Thüm sprints ahead of the others, readying a shortspear as he runs towards the scream.
The thrill of impending battle tingling across his nerves, Arkady runs forward with the others, managing to keep up with most of them. He unsheathes his longsword as he moves, ready to leap into the fray against whatever has his companions so distressed.
The group bursts through the (unlocked) door of Khonnir's residence, and once inside can hear the sounds of disturbance in a room somewhere at the back. The door to this room bursts open and a strange metallic creature emerges, careening wildly, lurching forth on three spidery legs. It moves with a jerky, staggering gait. The upper half of its body, atop the spindly tripod of legs, is vaguely humanoid; its head contains one blazing "eye" at the centre. Each of its two arms extend to four-fingered hands. Bits and pieces of its outer shell are missing, exposing the delicate wiring and circuitry within; it makes loud and tortured grinding noises as it moves.
And, as it moves, it lashes out at the walls of the building and at the house's contents in a frenzy of destruction.
"Is all that really necessary?" Tio asks on arrival, never doubting that the direct approach might work, even as the metallic being breaks some other piece of Baine property, eschewing current and shrapnel as it goes. Oddly enough, something strikes her as familiar about it all; not the creature itself, no, but the method in which its limbs retain their movement, the bend and curve of the metal...
...but whether she identifies anything beyond that is clearly for another time, as the clatter of scratching metal snaps the mechanic to the present, and her mind works to suggest some efficient solution to the havoc ahead. Though less than graceful in her movements, Tio deftly draws a thumb along the violet markings of her forearm, conjuring some measure of power from far beneath the circuit-ridden skin. A moment later the light of her nanites shorts out, and a sharp crack of stunning energy bursts into the air as the Arcanist finishes her somatics. "Seize."
Rushing in with a glad cry, Thüm does his best to hurl his shortspear through the robot, then grips his longaxe and moves to cut it off from its targets.
There's a brief pop - and the surrounding air takes the slightly metallic tang of dispersing magic - as Tiѳ's spell instantiates, but it has no apparent effect on the machine; it merely continues to wreak havoc within the confined space of the house.
However, as Thüm's spear flies by it and into a nearby wall, it does pause briefly and take notice. Something that sounds a lot like language emits from the head-like appendage, and it moves menacingly towards the source of attack.
"ആക്രമണം ആരംഭിച്ചു. പ്രതിരോധത്തിലൂന്നിയ ആക്ഷൻ എടുക്കുന്നു."
"Now we see if metal beasts can bleed." Onna hefted her spear (having drawn it as soon as she heard the scream earlier), charging forward at the mechanical monster. As the point of the spear buried itself somewhere in the machine's chassis, the young woman yanked it free, sending a spray of bolts and fragments of metal flying.
Arkady flicks his eyes towards the Kellid who appeared to be the most concerned about the safety of Khonnir's daughter. "Ulok, you find the girl. We will keep this.. thing.. distracted," he says, his voice a hoarse rattle in his throat.
Raising his longsword over his head and gripping his buckler tight in his other hand, the dwarf screeches and charges towards the construct and brings the weapon down towards it.
With a crackle, the construct falls under a flurry of blows from Onna and Arkady, collapsing in a pile of sparks and broken metal.
A young human female - whom most of you know, at least by sight, to be Val Baine - emerges from a hiding spot under a table. She's a little dusty for her ordeal but otherwise apparently unharmed. She notices Ulok in particular.
"Ulok! Oh, goodness, thank you! Thank you all! I'm sorry I panicked, how embarrassing! I didn't know what to do. It just sparked into life and started ripping the house to pieces. I hope father won't be angry we broke his discovery ..."
"I think he would be angrier if we let it break you," Onna said. She looked the young woman over. "You look alright, are you hurt?"
Assuming she responds that she's fine, Onna continues. "Speaking of your father, we're going to look for him. What can you tell us of his visits to the cave?"
