If Aaog-Shagga had a normal nose, he would have turned it up at the blob creature as it lashes out at him again. That's when he sees Kar-Zaweeb fall, however, and the sight drives him to abandon all caution in search of his prize. "NO!!!" he shouts into everyone's minds. HIS DEATH IS MINE! HIS BRAIN IS MINE!!!" He flies with all haste into the adjoining chamber and towards the unconscious form of his enemy.
Seeing the 'man' crumple to the ground, Rataji turns back to the previous room. Stumbling in that direction, he doubles over vomitting on the cavern floor.
Eremay watches Falth to see if he calms down after he went on his sudden rage...and also to see if he spits frogs as she has heard some devil-kin do... Soon after the fight ends her loss of strength returns and she steadies herself along the wall.
Falth grins wickedly as Zaweeb falls, then turns his howling storm into a barrage of lightning bolts, with the intent of destroying the structural integrity of the room itself. "Crab face, do what you will with the brain, but I will see that Zaweeb's body is buried deep within this place." He points at a supporting pillar and closes his palm into a fist, attempting to destroy it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"AS IF I NEEDED YOUR PERMISSION, TINY DEMON! OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Aogg-Shagga lands next to Kar-Zaweeb's unconscious form with a loud crash and a series of clicks, then sets about devouring him, thrusting a claw through his chest, lifting him bodily off of the floor, and shoving him into his open maw, head first. After a series of gut-wrenching sounds of bones being shattered and innards being slurped, a seventh brain appears in the final vacant pod on Aogg-Shagga's back, and he roars in beastial fury. "AT LAST! I AM COMPLETE, AS IS MY REVENGE!!! Thank you, tiny mortals, for your assistance in this matter. For your loyalty, I shall spare your lives...for the time being. Now, let us leave this horrid place before the insane one brings it down upon our heads."
Shohiraj has a good look around the room, trying to avoid the unprofessional Faith and the simply monstrous Aogg-Shagga - shuddering with deep disgust when the beast devours Kar-Zaweeb.
When Faith starts targeting the structure of the room she calls out "Are you insane? you didn't think it might be a good idea to wait for everyone to get out, or maybe warn them." while heading for the exit.
As she leaves the room she snarls at Earamay "I thought you had that demon under control!"
As the two foes perish and the spell releases him, Rataji smiles. 'Surely they'll take me back now!'
He begins quickly searching the two rooms for any notes he can find. If located, he immediately shoves them into his pack.
As his companions mental health becomes more and more questionable, the slender man follows Shohiraj towards the exits.
|
The cursed psychic webs fade quickly and the hungry flesh is quickly dispatched as well. Aaog-Shogga enacts his bloody revenge on his former captor and torturer. Falth weakens the main supporting column and the roof groans ominously.
Surprisingly (or maybe not), Joliryn never reappeared after going invisible at the start of the battle.
As the rest of you search (and destroy), you find that this large laboratory contains more records, strange specimens, and financial documents that confirms this lab’s funding came from the Consortium, and correspondence between the lead researcher and Professor Kramolag, who appears to live along the Nidalese coast. The mutant’s electrum Aspis Consortium badge is especially troubling, for there’s no record of such badges existing or fitting anywhere in the organization’s hierarchy. Only some of the documents begin to identify the badge’s affiliation: an operation referred to only as “Conference Z.”
Once you have ransacked this lab to your satisfaction, you have no time before Slumbersun’s final defense sequence initiates: the claxon echoes louder and every hall is bathed in distinct red flashing lights. Moving quickly to retreat, several avenues of exit are blocked by newly released poisonous gases and caustic mists, while pain-blinded patients wander the corridors, screaming in agony and begging for assistance.
Aogg-Shagga stands by quietly for a moment, watching the wanton destruction and chaos, the gets bored. The Aspis agents once again feel the creature's mind enter theirs as it speaks its farewell. "Well, now that Kar-Zaweeb is mine, I suppose I'll be off. Because you prepared him for me and did not hinder me in exacting my vengeance, I shall spare your lives this time, but you mortals and your measly motivations are far too dull for me to continue on at your side." There is another pause as he begins to hover above the ground, his many spiny legs waving in the air and his claws clacking sharply. Finally, he speaks to the agents again.
"AOGG-SHAGGA, OUT!!!!" And he flies out of the room, off to fulfill whatever other purposes he might have.
