Purpose Creche takes a shot at the two remaining unidentified Andorans in hopes that flickering green light of his blunted arrows will show their true nature.
1, 2, and 8 slip in the ice!
Number 4 gets frostbitten by Joli, but Poli can't quite connect. Purpose, struggling to tell real soldiers from fake one, shoots twice and misses.
Andoran 1, prone
Andoran 2, prone
Andoran 3, real
Andoran 4, real, 13 NL, fatigued
Andoran 5, unconscious, fake
Andoran 6, unconscious, real
Andoran 7, unconscious, fake
Andoran 8, prone
Harpoon
Toby
Purpose
Silt
Joli
Harpoon is up!
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"I am so confused!
The Harpoon lets loose a gentle flurry of blows on #4.
"Bap, bap bap!"
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Number 4, delicately, goes unconscious from the Harpoon's gentle flurry.
Number 3 tries to move out of the ice.
He slides around a bit, then tries again.
Still sliding.
1, 2, and 8 stand and then try the same thing.
8 moves in, provoking from Poli, Joli, and Silt. 2 moves in right behind.
Andoran 1,
Andoran 2,
Andoran 3, real
Andoran 4, unconscious, real
Andoran 5, unconscious, fake
Andoran 6, unconscious, real
Andoran 7, unconscious, fake
Andoran 8,
Harpoon
Toby
Purpose
Silt
Joli
Toby glares at the oncoming soldier as shimmering, watery brass knuckles form on his hand. "Hmph, I don't want to hit you!" He reaches back and swings a watery fist at them, hoping to knock them down without killing them.
Silt begins with #8 and then moves on to #2 if possible.
Poli lashes out...
As does Joli...
Silt makes a perception check at the ones coming down the hall…
Confident his friends can address the closest targets, Purpose Creche fires at the furthest Andoran.
Poli hits with the AoO!
Toby lashes out with a kinetic blade, knocking #8 unconscious. As the man crumbles, he changes into a faceless stalker.
Silt starts in on #2. In his effort not to injure the soldier, he only hits with one claw. As he attacks, he is pretty sure that the person is a person and not a stalker.
Purpose sends an arrow at the farthest one. By the damage dealt, it appears to be a faceless stalker.
Andoran 1, -14 hp, fake
Andoran 2, 20 NL, real
Andoran 3, real
Andoran 4, unconscious, real
Andoran 5, unconscious, fake
Andoran 6, unconscious, real
Andoran 7, unconscious, fake
Andoran 8, unconscious, fake
Harpoon
Toby
Purpose
Silt
Joli
Harpoon and Joli still up!
Joli moves next to the closest Andoran and waits for Poli to move into flank.
Poli flays the poor soul without regard to its ensorcellment.
Joli and Poli send #2 unconscious.
Harpoon is up!
The Harpoon moves in to attack #3.
"Wa-bap!"
"Impersonators!"
Harpoon hits!
The two remaining soldiers attack Harpoon!
Andoran 1, -14 hp, fake
Andoran 2, unconscious, real
Andoran 3, 12 NL, real
Andoran 4, unconscious, real
Andoran 5, unconscious, fake
Andoran 6, unconscious, real
Andoran 7, unconscious, fake
Andoran 8, unconscious, fake
Harpoon
Toby
Purpose
Silt
Joli
Everyone is up!
Purpose Creche looses two pointed, emerald-sheathed arrows at the nearest ugothol.
Seeing Purpose firing at one of the people with pointy arrows, Toby surmises that his more knowledgeable friend has identified that one as a fake. He growls and unleashes a mighty blast at the false Andoran.
Purpose takes down #1!
The last soldier loses his grasp on his suddenly icy sword!
Joli and Poli repeat their maneuver...
Joli moves next to the remaining, witless captive and waits for Poli to move into flank.
Poli lashes out.
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The Harpoon gently flurries #3.
’”Fight unwitting foes as you would cook a small fish- delicately.”
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Silt frowns. How would Harpoon cook a large fish?
Joli and Poli can't quite flank #3 but both hit nevertheless! Harpoon's kick takes the last soldier down.
It is finally quiet.
Silt will coup de gras any unconscious worms.
He will help tie up the controlled Andorans with his kelp rope.
Will you wake one of these not-worms, Joli?