"I'm fine, I think. It just surprised me.". She stares at the remains of the machine. "Father brought this thing back, he found it near a kind of door in the caves ... a door in a wall made out of something called glaucite. We thought it was dead, or switched off, or whatever form they take when they - don't work. He was planning to investigate it further when he got back. For some reason it must have woken up."
She sits down quickly, almost slumping. "As for the caves. Well, he had notes but carried them with him, so he must have intended to return." She looks up at Onna, sadly. "Mustn't he?".
She takes a second to compose herself. "He said the outer caves were much like any other large complex in the Inner Sea, dangerous to visit and dangerous to stay in. There are creatures there who would hunt visitors. He said there was some kind of creature there that could hide in the shadows. He thought the 'natural' run of the caves was into the Darklands. But then he found the wall."
She takes a deep breath and continues: "It was a wall of solid metal - made of that glaucite stuff. It's a kind of combination - an alloy, he said - of adamantine and iron. It had two doors, which must have been made by something more intelligent than anything he'd encountered in the outer complex. One of the doors was locked tight but the other was open. But he had to come back at that point. He had planned on exploring deeper beyond the open door on his second expedition. I think he's still down there."
She looks up again, almost pleading for someone to agree with her.
Thüm pulls his still-quivering shortspear from where it stuck in the ground and prods the fallen robot cautiously.
"When children experiment with absent parents' things, result is always trouble. This Thüm knows," he says fondly.
"How much water did father take? For day, days or weeks?"
"I'm sure he is, Val. But if you remember anything else, I really need you to tell us. If anything happened to your father, even the smallest scrap of information could help us at this point." Adrien moves past the sparking remains of the robot before putting a hand gingerly on her shoulder. "If Khonnir is hurt, or trapped down there, even the smallest thing he might have mentioned could help us find him as fast as we can. I know it's hard, but if you can remember anything else, it might be a big help."
"He makes a good point. If Khonnir was prepared to be down there for a while, it might just be he's still poking through the ruins. Just... try not to worry, we'll make sure he gets back safe and sound."
Val frowns at Thüm. "I wasn't experimenting with anything!" she protests. "It just woke up!"
She turns to Adrien, still looking slightly annoyed: "I've told you everything. I don't know how much water he took, but he told me the idea with these expeditions was that they would be short. The breathing spells that Father Kyte provides only last so long - a matter of hours. So if you want to have the easiest swim through the caves, you need to plan to come back reasonably soon. That's why he didn't explore further the first time. He may have put some other arrangements in place for this expedition, but he didn't tell me if he did. To be honest, that wouldn't be too unusual, he knows a lot more about this stuff than I do."
She looks around. "I told the council that I would make the tavern available for anyone they sent after father. For now, you can consider it your home. You can use it as a base between your own expeditions. I'd beg you to treat it with respect, and to also respect my own home. But you have the tavern, for now, with my blessing. And, I'm sure, that of my father."
"'Woke up'?" Tio echoes, moving beside Thum and leaning over the once-mobile heap of metal. A sizable chisel, withdrawn from equally deep pockets, prods experimentally at a now inert pane of steel, lifting it up to inspect the ruined circuitry beneath.
Not moving from her spot, the Android clears her throat, the better to address their would-be host.
"The expedition's specifics aside, Ms. Baine--thank you for your hospitality. No doubt we will endeavor to ensure your Father's absence remains short-lived. More immediately, however..." Tio pauses uncertainly, casting her eyes over the mess left behind by the construct's sudden tantrum. "...Would you like some assistance?"
Assuming Val's telling the truth, is there any sort of check Tio could try to figure out why it suddenly activated?
Val looks down at the pile of wires and metal. "Best leave it where it is for now. I may need a hand later to move it back to the store-room. But I'll keep an eye on it for a while to ensure it doesn't catch fire. I don't think it's going to be waking up again now. I'll keep it as it is, though, as my father wanted to investigate it when he got back."
