Simeon frowns. "Something is wrong here. The room is damaged - and so are those machines. Give me a minute."
He is pleased - more than he can say - at being able not only to recognise what is going on, but then to be able to do something about it. Themostila is about diagnosis and repair, whether of humans or machinery. Fundamentally, humans are machines - just not ones that can be made in a laboratory. The idea that Hermea is some sort of long-term experimental laboratory is not one that occurs to him at this point.
A few moments pass as he tinkers with the mechanism. "There. Bypassed it - that should open the door while leaving the machines active."
Simeon efficiently deconstructs the machines that would spray corrosive gases, ensuring that they can open the door without activating them. He presses the button next to the door, opening it with a hiss of air. The door behind them that leads back into the valley through the illusory cliffside - not unlike the holograms that Hermean technology can display, but far more advanced- jerks in an unsuccessful attempt to close again. The doorway leads to a well-lit corridor of smooth gray metal. They stow their lights, apparently not needing them in the bright light, and press onward. A dozen meters into the curving corridor is a door to their left. Touching the button next to it does not open the doorway, but Simeon is able to use the electronic pick to easily bypass it. The ease of the use of the pick pleases him, as does its subtle magnetic and sonic properties. The second door disappears into the wall with another hiss.
The air in this room seems to buzz and hum with energy. Large viewscreens line the walls, deactivated but clear as to their purpose. A large glass-topped circular table sits in the center of the room. To the north sits a large metal desk covered with blinking lights, while a humming pillar of purple-and-black metal stands nearby with its sides flashing with tendrils of violet energy. A single golden panel flashes with a soft but incessant light on the side of the pillar. A thick layer of dust coats everything, diffusing the lights shining from the various surfaces, and most of the machines seem to be damaged, cracked, or otherwise ruined. The Hermeans analyze the room as they step in, coughing away the dust. It seems that the room is some sort of viewing station where researchers can monitor multiple sites at once. The technological wonders are powered to the minimum - a standby mode, perhaps - but the golden panel will most likely reset power to the room and activate the devices.
Dryth watches the surgeon perform an inspired operation on the machines. He smiles. "Excellent work." He pauses to look at the cleansing machines. "These are here to clean anyone who was in the desert. While that could simply be an environmental precaution, what if it wasn't? Perhaps the creatures in the desert carried some disease or parasite. Maybe they were under study by their technological masters." he considers that last possibility for a moment.
When the move into the next room, Dryth smiles at the multiple view screens. "Ah, perhaps we can pull up feeds from other rooms!" He quickly moves to a screen to try and activate it only to see the power is idle. He turns to see the golden panel and without thinking at all, he activates it to power up the entire room.
Valarius follows his more research-oriented comrades and steps through the visual facade. "Strange, not a hint of magical signature on this illusion. Perhaps masked, or possibly generated in another way. Keep your guard raised, this room has been damaged, though by what is unknown."
True, he was used to exploring unknown locations, and recovering unique artifacts, but those would be single samples amidst the wilds of the lesser world. The outer world intrigued him at times, and his talent with both the arcane and the blade made him feel as though a throwback from Hermean culture to the more brutal yet fantastical nature of Golarion. And he always carried the small comfort that he was a product of a far superior society. Now, viewing the strange technology around him, he was not sure, and almost instinctively, he found himself considering putting aside the rifle and switching to his sword. He held the instinct in check, and instead continued to search for hostile subjects.
At Dryth's words, Valarius quickly replies, "If you can call up any surveillance that would be most beneficial. We are hunting blind, a dangerous game to play. Barring anything else, can you call up a map?"
Seeing that the team has the technical aspects of the room somewhat in hand, and knowing that his skills did not measure up in that regard, Artemios moved to the center of the room, from where he could view the screens and the doorway. His pistol rested lightly in his hands.
"Can you see anything that would tell us who or what Hellion is?"
When Dryth hits the button, the screens in the room flicker to life. An audible hum emanates from them as they activate, along with muffled clicking and buzzing sounds. A holographic projection - far greater in detail and vividness than the holograms of Hermea's technology - projects onto the table in the center, showing them the valley from which they just exited. Images of the valley appear on the viewscreens. As they watch, the sky begins to light up on the viewscreens. It's clear that it wasn't the blank sky that they were staring at, but rather a ceiling. The ceiling starts to show a red sky with gray clouds, a red sun, and a trio of moons floating n the heavens.
