Sven commands Whitestripe to attack the golem.
Firing only one arrows at the creature.
Graouh !
Sven fires a single arrow, hitting the clockwork, but doing little damage!
Whitestripe moves closer and bites the golem, tearing some the hard metal shell!
Bill, realizing that he is unprepared for this eventuality, holds out hope that the party can take down the beast before it kills Zelkin.
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Recounting the tale of the great and powerful, for that which has come before is the clay that molds the present.
In the far corners of the Inner Sea the call was made. Zelkin, Bishop, Aiuda, Sven, and the wizard William Fortescue Monahan Billings the Fourth (AKA Bill) each received a missive. The parchment, expensive and thick, but with the faint smell of a chemical unknown to most…. gunpowder.
It read,
Eliza Baratella, minister of Alkenstar parliament and esteemed engineer seeks an audience with you to discuss potentially obtaining your services. If interested, come to the Brass Guild in Alkenstar. The matter is delicate and I can't trust going to local authorities. You renown proceeds you and I think you are the right person to aid me in investigating the suspicious malfunctioning of my clockworks, called Brass Guardians, and used to patrol Alkenstar.....
The letter, however, was but a lure (and well constructed, for adventurers are as entranced by the call as a dragon is to the glitter of gold.) Upon arrival a plot quickly unfolded. The woman explained:
”I’ve got a good sense of where you can start looking. When the first Brass Guardians started raging in the streets, we looked closely at their serial numbers to determine where they’d come from. In every case, the clockworks had originally been positioned in the city’s western quarters, closest to the Karggat Hills. I sent Arvanor, my assistant, to follow a series of tracks left by a guardian leaving the city’s western gates. Those tracks led north and west into the Karggat Hills, and into a mine some fifty miles away. Arvanor reported back that he was headed into the mines to investigate further, and no one has heard from him since. That was two months ago. And since then, the Brass Guardians’ attacks have only increased in frequency and intensity." She frowns and her features grow stern.
“I have secured transportation for you on the guild’s private airship, under the pretense that you are trapsmiths we’ve hired to help protect our facilities in Martel. You won’t go to Martel, however; instead, the pilot has been instructed to take you directly to the Karggat Mine. Please find out who’s behind this sabotage of the Brass Guardians and bring me evidence to put an end to the plot. The guild and I have significant resources with which to reward you, and time is of the essence.”
Learning very quickly what an airship is, the party set out as “trapsmiths” through the Karggat Hills. Recent earthquakes led to the mines being reopened after years of being sealed tightly. The weather itself bore an ill omen. Primal magic. The very reason behind Alkenstar’s unique place in the world. It makes magic unpredictable, and therefore ever more dangerous.
The party succumbed to the curiosity of the mines, exploring it festina lente. The tomb-like nature of the mines gave way as the party’s first foes met them in combat, gugs. The fight is short and decisive. It’s not an accident that the letter reached out to these heroes.
Banter, traps, and sneaking around followed (as is expected.) Before long the party met a denizen far less belligerent than the gugs, ratfolk. He introduces himself as Habblegash. He assumes the party has been sent by some “two-headed freak”, an ettin named Murg-Nurk, and points out the dangers ahead. Apparently a faction within the mines has begun mining some strange type of crystal. No one believes the ettin to be the brains of the operation.
Obviously, this warranted further investigation. Habblegash gives the party a key to a locked chest, but it’s only ⅓ the solution. It seemed the only way is down....
Unfortunately, down led to a purple worm. The party again fell to combat with masterful skill, laying low the worm. The path quickly became littered with the corpses of vanquished foes.
Eventually the path forward required piecing together, literally, a winch. The task was straightforward, and the party’s momentum continued, now on the lookout for missing pieces. The next obstacle proved to be a submerged route, though this time with magic instead of technology. Underwater they went, protected by a life-protecting bubble. The submerged route wasn’t overly long, but before continuing on they opted to return to the thrice-locked chest.
The chest, or rather safe, contained enough treasure to last a dozen elven lifetimes. It did not, however, provide a clue as to the plot brewing within the mines. Some help was found in a recovered journal. It contained mostly information about the mine, including much of the history of it, the story of how it came to be controlled solely by the Sultur Family, and the captain’s succumbing to a fatal illness shortly after her crew discovered a strange mineral known as eidite. The details on this crystalline substance are vague and scattered, since the toxin appeared to have a grave effect on the captain’s memory as her condition progressed. Even memories of her treacherous fellows (mentioned as untrustworthy and despicable early on in the journal) decayed near the end, and Captain Retham came to see these roguish brutes as true friends in her final few entries. The most telling passage regarding this unusual toxic mineral and the state of the captain’s mind is on one of the last passages, which take the form of a letter.
The eidite poisoning has taken almost fullhold of my blood by now. I fear that I may be its next victim in this struggle to command the properties of the enigmatic mineral, and I am regretful that it could not have been a more noble martyr who could teach my fellow miners the folly of their avaricious ways. I learned, but too late that all the wealth in the world could not replace my loyal comrades, who have seen me through to the end in these darkest of nights. To my most faithful friends, I pray that you see to my fellow invalids after my passing, including the following unfortunates:
Three fellow miners: Hekrin, Pyndle, and Sortare
One priest: Clockmother Ingled
Two pets: Maximos and Tor
To those who heed my dying wishes, I seek for you all the best in the Great Beyond, and hope that fortune finds you well.
