Demonmoose's Iron Gods AP Blue (Inactive)

Game Master GM Demonmoose

"Give me a moment."

We're all healed up.

"I think I am good for another fight."

"Apologies, Syvlara. I intended no slight. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. Thanks to you as well of course. I'd be cat food right now if it wasn't for all of you."

"It is no problem, Astra. I am glad to see you safe and fully healed. aside:Thank you, Chakos. If you are capable of pressing further, than so am I."

Syvlara yanks out her arrows from the creatures, inspects them for the possibility of reusing them, and then preps to press further on.

Into the bader room then.

"The bader room? Can you just point please?"

Badger room.

Chakos moves towards the "badger" room, as directed.

A foul, musky smell fills this room. The room is crammed with hundreds of metal cages and boxes strewn about haphazardly. Much of the metal in this room is twisted and gnawed, and the remains of several dismantled metal automatons lie in pieces on the floor.

Liz pokes around Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

detect evil

Astra joins in searching the room. Did she find out the aurumvorax's gender?

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Then a sweep with detect magic.

The destroyed constructs don't have any valuable parts. There is also no evil in the room. Astra believes the aurumvorax was female. Also, she detects no magic in the room.

What are those boxes on the path to F21 again? Can they be climbed over or is the path to F21 entirely blocked?

In any case, Astra will suggest checking out F20 first, then F21.

Let us finish exploring this floor and then hea dup I suppose.

You can climb over the broken doors.

Both doors to this room are battered outward and hang askew on their hinges. The furnishings within-a pair of large metal cages and a desk-have been smashed to pieces and pushed together into a large nest.

Inside the nest is a disemboweled corpse wearing an all tools' vest.

"Oh, cages. That implies something was being held. The aurumvorax, perhaps? But two cages means two somethings." Astra glances around nervously.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

If there is no immediate danger that she can perceive, then she approaches the nest to investigate. Can she determine if this is an aurumvorax nest, or is it being used by some other type of creature instead?

Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Astra doesn't see anything else in the room. She believes it is an aurumvorax nest. Feather evidence in the cages suggests the achaierai were held inside.

Looks like this place is empty of any secrets.

"Mm. This feather. The achaierai -- the bird-like creatures from earlier -- were held in these cages. Suggests they were perhaps delivered from somewhere through more mundane means? Not summoned from the planes with magic. Unless they were caged after. In any case, it was desired to keep them here. Cages suggest intent. Xoud, or whoever had procured them, could have just killed them and thrown away the corpses. Keeping them alive, why? For some eventual sacrifice later? To produce eggs? How do they connect with Xoud's desire to become incorporeal? Do they connect with the aurumvorax? Were the achaierai and the aurumvorax supplied to this tower by the same vendor? How long has it been since they broke free? Have the achaierai and the aurumvorax been living together peacefully for years? Or did our arrival trigger something that freed them only recently?"

Astra moves to inspect the doors. "Damage indicates outward impacts. The achaierai escaped? Or were set loose? They wanted to get out. I doubt they wanted to be here. What precipitated their escape? How is this body connected?" she then kneels beside the disemboweled corpse. "Tools. Did this person open the achaierai cages and get killed by them?"

Astra tries to determine several things.

1) Timing of the achaierai escape from cages. Hours, days, months, years ago? How much molted feathers and bird poop is around?

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

2) Method of achaierai escape. Have the cages been broken open, like the wooden doors to the room, or have the cages been opened with a key or other such method?

Craft (mechanical): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27

3) Identity of the corpse. What race, what gender? Any identifying papers on it? Estimated time of death? Hours, days, months, years ago?

Heal: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25

4) How long has the aurumvorax been lairing here? Again, look at things like amount of shed fur or pooped poop around.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

"... What were they eating around here?"

No doubt people who wandered inside.

"Astra almost got to be dessert."

"I suppose that is true. This place could make for quite the lair. Well as long as the robots and undead have nothing to do about it."

"Well, the current resident might take offense."

The achaierai seem to have been free from the cages for about a week to a month. The cages have melted in some places and broken off, suggesting that their smoky acid breath eventually broke through the bars.

The body seems to be a human or half-elven male, it is hard to tell exactly due to just being bones. Likely died about a month ago. Bones are slightly melted in places.

Aurumvorax has been wandering this area of the tower for more than a month. You can tell this by the edges around the broken metal constructs-though the constructs themselves seem centuries or more older.