'So...she ditches us again' considers Rataji as they flee.
"Shall we go out the same way we came in? I'd hate to wind up trapped in here." replies the enchanter as he looks around the corridors.
"Uh...your welcome? I guess. Thanks for not eating us." he replies to the monster making it's escape. 'I really hope I don't meet that thing again.'
|
|
The group races through the tangled halls, pressed on by emotionless recordings that the "destruction of the facility is imminent." You eventually reenter the manor through the bedroom trap door. The odd theletos aeon creature from before is nowhere to be seen.
Peering out from the front gate, you see the workers in the field have returned, several are racing between buildings, carrying what they can of their personal belongings. Others, the scientists from the above-ground labs, load documents into the saddlebags of the few horses on site.
The grating buzz of the underground claxons echoes slightly in the compound, granting a noticeable excitement in everyone's step.
Rushing towards the scientists, Rataji draws an intricate pattern in the air before looking to the closest one.
"Why don't you hand those to me. I'll keep them safe for you."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Shohiraj uses the chaos to move among the scientists and deftly palms anything interesting looking, carefully using the horses and people to hide her actions from both scientists and colleagues.
|
|
As the researchers flee, Rataji attempts to force the lead one to succumb but he simply stares blankly back.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I can only release these to Temarra. You should know that!"
As he goes to mount his horse, Shohiraj helps him up, making sure to grasp and quickly shield a large sheaf of papers in her cloak without his notice.
"Thank you ma'am." He nods to Shohiraj. He starts to direct the horse off but instead turns back to your group. "What the hells happened down there?"
Hallucinogenic Gas: Diluted, this gas serves as a mild anesthetic. Concentrated, it is dramatically dulls all of the senses with long-term effects. Temarra ordered the entire batch be delivered to the manor with no further questions.
Sleeping Serum: This syrup of somnus root typically helps combat insomnia. More than five years ago, the pharmacists allowed a batch to steep too long (in addition to several other errors). The resulting fluid caused an even deeper sleep, but the test subjects began convulsing and screaming from night terrors they could not escape. One of the patients died from fright. Temarra ordered the entire batch delivered to the manor with no further questions. She has since ordered five more batches using the same failed recipe, all with the same destination.
As Rataji begins emitting an aura of despair, he considers his response.
"Well, something they were experimenting with got out of containment and went berserk. Beyond that...I just know the alarms sounded and I fled."
Eremay nods at Shohiraj when the papers are taken knowing the Aspis can review them more fully at their leisure when the group returns. She almost feels the need to help Rataji bluff past these imbeciles until he hears his convincing lie and she almost believes him herself.
Shohiraj is not as deft as she would like to be...
[dice=sleight of hand]d20+18
Shohiraj is not as deft as she would like to be...
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
A bizarre creature, doused in flames and dripping of caustic juices, bursts to the surface, but collapses into the dirt before taking another step.
"Well that's it, I'm not hanging around to see what comes out next. Good luck and perhaps we will meet again in Ostenso!" The researcher lowers his head and spurs the horse off with a yell.
Smoke and acidic fumes drift slowly up from the now exposed secret hatches to the tunnels below. Glass shatters and the screams of those trapped below echo for long moments but ultimately silence in time.
No one else notices as the five of you slip out and into the surrounding forest.
Your return trip seems uneventful until you cross into Cheliax. Within an hour, a team of Aspis operatives led by a finely dressed Garundi agent named Amersanus Valacosti meet you. The agents instantly begin to collect the files, documents, and specimens you have collected and place them in haversacks and iron chests.
Valacosti speaks with a commanding demeanor. "My team is to escort you back to Ostenso for debriefing. You are to speak of nothing that you saw to anyone except Iaovin Ratarion. Are we clear?"
----------------------------------
As you approach the Aspis HQ in Ostenso, members of Valacosti’s team teleport you directly into the Aspis Building and shepherd you back to the Hall of Blades.
Iaovin Ratarion snidely debriefs you, asking probing questions and repeatedly reminding you that what they discovered is to be kept completely confidential—even with regards to high-ranking members of the Consortium. He seems particularly worried that the strange creature that devoured Zurnzal has made off without consequence.
He does end the meeting on a somewhat favorable note, however.
"For your service and compliance, I assure you that you will be paid in full for your sacrifice, whether that’s in gold, favors, or the tearing up of pending bounties."