Sneaking by the nearest Orc, Jeji closed in on the giant, but not too close. She drew another bomb and tossed it at the mutant, trying to keep the blast clear of the mecha-wyvern.
Perrik attempts to cast a cure on Kricker, but can't concentrate amid the storm of orc blades around him.
Kricker reels from the orc attack. He swings back at the wounded orc, trying to drop the numbers against them.
but his God seeks to challenge him. He steps back towards Jeji to try to take away the situational advantage the Orcs have against them.
The mecha-wyvern discorporates into a pile of junk crawling towards the nearest junkheap to try to reconstitute itself.
Jeji's perfectly aimed bomb is a dire fire threat as it hits Draigs' unburning head and promptly sets it alight as well! The big mutant squeals as she drops her chains and pounds at her heads. The Mech-Wyvern is quite forgotten as it rattles for a scrap heap in a swarm of hopping, little metal bits. Finally, the giant crashes to the ground where she moves no more though her heads keep burning.
Kricker is distracted from his attack again, but so are the orcs. Whiskifiss slips behind one and knifes him in the back. He seems to shrug it off in his bloodrage, but after seeing their leader collapse the orcs' fury fades and they move to retreat. Drained of adrenaline at this point, two fall from their wounds and only one is left to bolt for safety!
Perrik snatches up his light crossbow and fires at the fleeing orc!
Kricker sheathes his sword and gathers the grapnel weapon from the ground. then heads towards the human prisoners to free them.
Perrik's shot hits the orc in the glute slowing its retreat to a limping hop. Whiskifiss waves off the lone orc. "Tk-Tk. Not a bad thing to leave a witness. If he makes it to the Arena, he'll just add to our Scrapworth and let the others know that they will pay if they attack anyone else."
Kricker heads over to the injured Steel Falcons. Sevroth, the human leader has bruises to add to her old scars. She hobbles over to the dead giantess to get the keys to unlock herself and her companions from the chains. "We couldn't hold them off. Draigs smashes through the tower doors and the orcs poured in."
Hmm, looks like we are going to have to deal with them sooner rather than later. Draigs is dead, the troll is dead. Who else remains in the Lords of Rust? While Kricker is talking he also takes this opportunity to search the body of Draigs and see if there is any loot worth taking.
The giantess has a big pouch at her side with 400 silver disks though several could still be batteries. There are also a small pair of metal boots that look like some kind of TEK. The orcs don't have anything of value.
"This TEK will let you stick to metal with your feet, so you can climb metal walls!" He glances down at his clawed feet, smaller by far than those of the giantess. "Maybe we sell them."
The kobold-sized boots have loops bolted on them and it appears that Draigs was going to make earrings out of them...
"Sevroth, you need to hide your people while we finish killing Hellion and its slaves. If you really want to help us, find and break any of Hellion's flying spies over the town."
Sevroth gives a humorless laugh, nodding to the bruised and broken survivors. "I don't think we're good for much anymore, but if anyone can take on Hellion, it's you. Good luck."
" Who else remains in the Lords of Rust?
Whiskifiss answers Kricker's question. "You said that Nalakai the priest escaped and then there's Kulgara. Tk-tk!" The ratman shivers. "And the remainder of Hellion's followers and Hellion also!TK!"
"Do you think that General Kulgara will go out the way Draigs did, to attack their enemies? Facing both the general and the high priest will not be easy. Maybe we can lure them out, though. Who outside of the temple is an open follower of Hellion?"
Whiskifiss jumps when a nearby scrap pile rattles as the mecha-wyvern begins to reassemble. He shakes his head and tugs a whisker as he thinks. "Anyone left who supports Hellion has retreated into his sanctuary. Tk. They will not be lured out any time soon, but maybe if we move quickly, we may be able to catch Nalakai in the Temple alone. Kulgara will stay in the lower level with Hellion and the ragmen. Tk-Tk."
"Ragmen?"
Hmm, then we can't afford to wait much longer. Maybe we can make a quick strike to take out Nalakai tonight and then retreat and prepare to go deeper with the coming of the next night.
"Ragmen?"
"They are small, Tk-Tk. Like us, but really creepy. They stay in the lowest level of Hellion's Domain hiding in the dark. I don't really know what they are like other than that they cover themselves in smelly clothes and rags. Tk."
"That sounds like a good plan, Kricker. Tk-Tk!"
As soon as the giant had fallen and the orcs scattered, Jeji began to panic. Her head glanced around this way and that in a fury of movement. "Where...where did the wyvern go? It must not be destroyed!" she hissed.
Her shoulders relaxed as it began to reform out of the surrounding junk. Once it had solidified, she ran over to give it a hug.
"We should press our advantage quickly then."
Finally, the clanging and sounds of skittering metal from the self-repairing golem end. With their ally restored, the kobolds decisively turn toward the Arena. Passing under the moonless sky through canyons of piled scrap and barren stretches of packed earth, they eventually return to the gates of the Arena and move to the raised platform that marks the entrance to Hellion's Domain.
"Kricker, Perrik, you two should heal up."
Gather around for a group hug!
and then once Perrik looks well...Kricker heals himself more.
Perrik follows along, watching for any of the flying BOTS.
