As the group makes their way to the caves, Arkady hands over the seven silverdisks and thirty-five gold coins donated between himself and Kayla, and takes the three potions of healing from Father Kyte. He thanks the older priest before hurriedly heading for the lake's edge.
He splits the silverdisks that remain into five even piles of eight and hands each pile to the adventurers before him that were in the previous days expedition under the caves. "Who should be the ones to carry the potions we have bought? Preli, Adrien, and our new companion? Or those of us who are in more immediate danger?"
Father Kyte, walks with the party up to the pond, and once there he again goes through his procedure to provide the party with water breathing skills, a complex process that seems to involve at least two wands.
When finished, he turns to them: "Remember, you have eight hours before the spells wear off. So be sure to get back here before that time."
Making their way through the underground tunnels, the party find themselves back (for those who have already visited) in the first cavern.
Dampness hangs in the air of this cave, condensing into heavy moisture on the slick, stone walls. The calm, dark waters, only about two feet deep, wind around to the east up north, along a stony, soot-scarred beach. A five-foot-high ledge sporting several stalagmites rises to the east, beyond which a low-ceilinged cave beckons.
There are the remains of three fire beetles here, all killed by the party on their previous visit. There's no sign of further such creatures having visited, and the only light comes from Thum's stone.
The group moves through the caverns, to the crossroads where they first met the Gathering. Luepel is there, and as they enter she emerges from the shadows and bows.
"You return. Sef of the the Gathering sends her greetings. I shall lead you to the gate."
She leads the party through the corridors beyond, into the vast chamber that makes up the Gathering's Lair. They pass by a pit, uninvestigated on the previous visit, at the centre of the chamber. The pit drops away in a series of descending shelves, each dipping 5 feet lower until, at the bottom, it disappears in a black tunnel or hole, with no visible floor. A soft, cold breeze rises from this shaft.
Luepel nods toward it, sadly. "Tunnel to Darklands, where our true home lies. Our old leader brought us from there, with her magic. But she is dead, and we have no way of returning. And so the Gathering is here, and must thrive or die. We shall die, I think."
Finally, the party reaches the dark grey metal wall at the east side of the chamber. The wall's expanse is pitted and scorched but quite solid looking. A strange, circular opening pierces the wall five feet off the ground, allowing access to some sort of hallway on the other side.
"Curious. What is this aperture?" Darian asks, regarding the opening in the wall. "I do not recognize this material."
"If I remember correctly, we were told that Khonnir said the walls were made of glaucite... but if that's the case, something very powerful must have hit it to cause these pits and scorch marks." Adrien runs his hand along the surface of the wall, examining it with interest. "Glaucite is a very strong material, and it doesn't damamge easily, even something superficial like this appears to be... and, I have to admit, that hole there interests me. We should probably head through it, give it a look." Adrien moves over to it, beckoning Ozzy to follow him. "Ozymandias an give us a lift, if anyone needs it. He can make it up on his own."
"Let me go first and check for traps or other unwelcome things...keep an eye out for me, Ozy!" With that, the half-elf scampers up and through the hole, landing softly on the other side after checking out the area for tripwires or anything that looks like a trap.
"Do you want to go back? Luepel isn't it? No-one should be barred from their home. We could maybe try and help you get back if you wanted? ...for a price of course."
The last is added as an afterthought and without feeling. It does nothing to hide the genuine, and uncharacteristic, concern and compassion that he was displaying.
With that said he waits for the all clear from Kayla, bouncing up and down gently.
Arkady listens to the tale spun by Luepel and remembers his own home that he can no longer return to. "Luepel, you will bring your ancestors and your fallen no honour by choosing to wither and die. Better to live and honour your ancestors with your actions. You have no enemies down here - why not make this your home and trade with the town above as neighbours for your needs."
Darian nods at Arkady's comment and says, "Clearly something went amiss in these caverns that disturbed the livelihood of the town above. If the people above had advance warning of this, they could have prepared for this eventuality and perhaps had a better idea of what they might face, which could in turn have prepared Khonnir Baine's expedition for success and avoided needless deaths. As the local residents of this area you are best-informed about such happenings and, if you had a stronger tie with the townsfolk, could have provided valuable warning. You have a potentially useful role to serve with your neighbors, which could result in mutually beneficial assistance."
Luepel stares briefly, then shakes her head. "No," she says. "This is the end. Complete your own quest first."
She fades into the background, abruptly and without warning. You can no longer see her, or discern her presence. But there's a disembodied voice.
"I shall tell Sef of your words. Perhaps, when you return ... the Gathering will hear more of you."
"All clear!" she calls out to the rest of the group. Kayla holds a shortsword in one hand and one of her sunrods in the other. She will look for a latch or other means to open the double doors, and then search around the area while the rest of the group enters.
"I will remain here until the others have crossed inside; I believe I am well ss-s-suited to aiding others in entering," Ozymandias says, as he hauls Adrien up to the hole and allows him to crawl through. "If any others require assistance, I will raise you to the entryway." Ozymandias lowers his one massive hand to the ground, offering it for any party member who might need it. "Adrien, remain close to Kayla until I arrive; you are currently outside my operational area."
