Holg takes the hit, then swings to one side and the other with his greatsword "Ah, they seemed just builders, but they know how to defend themselves"
A flurry of blades and bullets assault the robots! Already badly damaged, the one holding Meyanda falls quickly, and as the focus of the wrath shifts to the second robot, it shudders and stumbles before it, too, collapses in a shower of smoke and sparks!
"Ha! That's it!" Holg kicks the robotic head of one of the builders "Unity will have no more robots. Anyone knows how to use those buttons to disable the factory?"
Even after his question, Holg approaches the rolling belts and mechanical arms and starts breaking as much as he can with his adamantine sword.
Meyanda is about to swing on her assailant when it falls to pieces under the team's assault.
"Yeah, give us a moment here," she says in response to Holg's question as she readjusts her cloak. She moves to investigate some of the controls, looking for a simple shutdown.
(with Technologist feat)
Fireday nods and goes to help Meyanda.
With her expansive knowledge and Fireday's aid, Meyanda is able to swiftly shut down the robot maintenance center and render it inoperable.
Several items of use can be recovered by searching the repair bays, including an EMP rifle, a case of a dozen EMP grenades, a box of 6,400 gold connector pins (worth 1 gp each), a vial of powdered diamonds worth 5,000 gp, a container of various powdered skymetals worth a total of 15,000 gp, and 15 batteries.
"Swift!" Holg pats both Meyanda's and Fireday's backs as they manage to render inoperative the factory.
Searching through the items found here Holg raises the case of dozen EMP grenades "Wow, imagine what can happen if all this explodes at the same time!" and takes the powdered diamond into his casting components pouch "See that powder, it will be useful for some spells, some of them I wish not having to use"
"I guess it is time to try contact with that humanoid we saw in the monitors and see if he is Posser" Holg points towards the northern door "By the level of robot resistance we saw there in the monitors, I am thinking that might be where the actual Unity is"
Fireday nods at Holg's assessment.
"Resurrection magic...much like what brought me back after I fell under Torch so long ago..."
Holg looks at Fireday understanding "And now you came back and gave a lesson to the Technic League and are on train to fight even Unity. Isn't it great to be alive and have an iron sword in your hand?"
The Kellid taps again the android's back "When this is off we should free all the androids Unity has bound as slaves through its ruling. We will be the Iron Saviors!"
"We should move as quickly as possible to find Unity." Fifteen says. "The longer we are inside Silver Mountain, the more opportunity it has to prepare defenses against us."
It takes a moment for Molly to understand what Holg and Fireday are talking about, but when she does, her eyes widen.
"Resurrection magic? If we need that then I think we're doing something really wrong," she says with a shake of her head.
Holg looks at Fireday understanding "And now you came back and gave a lesson to the Technic League and are on train to fight even Unity. Isn't it great to be alive and have an iron sword in your hand?"
The Kellid taps again the android's back "When this is off we should free all the androids Unity has bound as slaves through its ruling. We will be the Iron Saviors!"
"Iron Saviors...I like the sound of that, Holg."
Then he turns to the others.
"Let's find Prosser."
Holg laughs in good mood "I think while there is powder in that musket the robots are going to have a bad day"
Seeing Molly and Meyanda pretty injured, the Kellid raises his holy symbol and asks some healing to Gorum "The one true God of Iron, bring these warriors to shape in order to keep up the battle"
He touches the halfling with the wand to complete the healing.
Out of curiosity, Holg opens the eastern door to see what is there, and if there is nothing of interest, he nods to Fireday with a smile "Let's move to rails and the habitat module. Let's find Prosser"
You return to the southern monorail station and get inside the car, selecting the habitat deck as your destination. The car rumbles along the rail of force in fits and starts, eventually arriving on the higher deck.
Choked with vines that ripple in the oppressive heat, this off-white building of pillars and domes epitomizes fallen grandeur. In places, the overgrowth has been cleared away and the classical stonework patched by unskilled hands. Metal crates and plastic barrels are stacked about the tiled floors.
Four humanoid aliens stand guard here, mounted on even stranger reptiles. The humanoids are burly and hairy, with thick beards and brows. Antennae emerge from their foreheads, and they wield sharp lances. Their mounts resemble four-horned triceratopses, snorting and stomping at the floor.
The guards say nothing as they move to surround you...
"Um...hail and well-met?" Fireday offers as he waves at the strange men.
Eyeing suspicious at the strange beings, Holg tries to support Fireday greeting them in Andorffan then Aklo to see if there is a language they can communicate "Hi there!"
