"Hey guys i think those panels are--- DWAH!"
He shrieks as they begin firing. "Ah... any reason we shouldn't just sit tight until the crossbow is out of bolts?"
Gilstrom tries to step into the doorway to get a sense of the room, moving very carefully with his shield up.
Arcilde suggests waiting a moment out of the doorway, and as she suspected, the firing does stop.
Gilstrom steps back into the doorway and looks closely at the crossbows. Unfortunately, keeping his shield up to defend himself makes it harder to look right at them, and he doesn't get much of a look.
As the crossbows fire, you do notice more electro-magical sparks coming from the panel across the room that Lily hit.
"What about if we throw random objects into the room until the crossbow runs out of ammo?"
Gervase peers back into the foyer. "Stuff like wall panelling, floor rubble, spare gnomes. That kinda thing."
"Hmm ..." She fixes her gaze on the bodies of the skum.
"We could hold that pair up in the doorway and wave them about like puppets."
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Gilstrom grins. "I like it. I'm a little short for it but perhaps you and Lily could be puppeteers. Uh, it could be a little messy though. "
Lily frowns and nods.
Sounds like a good idea to me.... if kinda disgusting.
She goes to retrieve the bodies and looks at Gervase.
I have an idea... Arcilde, mind if I borrow that trident... oh man this is worse than time in the Pickled Tallow...
She takes the Harpoon and skewers the Scrum on it before sticking it out into the hall like a piece of meat on a fork, giving a grunt of effort.
Oh man this is worse than time in the Pickled Tallow...
"Well, at least you're sober this time, Lily."
Gervase nods sagely. "And for the record, I believed you when you said you didn't know he was dead."
The ranger copies her friend's 'shish-kebab' technique. "Not going for the spit-roast this time?"
"Probably just as well. I've only just eaten."
She hangs the shrimpy skum out in the breeze to be skewered. "Dance, puppet. Dance!"
How was I suppose to know he had a heart condition?! Lily bemoans.
Who drinks 12 shots of brandy and invites a girl to his bedroom with a bloody heart condition!
At the spitroast comment Lily sticks her tongue out at Gervase.
I will refrain from making a comment to you on that Gervase, both because it's to easy and because I did promise never to bring up the "Incident" again.
After several minutes of you using the skum as pincushions, the flow of bolts finally stops. You carefully peer into the room to make sure it is safe, and see a door on the left slide open. Two tiny creatures that look nearly identical to the one you found in the colony on the first day come out. One drags a sack that seems to contain more bolts, and starts climbing up the wall. The other makes its way across the room and starts climbing toward the damaged panel.
Gervase takes the Erastilian longbow off her shoulder and lines up for a sneaky sniper shot.
Oh, no ye don't, ye tiny beasties--ye won't reload those crossbows! Arcilde moves into the room and grabs the one with bag of bolts as it climbs the wall.
Gilstrom! Lily! Ye can get across the room while they reload!
"YARRRRGHHH!!" shouts Gilstrom as he charges into the room, making for the west door.
---------------------------
After several minutes of you using the skum as pincushions, the flow of bolts finally stops. You carefully peer into the room to make sure it is safe, and see a door on the left slide open. Two bizarre metal creatures the size of humans step out, one carrying a bag of crossbow bolts. As its companion walks toward the busted panel, the one with the bolts turns to face you.
"Та гэм буруутай! Өөрсдийгөө энэ байгууламжаас гаргана уу!"
Gervase thinks it is warning you that you should leave.
"We come in peace!" shouts Gilstrom. He advances in the room to try and prevent the clockwork whatchamacallits from reloading the crossbow. He is, however, ready for a fight.
As Gilstrom steps in, the clockwork says, "Халдагч протоколыг эхлүүлэх,", which Gervase doesn't really understand.
Everyone understands its actions, though, as steps back and a window in its chest opens.
Lily
Gervase
Arcilde
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Red
Green
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Gilstrom
Lily steps out and takes a shot at the one opening it's chest.
Arcilde moves into the room and engages the closest robot.
Gilstrom shrugs as a bolt of wood flies over his head. [b]"Well we did come in peace."[/b
"We ... come in peace."
"Shoot to kill!" Gervase exclaims, dropping Father Eamon's bow as she launches herself 10' through the doorway, drawing the Levin long sword.
---------------
Lily fires an opening shot at the lead clockwork, getting a thorn embedded inside its open chest. Gervase and Arcilde both step and and swing at it; it dodges Arcilde, but that lands it directly into Gervase's swing. The Levin sword strikes true, and knocks the clockwork to the ground, where it lies there, shaking slightly.