"As you wish." Tio gives the heap of construct one final tap before straightening to her full height. "Glad to see you are unharmed, all the same."
Ulok shows a huge sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you're all right, Val! I can't believe this thing just woke up like that! Was there anything that had changed?"
He looks the large device over, his earlier concern already melting into intellectual curiosity. "It said something about defensive maneuvers. It was designed to react to attacks, at least, and let people know. I just..."
Ulok extends a grabby hand over the construct before stopping and retracting from it. "Um, I'm available for when you want to take it apart, Val. Although I suppose we should find your father first."
He joins the rest of the group but keeps looking back at the heap.
Val folds her arms and smiles. "You too, Ulok? I'm not going to take it apart, I have plenty of homework to do and father would go crazy if he thought I was dissecting this machine. For Brigh's sake, everyone, let's all leave father's toys alone, OK? Go and find your own mad clockworks to play with!"
"Look, ladies and gentles: I'm very grateful for the rescue. Why not go over to the Foundry and get cleaned up. I'll find some of father's staff to rustle you up some food for the evening and you can make plans. Hopefully to stay away from my cupboards!"
"And, for the last time, nothing had changed, OK?"
She shoos the group out of the door and in the direction of the tavern, which is the other side of a narrow path, alongside the somewhat larger building that Khonnir had converted to the actual foundry, that gives the complex its name.
Within the tavern, the regular bar tables have been piled up to make space. In the main area, there are eight bedrolls set out; there's also a large table capable of accommodating the group for dining. In the side rooms, there is space for storing equipment. One room has a large tin bath.
"Please reserve this for bathing!" announces Val. "If you want a bath drawn, the servant can do it in the morning or evening, when they're here. Don't use it for experiments, potions or molten metal. If you want use of father's foundry, we can open it up, I suppose. But note - there aren't any toys in there!".
"There you go. Please don't wreck the place. Ulok, please keep an eye on them, that thing" - she briefly eyes Ozymandias - "in particular!"
"Wait, Val Baine. Khonnir Baine has no reason to trust others raiding ruins. Not even Ulok, who Baine knows...knows Ulok greedy for technology." The greying barbarian smiles genially to let Ulok know no insult is intended. "Make token to give father when we find him, so he knows daughter sent us."
If possible, Tio's eyes seem to brighten in hue at the thought of a fully functional foundry, free of the need to knock shoulder-to-shoulder with Torch's more able (and often overtly critical) conglomerate of smiths...but, in an effort to remain cordial, she resists the urge. Barely.
Badly.
Technically not at all, actually, if the readied hammer and chisel in her hands are any indication.
Luckily for all involved, Thüm's comment of 'Greedy for Technology' puts a sliver of self-awareness into the Android's mind, and she gingerly returns the tools to the apparently eternal depths of her coat pockets, certain that the fact her familiar appears poised to peck a hole in her skull is completely unrelated to her tinkering addiction.
"Excellent idea," she concurs with a nod, pacing about the tavern as she speaks. Rust, ever vigilant, departs from her shoulder and lands square atop a collection of tables, keen to pin-point the tavern's hazards before his master inevitably finds them. With her face. Or fingers. Or some other necessary body part. "No doubt Councillor Baine would derive some measure of ease from being able to confirm that we act on your behalf. Assuming that it would not be too much trouble."
Val pauses, then nods. "One second." she says, removes a ring from one of her fingers and passes it to Thüm. "Give him this, and tell him: 'Val wants to hear you sing the Skies of Castrovel again.' It's a song he used to sing at my bedtime, when I was a child in Starfall. Where I was ... saved."
She looks, for a moment, very sad and thoroughly distant. The ring is stamped with a highly stylised symbol of a burning star.
The moment passed, she pulls herself together. "Anyway, you have your marching orders. Jonzan and Kender will be here in half an hour or so to cook you a meal. Please make yourselves at home!"
She turns to leave. "Oh, and thanks again for saving my life from the crazed machine! I'm sure you get that a lot! Till tomorrow then!"