A disembodied voice floats from the purple-and-black pillar, which must be the technological center of the room. It speaks the same strange language that the automaton did earlier. "Επανεκκίνηση πλήρης. Έλεγχος για μορφές ζωής. Έλεγχος. Έλεγχος. Αναζήτηση απέτυχε. Επανακαθορίζει. Αναζήτηση απέτυχε. Δεν Kasatha μορφές ζωής ανιχνευθεί εντός του οικοτόπου. Προσοχή: Το κύριο δίκτυο δεν σε απευθείας σύνδεση. Σημαντικές ζημιές που διαπιστώθηκαν. Προσοχή: πυρήνα του αντιδραστήρα κρίσιμη. Οδηγίες?"
"Hey, it's that weird language again. I think--Yeah, this is easier to understand. Hang on...Ok, it rebooted. It's checking for life forms. Didn't find anything. Oh, it says, "No Kasatha life forms." Also, "significant damage". Wait, reactor core critical. Now it's asking for instructions." Dryth looks at the various screens and then the advanced hologram for a moment. He decides to give an instruction.
"Show me internal schematics for the surrounding spaces. Also indicate any communications or transmissions centers in relationship to our current location."
"Does it say where this 'reactor core' is? And what's a kasatha life form? Is that who built this place, or the stuff in the desert? or both? Can this machine talk to us?"
The pillar 'speaks' again in the same disembodied voice. "Σφάλμα: η γλώσσα δεν αναγνωρίζεται. Όλες οι εντολές πρέπει να εκδοθεί σε λέάιοππλ." Both Dryth and Artemios can understand its meaning quite well, picking up the nuances easily, and the rest of them can even glean the general thrust of the message. The machine confirms Dryth's earlier statement that the language is known as Androffan. Most scholars refer to the mysterious language as 'pre-Hermean,' and study it as a curiosity rather than a spoken tongue. Almost all of the fragmentary language comes from the technological artifacts found on the island - artifacts that perhaps originate here in this underground structure. Dryth repeats his instructions again in Androffan.
The machine beeps for several moments as it tries to fulfill the request. "Σφάλμα: χωρίς σύνδεση δικτύου. Ζημία ανιχνεύεται στην πρώτη και δεύτερη καταστρώματα. Εμφάνιση προηγούμενης εικόνας." The holographic image in the center of the table seems to shrink as the scale is decreased. The layout of the structure stands before them in three dimensions. The valley constitutes about half of the structure, like a dome balanced on one side. A strange four-level building constitutes the other half, connected via corridors. They are level with the third, which seems to be a set of scientific laboratories. The four levels are joined by a central shaft between them. Below are living quarters and a maintenance level, while above is an engineering and manufacturing forge. The reactor core that presumably powers the structure is on the fourth level.
"Well, this is good map of the area. It looks like we're here. The reactor core is on the fourth level, but it says there's damage to the first and second levels." Dryth frowns. "Some of the systems are offline. I don't know how much more I can call up."
He speaks to the system again, trying to speak in this strange language. it takes him several tries.
"Display active lifesigns in the complex."
The machine's response is crisp and to the point. "Σφάλμα: συστήματα σάρωσης περιορίζεται σε μονάδα ενδιαιτημάτων."
Artemios looks to Dryth for a translation.
Dryth shakes his head. "Scanning of lifeforms only seems to be limited to the habitat out there. Any other thoughts?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Nope. Let's keep exploring this place. There's got to be something here about Hellion."
Dryth turn back to the machine to ask one last question. "Display any information on Hellion or Meyanda."
Afterwards he prepares to leave to continue exploring.
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Valarius waits calmly while Dryth works on drawing what he can from the terminal. As the holographic image is called forth before them, Valarius draws closer, examining the layout for potential bottlenecks and ambush points. So many separate compartments, there could be hostile forces hiding everywhere.... it would be easy to be assaulted from multiple directions. As he considers their options, he looks about the company.
"Gentlemen, this facility poses some major challenges for us. Given the many individually separated chambers, we are presented with a situation where, if we move too aggressively, we could easily be surrounded and overpowered. It would be wisest for us to move around the outside of the third level, sweeping in and taking it room by room. Additionally, in confined quarters our firearms will prove less useful, so be prepared to engage in hand to hand combat."
Simeon nods at Valarius' assessment. It accords with what little he remembers from his combat training. Not that he ever really thought that he'd have to put those lessons into practice - he did well on the training field, but he realises that he failed then to account for the adrenaline. A rather serious neglect in a doctor, he thinks wryly to himself.
Anyway.
"If we encounter a group, I have explosives that will work well in this sort of environment - but obviously not if you're already engaged in melee. You might want to consider holding position until I've acted."