The other one takes a step up and its chest opens up. With a whoosh! sound, a net comes flying out toward Gervase, wrapping her tightly!
Being entangled doesn't seem to affect Gervase's attitude much at all.
She waddles forward 10' like a King Penguin on a promise, slapping awkwardly with her blade once the clockwork comes into reach.
"C'm here, dumpling. I take you with ketchup."
Lily aims at the one who hit Gervase.
Here's a little spice!
Despite the net, Gervase walks up and easily strikes the clockwork with the magical sword, and Lily tosses a thorn that lands directly in the opening Gervase created. With a crackle of electricity, the clockwork falls.
You take a moment to recover from the burst of activity, and peer into the room they came out of. The chamber appears to be a workshop, as evidenced by a table along the western wall laden with tools and mechanical parts.
The clockwork soldiers fall apart before Gilstrom can land a hit, and he shrugs cheerfully. "Good work! Those jerks would have dented my trident. I really like how smashing up those clockwork things isn't going to mess with any kind of knightly code I only half-remember. Anyways, what's in here?"
"Apart from the gnear-gnomish glee I derive from smashing up our opponents -- or should I say, enthusiastic investigation of their internal mechanisms -- I can't forget this building's occupants have probably witnessed the processing of Talmandor's Bounty's First Colonists."
Gervase helps Gilstrom search the workshop for clues and treasure before turning her attention to the door set in the room's northern wall.
"Shall we try this door next?"
Arcilde cautiously approaches the door opposite the one the robots came out of.
Should we see what's behind here? I'd not like to leave our backs undefended.
Gilstrom and Gervase start examining the workshop. The only thing that stands out to an initial search is a gemstone sitting on the worktable amid the various tools.
As Gervase considers the door out of the workshop, Arcile listens at the other door in the main hall. She thinks she hears whispers just behind the door.
"Ooh!" Gilstrom snatches the gemstone. He wanders over to Arcilde. "More skum? What are they saying?"
"I'm good with opening Arcilde's door and finding out."
Gervase ensures there is no trace of netting encumbering her, as she grips a trident in both hands. "Everyone ready?"
Gervase doesn't see any immediate danger on the door itself.
Gilstrom sees a very shiny gemstone in his pocket.
Lily holds out her hand and breathes deep with a nod.
Ready.
Everyone lines up by the door, with Lily ready to fire. You open, and see another workshop.
A long marble workbench runs the entire length of the southern wall, and a rusting metal shelf stands on the opposite wall. Squat stools line up along the bench, which is littered with a variety of small, precise hammers and chisels as well as fragments of crystalline stone that looks like quartz. Another exits to the north.
Two skum are inside, one standing by the door while the other is poking around at the worktable. The one by the door yells at his companion.
Lily
Gervase
Arcilde
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Blue
Red
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Gilstrom
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As the door flies open, Gilstrom cries out. "Stand back, Skum! Keep your fishy paws off of our colonists!" He then descends into seconds-long spiral of anxiety trying to figure out if that was heroic or not. Probably not. He gets ready to stab them.
"Arcilde, may I please have your spot once you've finished?"
Gervase delays until after Arcilde and Lily have their turns.
If the door-skum is still up, she steps into Arcilde's spot to attack with her enchanted trident.
If Doory is down, she will move into the workroom to engage the eastern skum.
"Maybe they couldn't hear our fight with the clockworks over the sound of their gem-cutting equipment?"
Lily does as Lily does and holds out her hand.
Die Skum!
Her aim, as usual, needs some work.
"Arcilde, may I please have your spot once you've finished?"
Of course, 'awk, I won' be but wee minute.
Arcilde slashes futilely at the skum, then steps out of Gervase's way.
The three women do a nicely choreographed dance, with Arcilde swinging through the door then making room for Gervase, and Lily firing in between the two. Only Gervase connects, but she strikes a major blow.
It strikes back weakly, then backs up to allow its companion in.
The other fares better, stabbing Gervase in the leg.
"Fiddle dee dee. That may require a tetanus shot."
Gervase winces as she shrugs off the skum's strike. She retaliates before stepping away 5 feet to give the others uninterrupted access to the narrow dance floor.
"Take your partners for the Talmandor Bounty Two-step."
"Gilstrom, please don't step on my feet."
Lily breathes deep, trying to focus her aim.
The blast is rattlingly powerful and nearly throws Lily from her feet, but unfortunately her aim is not much better...
'awk--be careful!
Realizing that her own attacks are having no effect, Arcilde moves around to help Gervase. Arqueos, help protect my friend, she murmurs, touching Gervase on the shoulder.