Captain Retham
Finally taking the time to rest, the party then headed back to the front. Previously they had discovered a clockwork leviathan. Within moments of winding it up it began defending itself. What could have been a devastating fight for the party was cut short by a perfectly placed Disintegration spell from Bill. The feeling of triumpf pushed the party to new levels of confidence and power .
With all of the pieces of the winch recovered, the lower mine awaited.
The maze below at least contained some tracks, which led to a group of human and halfling slaves. The slaves assumed the party was working for “skull Splittah.” Once they learned of the truth (and the party’s mission to find the source of the amok constructs) the slaves proved to be a font of information.
"Well, hell! We'd all love to be rid of this gods be damned place!" The halfling sits and takes a long pull from the mushroom tea. "Name's Shyar by the by. What I can tell ye is this, that evil two headed son of marsh giant, Skullsplitta, he runs the show around here. Him and his orge lackeys. They make us slave mine a green mineral called eidite. Can't tell ya what its fer. The Skullspitta usually can be found to the east, wehere the crusher is. To the northwest, the leader of this merry band, Metruni, oversee the work. She's a real dandy. A tiefling gal with a faith in some demon lord, Haagenti, I think. She keeps company with some oversized spider lookin' creature."
He sets his cup down and regards the party for a long moment. "If you be serious about freein' us, I'd suggest you lot create a diversion, see. Ya, a diversion. When you distracting the Splitta', we can make a break fer it. We'll run to the east and take the ore lifts out. How's about that?"
The missing piece of a real leader was finally revealed, and the plan was straight forward; kill. It didn’t take long to find the grotesque ogres and their ettin commander. Magic, steel, blood, and sweat mixed in the deep. The battle raged and when the storm passed, the heroes stood over the giant corpses of their foes. With the Skullsplitter felled, the slaves we free of their servile capistrum and made for freedom and sunlight.
As they marched to safety, the adventurers marched into the spiders’ den. Finding no ordinary spider, the party has a vicious fight against a retriever! Zlekin nearly falls to his injuries as the tiefling woman named Metruni makes a quick and fleeting appearance. She can’t escape and is quickly brought down by arrow and spell.
Emboldened by their victory, the party opts to push to the bottom of the mystery of the constructs. The mystery deepens when the party found themselves in a trap invested altar of some sort. Defeating the summoned demons, albeit barely, the party returns to a more determined state of mind.
Deeper.
Deeper.
The party works quietly now, which proves to be a boon as they get the jump on some human guards. By no means an easy victory, the party puts them down convincingly. Now low on resources, Bill provides a safe shelter for them to rest and prepare for the next push. Keeping with the scouting technique, Auida reconnoiters the way forward, helping the party surprise some strange constructs. They fall easily, but the sense that more are to come pervades everyone’s thoughts.
The maze, littered with twists, turns, and foes eventually yields to humanoids willing to talk. A halfling man. He introduces himself as Waldat. Not being a gnome, Bill trusts the fellow. It was a bad move. The halfling was dead, and in its place an awful creature known as a ecorche had taken over the corpse. Desna smiled, for he was easily dispatched.
One of the other prisoners turned out to be Arvanor, Eliza's Baratella's missing assistant! Despite assurances, he would rather walk than teleport out, so he opted to stay hidden, putting his faith in his saviors to complete the mission first.
All of that, led to this:
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Bill proudly stands over the fallen construct as the group takes it down, pondering to himself about the mechanical beasts that he should have prepared for. "Perhaps I should look into some anti-construct magicks for the future..." he mutters.
Zelkin nods "thank you" to his friends and takes out his healing stick.
Shall we press on or do we need some time to replenish ourselves?
Whitestripe and I are ready to continue. We don't have use many of our ressources, so we don't need to rest for now.
Answer Sven to Zelkin's question
Grouh !
confirmes Whitestripe.
After a harrowing trip through the mine, the end is in sight. Sunlight, dirtied though it may be, shines ahead of you. You're exhausted, yet you know you've yet to discover the source of these errant automatons.
Aiuda leads the party out of the mine and breathes deeply from the fresh air. She then starts taking in the surroundings and even climbs up a large rock to get a better view. "I think I know where we are, or close enough," she says as she leaps down. She takes out a piece of parchment and makes a quick sketch. "We should be safe enough. Let's rest quickly and then see if we can find out more about these malfunctioning automatons."
[ooc]Cool! I'll get leveled up tonight.
Arvanor is in no condition to help. If you're confident in the trail behind you, you can send him back. Otherwise he's going to "Wait right here, because getting deeper into this mess is a BAD idea..."
"Arvanor. I told you. I can send you from here in an instant. Do not worry about us." the wizard remarks.
"and I told you I don't want my bits scattered all over the mana wastes. You'll need to come back this way anyhow."