Dryth pipes up. "I'm not so good in hand-to-hand combat, so I'll leave that to you all. But if there are any more of these advanced matons, I can give us an edge there. I can put them into a sleep state or even just interrupt their power momentarily. Hopefully that's enough to give you the edge in a fight."
The engineer taps his lips, then says, "So we seem to have two possible concerns here. One, the transmission source. We have to shut it down to free the farmstead and break this Hellion's control over people. Two, the systems indicate a reactor core problem. That seems to indicate a power source going into overload, which would be a very bad day for all of us, I think."
"We know where the reactor core is. We do not know where the transmission control is. Perhaps we should investigate the reactor first? If we can gain control over the power, it's possible we could shut off power to the transmission."
With the computer unable to supply any more information - especially about the mysterious Hellion - the group decides to move on. They exit the viewing room and methodically make their way towards the scientific laboratories on the third deck of the structure. The two sections - the seemingly main building and the habitat dome - are connected by a single long corridor. They pass through a set of open metal doors that are considerably larger and heavier than the rest, doors that appear designed to create a impenetrable barrier. The stark white corridor seems to glow as they slowly walk down towards the heavy doors on the other side.
Twenty meters down the way, they start to see strange narrow doors on both sides. Firearms in hand, they examine the doors, each of which has a small glass window on its front. Each of the doors seems to lead to a tiny room that would barely be large enough to stand up straight in. The first several are empty - but a few are occupied. Long-dead men and women, desiccated and decayed, rest in the small cells. Their clothes have long tattered to near-nothingness, and their skin is stretched thin over their bones. It is impossible to tell through the small windows what caused their deaths.
Are the rooms more like jail cells or more like, oh, coffins?
Dryth examines the rooms the bodies are held in. He wrinkles his brow. "This is odd. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like this. Simeon?" He tries to make sense of any controls without accidentally opening the doors.
Dryth has little success at gleaning any meaning from the corpses in the enclosures. Without opening one of the doors, he can't tell how they're constructed, why they died, or what the purpose of their presence is. He peers through the window, looking for how they are opened. Each of them has a heavy handle in the middle of the door, directly below the window, that would disengage the magnetic locks and open the door.
Simeon frets. He can hear the lecture in his head: every year Themostila loses one or two good people due to over-curiosity. He has always known this, even as he has wondered at it: being the good, cautious surgeon that he is, this lethal curiosity has never afflicted him.
Until now. Maybe it's the combination of uncertainty and their extremely peculiar circumstances; the fact that they have been able to determine nothing - nothing! - of any consequence; or maybe it is simply a new facet of his personality making itself known. Whatever the cause, he looks at the others. "We'll learn nothing without opening the doors. They've clearly been dead for a long, long time; what could possibly go wrong?"
"Hold." Valarius declares forcefully as Simeon moves toward the door. Blasted Themostila, curiosity always kills the cat. They can't seem to help sticking their heads into trouble. Still, perhaps these corpses will provide some information... Shouldering his rifle, he drew the morningstar hanging from his left hip. A curious, archaic weapon that was little more than a spiked, reinforced club, Valarius had grown a fondness for the weapon while confronting the many undead faced in the ruins of Golarion. He was admittedly a little anxious to put it to work here at home. Closing both hands around the haft, he stepped to the side of the door.
"Remember, the dead can at times be quite restless."
"Restless? Oh." Dryth looks at the corpse to see if it's moving in any way. He had read some reports from outside Hermea of undead, but never gave it much thought. Until now. Dead that move on their own? That sounds horrifying.
Prepared for the possibility of the dead rising out of the coffin-like enclosures, Simeon yanks it open - with quite a bit of effort - and steps back. The rest of them stand ready to attack, but the corpse does not move. The body seems nearly mummified and is so decayed that it isn't possible to tell if it was male or female. The doctor peers in, trying to find out what killed the subject. The interior of the door has scratch marks in the metal, signs of a desperate attempt to escape. The individuals inside were trying to get out and suffocated to death. It would have been agonizing. Simeon very gently takes the body out, taking pains to lay it down on the corridor floor without letting it simply fall apart with the movement.
Dryth peeks into the small room, using his flashlight to illuminate details. He notes that it is actually not directly connected to the main structure, but seemingly designed as if to be detached. Looking back at the heavy doors on both sides of the corridor, he theorizes that they are actually some sort of safe haven to be used in case of catastrophe. While examining the door itself, he notes that the electrical wiring has burned out in a surge of some sort. The people inside would have been trapped in there, unable to let themselves back out without assistance from the manual lock outside. They locked themselves inside for safety and found none.
