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The boy pulls out a book and holds it out. b-by that I mean getting you informed and ready... I-I mean prepared... N-no, I ment, ahhh! I'm supposed to wake you and give one of you this book! It is a collection of the translated words from the ancient languages found on the islands. It should help with any new runes, and translate any known. The book is magical and will flip to the pages most relevent
The nervous half-elf sighs and calms himself. Sorry, it's just that I'm new here, and this is my first job. Now please arm yourselves, or whatever needs done, and follow me.the boy smiles at whomever takes the book and disappears into the teleporter.
Lady steel moves and takes the books from boys shaking hands.
"Your doing a splendid job so far, so have no fear, and think I'll look after that."
Once the boy has gone she says to the other two.
"If no one minds me holding onto this for the group for the time being. I will freely hand it round when needed. We will all have a chance to study it."
She says this flipping through the pages and then places it in her Handy Haversack, before nodding to the other two and then stepping onto the teleport disk and following the boy.
Giving the lad a jaunty salute as she follows Steel into the teleporter, Akashira quips Good luck with your employer, and make sure you always have an escape plan for those really bad days. You never know when your world is going to come crashing down.
I'll have to make sure I have a copy of that damned book. No way I'm going to trust the keys of the city to somebody else.
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you step through the portal and emerge in a cramped room. the room isn't the bad part, it's the smell of oil and metal that really fills the air. the walls are bronze, occasionally broken by a vent or stone pillar (imagine Dwarven ruins from skyrim). The half-elf man is in the room with you, smiling. Welcome to Steam! Now i know the name isn't all that origional, but i wasn't the one who named it. Was some half-orc Dunce along with the party that did, although he called it "Steam works" which is much better, but somehow everyone just calls it Steam now. the man grumbles t himself. it is only when he stops speaking that you notice the man next to him. he appears to be an elf, gut it's hard to tell because his naked body is covered entirely in tattoos. he is shaved bald and he isn't really that modest as it turns out. what little attire he does ware consists of a belt, bandoleers, and a satchel. he looks at you but says nothing.
Lady steel comes into being and steps aside to let the others through. She notes the Kal and his Tattoos, She has slimier on her own body but they are hidden under her clothing. Only parts can be seen on her neck and hands. Where as his are full magic tattoos hers look like fine circuitry. While the others come she study's him.
After she greets him.
"Greetings Master Kal, its been I while since I have meet an adapt."
Gaston will glances over at the at the two men, clearly seeing one naked.
'Hmm I really wish we were paid more, if it's not strange men it's naked orcs. What next are we going to going to protect a pie of his.' Gaston will smirk at the idea.
"It's a good thing we're down in these warm depths, if it were any colder I would've assumed you were a green elf. So we will be covering your ass, so to speak, master Kal?"
Gaston will say in a jovial tone.
I am surrounded by commoners and savages!!!
Giving the two men only the most cursory of glances, Akashira moves forward towards the Steam Works.
Sooner begun, sooner completed, or so the saying goes. I'll take point for now. Akashira growls as she slides the scimitar at her side from it's sheath.
Which direction are we moving from here?
Last steel looks on as Akashira.
This Rogue of ours seems want rush into everything, but we need some information before we start"
"Your free to go ahead Akashira but I myself would like to have a little word with the group here and find out as much as I can about what they have encountered to date. As they say the best way to avoid a trap is to know its there"
She
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Kal chuckles at the giant and says, do I offend you? Down here there are two problems the heat, and the metal. When the two are together, it is only worse. I can alter my form, perhaps a female body would be more appealing? Lal makes no movement, a tattoo simply glows for a second and a set of fine robes appear on his form. but allas, I don't feel like walking around so many unsavory men as such... Sorry, most of the acolytes down here are male, very few woman venture down here, instead they find better work creating the magics above.
He turns to steel and smiles at her yes, of course it's a pleasure. Far fewer with similar tastes.
Steel can make note that several of the tattoos are defensive spells, granting various resistances... although some create illusions, such as the robes... your sure he is still as free as he was before, now with a shimmering glamor covering him.
If it is the dangers you seek, no worries, the outpost is clear of such problems. From here we will take you deeper to the edge of our exploration. If you remember the tales of the underdark then just imagine that only not as quiet and far more... well metal.
The elf- because he does apear quite elf- chuckles to himself. On his back you can see a pair of tiny feathered wings... unlikely to work given their size.
Lady steel nods and then a tattoo of her own glows for a moment.
As they head off Steel asks
"Mage Kal what where the nature of the traps and dangers cleared to make this area safe."
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Kal thinks for a moment. poisonous gas, hot steam and water, the occasional sentry, and corridors that increased in temperature until you where being cooked alive... most of those where fixed, and alot are simply solved. Here follow me and I'll lead you through Steam... master Firin had some business so he told me to lead you to the seal. We stop delving every time we come to one...
