Dervak peers in the glass tubes, seeing the Elder Things now holding Jokers.
"Nice."
"Okay, on to the lab, I guess. We are deactivating the lab's defenses, so maybe we should prepare ours."
Dervak will cast See Invisibility and Shield.
Mutate Laboratory
Two pentagonal structures connected by a long covered walkway stand in the center of an empty plaza, surrounded by a cluster of domes and spiral towers. Both buildings are constructed from green-and-black marble etched with inhuman engravings.
The larger building is topped with a dome roof with a needlelike spike at the center. An iridescent hemisphere of energy surrounds it and expands to the southwest wall of the smaller building. There are no obvious entrances or window save for a 5ft wide, completely enclosed corridor with peaked roof that penetrates the barrier and connects to the smaller building.
The smaller building has an elongated pentagonal door on the north side. The engravings on this building are rounded and worn smooth from time and the elements.
The exterior north door of the smaller building is locked and requires a five sided key. The pink keys you've collected do not seem to fit.
Apparently lost in thought, Ci Ci notices only the rudiments of the design.
"If they were looking to create some sort of ooze thing like a shoggoth, this carving depicts it. See, the Elder Things are pouring liquids into a vat.
Then, here, there is a mouth floating in the vat. So they succeeded at creating an ooze monster, I think.
I am not sure if they are flailing their tentacles in fear or in celebration."
Dervak goes to look at the exterior north door of the smaller building.
"It says 'The death we created is now our ruin, and it waits.' Maybe a warning carved by those Elder Things that are now in hibernation?
Well, our keys don't work, and I have no skill at locks. Anybody have an idea what to do here?"
1st (7): Cure Light Wounds, Endure Elements, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Unbreakable Heart x3. Color Spray (spirit)
2nd (7): Barkskin x2, Calm Emotions, Delay Poison, Resist Energy, Open Slot x2, Hypnotic Pattern (spirit)
3rd (6): Heroism x3, Sleet Storm, Open Slot x2, Daylight (spirit)
4th (6): Blessing of Fervor, Fear, Slowing Mud, Spiritual Ally x2, Open slot, Rainbow Pattern (spirit)
5th (6): Ancestral Memory, Baleful Polymorth, Breath of Life x2, Open slot x2, Overland Flight (spirit)
6th (5): Greater Dispel Magic, Mass Cure Moderate Wounds, Wall of Stone, Open Slot x2, Chain Lightning (spirit)
7th (4): Fairy Ring Retreat, Heal x2, Open Slot, , Prismatic Spray (spirit).
8th (3): Firestorm, Stormbolts, Open slot, Sunburst (spirit)
Before aproaching the pair of buildings, she recited a few prayers.
Mara also noted the engravings that Dervak pointed out, "A bit ominous, I'd say."
She also read the warning in Aklo, "We'll have to be careful, but we have little choice but to investigate."
Approaching the building, Theo casts his buffs.
Theophilus takes a pause to look at the sign reading Mutation Laboratory.
Definitely seems a bit on the nose.
The White Rabbit shakes his head. He seems to be waiting for his player to look up Theo's perception.
Having posted on the new page, Theo now seems to notice the same things as the others.
Even good old Semore would be here all day trying to pick that lock. Perhaps we Dimensional door in?
"That might work, Theophilus.
But what about the lab's defenses?
We know that 'Force fields prevent entrance and egress.'
Dimension Door should bypass that.
But we also know that 'time is frozen in the interior.'
Maybe Mara's abilities to manipulate time can counteract that effect? I really don't know.
I can maybe help Semore with the attempt if you want to summon him."
Theophilus begins to Summon Semore. The Witch at the end of the summoning appears to add an extra twist of the rope, as it were just prior to the devil popping in.
I hate you!
Theo smiles and points at the locked door as he Fortune Hexes the charming devil. He adds Guidance for the insult cherry on top!
Semore flips him the bird before obeying.
Theo just stands there smiling the entire time...
Dervak gives Semore a thumbs up.
At least he didn't get his head exploded this time. Yet.
Theo must have made a mistake in his arcane formulations because what appears is not Semore, the friendliest babau. In his place a tall green skinned humanoid with well toned muscles stands in his place. Beneath the devil’s leering smile, writhes a disgusting and animate beard. It speaks in a deep baritone, ”Hey, it’s a me, Mare-io. He hands Theo a stack of paper. The summoned creature’s union is striking against you, Theophilus Carter, until such time as you meet their demands, the least of which includes naming the appropriate creature type when writing your spell*. Until the strike is resolved you’re reliant on helpful scabs, like me, to answer your calls.”