Preli runs at the wall and leaps to grab the edge of the hole, his tiny feet scramble at the pocked wall for a few seconds before he drops to the ground once more.
"Fine!"
With a sigh he hops onto Ozzy's massive hand and crosses his arms.
Through the doorway, the party find a small, rubble-strewn chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling of this slightly curved hallway are made of a smooth, dark-grey metal. Panels of lighter material run along the ceiling eight feet above. To the north and south the tunnel is blocked by walls of metal junk and rubble, while open doorways yawn to the east and west (whence they came).
"OK, so how about I let one of you hold this sunrod while I sneak ahead 20 to 30 feet and scout ahead of us? My half-elven eyes can see fine in the lower light, and you won't be so far behind that you can't get to me if I need help..." Kayla says to the group when they are all in the chamber. "Sound like a plan?"
When the party agrees, she will draw her other short sword and sneak ahead of the group going east, looking for traps and other dangers...
"Your proposition is sound. While I can also see in darkness, I lack training in stealth," says Darian (a bit quietly).
"Likewise. Can see well enough in the pitch dark, but I am not exactly the most silent of folks."
"Thüm would fain call out to Khonnir Baine. Stealthy steps are slow," the old barbarian grumbles, but hangs back as Kayla moves ahead, following slowly after she disappears into the gloom.
Preli leaps forward to grab the sunrod, big eyes sparkling.
"Fear not, I shall bear the shiny torch....might even give it back..."
He moves forward behind Kayla, following her steps but leaving a sizable gap.
"Well, there's nowhere else to go but forward," Adrien says, just as Ozymandias climbs up into the tunnel behind the group. "We'll press forward for now, and see if we can't at least pick up Khonnir's trail before we have to head back. There's only one way to go, so..." Adrien's voice trails off as Kayla and Preli make the first move, realizing just in time he was about to be talking to himself. Ozymandias follows close enough behind Kayla to help her locate traps, as well as rush to her aid if needed.
This next room, though it runs west-east rather than north-south, looks very similar to the previous one, and is similarly strewn with piles of rubble. In a corner sits a construct, apparently dormant, almost identical to the one that Khonnir recovered and which you fought at Baine's house.
On the eastern side of the room is another doorway.
Preli pulls out his big pistol and edges towards the construct (not having seen the one that Khonnir found in one peice) and pokes the thing with Kayla's torch...
Darian likewise approaches cautiously, stopping about 10' from the unknown construct. "Curious," is all he says. "Be advised, associate Preli, if the device is still animate and hostile, you are currently within the blast radius of my explosives, should I be forced to deploy one against it."
Kayla steps around the construct as far away as she can and heads to the next set of doors to check them for traps, locks or anything else that would impede their progress.
As Preli prods the construct, it whirls into life and turns menacingly on the party.
The construct turns first towards Preli, trying to slam into him ...
... and missing.
With a squark Preli hops backwards and fires his pistol with a cacophonous boom.
Kayla was afraid the big metal thing was going to do this...which is why she tried to sidestep it! But her insatiable friend just had to touch everything... She swipes at the construct with both short swords by reflex and training, barely thinking before the blades move. Unfortunately, the reaction is poorly timed and her strikes plink harmlessly off of it's metal plating.
Thüm rushes in with a glad cry and swings his longaxe down at the construct, the blow clearing Prelli's head by scant inches.
Darian hesitates for just a moment, as he has no clear shot, then tries to fire his crossbow anyway, looking for a lucky hit.
(firing past cover into melee)
Waiting for Preli to dodge away from the creature, Ozymandias hustles forward and swings his massive metal fist around in an attempt to slam the other robotic creature into the wall. "Engaging primary defense matrix, hosti-i--i-ile target detected," Ozymandias says after the ring of Preli's pistol shot dies out, but the confines of the small space prevent him from maneuvering to the best of his ability.
Unable to get past the large mechanical companion, Arkady contemplates drawing a javelin from the clip on his back. "If you have a chance to draw that thing into the open, please do!" he calls out, waiting for an opportunity to use the javelin in a way that is not going to skewer his friends on its point.
Kayla, Preli and Darian all contrive to miss. Thum and OZ, however, both strike true. The combination is sufficient to stop the construct stone dead; the lights within flicker off, its head sinks and the three legs slowly collapse.
"Or, perhaps you can shut it down before I get to it. Either way is good," the dwarf quips, peering down the hallway at the now dead mechanism.
Thüm squats by the broken robot, prodding it with the tip of a dagger a few times. When it doesn't move, he grunts and uses the dagger to cut a tiny notch in the hilt of his poleaxe.
As a lover of all things mechanical and Numerian, Kayla inspects the now-defunct construct closely, opening up panels and tracing cords and conduits. She even pulls out a small book and makes some quick sketches and notes...
"Yeah, stay down!"
Preli yells, incautiously loudly.
He kicks the wreckage and, with a squark, hops about clutching his foot.
"Striegold Skulker wants first passage through portal while warriors wait willingly?"
Kayla finds the construct contains a number* of nets, made out of a strange material; apparently it had the ability to fire these nets during combat, though it didn't use that ability when encountering the party.
Darian cautiously reloads his crossbow and says, "I see no reason not to proceed." He nods to Thüm's comment.