After several days of travel, the town of Torch finally comes into view. The stone and steel buildings come into view as you come over the top of a rocky outcropping that overlooks the valley settlement. You look about your adventuring group, a collection of strangers that you barely know brought together by parallel interests. Having spoken little of importance to each other, you don't know what drew the others to that poster in Hajoth Hakardos. You have only your own reasons.
"The town of torch is in trouble", the poster said. "The main source of income for the town has vanished as has the chief counsellor. A group of adventurers are needed to find out the cause and bring the counsellor home, if possible. Reward: 5,000gp for the discovery of the counsellor's whereabouts and a scroll of resurrection for his safe return." The poster also listed the remaining members of the town council and where their town hall is located.
Now, in the valley below, your first real adventure begins.
Rhea grasps the handle of her craftsman's hammer. Torch! Finally. I shall get my own creations into that unignorable violet flame at the hills summit. Imagine what I could do with those temperatures...
But as the caravan rounds the corner Rhea's hear sinks. Where was the unending pillar of purple fire? Why was it not streaming from the peak of the hill into the sky as it had done for eons? She had been waiting for this trip a lifetime...
I think I'm gonna be sick...
Rogar looks up at the hill and back down to Rhea.
I know, lass. I only ever got t'use it once, but that there was the best forge fire known to man or dwarf. And it's not the lack of forgin' tha's the problem. Without it's only source of income, another fine town's gonna wither and die.
"Aye... and who knows what else we might find in that forge," Myst adds as he squeezes his right forearm with his left hand absently, his gaze fixed on the darkened town.
"I suppose our employers will want to know that we have arrived. To the town hall then?"
Kaziya's face adopts a wry, nonchalant smile. "Looks like basing your economy on an inexplicable, flame-belching hill isn't exactly fool-proof, eh?"
The short, strange looking woman pulls down her brightly colored headwrap and shakes her hair out, while her long tail languidly plucks a waterskin from her belt and passes it to her hand, whereupon she takes a long drink.
"Gods, I hate traveling."
Myst starts a little at the appearance of the woman's tail. It was hardly the first time he had seen it, for she used it freely. However, as far as Myst was concerned, one did not simply get used to people having tails.
Or horns for that matter.
Eager to hide his unease, he focuses on the woman's words.
"Who's to say the town wasn't founded by fools?" he replies with a grin. "For all they knew, the source of that flame might have been unstable and on the verge of exploding. It could still be for all we know."
He returns his gaze to the town.
"Heh. Wonder if that makes us fools then for taking on this job."
Stable enough for hundreds of years! It's the only known place that skymetals can be smelted. Rhea clutches a gear-shaped charm which hangs around her neck - made of skymetal. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of p*ssed it's not there!
Aye. Plenty a town has based an economy on far less! Believe me, that flame were a sight t' behold, and a blessin' to work with.
"Not disputing its value, just wondering how much they knew about the tools they were using. How much they know even now."
Myst was absently nursing his right forearm again.
"The wonders brought by the Rain of Stars sometimes have strings attached to them."
"Anyway, we should press on. Torch's missing Councillor isn't going to retrieve himself. Hmmm... well... actually, he might. Wouldn't that be a sight, if we arrived only to find that he had found his way back in the meantime. Best not tarry so we can claim at least some credit if that happens, eh?" Myst laughs, eager to change the topic.
Eager to get started on your mission, the five of you descend into the valley. The first thing you notice is the smell, a cross between brimstone and a dump. The brimstone smell is obviously from the now barren Black Hill, charred from the violet flames infamous flare ups. The town probably just got used to the odor of the hill's upper layers being burned away. The smell of the dump is less obvious as the town had no real landfill that you could see from above, but upon entering the town, you see piles of refuse and trash literally dumped into piles in the streets.
You pick your way to the town hall. You're let in immediately to see an elderly Dwarven woman. She beams when she sees you and introduces herself as Dolga Freddert.
What's wrong with your arm Myst? You want me to take a look? I am a healer of sorts after all... Rhea reaches out to inspect Myst's arm.
"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. Just a bad habit I acquired whilst my arm was recovering from an injury a long time ago. Do not concern yourself. It does not affect my aim."
Myst quickly pulls his arm back from Rhea, and walks in the direction of Torch.
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"Greetings Dolga. Dr Mystiel Sange. Most people just call me Myst. We are here about this notice," Myst explains to the dwarven woman as he hands her his copy of the poster.
"What can you tell us about the recent happenings in Torch? Who is the missing counsellor and what were the circumstances of his disappearance?"
"And before I forget, could you also direct me to the residence of the sage Khonnir Baine? I hope to be able to consult him on a personal matter whilst I am in Torch."
Rogar shakes his head at the piles of rubbish everywhere:
Just 'cause their fire's gone out, don't give 'em no excuse to leave the place in a state like this
At the town hall, Rogar firmly shakes Dolga's hand. Rogar Hammersmith, pleasure to make your 'quaintance
Coming a little late for the gathering, this tall, lanky teenage girl stumbles across the door way. Barely able to catch herself before falling, this human woman mutters something about human feet. Straightening her long dress, she looks up at everyone already there. "Sorry that I'm late. Went to the wrong building. I'm Ruza."