So up to the enxt floor.

Chakos will dutifully heft his axe and head up to the enxt floor.

This wide, curved hall ends in a metal hatch to the northwest. A large slate board covered with neat lettering hangs on the east wall. A flight of stairs to the east leads up, while another flight to the south leads down. The door to the southern stairwell appears to have been burrowed or chewed through.

Liz examines the slate board.

Chakos stands guard while the ladies decide what's next.

Lab Slate

Small tendrils of smoke leak out of the western room's door.

I think we really need to be wary of the west door, it is no doubt full of noxious vapers.

"It looks like Xoud has been obsessed with the idea of incorporeality even more than I realized. He's been employing several assistants all investigating different aspects of incorporeality. This is clearly a very thorough and multifaceted operation. It explains some of the creatures we've encountered, such as the mihstu... I'm not sure how something like an aurumvorax figures into his plans, however, unless it's as an opposite case of what makes something super-dense. Hmm." Astra studies the lab slate curiously. "I wonder how much of these we've already gone through. We did meet the gaseous ooze -- the mihstu as an evil planar creature would seem to fit the remit of an "infernal cloud" lab. Perhaps the achaierai and the aurumvorax were from Kelkin's quasi-gaseous lab for some reason. And that would suggest that the body we just ran into might have been Mr. Kelkin himself." She glances around. "If I'm on track here, we're next headed into the swarm lab." She touches the swarmbane clasp at her chest, to make sure it's still there. "Although perhaps it's empty as we did encounter a swarm earlier lower down."

"So, somewhere other than the west door then?"

"I think that would mean continuing up the stairs -- we'd leave this floor unexplored behind us."

Did I understand that correctly?

"That would not seem a strategically prudent move. We would be better off clearing this floor so as to not leave anything potentially dangerous behind us."

"I just work here."

If there are swarms, we need to be prepared to handle them. I have a spell that can allow me to breath a cone of fire and my lightning wand to help fight them.

"If I remember correctly, my part in fighting swarms is to get my butt eaten and try to not die while you guys kill them?"

"Although if I die, someone take this clasp from my body. It will allow you to harm swarms." She looks thoughtful for a while.

"If I should fall to harm
do not go for my firearm
pass by its obvious charm
and take my clasp underarm
its heat so lukewarm
should your weapons rearm
and with a strong forearm
keep you, valiant gendarme
from today buying the farm."

"Dibs!"

"Uhh... good poem?"

Syvlara wraps her scarf around her mouth and nose, then noches an arrow to her bow.

"Let us investigate the west door before moving upstairs. We do not want anything surprising us."

Just before the door opens, Syvlara will hold her breath.

Liz inhales and puffs her cheeks out chipmunk style.

Chakos makes no such grandiose precautions, but he does hold his breath as he opens the door.

This large chamber appears to be a combination of bedroom and study. A large window to the northwest, fitted with sturdy metal slats, lets in light and air, while elaborate tapestries depicting gloomy landscapes and gothic architecture adorn the walls. A large bed sits in the room, its fine coverings frayed and dusty.

A small desk against the southwest wall is bare, while doors provide several exits-although no handle adorns the door to the northwest. Instead of a handle or knob, it bears a small plate of coppery metal.

Smoke oozes from Furkas Xoud as he stands in the center of the room. He grins, "Oh, you're still here? I thought you would have left by now. Did you really want to die?"

Chakos, Liz and Syvlara's turn.

HP 48/53
AC 16/16/15
Effects:
Hand of Apprentice:7/7,Mage Armor(+4 ac),Resist Energy-Communal(20 points) 16 minutes

Liz quickly casts Lesser Globe of Invulnerability
8 Rounds, 10' radius around Liz protects against all spells 3rd level or lower.

My globe can protect against the fire we got hit with last time.

"The only one to die will be you!" Yells Syvlara as she darts into the room.

Arrow1: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

8BAB + 4Dex +1Magic +1Training +2Focus
2Str +1Magic +1Training +2Spec

Liz, why do you keep tracking yourself as down 5 hitpoints?

Chakos will declare his Smite against Furkas.

Chakos will also cast bless weapon on his axe.

Not sure which knowledge is appropriate, but here's my roll to discern more about his weaknesses:

Knowledge (history/nature/planes/religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Can we see the sphere?

Spell description says the globe faintly shimmers.