Rhangil reaches out and devastates the machine with his spell, followed by an excited Valki Valka smashing its remains with her greatsword. The girl leans around the doorway with a grin. "You must be kellid!"
"That I am!" Valki Valka pronounced proudly, lifting her heavy sword free of the wreckage of the robot. Wires snapped and loose gears clinked on the ground as she pulled her sword up and surveyed its new nicks.
Rhangil walks over to the woman. "Val Baine, I presume? Are you alright?"
"She is not bleeding," Valki Valka observed. She turned to face the woman and speak, but before she could...
Takek rounded the corner and came into the room - most definitely not in any hurry - giving the blonde girl a nod. The technically polite thing to do would probably have been to speak to the girl, but Takek had more important things on his mind. He reached his wife and, with a smile, grabbed her by the armor.
"There is blood on your lips, Wife." He leaned in to give his ferocious bride a kiss.
The reddish bruises on her face already fading, Valki Valka kissed Takek back enthusiastically, if briefly. "A little blood is nothing. You missed the fun! It's all that heavy armor, it makes you slow like a tortoise," she teased, extricating herself with a laugh. Still smiling, she turned to what was presumably Val Baine.
"I am Valki Valka, and this slow-shelled man is my Husband, Takek Iron-Back. Do not be alarmed by the android - it is Othrev, and has done no one harm that I have seen. The one by your robot is Felix, and the other is Rhangil. We have gathered to rescue your father." She sheathed her sword, eyeing the robot. "What was this thing doing here?"
Val Baine blushes a bit when Takek kisses Valki Valka, looks at Rhangil and replies in a relieved voice, "Yes! You are Rhangil, yes? I know my dad has worked with you before." She moves over to tho smashed automaton and gives it a kick. "Stupid thing! We thought it wasn't functional. Otherwise dad wouldn't have just left it like that in the house. Dammit. I hate not knowing what to do! You say you're going to go look for my father? Thank you so much! I can give you free room and board at the Foundry if any of you need it. And food too. I'm afraid I can't help much beyond that, he took his maps and gear with him..."
She pauses, looking like she's struggling to hold back tears. With a stifled sniffle, she looks at Valki and adds, "I'm Kellid too. An orphan though. I was too young when to remember much of it though. Khonnir's been my father for most of my life."
The repair drone is 5 feet tall and made of a gray and white metal-like polymer. Its three spiderlike legs allow it to navigate over broken terrain and rubble with ease. Its torso and arms and head are vaguely humanoid, with one "eye" in the center of its head and a four-fingered hand on each arm. Bits and pieces of its chassis are missing, exposing the delicate circuitry within.
Θ3Ξ5 looks up from the remains of the damaged robot. "Oh, this one offers its apologies. It is good that you are unharmed. This drone was only resting, when it awoke it tried to "fix" its surroundings. But it was damaged and not working right."
It stands up and moves to join the others. "Your hospitality is welcome, thank you."
"Thank you for your offer, Ms. Baine," Felix replies. "I'm a newcomer to your town and I haven't yet found a place to stay."
We must not be discovered, Felix Nimbledigit. Your new friends will shun you. Destroy you.
"Later," mutters the gnome, as if to himself.
Rhangil has a big smile and chuckles. "That I have!"For a few moments Rhangil spaces out. Rhangil snaps back to reality and places a hand on Val's shoulder reassuringly with a calm smile. "Don't worry Val, We will find Khonnir and do everything to bring your father back in one piece."
A bit dismayed by the idea of a crying Kellid, Valki Valka focused on what she knew. "Yes, we will rescue your father. Can you tell us anything of where he was going?"
"Only that he planned to push further under the hill, past the metal doors," Val responds.
"Then we shall go find Master Kyte. He will either be at Brigh's temple, or at the Crowfeather Palace. Then we can see what is behind the starmetal wall." Θ3Ξ5 looks at Val, "We shall accept your hospitality if we return."
"The ground will grow slick with the blood and oil of our enemies," Valki Valka promised, clearly believing this to be a comforting talk that would banish all tears. She nodded to Val. "Your hospitality will be most welcome when we return, victorious!"
With a gesture inviting her companions and husband to join her (and a final kick to the ruined robot), she stalked off in search of Master Kyte.
You make your way to the temple of of Brigh, where the head cleric Joram Kyte sees you. He is an older man, human, and is dressed in the practical garb of a craftsman. With a rod of extend spell in hand, he utters a short prayer and wave of divine magic washes over you. A strange cold feeling grows in your lungs (or air circulation system, in Othres' case). ”That should last you four hours, which should be more than enough to have a look around. Be mindful of your time though, unless you are confident in your swimming, or can hold your breath well. No, hurry on! The clock is ticking.”
The weeping lies placidly before you, emanating a sulfurous stench. There is no sign of life within several yards of the pool, not even insects. It looks horrible, but you know it is the only way into the caves, so you brave the brackish pool.
Everyone makes their way cautiously through the underwater tunnel you find beneath the pond. It gets tight in a few places, but never in any way that is an issue. After a short swim, you emerge into a chamber with a small beach. The air is bitter and stinks of mold and vinegar, but it is breathable despite its unpleasant flavor-narrow vents and fissures provide enough air circulation to keep the atmosphere breathable, if disagreeable. There is just enough light to make out your generall surroundings. The water here averages only 2 feet deep, and maintains the same unhealthy taint found outside in the Weeping Lake. The foul-smelling air makes the eyes water in this cave, but despite this worrying effect, has no further impact.
