Once Duke gives the all clear Tal opens the door to the next hellscape.
Duke is wary, but follows the warrior in.
As you enter the room a towering outsider, a living man-shaped creature made of metal and gears and parts rises to its full 7-foot height and intones in a deep voice, Will the carrier of the contract present himself for inspection!
"Oh, this will be lovely."
Richard casts >Heroism< upon Tal and readies his whip.
”Afraid that’s not me, but I’m ready to back you up!”
Tal moves forward thankful for the presence of the others but uncertain of what is to come. The last room the Minotaur let him bypass knowing his prowess, he didn’t think the metal monstrosity would be so inclined. What trick did the Lord Mayor do to me now? I am the carrier of the contract as signed over to me by the Lord Mayor. What inspection are you referring to? Tal makes sure there is a 5ft space between him and the others but doesn’t move in farther until it answers his question about the inspection.
I need to make sure that it is order before you can pass. What is your name and may I see the contract, please? He holds out a mechanical hand for the contract.
Tal pulls out the contract and shows it to the iron thing. Tal Bernard Mainz.
Well Met Tal Bernard Mainz! He continues to hold his hand out for the contract. Then seeming to read Tal's mind, Oh! Don't worry, you'll get it back. I just want to make sure it is legitimate. Some fakes are hard to spot at a distance.
How do I know that you won't tear it up once I hand it over to you? Perhaps I hold on to it while you look but not touch. After all everything but the stone rhino in the other room has tried killing us or cursing us or threatened to drink out blood. You're the first that has even been willing to talk and I don't trust this place.
If he/she/it agrees then tal will walk forward with contract open for his/her/its perusal. If it must touch it to make certain it is true then Tal will let it but hot be the sole holder of it.
Tal may not have a silver tongue, but he has an iron grasp on the rules.
Why would I want to kill you when you bear the contract giving you the right to this place? I witnessed the signing of the contract and if I verify that it is my signature upon it, then you will pass. If it is a forgery, then you will be destroyed. It is that simple. Why would you sign such a document if you do not plan on using it? If that is the case, tear it up and go back the way you came! It continues to hold out its hand, a look of impatience now creeping on its face.
Your signature is on this? Very well. I have told you my name, please tell me yours. If it is on here then I know you speak the truth and will hand it over to you. As to your concern about me using the contract, yes I will use it, but I was not going to risk it amongst all the devils or demons that are incarcerated here.
Assuming Tal gets the name and finds it he will hand over the contract.
The iron 'man' chuckles. Good point! I am Signatory Vaccha. You should find my signature above where it says witnessed by.
Assuming it is there Tal hands it over. Tha k you for understanding my suspicions and accommodating me. If I may be so bold may I ask how is it that this contract is centuries old and yet you are still here? You’re not a mortal wearing an iron suit are you. Perhaps then you can tell us more of this place while you confirm the contract’s validity?
Signatory Vaccha chuckles, No, Tal Mainz, I am not a mortal wearing a metal suit, I AM metal! He says as he peruses the contract. After a minute he says, Everything is in order! He hands the contract back to Tal. You and your friends may pass.
I do like these encounters.
Richard and Sherix shrug. "Shall we move on, then?"
Thank you again Vaccha. It was refreshing not to be attacked for once upon entering a new location. I hope you continue to find fulfillment in your duties here.
Yes Richard I think we have spent enough time here and are ready to move forward.
The walls of this pleasantly warm chamber are lined with bookshelves heavy with tomes and scrolls. A pair of large tables surrounded by chairs stand in the middle of the room—each table is cluttered with a wide array of alchemical gear, magical crafting tools, and other devices one might expect to find in a wizard’s laboratory.
A woman wearing a black veil stands at attention near the western table, one hand atop a large stack of papers and bows deeply, Greetings! I am Zovarue. Is one of you the new Mayor of Westcrown?
Tal looks at the others as he moves forward once again. The previous Lord Mayor is...indisposed. I am acting in his stead and Vaccha has seen it as so.
Sherix peers at the veiled woman carefully.
So are you saying you are agents of the Lord Mayor? What gives you permission to be in this area?
She seems to be uncomfortable under Sherix's scrutiny.
Yes, we are his agents and were told by him to be down here. We have the contract as signed by him and evaluated by Vaccha. Believe me, if we weren't supposed to be down here, I would be home right now. Is there some other form of proof that you are looking for? If so then just state what you need so we can move on.