The outpost isn't very large, a few rooms set up to hold supplies and a few bunks. here we have some potions for you to take, they should make it easier to deal with the hotter areas. But don't drink them unless you need to. You see, the heated areas are small potions of the tunnels, but they shouldn't prove difficult.
All holds out a bandolier, on it are six potions labelled Resist Fire .
Gaston will fill the chamber with a jovial chuckle.
"Uncomfortable no, I was merely making a joke, maybe it wasn't funny. Take the form of whatever you desire, as long as I get paid I couldn't care less."
Walking up to Lord Kal, Gaston will take two of the potions and nod to Kal.
"This armour is comfortable in the fridge cold tundra of Crystios or the hellish heat of Inverous, but fire hurts me more than blade or almost anything else."
Lady steel takes 4 of the Potions and hands 2 to
Akashira in front of them. Then she drinks one of the Potions and a new magic tattoo forms on her chest. Then as the they make their way to the seal she talks over what they know.
"We live on a mechanical walking Island, yes"
Ducks under a beam.
"Someone at some point constructed it, the who and when is unknown. They did this by placing the needed mechanisms with in it move here where we are now. That is my understanding of the current thinking on this matter. It would see Steam is the belly of the beast. Where what ever forces and magics are used are trapped, directed and used by this great device. It seems not unreasonable then to encounter things like poisonous gas, hot steam and water, super heated corridors. As they would be just working parts of this mechanism."
She moved past some kind of vent.
"What interests me is when you say you have meet occasional sentry and seals. That speaks of this mechanism makers seeking to protect parts and areas form unwanted instruction of tampering. They very thing we seem to be doing as I would suspect you don't have a great schematic design of this mechanism nor a book of instructions. Because if you did we would not be delving in the manner you are. What you have is this suspected map, the root to the control center."
She turned to miss a pipe.
"What I find worrying is IF we brake something fundamental to the workings of mechanism, we could doom our island home to sink into the waves with us trapped in the heart of it. So I would suggest we treat with great care the mechanism itself and not brake any of it."
She says this in a light banter as if talking at a dinner party.
"What form do the sentry's take Mage Kal, they would have to be robust to be down here for so long. Undead and mechanical I would suspect."
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Kal nods at lady Steel. yes they are robust. As robust as the island... although it has been found that this isle is a machine, it has also been deducted that the isle has no need for human matinance. it creates these small spider-like constructs that repair the isles. These constructs are simple things that pay you no mind, but they keep this island afloat. The sentries themselves are like golems... only not as magical. A lot of them are small humanoid shaped with blades instead of hands. They are the most common. These seals are chambers that divide sections of the Isle. They are usually guarded by larger sentinels. The designs of the gaurds are aberrational. You know how we tend to make our golems look like ourselves? They have no face. Usually the head is a smooth sphere or they simply have a torso. This makes us believe the creators where not humanoid... rather they where outsider or similar.
Lady steels mind is working, being a construct herself, albeit bio-mechanical in nature she has an understanding of such things deeper then most. She places her hand on the walls for a moment as if feeling them.
"Self repairing, that would suggest multiple redundancy systems as well. Allowing the sub-systems to be inactive for maintenance while others do the work. A logical system of maintenance hierarchy. That could suggest some form of sentience orchestrating the activity of the whole. Hummm"
She stops and looks around as if seeking something.
"If there is a controlling sentience, it would have to have a means to monitor its activity and the system as a whole. A system by which it could be feed information about the state of the whole. Have you found any such senses devices of with in the tunnels or on the maintenance constructs? If you found any that could be evidence that such a control sentience existed. I would think that IF such a control sentience did exist, it would be aware of your advance into its system and we may find more obstacles placed in our way. Has the frequency of sentries increased as well?"
She asked starting to walk on again getting at last to the seal.
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Kal shrugs at steel, I was not around When the last group delved here. I would assume so. The closet to the center of the island the more they pop up... you know, we are 50 stories below the surface. This island extends even deeper. From our studies of the island of Invernous we have found that the iles are on an automated creation schedule. The islands build themselves larger, and create their own unique ecosystems. The material is gathered from an unknown source, we suspect an alternate plane of existence...
As Kal is speaking, she notices a patch of fillagree on one of the walls. At first it appears to be some wind blowing, but Steel's sharp eyes immediately spot the likeness to a squid. The design becomes clear, it is a humanoid shaped creature, with a squid like head, and three fingered hands. The filagree has little detail, and not much else is visible.
Steel has heard of these sentinels, they are run by Eldrich power gems within their chests, and are relatively as fast and fluid as any living creature. Often they resemble humanoids or quadripeds, a few have multiple limbs or other unique shapes. They are dangerous, but often bear little resistances to magic.
If Kal is right about the islands, it is entirely possible that the isles are like living constructs. It may be possible they have sentience or that something sentiant is controlling them.
She waits by the seal once they get there.
"That is very interesting"
She says.