His demeanor is light, but firm.
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Aiuda leads the way and tries to find someplace outside where they can settle down and think of their next move. "Perhaps you will take Bill's offer of a teleport back to Alkenstar now, Arvanor?" she asks.
Yes, we need to get him out of here. I'd rather not have to worry about him any longer. Send him back.
The conversation with the aid continues as Aiuda leads the party outside. Strong winds rush through the valley, scattering debris a bout . Lightning lashes out in all directions . Beneath the storm-rent skies, a rid hills give way to a sloping valley with a meandering river running through it. Not fifty feet to the east, three massive lifts deliver ore to equally impressive conveyors, which transfer the material to a nearby water mill several hundred feet away. Farther off, orange and red smog bellows into the sky from the long pillars jutting from a large stone fortification.
You find yourself directly in the midst of a massive mana storm-one of the magical tempests that frequently assail the Mana Wastes. Clouds of roiling arcana thunder with insane eldritch energy and it feels like they could undo the fabric of reality at any given moment.
It's bad.
Arvanor immediately digs in his heels about teleportation.
Based on the view, it'll take you two hours on foot to get to the outpost beyond. If you hustle, you might beat the storm before it breaks...
"We should make haste before this storm worsens." Aiuda cautions. "Lest anyone try to follow us..." she casts pass without trace on everyone. "There, now let's make haste."
Leaving no tracks, Aiuda leads the party towards the building. Arvanor wishes you luck, but stays behind.
The haste is worth it, but not enough. Before reaching the building the storm breaks, and the world rips a bit. The sound of Alkenstar canons BOOM in your ears. IT's as if you're in the middle of a battle.
As you approach you get a feel for the shape of the building, which looks far more militaristic than it did an hour ago. You approach from the SW (Map is updated.) The wind and boom of the storm makes it hard to see and you're not sure how well you could shoot an arrow in this wind.
In each tower flanking the main gate stand a trio of bat-like humanoids
They don't speak against the wind, but they level heavy crossbows at you. The message is clear, leave.
Sabosans! These bat-like creatures are competent warriors, with a scream that can deafen someone, even in this storm.
The storm is worsening...
So, do we try to talk down these creatures or fight our way past?
Aiuda mutters, "Sabosans! Not what I expected to see out here! Careful of their screams. Should we take them out?"
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If there is no other course of action, yes.
"If you'd like, I can teleport us back to Alkenstar." remarks Bill to the group. "The primal magicks will have little effect on my own spellcasting."
Bill conjures up a teleportation circle at his feet and invites the group into the area before finishing the incantation.
Regardless, Aiuda loosing her bow is enough to make it clear that this isn't peaceful.
Round 1:
Bill: Go
Zelkin: Go
Aiuda: Go
Baddies: TBD
Sven: TBD
If Teleport
Even as Aiuda knocks an arrow, Bill casts a spell to bring them all back to Alkenstar. and is on target! The looks are strange, but strange is par for the course.
If no Teleport: The towers are 20' up and made of hewn stone.
Round 1:
Bill: Go
Zelkin: Go
Aiuda: Go
Baddies: TBD
Sven: TBD
Aiuda's bow is in her hands before anyone even notices and she starts firing at the guards in the towers.
Deciding to let the archers do their work, Zelkin will cast Magic Circle vs Evil to protect the party for the next 140 minutes.
Aiuda opens with a volley of confident arrows. All but one arrow lands. The creature's eyes grow wide enough that even in the storm you can see the surprise. It doesn't fall, though it's not far from it judging by the depth of the elf's arrows.
Round 1:
Bill: Go
Zelkin: Go
Aiuda: FIRE!
Baddies: TBD
Sven: TBD
Red: 60
Blue:
Black:
Green:
Yellow:
White:
Deciding to let the archers do their work, Zelkin will cast Magic Circle vs Evil to protect the party for the next 140 minutes.
An intricate circle, perfect in form surrounds Zelkin for a moment.
Round 1:
Bill: Go
Zelkin: MCaE
Aiuda: FIRE!
Baddies: TBD
Sven: TBD
Red: 60
Blue:
Black:
Green:
Yellow:
White:
Bill flies straight up to be even with the grouping of Sabosans and weaves his hands in a hypnotic pattern. "Et mors iam magicae facultatem fortunam amplecti te poscere fata."
Yes, the reroll was needed for primal magic. I need a fly check though.
The riotous display of colors is unlike anything in the mortal realm. They wash over the bat-like men.
Red: GONE
Blue: STONE
Black:
Green:
Yellow:
White: STONE
When the spell abates, one cluster of the guards is totally eliminated. A half-dozen crossbow bolts from repeating crossbows come streaking towards Bill, though the wind makes them erratic:
for
Threat
for
for
MISS
MISS
MISS
They look like they're going to take to the skies too!
Round 1:
Bill: Rainbow!
Zelkin: MCaE
Aiuda: FIRE!
Baddies: ATK
Sven: Go
Green: 40
Yellow: 80
White: 40
Sven begins to shoot at the creature, following Aiuda's lead asking for the strength of the bull and the dexterity of the tiger.