offers Rikkan's brew to the chlorvian mistress of this hospital.
Leticula smiles as Drancis explains what it is and, after soaking a small seed pod within the chemical, places a number of seeds within the plant-like apparatus that is feeding Andretta a breathable atmosphere, "Now it is just a matter of waiting... if you follow a god, a prayer might help". Astraea, standing next to Drancis yet saying nothing, squeezes the kineticist's hand as if to provide reassurance - and the pair watch...
...for ten minutes, nothing happens - Andretta lies there as still as she was the moment that Drancis found her unconscious next to the campfire, her breathing as shallow as it ever was... but then, just as it seemed that hope was lost, her flesh seems to take on a less pallid complexion - and her chest rises and falls more deeply. Soon enough, her eyes flicker open...
"Drancis? ...Astraea? ...where am I? I have had the strangest of dreams..."
Drancis' heart skips a beat as he hears Andretta's melodious voice caress his ears. Taking her hand in his he softly replies, "Rest easy Andretta. You have been here a long time but...I am glad you are OK now." But for how long? She will not be able to stay here once we run out of the chemicals she needs...
To take his mind off the inevitable, he gives her a reassuring smile. "Why don't you tell me of these dreams..."
Andretta smiles weakly and gently grips Drancis' hand, "I dreamt of worlds, and of the space between the planets... I saw a network of aether that connects everything - this world, my own world, and so many other places". Running her fingers across Drancis' hands, "I heard the song of the gods... and the echoes of a thousand dead civilisations".
"...and above it all, I heard an insect voice - I heard Lomrick, he was there again and again, telling me that I was nothing". A tear runs from Andretta's eye, "But you brought me back... I can breath, I can taste my home in my lungs... whatever you did, it worked".
Leticula places her hand against Andretta's neck for a few moments, "It'll be a few days before you are back to full strength", and turning to Drancis, "We should let her rest".
It is several weeks before Relstanna returns to Zel-Argose, weeks in which Kaetrix arranges better accommodations for the group and in which Andretta - still at Leticula's - slowly recovers. And then, one evening, she accompanies Kaetrix to the group's rooms. Looking far stronger than when they last saw her, Relstanna has news, "I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you. I owe you a great debt, and your good deed deserved a swifter response, but, alas, traveling off-world is risky these days. The Hegemony moves boldly against the free worlds of the Weave, but, thankfully, they know better than to mess with Argosa. You’re safe here — for now. It won’t last, though. And that’s yet another reason to get you home as quickly as we can".
"To that end, I used the information you gave me about yourselves, your experiences, and everything Kaetrix learned about the gate that brought you here. I shared it with my friends in the Accord, and they believe they’ve identified a means of getting you home. But I’m afraid it won’t be easy".
"You see, a long time ago, our greatest ancestors — the Patrons — established strongholds of learning and innovation on a world called Rythes. There, they perfected the principles of the Weave in ways that surpass our own understanding, and they recorded this knowledge in a crystalline codex called the Opus Aeterna. There was a great war, however, between the Patrons and the Principalities. It ruined Rythes and — much like your own situation — stranded it by severing its links to the Weave".
"Only recently a gate to Rythes started functioning again. It’s called the Red Gate, and it’s here...on Argosa. We’ve sent agents through it before. And so has the Hegemony. All in an effort to retrieve the Opus Aeterna. But none have returned — for either side".
"We’re certain this codex holds the best possible chance of finding your way home. After all, if a gate to Rythes is working again, whatever repaired it could potentially restore the one to your world, as well. The codex should have that information, and it may also identify alternate routes from other worlds that could reach your planet. With the knowledge it contains, I’m certain it holds the answers you seek. And, perhaps more importantly for the Accord, if you return the codex to us, we’ll not only see that it gets you home. We’ll greatly reward you, as well".