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The easternmost portals in the chamber are buzzing with activity. Although portal 5 shows nothing else than the noise, a constant stream of lava pours forth from portal 6 and travels down the channel below at a speed of 20 feet.
The lava reaches the pool in front of the southern machine (some kind of metallic large ring resembling a thick skymetal alloy that reflects light like a mirror). This large metallic machine does not produce any visible effects.
Kujo observes the other features in the room once more trying to find something that has gone unnoticed before. A door from the north is the only ground-level entrance to the fifty-foot-tall chamber. The floor slopes slightly downward to the south, scored by channels that run from a wide, shallow pit to six slate-gray rings that hang like portholes along the room’s curved northern wall. From the center of the pit rises a short skymetal dais supporting a gigantic, freestanding elliptical ring. The six rings on the wall bristle with haphazard augmentations—wires, parts harvested from robots, and sundry other components. To the west, a console covered in buttons, switches, and flashing lights hums with power on a small platform, and two smaller panels glow on the wall behind it.
On the west platform Vrald and Khamûl discuss about the memory and other controls. The wizard starts pushing buttons and moving levers and starts to familiarize with the controls after studying the display panels and their readouts.
It takes 2 rounds of work helped by Vrald to manipulate the controls and this makes portal 5 to totally deactivate.
Unfurtunatelly portal 6 lava keeps flowing during that time, but the process might be repeated.
Kujo carefully places the mephit body on the lava channel. The corpse blocks the flow that starts pouring out of the channel, then starts flowing around and finally falls back to the channel once more.
Simon cannot see any hatch near the ring machine. It seems once the pool is filled with lava it will start pouring out into the chambers floor, unless something happens with that lava before.
Turk*, Khamûl and Vrald join forces switching and turning off buttons in a desperate move as the pool completely fills with lava.
At that point the ring starts buzzing and the temperature in the chamber quickly increases. Through the ring, a breach to another plane, one of Fire and Smoke starts to open. Just at that point Turk* presses the last button that switches off the last portal permanently interrupting the stream of lava Kujo is fighting with.
The lava in the room and the temperature slowly starts to cool down, and you have the opportunity to ensure the portals remain closed, to remove the memory card from the control panel to study what has happened here. Days of research will be needed but it is clear from the records in the card that Karamoss attempted to burst the whole Red Redoubt in a desperate attempt to defeat Absalom that way. His own safety measures seemed to prevent a total blast, but the commotion opened a temporal breach Jethzerai and the other outsiders used to escape their fate in their home plane.
Karamoss and most of its robots taken by the blast, the outsiders take control of the Forge, just to discover they were trapped here too. In an attempt to return their home plane, Jethzerai seems to have been playing with the controls, but his knowledge was not enough to drop the safety systems. He made modifications to the portals in an attempt to reopen the breach to the Plane of Fire, and set a call for help that ultimately awoke Tig-0. The damaged robot, not understanding what was really going on seems to have unset the safety controls that were keeping the portals stables, allowing Jethzerai to finally attempt his plan to start the portals and return to his home plane.
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The necromancer breathes a sigh of relief as the lava ceases flowing and the portal to the plane of fire is prevented from opening too wide. He rests his pale bejeweled hands on the console and leans upon it for a few seconds breathing deeply before straightening back up and retrieving his scythe. "Well done. We have averted a great disaster and possibly gained some great knowledge of this place for the Society's records. Let's hope that the azers are still willing to work with us and we may even have found some allies in the Plane of Fire."
After double-checking that the portals are secure, Khamul starts heading for the exit. "Perhaps we should also put in a word about fixing Tig-O as well. He was quite the friendly and helpful chap and I do miss him."
After taking a deep breath, you start to collect all the parts around that might help the Society understand better the Red Redoubt and Karamoss work. Among other pieces you decide to pick up Tig-0 and all of Jethzerai equipment.
