Sanvil is able to identify any items you were unsure about.
Chezwezl nods at Libri's comment, while counting coins in his head. "I think a trip to supply house may be in order. Maybe some sort of healing items?"
"Aye, and better weapons too." The dwarf grumbles loudly over his ale. "Nor am I fond of all these people coming by my shop to congratulate me. I'm glad for the potential future customers, but I think most of them just come to hear themselves talk." He snorts, loud enough for those in the tavern to hear him.
"I suppose I should see of what to make of all this strange medical gear. Not sure if it'll help or kill us though."
Sanvil Trett pvoes to be a technologically-savvy merchant and has become very interested in your progress. In fact, he has offered his services to you in coming along to explore the ruin; it is not long, however, before his need to find out more information from you gets the better of him and quickly draws your suspicion. He is not the most subtle person in town.
Late at night, you catch Sanvil trying to infiltrate the Foundry and rob some of your notes and discoveries. Val wakes and blocks the door to give you time to confront the scoundrel....
Mef pulls his pistol and points it the scoundral. "Brigh's balls! What the f*&! are you doing man!"
"I just. . . I just needed more. . . more information!"
"Please, I'll tell you! Just let me go without any harm and I'll let you know! I can give you information for my freedom!"
"Look, you know the crime lord Garmen Ulreth? Well, I know they've been up to something in an old warehouse on the east side of Black Hill. I'm not exactly sure what, but I know that Garmen is trying to keep it secret. I think he may have something do with the fire being extinguished!"
Taran walks out of his room in a nightshirt decorated with hammers. He yawns grumpily.
"What's all this about the Ulreth fellow? Gambler and a cheat - I knew he was a scoundrel."
He pulls up a stool to for Sanvil.
"Sit down Master Trett. We're not going to hurt you. How is it you know so much about his nefarious dealings? You've not been getting into worse things then sneaking around trying to pilfer baubles, I hope."
"How. . . how did you know?" the man looks exasperatedly at Libri. "Please, I swear! I was supposed to report to them but I won't if that's what you're getting at. . . I was just trying to spy for them but I saved that one back, that one about Ulreth. Just in case, you know? Just in case I needed to get out of a tight spot. Well, this seems like an awfully tight spot so I thought you might like to know. And I won't tell the League anything!"
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"My senses are keen. More so than you know. And yes. That is precisely what I'm getting at. If you report to the League about our work..." Libri's icy eyes stare daggers at him before she looks around to each of her companions "...you will not be pleased with the outcome. Now, I suggest you tell us all you know about Ulreth."
"That's all! That's all!" pleads Sanvil.
Convinced that you have gotten as much as you can out of Sanvil and that he will not speak but may even be willing to work with you in the future (which could prove useful if he retains his position in the Technic League), the party heads back under the water and into the caves to further explore the strange technological wonders beneath the Hill!
Moving to a central room you have not yet explored, you find the room reeks of stagnant water and decaying vegetation. Long troughs of water run along the walls of the room; a layer of brown scum and algae grows on the water's surface and on the walls. A single workstation sits in the middle of the room connected toa large machine made of tubes and bubbling tanks of water.
Just as Khonnir warned, the room is guarded by a vegepygmy chieftain and two of his plant friends!
Jorac blinds one of the plant creatures!
blue: blind (DC 17)
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The vegepygmy sidesteps Libri's blow as he pulls out a mandolin and uses a bit of bark as a pick!
The other vegepygmy may not be able to see but he can still rock! He pulls out a pair of sticks tries to use Libri as a drumkit!
The lead vegepygmy lets out a loud Roger Daltrey-esque screech in Taran's direction!
blue: blind (DC 17)
Taran waits until Mefindio takes his shot, and then thunders into the room while calling upon Torag to bless him
"Aye, they aren't flesh puppets, and They Might not Be Giants - too small! Where is a druid when you need one? Probably out flying with the Eagles."
He swings at whichever one is left standing and more wounded after Libri's and Mefindios attacks.
Libri indeed cuts Ringo in two! Taran then takes out the mandolinist, leaving only the lead singer to fend for himself!
Chezwezl draws and fires from atop Trigger.
Chezwezl's shot takes down the vegepygmy, leaving a tossed salad scattered about the room!
The lead vegepygmy carried a +1 light hammer and 9 silverdisks but this room offers little else of interest.
Mefindio studies the hammer with interest. At Jorac's comment, he bristles a little. "Weren't no gnomes! They looked like halflings or maybe human children, but I can tell you, they weren't gnomes!"
Mef huffs and shrugs his little shoulders. "Aye, I 'spose that sounds better...."
Looking around, "Which way? To the southeast or the northwest here?", he says, changing the subject.
The air in this room is unusually warm and moist, with a thin, pale vapor of mist clinging to the ceiling, causing the lighted panels to diffuse and become muted. Condensation runs down the walls along with a riot of unusual brown and dull green vegetation. The moist, thick-stemmed plants and vines grow out of long earth-filled troughs along the wall, while a tall column of plant matter extends like a tree trunk from a circular planter in the middle of the room to spread a network of vines across the mist-shrouded ceiling. A low humming sound fills the air.
Five more vegepygmies inhabit this chamber but are quickly made into tossed salad by the party.
The stench of mold and decay fills this open, dark chamber, no doubt created by the thick blanket of fungal matter coating the floor. Several chairs sit before work tables containing unusual tools and equipment, while a row of doors line the curved southern wall.
The four smaller rooms hold four bodies (one per room), constituting the mortal remains of the group of Brigh worshipers who attempted to explore the ruins before your. They are all humans, arranged in sitting positions against the wall. The bodies themselves are riddled through with fungus and split open from neck to belly.
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Jorac looks at the bodies with morbid interest.
"How exciting! It appears they have succumbed to russet mold and spawned the vegepygmies we fought earlier!"
Snapping out of it once his curiosity is satisfied, he proposes "... I mean, why don't we give a decent grave to these poor sods. Maybe bury them in the sand of the dome?"
The party takes the bodies back to bury them properly, stopping along the way in the central room where hung the broken piece. Taking the piece with you, you are sure you can get it repaired in town and get the room functioning again.
"I'm a bit foggy on whether that whole bit was just a fabrication of a desperate human's mind. But I suppose it bears investigating all the same."
An examination of the sparking tube in the central room reveals that a coupling link that once attached the device to the panel has torn free—even a cursory examination of the sparking tip of the broken cord reveals that such a repair could easily be made at a forge. If the circular metal coupling can be repaired, it’s a simple matter of reattaching the power cord to the panel to reactivate the entire room.
Khonnir Baine can fix the broken part for you for free back in town.
"Good, lets take this thing and be out of here. I'm tired of plants and robots and four armed critters bothering us."
No one responds when you call out to the warehouse or knock on the door, a if anyone who might be inside has orders to remain quiet to give the illusion that the building is indeed abandoned.
Mefindio chuckles at Taran's bold approach. "Well, if they didn't know we were here before, they do now. Is the door locked?" Chezwezl asks, checking the door.