She steps out of the tavern, closes the door behind her, and strides back to the house.
Arkady looks around the tavern's interior and selects one of the bedrolls far away from the rest of the group to place his belongings next to, before taking one of the seats down from the pile and placing it next to his newly acquired bedroll. As Val turns to leave, the dwarf nods and gives a thin-lipped smile in her direction. "Think nothing else of it, young Val."
Once she has departed, Arkady reaches for his longsword and unsheathes the blade, inspecting the weapon for any dings or burrs caused by his altercation with the crazed metallic construct. "Do any of you have ideas on what it was that woke up and attacked the lass in her home?" he enquires as he rubs a calloused thumb along the flat of the blade, his voice back to its dry, raspy tone.
Ulok ignores the gibes as he waves, "Bye, Val, Thanks! We'll get Khonnir back, no problem!"
Looking back to Arkady, Ulok replies, "Not a clue. Although there are lots of interesting items I've come across at the base of the Black Hill. I don't always know what they are, but I've gotten quite good at getting them open. I've never had anything of this size to work on, but it would be fun to see how it works!"
Thüm admires Val's ring before tucking it carefully away in a pouch.
After she leaves, his brow furrows with thought. "Ulok, was Val adopted into Baine family?"
Ulok nods. "She was. I don't know all the particulars, myself, but Khonnir adopted her in Starfall. I don't know why he was there before or anything. But Khonnir does enjoy helping people who need it. I mean, I've called him Uncle Khonnir, but he's not my real uncle, either. I'm not really a part of the family. He just took a liking to some tribal boy who had a fascination for machines and a knack for taking them apart."
He looks over the bar in The Foundry and pulls out a small, empty cracked vial that got stuck in the floorboards underneath the bar. He gives it a sniff before disposing it. "Uncle Khonnir tried showing me some alchemical tricks, a couple times, saying that my talents suggested my aura would be able to channel magic, but they never did take. He was always looking for people to carry on what he knew. Val's probably much closer to what he's seeking."
"Khonnir Baine raised child without mother--hard work. This Thüm knows. I like this Khonnir Baine."
"Father Kyte is priest? Can his spells be trusted? Can he? Drowning is not glorious death."
There's a knock on the door of the tavern and, without waiting for it to be answered, two individuals let themselves in. Both of them are apparently Kellid humans, in perhaps their late forties, one male and one female. They give a neat, shallow bow and announce themselves as, respectively, Jonzan and Kender; they've been sent to open up the Tavern for the adventurers' use.
It's evening (about 7pm) and they set about preparing a meal, which is served on a large table in the dining area of the tavern. When the meal is finished, the two servants clean it away and leave, saying they'll be back in the morning to prepare breakfast and clean up.
In the morning, Onna rises with the sun, meditating to commune with the spirits. She calls out to The Dreamer, a lazy and slothful bear spirit with the power to send people into a restful slumber. Her spirit animal guided her into the trance that would allow her to prepare her magic, imbuing her with the nascent power of the sleepy bear's dreams. The spirit dreamed of sweet berries in a thick bramble, so the bramble's thick vines and thorns became Onna's weapons and armor in her magic.
Arkady eats his meal in relative silence, watching his companions and engaging in conversation directed at him but otherwise remaining silent. As they prepare for sleep, he speaks one last time. "So tomorrow, we are to delve below the lake and search for Val's adoptive father?"
To watch Tio at dinner is quite an odd affair, as she prefers to multi-task throughout; her hands occupied with making adjustments within her metal-clad grimoire while her familiar manipulates spoonfuls of food to magically rise and prod at her cheek in an unrepentant reminder to eat. Nonetheless, she is talkative as ever, if a touch awkward in it, making certain to properly jot down the names of her newfound comrades and any further points of detail she feels worthy of note.
Winding down for the evening, the Android gives Arkady's suggestion a slow moment of thought before answering, "If that is the consensus. There is still the small matter of Black Hill as a point of investigation, being as it is the reason Councilman Baine set upon his expeditions."