Now that she is here, she listens to the woman talk about a poster.
Ah, what a relief! Someone as awkward as myself. Hello Ruza, I'm Rhea. We were just introducing ourselves to the selectman Freddert.
"It's good to see another dwarf out here in Numeria," Dolga says. "As you can see, the violet torch, the foundation of our entire economy, has gone out. We here at the town council don't know why. We aren't even sure what started it in the first place. It just started spewing out of the hill one day. There wasn't much of a town here back then, just a few wandering Kellid tribes. I was a part of the group that discovered how tame the fire was. No excess heat was transferred past the sides of the flames, but it was direct upwards. You could throw a log a dozen feet over the flames and it would turn to cinders, but put a piece of paper on the ground a foot from it's base, and it wouldn't even smolder. Made for a great forge. Good enough, in fact, to support an entire town around it."
An energy fills her voice and animates her short frame as she goes through her explanation, practically bouncing in her chair. She sighs afterwards, "I hope we can get it back. Our monthly tithes to the Technic League are due soon, and we haven't made enough this month pay them. Been losing gold ever since the flames went out. Travelers come to our town to smelt their creations in our special forge, and when they get here, there's no forge! Innkeepers have to charge reduced rates for their rooms. And with nothing to hold their interest, the smiths never stay more than a night. It's bad for everyone."
"How long you ask? Let's see. It's been 15 days since the flames went out and 7 since Khonnir Baine, the councilor, went missing. He personally found underwater caves that lead under Black Hill, and led two expeditions in them. The first expedition went well. He brought back a strange contraption. I believe his daughter Val has it at their home and business, called the Foundry. The second expedition is when he went missing. Unfortunately, you may not get the chance to converse with him." She also gives you the directions to Khonnir's home.
Contraption? i LOVE contraptions. Perhaps inspecting it would give us a clue. Rhea smiles. And I would get to tinker with it!
Aye, wherever there's a forge, you'll find a dwarf. Sounds like the foundry might be the best place t' start. This contraption sounds right interestin', and Val might be able to shed light on what 'er dad was hopin' to find.
"Agreed. Khonnir is well-known for his expertise in Numeria's specific... peculiarities... and it would appear that he had a better idea of what is afoot here than anyone else. Val likely knows at least something of what Khonnir does. Or did." Kaziya's tone is matter-of-fact, despite the somewhat bleak implication of her final statement.
She then steeples her fingers together out in front of her, an eager smile crossing her face as she taps together the short claws at the tips of her fingers. "And I would not mind getting a look at this 'contraption' myself, all things being honest."
Ruza's noise curles. "Going into a place that was recently burnt out... Sounds like fun."
"It appears that more than a few of us are interested in this contraption that Khonnir retrieved, and his daughter might be a good starting point if we want to track down Mr Baine. To the Foundry then?"
"The lot of you can do whatever you'd like, but that is certainly where I am headed."
With a curt nod to Dolga, Kaziya turns and heads to leave the town hall.
I'm coming too! Just let me get my hammer and tools. We'll wanna get a look at it's guts, right Rogar? Rhea winks and follows.
Ruza smiles and follows after. "The smell of burnt wood. Got to love it." she removes the lute from her back and starts to play it... badly... as you walk along..... She stumbles a few times before finding her feet again.
Rogar gives his thanks to Dolga, hefts his pack and starts off after the others.
"Eh, Brimstone smells better" Rogar tries to keep up a friendly conversation with Ruza, despite the little involuntary twitches every time she misses a note on the lute.
Dolga gives you directions on how to find the Foundry.
The Foundry is more of a collection of buildings. The first, and the main attraction, is a large tavern and inn that is popular with the smiths and other travelers passing through Torch on business related to the, well, torch. The second is Khonnir's personal laboratory and workhouse where he supposedly did all sorts of bizarre experiments with the strange technology of Numeria. The third and final building is Khonnir's house, where he lives with his adopted daughter Val.
The three buildings are a mix of stone and steel structures topped with stone shingles. The windows of the tavern and lab are dark. The residency sits behind them and is not immediately visible.
However, as you start to head around back to the house, you hear a scream of terror coming from that direction.
Rogar and Grymm rush up towards the house and Rogar shouts:
"WHASS GOING ON IN THERE?"
He'll try to peer through a window to see what's happening.
Before you guys can reach the house, the door on the side of it bursts open. A roughly humanoid creature stumbles out of the house on three spidery legs. It's gray and white body is covered in dust and pieces of it's carapace are missing, showing vein-like cords that spark at the ends. Every movement causes the creature the groan and scream. It's looks around with a single, large, glowing gold eye. Then, it turns around cuts into the stone with a cylindrical blade on it's arm.