Soractus looks down the corridor as they continue their investigation. "Do you hear that?" He readies his weapon and takes a few cautious steps down the corridor. The whole group listens for what he heard, until it is all they can hear: a gasping sound, coming in both directions. Valarius takes the rear of the group as they look for its source. Two figures seemingly spill out of the walls, confirming Valarius's fears. Emaciated and decayed, the pair of undead creatures draw gasping breaths and reach out for them. Behind each of them, a inky darkness has covered both still-closed doors that they stepped out from.
22 Simeon
19 Artemios
14 Immured
11 Soractus
11 Dryth
9 Valarius[/ooc]
Disturbed by what he sees, Simeon first fumbles for his revolver, before deciding to do things the other way. He has prepared sufficient reagents before that the unnerving nature of the things he's facing doesn't worry him: it's a target, you can kill it like all the other targets you've hit, he tells himself.
Artemios recoils in disgust, involuntarily taking a step back before raising his pistol and firing.
<- vs. Touch AC
The pair of gasping undead rush towards the group of the living, covetous of the life that they hold. They close in on the group from both sides. As they draw near, those on the ends can feel the air drain away. They gulp what air that they can hold in their lungs, feeling the same sort of panic and terror that these poor souls once did. Dryth and Simeon are the only ones who can breathe normally. One of them closes in from in front of them and slams into Artemios, grabbing hard at him. He can feel his collar bone crack right as the walking dead pulls on him, but he keeps his footing and avoids being dragged backwards - or into the growing shadowy void that is beginning to form on the nearest door. The other of the two lunges at Valarius, who stumbles backwards just out of reach.
Simeon looks curious. "Interesting - they seem to have some way of sucking the air out of their vicinity. Fascinating. I wonder how- oh, sorry, right right right."
Remembering that these things are not in fact part of a laboratory study but rather monstrous horrors that need to be taken down, he readies another bomb to throw once Artemios is out of the blast radius.
Dryth moves away from the walking corpses to get a clean line of sight. He realizes that unlike the matons, these corpses truly have no working neural pathways. "I don't think I'll be of much use against these." He points a finger and fires a bit of acid at the one attacking Valarius.
Ducking the swing of the undead corpse, he instinctively draws a deep breath as though about to plunge into a river. Grasping his morningstar in both hands, he swings it viciously at the Immured, smashing bone and rending dessicated flesh as he connects.
Artemios takes a few scrambling steps back as his cracked collarbone fills his head with pain. He can't even take a breath to ease the pain, lest the undead snuff it entirely from his lungs. He raises his revolver, barely able to make it high enough, and fires another shot at the gasping corpse. This one hits right in the chest, squarely in the center mass - but it doesn't seem to faze the creature in the slightest. As soon as he steps back, though, Simeon's bomb sails in from behind and slams into its desiccated flesh. For a moment, it seems as if the burning corpse will grab Artemios and drag him into one of the cells in a death grasp, but the flames melt away what little muscle the undead had left. It collapses in a heap of burning flesh and bones. Artemios can breathe again, but the air now has a smoky smell to it.
Soractus enjoys a brief moment of breathing air as he reassesses the situation. He had been planning to shoot the same undead that was latched onto Artemios, but Simeon's well-placed fire bomb seems to have ended that threat. He quickly gets back onto the move, skirting between his allies to find the next threat. He fires a shot on the run, hitting the zombie in the torso. It is enough to rock the undead back on its feet, but not enough to put it down.
The undead creature reaches out a skeletal hand and touches the closed door of the cell. A black rift opens up like dropped ink, growing over the entire door. It turns its attention back onto Valarius, slamming hard into him and dragging him backwards. Valarius reaches out and braces himself on the wall, straining to not be dragged into the tiny cell alone with the breath-stealing undead. It is completely blocked by the void except for its grasping hands.
Dryth tries to get closer for a clear shot, though Valarious still blocks his view. He fires another glob of acid at the undead.
Valarius swings his morningstar into the darkness at his assailant, missing the beast, then lunges away toward his allies in hopes that he cannot be pulled further into the darkness.
With its flesh sizzling from Dryth's acid conjuration, the undead creature reaches out from the black void to grab at Valarius when he makes a run for it. The withered hands nearly seize him, but he makes it far enough away that the immured cannot simply grab him and drag him into a shared tomb.
As soon as Valarius steps away, Simeon throws another bomb into the void. Shooting blind is not optimal, but there's a chance that at least the blast radius will do some damage.