"Baine can investigate it after we rescue him," Onna piped up. She puzzled over what could even be gained from looking into the hill. They were just a rescue mission, weren't they? This city-dwelling Councillor could do his own research, she decided.
"I do not imply that we might resolve the issue ourselves. Merely that it might offer some insight into the means required to extinguish the torch," Tio offers plainly, a knee bouncing feverishly against her will. "If we do face enemies in this, then understanding their capability might not be an unwise course of action."
"Not that I intend to understate our own," she finishes, hands once more rubbing at invisible grease as she peers over her own notes. "I hazard we are more than adequately armed."
"I fully suspect that investigating the caves will be key to restarting the flame," Ulok offers. "That's where Khonnir went, and I heard that there was a woman who went in there as well, just before the flames went out. I'm positive Khonnir went after her."
Thüm looks up from the cold chicken carcass he's attacking with his teeth. "It is beneath hollow hill that we will find Khonnir, not atop it. The longer we delay, the less likely we find him alive." The old man frowns. "Truly, we should have gone last night--but we needed priest to prepare magic to pass through waters."
"The flame could give us a clue as to what might have happened, so we might have a better idea of where Khonnir might have went. But if we take the time to investigate, we might not find him in time... we should head down first, at least for now. Once we've either rescued him, or..." Adrien pauses, not knowing how to phrase the possibility of Khonnir's death, "we ought to investigate it before we go down any further. Especially considering the glaucite walls and the nature of the flame, it might save us our own necks if we investigate it before we push too far in to ignite the flame once more."
The temple of Brigh is a domed building, the outside of which is decorated with statues of clockwork figures, and laced with patterns that imply circuitry and machinery. Within, the sun's light bursts through brightly coloured stained glass windows, containing images dedicated to the goddess of invention.
An old man, bald except for white wisps of hair at the sides of his head, and wearing what looks like a highly stylised, decorated blacksmith's outfit, approaches the party.
"I am Joram Kyte, servant of Brigh, our mistress of invention. May I be of assistance?"
Eager to get into the caves, Onna speaks up. "That you may, Joram Kyte. I am called Onna. The Councillor, your chieftain, sends us to follow Khonir Baine and return him to Torch. We are told your magic can aid us in passing through the water blocking our way."
Father Kyte looks Onna up and down. "You must be the group Dolga mentioned. Yes I do have access to the requisite magic. I can extend it for long enough for your group to spend a few hours in the caves and come back to town. That's the way Khonnir wanted to run it - he felt there were treasures in there, and he could go in, explore a little then bring back what he found and investigate it. We can go down to the lake if and when you're ready. I assume you've sorted out lodgings with Val?"
He pauses, then seems to remember something.
"Oh, and Kol mentioned you might need some waterproof bags for spellbooks and the like. I have a stock of them at Crowfeather and am happy to loan them."
Once greeted Tio gives a brief, nigh in-perceivable nod to Father Kyte in kind, before drawing her attentions to the heights of the temple's coloured windows like a curious child, more fascinated with its details than those of the conversation; but while you'd be forgiven for thinking this her first visit to Torch's house of Brigh, Rust shows far more familiarity, flying off to perch upon a statue, his talons fitting nimbly between sculpted cogs and gears.
"Bore da Joram," drones the Raven, presumably in his master's stead. "Diolch am y cymorth."
Without turning from the architecture, Tio answers absently, "Miss Baine has been a more than satisfactory host, Father Kyte. Though I would recommend she abstain proximity to erratic automations for the present."
The priest smiles, nods in turn to Tio and grins and bows at the Raven.
"Bore da Rust, mae croeso i chi."
"And hello Tiѳ, I hadn't realised you had joined these adventurers. I'm very happy to know that's the case! And I'm sorry, but what do you mean by the reference to 'erratic automatons'?"