"We came here to defeat Unity" the Kellid retells "You do not seem to be Unity's allies..."
If the aliens understand you, they make no indication. Their mounts snort and shake their heads as they get even closer, the points of their lances aimed at your chests. They have not attacked yet, though.
"Ei Fireday, do you still have that envoy's mouthpiece?" Holg does not lose sight of the antler humanoids going around them "If these ones wanted to kill us, they would have attacked us already"
Unsure as to whether she's supposed to shoot these newcomers or not, Molly looks to her companions nervously as she holds her musket at the ready. While not actually pointed at any of them, it wouldn't take much to do so.
Fifteen, like her wife, seems balanced on the knife-edge between peace and violence...
"I've taken the time to learn as much Androffan as what little we've found can teach. I'll try."
He turns back to the seeming leader of the group.
The bearded man grunts and gestures with his lance. The other guards maneuver their hulking mounts to form an escort formation around you. It looks like they want to take you somewhere, and it also looks like they are not willing to take "no" for an answer.
Her stubbornness showing through, Molly looks as though she's ready to stand her ground as she takes a firmer grip on her musket. She glances at the others as to whether they're going to be pushing the issue.
Fifteen meanwhile places a hand on her wife's shoulder, a sign to stand down - at least for now...
Fireday nods and takes the lead in following the riders.
The mounted guards lead you down a wide trail. Around you, what appears to be a vast jungle valley stretches to fill the habitat pod. The air is hot and humid, with moisture dripping from the distant ceiling above.
After several minutes, you come upon a dozen huts of arching wooden timbers and lashed, scaly skins enclosed in a wall of vines and dagger-sized thorns. A massive wooden building, adorned with vivid colors and the skulls of monstrous beasts, looms over the smaller houses. Shell-backed mammals trundle about a small paddock, and featherless birds skitter between the huts picking at scraps.
A trio of female humanoids emerge from the large building as you approach, while several other men and women peer at you from the other huts. The trio wave their antennae, silently communicating with your escorts. Eventually, one steps forward and glares at you imperiously. "We are the Arcantix sisters," she says in Androffan. "You will come with us to speak to our chieftain, the great and powerful Prosser. Refuse and you will be eliminated."
Leaning his hand over the pommel of his greatsword, Holg smiles and speaks back in Androffan with some difficulty "That could fun be. But searching Prosser we. So, let's see him" slowly, Holg stashes his blade on his back, forming a cross with the dragon-bane one, then walking after the strange humanoid.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Fireday's eyes widen as they travel through the habitat. This was so very different from the grasslands and rocky hills of Numeria above, and so beautiful. When they arrive at the village, he listens and is about to introduce the group when Holg comments.
"What my friend means, noble Arcantix sisters," Fireday says in much more fluent Androffan, "Is that an audience with the Great Prosser is exactly what we sought coming here. Please, lead on!"
He holds his spade horizontally with both hands and bows.
The trio of women join in your escort as the aliens lead you deeper into the jungle of the habitat pod. After another twenty minutes or so, you arrive at an overgrown building of sharp angles and black windows.
Inside, you see the large laboratory that you spied through the cameras on the security deck earlier. Stasis tanks around the room contain specimens: several massive dire boars and a few hulking dinosaurs.
A strange man emerges from the shadows, a cross between a half-elf and a scaly dinosaur! He growls as he brandishes a dart gun, tail lashing behind him in agitation. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?" he asks in Common. "Who are you? Heathens, come to disrupt our way of life? Bounty hunters from the Technic League? Both? Speak!"
Holg is as impressed by the habitat as Fireday does. He addresses in that regard Posser happy to switch back to Common "Impressive work you have done here. Nothing to do with the robotic life Unity has sprawled elsewhere."
"Anyway, we are not part of the Technic League, but we have managed to... strike a peace of sorts with them. We are the Red Talons, one of the tribes from Numeria and we want to neutralize the menace that Unity poses to our land" Holg looks around and nods "A woman called Sila told us you might be able to help us"
"First you defile my Garden that I alone brought life to, and now you ask me to defy a god?" Prosser roars in irritation. "All I want is to live in peace among these noble lashuntas, whom I freed from stasis to inhabit my Garden. I am very busy here, refining ionizing fuel for Unity to use in its shuttle. It must have enough for its shuttle to escape Golarion's gravity, that it may take its place among the stars and ascend to true godhood. Then, it will finally leave me alone!"
He raises his dart gun and points it at Holg. "So far, I have not heard a good reason why I should not just kill you now so I can get back to my work!"