On your way back, you find the azers who promise to keep the place safe until your return with a way to go back to their plane. While you climb the melted tunnels up, you take the opportunity to check the doors you said Tig-0 to skip on your way down here.
The fireproof doors are made of 2-inch-thick djezeteel and seem quite resistant, but when you attempt to open them, they result to be locked. Unfortunately the lock is an electronic one.
After considering the pros and cons, Kujo offers his solution, and with a two or three of his adamantine greatsword strikes the door lock is broken and the door forced open.
Stored inside the room you find what seems special safety equipment to keep fleshy bodies intact on what should have been the extreme high temperatures of the Forge.
Most of you quickly observe someone has hidden a stash of equipment behind a big container of the room. This consists of a timeworn filter mask and a pair of timeworn magboots.
With the last pieces of equipment retrieved, you make your way to the surface reaching the domains of Marw and his people. He is pleased to know you have found the reasons of the attacks and that you got a truce with the azers and you will soon move them out to other place leaving the chokers to leave here in piece.
Once back to the lodge, you find Shevala Iorae at her office "So good I see you come back with plenty of material. I guess it is all part of the robots scavenging the Red Redoubt?"
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"Yes, but we found things even more surprising than robots down there," Khamul explains. "There was a salamander from the Plane of Fire. These records and this memory disk should explain all the details, but in short he was trapped in the Redoubt and trying to find a way back to the Plane of the Fire. His plan would have caused the explosive destruction of the place though, so we put an end to it."
Khamul then clears his throat before continuing, "There are two other things. We made allies with some avers. If the Society can provide them a means back home, they may prove good friends in the future. And the last is a personal request: we became quite attached to a maintenance robot named Tig-O but unfortunately he started to malfunction and it became necessary to disable him. If there is any way he could be restored, we would all be grateful. I would gladly put forth some of my own earnings to fund the effort."
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"The Azer also told us that Jethzerai, the salamander is a wanted criminal. Well, maybe not any more. I'm not sure if he is truly dead or just returned to his home plane after our encounter..."
He shakes his head a little at the robot request.
"Tig was a devoted servant of the machine mage. He....tried to finish the mad wizards plans and drown Absalom in lava. I'm not sure how safe it would be to restore him. Not unless his allegiance could be changed somehow."
"Oh, that will be a formidable source of knowledge about all that Karamoss made and what happened in the Red Redoubt." expresses an excited Shevala.
And about the azers she answers “It would certainly help make the Forge safer. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do. You can probably though claim Jethzerai's bounty.”
"Mmmm... and about this Tig-0, I will see at what can be done. Of course it should be sure he cannot damage Abaslom at all. But if we find a safety way to bring him back, he can be a very good source of information" she finishes, inspecting the rests of the robot.
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Tessa leans against the wall while the others spoke, eerily similar to their initial debriefing. When Khamûl speaks about Tig-0 she pushes off and speaks up finally. "Yeah cap, whatever you can do for Tiggo I'd really appreciate it. Broke my heart to have to shut him down like we did, he didn't really deserve it."
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"I understand Vrald's hesitance in regards to Tig-0, but I agree with Khamul and Contessa; he is a good robot at... heart." Simon shrugs.
"My vote is for carefully reactivating Tig-0. I doubt Tig will object to being somewhat restrained and monitored. He seems to find some enjoyment in service; this way he would still have a 'life.' And I'd be able to interact more with my first robot friend."
Shevala grins and nods with the head in agreement "I am sure the Society engineers can do a good job with him"
Then, with a wide smiles she pats at your shoulders “You have all outshone yourselves today. I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been there to stop the Forge from self-destructing. These discoveries are fascinating. We suspected that Karamoss had attempted to destroy the tower when the siege turned against him, but I never realized he was insane enough to try to unleash a volcano on another plane against Absalom! Your actions today saved not just an incredible trove of scientific and historical data, but possibly all of Absalom as well.”
The Pathfinders had all a good night celebrating their triumph over the old forces of Karamoss.