"The young Val was involved in something of a scuffle at her home. She says that one of the contraptions her father brought up from beneath your feet simply woke up and decided that it hated everything before proceeding to bring her house down 'round her ears.
"She is fine, before worry crosses you. The contraption less so." Arkady nods, giving a thin-lipped smile to the old priest.
"It's a fascinating contraption," Ulok hastily adds. "You should see it when you get the chance."
Turning back to Father Kyte, he adds, "Do you remember anything about what Khonnir was planning? Any detail that might help us find him in the caves?"
Glad to be properly addressed, Rust bobs a little in response, feathers ruffling about his prosthetics as his avian eyes draw a bead upon Tio from above, no doubt wondering what she found so difficult about a little proper recognition.
The Arcanist however remains ignorant, nodding somewhat as Arkady and Ulok speak ahead. "Tis," she concurs with their investigative comrade, still looking to the windows. "Though I am not entirely certain it was capable of hate."
The priest looks at Ulok.
"And I suppose you're the promising Kellid tinkerer Khonnir mentioned ..."
He stops and thinks for a second:
”Well,” he says, looking pensive. ”Khonnir’s intention, as I said, was to explore the caves a little at a time, with a view to eventually finding the reason for the flame’s extinguishing, and to hopefully re-igniting it. Remember, that’s at the core of what everyone is trying to do here. Having discovered the caves, he first had to clear it - and bear in mind it may have regressed in this respect while he has been away - and then of course he began finding and recovering artefacts, the most significant being this automaton, which I assume is the same one you seem to have come up against. He believed that a better understanding of these artefacts would be vital to restoring the flame”
”By the way, it’s interesting that he didn’t take the automaton to Sanvil Trett for investigation. Most people tend to turn to him for expertise in assaying these things, when they’re found in the town’s vicinity, quite apart the fact that he's the most active buyer and seller of such items. I wonder why Khonnir kept this one for himself?”
He pauses again.
”But in any case, Khonnir believed the key to the solution of the flame, and to understanding the nature of the caves beneath the Black Hill, was knowledge and understanding. Hence his desire to split his time between exploration and investigation.”
He looks up.
”Speaking of which, I assume you’ve taken a look at the Black Hill itself?”
"We wished to make an attempt at finding Khonnir before surveying the Hill. If Khonnir is still alive, the faster we get to him the more likely it is he'll still be that way when we get there. If not, I doubt it will do us much harm to examine the Hill after we've confirmed his passing." Adrien steps forward, motioning for Ozzy to stay back. "Khonnir has been down there the longest of anyone, and finding him alive nets us more information than the Hill ever could on its own."
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"Hence our being here," Tio adds, finally turning aside from the stained glass, her features a touch more animated than they previously have been. "I take no pleasure in wasting your time, Father, nor do our fellows here think we are in excess of it. Should we retrace Councilman Baine to his current whereabouts, there may very well be a chance we can discover something more substantial regarding Black Hill en-route."
The Android crosses her arms, then puts a thumb to her chin, thinking aloud. "Chance of Black Hill's extinguishing and the expeditionary disappearances running concurrently is...not zero. Initial partakers were armed, yes? Bloodless investigation unlikely. Several unknowns still present; caves said to hold Darkland connections? Not certain what need the Darklands have of a glaucite doorway. Not certain what need any would have of a glaucite doorway. Clear waste of resources." She pauses. "Doorway? No. Freddert described walls. Doors. Doors. Plural. Curious. Something particular beneath Black Hill? A structure? Cannot be the whole of Black Hill. Can it? From subterranean cave to the torch itself?"
"Oh." Midway through her rambling, Tio comes to a sudden halt, her train of thought long departed; forgotten as she offers to Joram a rare and genuine smile. "Hello Father Kyte."
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"Blood Gar tribe dive deep with skins full of air. You made waterproof bags--have you made bags that hold breath? Gladly will I carry them. If spells fail ere we escape hollow hill, simple skins may save lives."