[ooc]Round 3, Initiative 19
HP 13/13,- AC 16/T: 13/FF:13 F: +5/ R: +7 / W: +3
Grit 1/3
"Dryth!" calls Artemios. "Can you drag Valarius out of there?"
Meanwhile, the gunslinger continues to fire at the advancing monster.
<- vs. Touch AC
As Valarius darts out of the way, Simeon flings a bomb into the open void and Artemios fires another shot from his revolver. There is silence for a moment - except for a muffled sizzling sound as Simeon's bomb burns out. The inky void portal closes without the undead creature leaping out again to attack them. They stand prepared to beat it back again, but the dead no longer stir in the corridor. Simeon is the first to creep up on the window to peer into it. Ready to leap back should the living dead leap out at him again, he checks quickly. Inside the cell, he sees two badly scorched corpses - one the original inhabitant, and one the horridly gasping undead. It seems that the bomb was fairly effective.
"Help me!" Spooked by the animated corpses, they whirl to point their weapons at the source of the plea for help. It is a woman's voice, disembodied and faint. "Please, you're almost there!" They look around for the source. It doesn't seem like it is coming from farther down the corridor - but rather it is muffled and coming from all around them. A faint flickering form appears in the middle of them - a young woman with plum-colored hair and blue lips. She doesn't appear solid, but rather similar to the light-generated hologram from the observation room. "Hellion's servants are draining the reactor, but it will detonate when they finish! You have to hurry. This will help. Don't worry, I won't give you more than you can handle." Her eyes glow a bright blue for a few seconds.
Each of the five of them seize up in terrible pain, grabbing at their heads instinctively. They can each feel knowledge unlocking in their minds and bodies. Muscle memory forms in the absence of additional exercise. New knowledge develops without reading additional books. The pain is excruciating and exhilarating at the same time. This new knowledge burns through each of them, improving them in minutes where it would normally take months of dedicated training. Their mysterious benefactor fades from their sight as the pain fades, gone as quickly and strangely as she appeared.
Dryth crumples down as he clutches his head from the pain. He moans as it feels like his brain is on fire, lights exploding in front of his eyes and the sound of his own breathing is deafening. Slowly things begin to recede, but the image of the woman is burned into his mind. "What in Unity was that? Who was that?" He tries to stand only to get dizzy and fall back to his knees.
Whoever she was, she packed a hell of a punch. Pretty though. He chuckles out loud and instantly regrets making the sound. After several minutes, he able to look back up to squint at the team around him. The dim light were still too bright, but at least he could make out the others.
"What just happened?"
Valarius reels back in pain, his psyche momentarily overcome by the deluge of knowledge blasted through his mind. He had previously spent time studying intensely, and it was like that... only to an exponential level. Indeed, if this process could be replicated in Promise, the cross-diversification allowed would present even more talented citizens.
Shaking off the haze, he looks toward the others. "I have heard of arcane spells with the ability to mask, or even remove a memory. This image seems to have unleashed the opposite effect on us. Why it has chosen us as allies to its cause I can't be sure. It seems active in the moment, for it referred to this creature Hellion. And more importantly, an impending explosion if we don't stop it's minions."
At first Simeon fears it's a stroke. Then, connecting the pain with the hologram, he fears it's some sort of psychic assault. Gritting his teeth, he wills himself not to black out; and just about remains conscious.
Eventually, it becomes clear that his mind is not under attack; but the exact nature of what has transpired is unclear. "I can't tell if that was magic or technology - whatever it was, it's more powerful than anything I've heard of back in Promise. If our technology can do that, it's a secret they've kept back from me. Dryth?"
The young surgeon is hoping that someone can reassure him that this is nothing too far out of the ordinary. He is resigned to disappointment on this score.
Dryth shakes his head. "Nothing I know can cause that type of mental...intrusion. Whoever she was, she seems to be on our side though. I feel...I know...more things?" He shakes his head. "I can't explain it. But she seemed eager for us to continue."
"Hopefully we can meet this woman and learn from her."
"Isn't that what we just did?" asks Artemios, holding his head and squinting. "I feel like I've been kicked by a mule."
The gunslinger looks around. "Umm... 'draining the reactor' sounded bad. I think we'd best get a move on. I wish she'd said more about Hellion. Or herself."
He takes the lead and moves out further into the complex.
"I agree. I think we should find this reactor and safeguard it. What did she mean by 'not giving us more than we can handle'? It sounds like she's in control." Dryth is quite taken with the image of the woman. Her words spin inside his head over and over. He finds himself staring at the wall tapping his lips.
"Ah, I suppose you're right. Let's continue on and hopefully we can stop Hellion and find out who this woman is."