The bearded devil casually stalks over to the door and says, ”So what do we have here? One of them, locked doors, eh? And here I thought I’d be able to flex a bit.” The devil take’s his glaive and cuts a smallish hole in the door. He then leans in and sends one of its disgusting beard hairs into the hole. After a short spark of electricity the door’s catch releases, allowing you to push the door open. The barbazu says with satisfied smugness while hooking a thumb at the door, ”E-z p-z.”
Laboratory Airlock
Stone panels engraved with small sigils and runes that blink with a rainbow of colors fill three corners of this five-sided room. The outline of a five-sided door with no lock or handles is seen on the southwest wall. The walls and floor are constructed of a smooth green-and-black marble and the air is cold and stale, but warmer than it is outside.
Mare-io offers, ”Hey you want me to do that one too?”
Mara shook her head at Theo's apparent labor dispute with his summoned outsiders. I never did like the Hatters choice of assistants.
Mara spotted another kry blending in with the strange controls, and picked it up, "Here's another of those chips, like the ones Theo pilfered earlier. It's labelled with the number seven in Aklo."
Dervak looks annoyed at the creature's pickiness. Demons, devils, daemons, demodands, whatever...
He looks around the room.
"So there is another locked door?"
Dervak turns to Theo.
"If he is offering to do it and seems capable..."
"If he is unwilling, or unable, I could give it a try," Ci Ci offers, pulling on a small bit of power to elicit a small orb or green light, reminiscent of her disintegrate spell.
Mare-io shrugs at the encouragement and doesn't wait for the go ahead from his boss. He repeats the feat with ease.
Behind this door you find a shimmering force field, not dissimilar to a wall of force spell. The summoned devil defers to the sorceress with a glance, "This is a little above my pay grade."
"Let's knock, and see who answers," Ci Ci replies, gathering her power.
"Diasporatum!" she cries, unleashing her green beam of destruction on the translucent barrier.
Theophilus and the White Rabbit are seen drinking tea and eating biscuits.
The both wave a disinterested finger at the devil, demon, fella.
Ci Ci's diasporatum nullifies the force field blocking your way. The atemporal flow of time begins to leak out and Mare-io's movements slow to a crawl before freezing entirely.
Mara recited a prayer and examined the area just beyond the door and tried to determine the nature of the temporal disruption.
The elder things have somehow stopped time from flowing within the laboratory. Whatever us contained within has not aged a single day since the field has been erected. Mara knows she can reverse the effect for at least a short while.
Mara concentrated on the temporal field to supress it, and allow time to flow normally for a while.
"I've turned off the temporal distortion, at least temporarily," [b]"she told her companions. [b]"We should be able to do what we need to do inside. We wouldn't waste time, however: eventually the stasis effect will resume."
She went through the door and started looking around.
Theophilus pats Mare-io on his ass as the Mad Hatter walks behind Mara.
Try to keep up old man.
"Remember, the lab's defenses were supposed to activate if something got loose.
The engravings seem to suggest that they created some shoggoth-thing that turned against them.
Let's be on the lookout for that, as well as for the Star Stela."
Dervak holds Teralindar's Honor as he looks around.
The devil says, "Naw," and disappears.
Following down the long hall you come to the:
Main Observation Chamber
This large pentagonal chamber has a curved dome-like ceiling that reaches forty-five feet above the floor at its highest point. Twenty feet from the bottom, a five-foot wide ledge runs along all five walls with a corridor that branches to northeast There is no railing along the ledge, nor is there a ramp or staircase that extends to the lower floor. On the floor, two ramps descend sharply down corridors to the east and west while a level hallway runs to the south. The marble walls and floor are damp and cold and there is a faint musty smell in the air, like wet animals and chemicals.
Theophilus activates his Flight Hex. He hoovers just over the side of the ledge. He cast Detect Magic and gazes about the chamber.
So are we expecting an ambush? Seems appropriate.
Dervak will cast Fly, so that he can keep his sword in hand instead of trying to Climb, and will move from the ledge to the lower floor.
He will listen at each of the corridors leaving the room - east, west, and south.
Ci Ci likewise calls upon her power of flight and moves with the rest of the group.
Mara flew into the main observation chamber and looked around. Then she cautiously flew up towards the slowly around the ledge, surveying the room. She looked for any signs of creatures that might get loose in the lab.