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Silt decides to take initaitive, using a wand and shaking a human soldier awake. He leans down, close to the person's face; an olive-colored mudskipper falls out of a coral pauldron and is caught — gently — in a taloned hand. The scrag's breath smells of low tide, and maybe something dead on the beach.
See — Silt points to one of the recently coup-de-graced faceless stalkers — worms, all killed.
He leans in close. We are nice people, friends of strixies and locathah and werr-woulds and scary lanterns, here to free nice friends. Did you walk your feet? Did you swing the sword you swung? Are eyes in your eyes, watching Silt?
Joli joins Silt. "We come from Talmandor's Bounty, having vanquished a new invasion by the faceless ones and their aboleth master. Perhaps you've met him?"
"I'll reconnoiter."
Tendrils of smoke swirl out of Purpose Creche's coat pocket, coalescing into an orb that disappears shortly after. He sends the mind eye gliding deeper into the structure.
"You're too late! They're all dead; everyone is dead! You let them all down! You failed!"
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Silt glances at the Harpoon and tries to gently smack the dominated person back asleep.
… like a prancing Karl… deli-cat.
He wonders about how to free these poor souls of their enchantment.
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”It cannot be true!”
When Silt fails to delicately claw the Andoran, Riku frowns and says:
”My friend, even a delicate cat can be deadly... You must learn when to strike like a poet, with words.”
Harpoon thinks that it was said to hurt, without any real regard for whether it was true.
Joli looks with some horror on Silt’s brutal blow before checking the Andoran for signs of life.
Yes… even handsome Karl can be deadly, believe it or not. Silt will practice the poems, and the worms will listen! He flexes his claw.
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Joli spends a moment trying to formulate words Silt will understand. His forehead wrinkles.
"The Andorans are like tubers that have been kidnapped by Rass-berries and left to sit in the foul things' bloody juice. But they are not rass-berries! They just need us to wash the juice off, without killing them!"
He takes a moment to heal his wounds.
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Silt blanches at the graphic imagery.
As if stating the obvious he says Yes, that is why I asked if he walked his feet. He looks at the unconscious body, guiltily. Better to go back to sleep… but more like a poet next time. The poet's sleep.
In order:
C7: The smell of oil and grease fills this room, where armorplated statue heads, limbs, and torsos as well as gears of all sizes have been placed on stone shelves. A nearly complete body consisting of similar gears and armor plates lies face down on a stone table with a large key embedded in a clockwork mechanism in its back.
C9: Gears, hammers, shears, springs, tongs, and plentiful other tools and components lie scattered on shelves and on the floor of this room. The room’s main features are a large hearth with a darkened metal hood and exhaust duct above it, and an anvil placed in front of it. A single steel gear is lying on the anvil, and right next to the anvil is a stack of metal tablets with cogwheel-shaped indentations of different sizes on them.
C2: Finely crafted but timeworn marble furniture adorns this spacious office.
C10: The walls of this gear-shaped room have seven alcoves, each five feet deep and fitted with a horizontal metal shaft. Each of the hollow, cylindrical shafts has six notches cut around the outer edge. In three of the alcoves stands a trio of intricately sculpted metal statues, one in each alcove.
C11: Three fifteen-foot-tall cylinders of polished bronze each stand on a dais in this long, curved room. The bronze shells look sturdy and heavy, and sizzling arcs of lightning can be seen and heard dancing along the surfaces of the containers. Silvery lines set into the floor connect these containers, and tiny embedded crystals pulsate with a dim light every few seconds.
C12: Two stone cabinets stand against the south wall of this chamber. A few ancient robes lie crumpled in the room amid fine, colored dust and other debris.
C13: Stone shelves on the walls of this storage room are full of jars and vials of different sizes. A sweet but musty smell hangs heavy in the air.
C6: Many long bookcases of fine marble stand side by side in this room. Some of the shelves have been smashed to pieces, and countless marble fragments and remains of ancient documents are strewn about the floor. The few surviving books and other documents on the shelves look wrinkled and fragile. The air in this room is stale and reeks of mold.
C5: The steep stairs in this wide hallway connect the upper temple to the lower temple 30 feet below. Purpose thinks he sees some creatures lying in wait in the water.
C4: Battered steel chests lie scattered across the floor of this vault, their contents strewn throughout the room. The thick stone walls are reinforced with steel bars and look nearly impenetrable, but the door to the vault has been torn off the hinges.
The mind eye tries to force its way underwater, but can't quite propel itself.