As the group engage in a bolstering huddle, there is the tell-tale rattle of a tiny beetle-like spy-BOT launching from a trash heap wall and heading toward the Domain.
Jeji:
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Whiskifiss:
foe:
Whiskifiss, who refrained from the hug is the first to react and drawing and loading his cross bow quickly, releases a bolt at the flying bug. but the bolt glances off the machine's metal shell.
Kricker hopes his luck with the grapnel is better than usual...
Kricker braces himself and holds on tight to the gun.
Perrik draws a bead on the tiny BOT and puts a crossbow bolt on target!
Perrik's shot hits harder, but shatters on impact leaving a minor dent. The autograpnel serves well this time though. Just before the tiny snoop disappears into the darkness, Kricker's shot grabs it from the sky crushing its wings and the fully grabbed machine falls from the sky in the claw's iron grasp.
There is a flare of red light as the BOT begins cutting its way out with its integrated laser torch! Whiskifiss hisses, "Get it."
Perrik switches back to his longspear, then rushes over to the fallen BOT and tries to help Kricker hit it!
Rushing forward, Jeji drew her short sword as she closed in on the grounded machine.
Kricker charges forward, drawing the Adamantine crowbar for an overhead smash.
Jeji runs up and stabs it releasing a couple sparks from the machine's interior while Perrik distracts it by batting at its lasertorch allowing Kricker to deliver the final blow with the wrecking bar that crushes it.
Well they may know we are in the area now, we should move quickly. Up top and then down the spiral stair, right. Concentrate fire on Nalakai if it makes its ugly face known.
Kricker reloads the Grapnel gun and stows it and then readies himself to lead the way by casting Bulls Strength on himself.
Whiskifiss "TK"s excitedly after the kobolds quickly take down the spy-BOT. "If we are lucky maybe that was the only guard," he syas and quickly follows Kricker with the other kobolds and the Mecha-Wyvern behind him. Behind the platform is the locked access door, but Whiskifiss quickly pulls out a gray card found on the dead men in the haunted canyon and taps a panel so that the door slides open. Beyond is the trash-filled atrium and the door to the stairway down. Whiskifiss again opens the door and the warband once again descends to the Temple of Hellion.
Beyond another sliding door, the kobolds see the familiar room. It is lit by tracks of glowing panels of light set in the ceiling, ten feet above. To the west, the room ends in a ragged wall of rubble, rock, and twisted metal. Rectangular panels of glass adorn the walls between crude paintings of a mechanical talon. the broken metal circle where Hellion appeared last time now features a half-finished sculpture of a giant-sized metal gauntlet formed from scrap. No one is currently seen in the room.
The diminutive oracle gazes suspiciously at the sculpture.
The diminutive oracle gazes suspiciously at the sculpture.
Perrik gives the half finished idol a wary look over, but it is obviously some rather pathetic attempt at honoring Hellion now that the circle no longer hosts his presence. It reminds the oracle of a similar sculpture in Meyanda's base in Mountain of Violet Flame below the human town of Torch.
Lets go the way that they were retreating last time.
Kricker's taps a card against the panel and the door slides away to reveal the room beyond. The walls of this room are decorated with images of mechanical claws reaching toward the sky. Several simple bedrolls, eight in all, lie on the floor here. A mix or human and half-orc acolytes are arming themselves as the kobolds are revealed. A large screen behind them flickers with the image of Hellion. 'TH-the-the-there they are! Ma-ma-ma-Make sure they never la-la-leave the SSsssssssss-Sanctum!"
Jeji:
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Whiskifiss:
foe:
Kricker moves up to strike down the nearest Acolyte.
The Wyvern moves further into the room and swings at a different Acolyte.
Kricker charges in to hit the first Hellion priest bloodying him while the charging metal wyvern clangs past to smack the next one with a wing. The demonic face of Hellion on the screen looks at the Mecha-Wyvern with interest. "Wh-wha-wha-what is that?" The acolytes have no time to wonder. The one clubbed by metal wyvern wing retreats to heal some of the damage. The rest, armed with shields and spiked gauntlets fight back. Two corner Kricker, but only one gets a lucky blow through. The last cleric nervously swings wide missing the golem.
Perrik once again bolsters the party.
Whiskifiss darts through the door sliding around the acolyte standing there and driving his shortsword up into the human's chest from behind killing him instantly.
Kricker swings at the same one he had hit before.
once again just winging him.
The wyvern concentrates his attacks on the one that missed him.
Then it swings its tail at one of the ones on Kricker.
Fearful of rushing in unprotected, Jeji draws a small flask and quickly downs the contents. The shimmering shield only served to embolden her as she drew her shortsword and stepped forward.
Jeji enters in time to witness the glorious metal wyvern club an acolyte down with its heavy wings and then finish off the another acolyte who is staggered from Kricker's onslaught. The final acolyte looks panicked and calls on Hellion to save him from the metal monster.
Hellion seems quite thrilled by the Mecha-wyvern's performance. "A-A-A-AMaaZING! Bbbbut it isn't a ro-bot-bot-bot. I-It's Magic-It's Magic, Yessss?"
Panicked, the remaining acolyte sends out a burst of dark radiance. Just then the door behind him opens revealing a jury-rigged robot with a buzz saw built into one of its arms.