Fireday repeats the bow to Prosser, trying not to seem toosurprised by his strange form.
"You wish to be left alone, yes? You have no love for Unity or its plans? Once Unity achieves its goals, it will demand your continued fealty and adoration, and likely demand you march on the surface to forcibly convert the rest of Numeria and beyond to its worship. But if the Iron God were to fail, if we killed Unity, then that never happens, and we return to the surface, leaving your Garden in peace and undisturbed, this time forever. What say you, noble Prosser? Will you risk defying Unity for a chance at true freedom and peace?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Joining into the back-and-forth flow of well-crafted diplomacy, Molly snaps her musket to her shoulder, taking a bead on the strange half-elf's head. While her contribution may not be as eloquent, the message is fairly clear.
"Then let me offer a good reason," she says.
Holg frowns as the man reacts to the group's approach, but his face lights first when Fireday proposes the man removing Unity, then his face draws a smile as Molly aims her musket "Ok man. Look at it this way. You help us find Unity, then one of two things happen. Unity kill us and you get rid of us, or we kill Unity and you get rid of it. Either way you can come back to your dealings unmolested"
"Molly..." Fireday says, quietly exasperated.
Molly glares back at Fireday, but lowers her musket. "He wasn't listening," she mutters.
Prosser considers Holg's words. Eventually, you lets out a snort. "Fine. I don't know where to find Unity, but I know the machine god's high priest is a gargoyle named Ophelia. She comes to visit every so often to check on the fuel refining process. You might be able to find her on the ship's command deck, but Unity's robots keep strict control over who can access that deck. You'll have to override their lockdown in the security center in order to get there."
Fifteen watches the conversation silently, letting out a soft sigh at the inefficiency of the whole situation. Apart from her wife, who knows how to get things done.
Since she has little to add she simply watches and waits, just in case Prosser decides to turn on the group.
"Ok, so this Ophelia is the one that talks with you... and we can find her in the command deck" Holg assents slowly, like trying to process all the information "Can we override that lockdown people? If so, it seems we are to get back to the security center"
And turning to Prosser "Hhmmm... how do we find that security center and command deck exactly?"
"Or maybe we can just wait for Unity to get into that shuttle and make it explode in a grand burst" the Kellid makes a gesture with the hand expanding from his forefront.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Now we know where Hellion got his minions from..." Fireday comments. He raises an eyebrow at Holg's suggestion.
"That...seems unlikely. Unity probably won't leave its sanctum until whatever plans it has are complete. Besides, wouldn't your Lord In Iron prefer you to face the Iron God in true battle? With our technological skill we should be able to override that lockdown ourselves, right Fifteen?"
"I can do it." Fifteen states confidently. "Besides, Unity would not be physically in the shuttle - it would simply be a relay point so destroying it would annoy it, but not harm it in a meaningful way."
"The security center is at the center of the deck below this one," Prosser says. He is referring to the deck you just left.
Holg smiles to Fireday, his eyes opening wide "Aye! A great fight against a fake god sounds like something epic where to risk oneself life!"
"Good then, we are not bothering your hospitality any longer man" the Kellid looks strange at the last word as he contemplates the aspect of Posser "Let's bring Fifteen to that security center"
So, unless there is any kind of setback, I believe we are back to the monorail and heading to the security desk.
"Thank you again, noble Chieftain. We leave in peace," Fireday says again, bowing as he walks backwards. He kind of wished to speak with these lashunta and their leader some more, curious about how they lived in this place, but it was clear they were wearing out their welcome fast.
You return to the security deck via the monorail and head to the eastern checkpoint outside the security core. Here, you encounter the looming robot that is standing guard. The lumbering machine is built around a single immense laser cannon in its head, and the cannon begins to power up as you approach!
"Finally! Something to fecking shoot!" Molly snaps as her musket comes up to do just that.
Seeing the robotic beast, Fireday gives Molly an agreeing nod and strings his bow, taking aim and shooting it.
Fifteen races forwards, thrusting her blade into the creature's jointed leg and levering herself upwards!
"Hah! I knew we'd be hacking up more robots before the day was through!" shouts Meyanda gleefully as she, too, rushes into the fray.
Fireday hits the robot with one arrow and Fifteen slices at its leg, both attacks damaging the force field surrounding it. Meyanda's attack comes up short.
The robot aims its massive laser cannon, but not at those engaging it melee. Instead, it fires a powerful blast of energy at a spot in between all of you, creating an explosion of energy that washes over you!