Purpose Creche points to the southeast. "Several creatures lurking there. In a stairwell that leads downwards. Deeper into these ruins." One by one, he indicates various directions with a reedy finger."Other rooms on this floor. Offices. Laboratories perhaps. Workshops."
He ends his report by pointing to the northwest. "And there. A clockwork being. Intricate construction. Maybe it's like the wyrwoods. Alive since Earthfall. It might help us."
Toby's ears perk up at the mention of the clockwork figure. "Let's go in there! That sounds neat!"
"I agree. Azlanti clockwork is very neat."
Purpose Creche looks to the unconscious Andorans. "Should we bring them with us. They will be safe from interference. We will also be there to. Ah," his head tilts slightly towards Joli, "deal with them. If they wake up with the worm inside them. I believe Silt could carry them all."
The group enters C7. The smell of oil and grease fills this room, where armor-plated statue heads, limbs, and torsos as well as gears of all sizes have been placed on stone shelves. A body consisting of similar gears and armor plates lies face down on a stone table with a large key embedded in a clockwork mechanism in its back. The body lacks one leg, but appears otherwise complete.
She has a slot in her forehead with an ioun stone that looks much like the one you took from the observatory.
A combination of magic and advanced corrosion-resistant steel alloys has kept the clockwork components here in almost pristine condition despite their incredible age, their proximity to the sea, and the high levels of airborne salinity. However, all the automatons wound down long ago, and most of them are little more than heaps of severed body parts.
You think the clockwork parts are worth about 3000 gp.
Purpose Creche explores the intricacies of several components, thing fingers questing over the ancient material. "Most are just parts. Very valuable parts. Magic and metallurgy protect them from time and environment."
He sets a disembodied arm back on the ground and turns to the table. "But this one may be operational."
He does his best to find the construct's missing leg. He then pulls the observatory ioun stone from a pocket, places it in the construct's forehead, and takes a step back.
"I hope she's a friend. We could use more allies like you, Purpose, free from psychic tinkering." Joli looks patiently on as Purpose wakes friend or foe.
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Riku looks at the mechanical parts with curiousity, jealous of the craftsmanship.
”Let us hope she doesn’t wake up and demand my leg. It is much too dangerous to give to a stranger. She could use it against us! Maybe we shoudn’t risk it. Plus, what would I do? Hop to our friends?”
Riku thinks that it might be possible for a skilled crafter to attach his leg, but it would likely be more difficult than attaching one of the spare legs that's in the room.
"Our hopping needs are filled by Joli. I believe."
Purpose Creche steps up to the stone table. "I hope she is friendly as well. Let's find out."
He turns the key in the construct's back, and the tick of intricate mechanisms set in motion sounds from the ancient machinery.
The clockwork creature begins to move. She sits up and her eyes pass over each of you. She scans the room, taking measure of the objects and other clockwork creatures strewn about. She starts to push herself off the table, but stops on noticing that she has only one leg.
She speaks, in Azlanti.
"Well met, visitors. I am Aoinse. What brings you here? How long have I been dormant?"
Purpose Creche bows stiffly, then introduces his friends."I'm Purpose Creche. My friends are Joli, Riku, Toby, and Sil'tchaak."
"You've been dormant more than eight thousand years. This facility is on a small island. A handful that remain after Azlant's destruction. We came to them to settle and learn. But enemies. Ugothols. Abboleths. Live here as well. They've kidnapped some of our friends. We believe they're held here."
He makes a sweeping gesture, indicating the ruins. "Tell me. Please. What is this place. I saw lightning cylinders. More clockwork beings. Strange crystals. And more flooded rooms below."
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Toby watches in awe as the clockwork woman comes to life. He just barely contains himself from saying out loud that's so cool!
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Can worms burrow in metal, and hide inside?
Riku bows and greets Aoinse in Tian.
”I am Riku Yumehito from Minkai. Some call me The Harpoon. I am a member of an organization called the Pathfinder Society. One of our agents is missing and I believe he is being held prisoner somewhere in this place along with the others. I suspect much has changed here while you were dormant.”
His eyes move to Aoinse’s missing leg. ”Are you able to repair yourself? I have some training in crafting weapons, perhaps I could help. A careful foot can walk anywhere, but a weaponized leg can be a lifesaver.”
Toby shakes his reverie from his head and pipes up. "Um...I could help too, maybe? I'm tinkered with some of this clockwork stuff a bit."