Initiative Order
-Drone
-Kaziya
-Rhea
-Ruza
-Rogar
-Mystiel
The drone's blade does some minor damage to the outer wall of Khonnir's house.
"What in the nine hells are you doing?" Rogar shouts. He moves around the tree, getting into position to strike with his hammer. The goat that's been following him around moves up behind him, but stops at a word from Rogar.
Rhea - can you add a token for Grymm, I'm not sure how and I'm going to be away from my pc for the next few hours. Thanks!
It ignores your shouting, Rogar.
By Briegh's metal teets, what a wonderful creature! It's lifeblood is crackling energy... I've never seen anything like it. Rhea raises her shield and unstraps the hammer from her belt. Let us try only to subdue it. I want to see it's internals, so don't smash them up Rogar!
Edit: I noticed you don't actually have that. Hmmm. If you want, I could help you fix up your sheet over PM. Either way, the roll wasn't good enough to do much.
Kaziya, unflappable, regards the bizarre creature with a smirk. She drops her heavy traveling pack to the ground and draws her shortbow, knocking an arrow.
"Whatever damage it suffers at our hands, I can fix it."
Kaziya looses her arrow at mechanical beast and...
"Probably," the tiefling woman follows up with a shrug.
The arrow finds it's way into an opening in the creature's body. The arrow causes sparks to shoot out of the area, followed by thick smoke. The creature turns to face Kaziya.
Ruza looks at Roger, "I heard that smells worse."
now that there is combat, Ruza looks at the drone and casts daze
The creature doesn't seem to be affected by the spell.
Myst twirls his sling and pegs a bullet at the creature.
"You know, when I expressed an interest in Councilor Baine's contraption, I was expecting it to be a little less...ambulatory," he quips.
The sling stone pierces the creature's single eye. The lens shatters and its constant groans and growls intensify in volume. Sparks fly out of the cracks in its body. Pieces of its crack and fall off. Smoke pours out of it before it finally collapses into a pile of ruin.
"Well look at us, just crack shots all, apparently."
Kaziya hurries over towards the construct at a pace best described as "calculated excitement". Upon reaching it, she draws an arrow from her quiver and pokes at the the thing's head a couple times in order to confirm it is no longer functioning.
Whoa. Nice shot Myst. Hold up everyone, it's down! Let's have alook at this thing...Is it clockwork Kaziya?
Good work all, saves me havin' to clean... erm... gears? off of my hammer... Rogar just mumbles off halfway through that sentence, then steps in to have a closer look at the thing.
's not like any machine I've every seen afore. Bet that blade could come in handy though. Wonder what it's all for?
After a minute of looking, Rogar suddenly bolts upright. Torag's beard! Val! I totally forgot about that scream!
He'll then go and hammer on the door: 'ello, anyone in there? Val?
Myst grins.
"Thank you. I am a doctor by profession... but deft, steady hands and keen eyes are needed for surgery. And have been known to be useful in self-defence as well," Myst replies with a smile as he drops another bullet into his sling and slips it into his coat pocket, with the strings hanging out for easy retrieval.
Myst also spends a moment to check the mechanical creature, but after just a cursory examination shakes his head doubtfully and turns away.
"Let's go see about that scream. Much as I would like to examine that creature further, we should see to Miss Baine, or whoever it was that had been screaming, first."
Ruza watches as Dr. Sange examines the beast.
Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, she asks. "What was that thing?" she goes up to it and pokes it with a stick.
Rhea helps examine the thing
"It's it gone?" A faint voice calls out from behind a desk in what looks to be a storeroom of the house. A young woman, about 15, peeks her strawberry blonde head out from behind the furniture.
"Well, Ruza, the creature is a type of nonmagical construct, called by those familiar with such things as a robot. They are generally intelligent, unlike most constructs, but they have been known to go "mad" if certain internal parts are damaged. This specimen is called a repair drone, designed to fix the complex machinery scattered across Numeneria. Judging from it's condition and actions, it had been corrupted by wear."
"Shame, really. If it had been in proper working order, it would have been an incredibly valuable machine. But in its current condition, it is entirely possible that an attempt to restore it to proper working order would be an even greater challenge than making a new one from the base materials."
Myst had been walking towards the door with Rogar as he spoke, and enters the house just as he finishes, and the young woman calls out.
"The robot is incapacitated, young lady. You're safe now," Myst replies as he doffs his cap and gives a polite bow. "My name is Myst, and I am a doctor. Are you perchance hurt?"
Ruza looks at the creature once more. "First time I've seen one of those... things." she shrugs and turns away from the drone, spinning too fast and almost tripping on her feet.... .again...
Seeing that the Doctor is trying to talk to this new woman, Ruza decides to help, if needed.
"My name is Ruza Furskin, I am... was part of wondering bardic group. Who are you?"
Ignoring the introductions and chit-chat, Kaziya remains hunched over the robot. She carefully inspects it, looking to see if anything is salvageable or if it could be reactivated with some repair work.