Map up when I remember how to use google docs. Probably tomorrow.
Takek rose from the stinking water and gagged a few times, heaving the filth from his lungs and mouth. His tongue tasted like something had died on it, weeks ago, but beyond that, he seemed fine. Which did not prevent him from giving himself a quick shower in divinely summoned water.
Blinking, he looked around their environment, ready for trouble.
Rhangil crawls out of the water, holding back gagging from the vileness of their swim.
"In all my 70 years I have never tasted something so vile!" Rhangil accepts Takek's rinse off, draws his rapier and implement rod, and looks around.
For once, Felix is thankful for his wraps, as they help to block the smell from this putrid cave.
We are vulnerable, Felix Nimbledigit.
"I know, I know," the gnomes mutters, while producing a bit of leather from his pouches.
"A moment, friends." Felix wriggles his fingers in a complex pattern and a suit of armor made of air and light shimmers around him before vanishing.
"Now I am ready."
Valki Valka puked up the putrid water remaining in her lungs, wiped her mouth with her arm, and nodded for Takek to douse her with clean water.
"A foul entrance to a foul place," she noted in a choked voice, wringing out her long black hair. Drawing her bow from her back, she nocked an arrow and, with a small bout of dry retching, motioned for someone to take the lead. That she didn't take it herself indicated just how ill she was feeling.
Θ3Ξ5 pulls itself out of the foul water.
"Oh, that is truly foul."
You barely get a chance to collect yourselves when several small, glowing things emerge from cracks in the cave wall. They head directly for you, agitated by your presence in their territory.
HP: 11/11
Conditions: None
Spell Slots:
-1st: 1/2
Implements:
-Evocation: 1
-Transmutation: 3
Rhangil sighs."Time to get to work." He moves up to the closest bug and stabs at it with his rapier.
Θ3Ξ5 draws his rapier and stabs at one of them.
Trying to hold down her gorge, Valki Valka raised the bow in her hands and fired at the nearest bug.
Takek drew the greatsword from his back and strode towards one of the bugs.
Unfortunately, he probably would have had better luck with the flat of his blade. The little thing easily avoided his clumsy strike.
"My thoughts precisely," Felix mutters, quickly producing a vial of explosive catalyst. He mixes it with a few pinches of inert powder from his belt and flings it at one of the approaching insects.
Felix's hand strays to his belt, where numerous vials of green explosive catalyst hang, before coming to a stop. "If I use a bomb, I'll hit one of them." he explains.
You will find new friends.
Felix, ignoring the darkly practical thoughts of Oturu, shoulders his crossbow and takes aim at one of the approaching insects.
Before the luminous insects can close in to attack, the party is able to launch an attack. However, a combination of the foul waters and the small size of the creatures works in the beetles favor, as everyone swings or shoots wildly, except for a single bomb that whilrs through the air and connects squarely with one towards the back. It makes a creepy squeeking sound as its burnt husk falls into the wretched stream. Remarkably, three others which should seemingly have been caught in the blast manage to fly out and away from the explosion and appear to be unaffected. The survivors close in to attack everyone.
Θ3Ξ5 thrusts his rapier at the closest bug. "This one would appreciate it if you would stop moving."
"Quick little buggers, ain't they?" Rhangil stabs again. "But not quick enough!"
Takek growled. He probably should have backed off and healed himself and his companions, but now his blood was up.
Unfortunately, his anger didn't seem to be helping his aim.
"I will not be mauled by a- hurk- ghraulgrhakh," Valki Valka's aim was ruined by losing her last meal all over her foe. She backed away from the insects, weakly swatting at the one following her with her bow.
One of the beetles surges through the flames of his bomb, its mandibles snapping around one of Felix's legs. Thankfully, his armor enchantment held, but the shock of the blow caused the gnome to swing wide on his return swing with his staff.
"It would seem that they are resistant to fire," he mentions, almost clinically.
Most of the party continues to flail ineffectively at the attacking insects, except Rhangil, who perfectly skewers one of them upon his rapier. It twitches spasticly and dies. Felix, on the other hand, manages to get confused enough by their movement he actually manages to hit himself. The beetles continue their attack.
"It would seem that they are resistant to fire," he mentions, almost clinically.
The circuitry traces on Θ3Ξ5 begin to glow faintly, then, as he thrusts his rapier at a bug, they glow brightly like a torch for a brief moment.
Valki Valka backed away, swearing, and fired again...
...but her eyes were watering, and she couldn't aim properly.
"It requires strength to lift another. There may be found as much honor in lending your strength to another's sword arm as there is in swinging the sword."
The words of a long-dead priest echoed in Takek's mind, as if summoned, somehow, and he shook his head. Glancing about, he realized that all of his companions were bruised or bleeding, including himself.
Keeping his sword up defensively, Takek summoned the power of his God, and a weak wave of healing strength rolled out from him.
Clearly, Gorum didn't quite agree with this interpretation of His philosophy. That, or the aftereffects of the putrid water were affecting Takek's concentration.
With a flourish, Rhangil flicks the bug's corpse from his rapier with a huge grin, "Who's next?!". He stabs at the nest nearest bug.
"Another one bites the dust!"