Oh! You are in possession of the contract? Can I see it please? she holds out her hand.
Didn't we just go through this in the other room? I really hate this place and just want to burn it all down at this point.
Tal grumbles as he pulls the contract out once again and holds it up. Yes you can see it, but I am holding on to it. My name is signed at the bottom, 'Tal Bernard Mainz'. Hoping the door to the previous room is still open he calls out to Vaccha, Hey, Vaccha, can you tell her that I am suppose to be down here and everything is in order so we can just keep going on to the center where this devil is located.
"Indeed, we did do this already. Vaccha would not have let us pass. Is there something the matter?" Richard tries to gauge her real motive. Is Zovarue double checking, or sabotaging?
Sherix is too busy mocking the woman to really focus.
The voice behind the veil says, I do not know a Vaccha.
Vaccha will duck his head into the room. The contract is legitimate. I would not let them pass otherwise.
She veil moves from side to side. I am supposed to guard this labratory for the Lord Mayor or his agents. I don't know them and I don't know you. Let me see the contract.
She holds out her hand.
"This is why you hire full time full time employees, not contractors. The left hand doesn't know the right hand."
Thanks Vaccha for confirming our validation for being here. Tal will go through the steps again. He lays the contract on a desk with a hand on it to keep the veiled lady from owning it. He does allow her to touch it for verification and read the contract.
So here is the contract and here is my name upon it. Take a look to satisfy yourself, but no trickery.
Duke tries to remain calm, practicing techniques learned over the years. But to him, it feels like they are getting in deep and leaving a lot of enemies behind them.
She looks at the contract for a few minutes and the veil nods in agreement. You can access this room if you like or you may pass!
Tal looks at the 'woman' with the veil as it gives him the leeway to move onward. Thanks for your permission to move forward. By the way, what is your role here? Once she answers who or what she is then Tal will continue to ask other questions about the complex. What exactly is this room and what is stored here? Also what is beyond this room that we may expect to encounter? As he talks Tal gathers up the contract and rolls it up tight stowing it in his pack once again. Hopefully no one else will need to witness this.
This room is where the Lord Mayor likes to conduct experiments. I am bound to this room so I don't know what is beyond it. I am here to help the Lord Mayor and his agents with any experiments. The veiled figure says.
"And can you catch us up on the most recent experiments?"
The usual, turn wood into gold, brew potions that would cause his listeners to believe everything he says. Anything he could do to make himself a great Lord Mayor. He didn't have too many successes and that is why I figured he hadn't been down here in a while.
When was the last time he was down here? And did he have any success with the wood to good conversion? Are there any experiments that he has not finished that are down here as well?
He was here a short time ago.
I don't think he was successful with the wood to gold as he cursed whenever he worked on it. There are many experiments that he started but he didn't tell me what he was working on most of the time. I am also here to protect his experiments.
Very well then. If anything else comes to mind that will be beneficial to us please let us know. Until then continue protecting this place.
Tal then moves to the doors moving onward.
Richard really doesn't like the word "experiments", so he keeps quiet.
The mayor played everyone like a fiddle. No wonder his speeches never made sense... they were enchanted.
He's ready to move on.
Duke is highly intrigued by the talk of the experiments, and looks around for any lab books or notes that might have some better insight.
As Duke heads over to the pile of papers next to Zovarue, she states strongly, Those are my personal papers. There is nothing of interest to you within.
"Sorry, I thought these were the Lord Mayor's things."
Richard's ready to go. The less he knows about the "experiments" the easier he can sleep tonight.
Tal has no interest in anything here unless the others do. If Duke wants something then he will help Duke with whatever he wants. Otherwise Tal is ready to move on and literally get out of this hell.
"We can come back fro these. Might make for some interesting reading, but let's stay focused."
Zovarue perks up when Duke mentions coming back for the papers. Those are the Lord Mayor's papers. Those and anything else in this room must stay here. You can read and use anything, but it must reman here.
"Very well. But for later, I think."
As it seems that Duke is not pursuing anything further Tal moves tot eh door and prepares to open it once Duke gives the all clear.
This short hall is dominated at the southern corner by an immense double door made of polished iron and inscribed with a single glowing phrase.