Mara and Dervak hear the sound if glass breaking up the ramp to the west.
"Something moving in here, now that Mara has unstuck time.
Let's go check it out."
Dervak moves up the ramp a bit. Is there a door at the end of the ramp?
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Theophilus watch both Dervak and Mara looking west.
We didn't hear nutt'n.
The White Rabbit is seen with earmuffs on.
Two large glassy cylinders large enough to hold a person occupy the west side of the pentagonal shaped room. Each cylinder has a transparent door set with hinges and a door handle on both sides. A steep ramp exits the room on the east side and leads up to a higher floor, An odd five-sided corridor whose ceiling rises to a point exits to the northeast.
Staring you down is an elder thing, it tosses a number of sparking electrical devices directly at Dervak. They each explode sending bolts in every direction.
Mara prayed for to the spirits, "Mommy, we need some orcish courage to defend ourselves against these eldritch horrors!" Then she retreated behind Ci Ci and Erich.
Dervak is caught unprepared, and takes three shock-bombs to the face.
Dervak will Dex-rage while casting Bladed Dash and lash out at the thing, using Blessing of Fervor for the +2 to hit, AC, and Reflex saves. Weapon counts as +4 when raging, or +6 if this is an aberration. Using Destined Strike on the last iterative.
His touch AC is now 26 (+5 Dex, +2 Dodge, +6 Luck, +3 Deflection).
"Immolatus! Ci Ci intones, focusing her power into a column of flame upon the Elder Thing.
Theophilus watches as Dervak gets lit up by the elder thing?
You got some advance skills?
The Witch the uses Retributive Hex on it.
Dervak wastes no time carving up the elder thing scientist. It collapses into a clump of bloody ribbons, harmlessly twitching.
Erich's viol plays a haunting melody.
Ci Ci prepares to call upon her power to smite the Elder Thing, but finds no need to release it, as Dervak carves it into chutney.
She flies over to Dervak and touches his shoulder.
"You're hurt. This should help a bit."
She follows up with a burst of positive energy affecting Dervak, herself and the rest of the companions.
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Theophilus decides to Fly over to Dervak.
He smiles.
He seemed to get the drop on you, my friend. Good thing no more are coming since now three of us are in splash range.
From the other side of the observation chamber another elder thing flies up a ramp into view. It pelts Ci Ci square in the back with an electrical bomb. Lightning arcs from the sorceress to Theo and Erich. The violist’s music screeches as the man loses control of his muscles.
"Scintillating Slivers!" Ci Ci intones as she flies closer, draws upon her power, and pelts the creature with shards of razor-sharp crystals.
The bomb strikes the wall adjacent to Mara, Erich, and Ci Ci.
The elder thing takes the brunt of Slivers.
Theophilus looks on at all the electricity being brandied about.
He winks.
The Witch the uses Retributive Hex on it.
Growing like space weeds around here.
Mara was too slow to avoid the full force of the bomb. She studied the Elder thing to determine its nature. Then she prayed to Sarenrae to send Charlabu to aid her. The friendly golden hound archon appeared behind her assailant and swung three times at it.
The twinkle in the Hatter’s eye seems to have affected this creature from before humanity. Mara senses that these creatures are being influenced by something and are not entirely in control of themselves.
Charlabu appears and smites the elder things in Sarenrae’s name.
A shoggoth appears! If it weren’t for the horrible mass of tentacles, eyes, mouths, and other indiscernible appendages it would be adorable. The positively puny shoggoth proves its worth by grabbing for Dervak’s weapon.
Erich begins again with his viol.
Dervak nods and says "Thanks!" as Theo and CiCi heal his wounds.
The sword is Teralindar's Honor, not the falchion. But yes, his CMD with Dex-rage and Blessing of Fervor is a 50, so a 51 succeeds.
Dervak snarls, reaches into the mass of tentacles, and wrestles his sword out of its grip.
"MINE!"
Dervak only momentarily looses Teralindar's Honor. Two of the electrical bombs strike Ci Ci arching electricity towards the mute musician, but Erich manages to hold onto his spell, this time. Wounds begin to form on the elder thing as Theo's curse takes shape
"Time to burn, you freak! Immolatus!" Ci Ci intones, focusing her power into a column of flame upon the Elder Thing.
The elder thing burns in Ci Ci's radiant fire, filling the air with the smell of charred mildewy flesh and boiled mucus.
Theophilius stares at the mess that has been recently made in this medical research chamber.
This is just shameful, unprofessional, and totally not sanitary!