Hastur slams the rider in the head, disorientating him, while Angus fires 3 shots in rapid succession at the rider, who topples over.
"Rydym yn outnumbered! Mae angen i mi alw am reinforcements!" The other small humanoid shrieks frantically. The party sees it ride its giant centipede into the south eastern tunnel then hears it cry out again,"Rhyddhewch yr arbrawf!"
We're outnumbered! I must call for reinforcements!
Release the experiment!
The other giant centipede tries to take a bite of Hastur.
It bounces off Hastur's armored hide.
The party hears a clamour arising from the south eastern tunnel, as if there is a lot of activity going on there.
Angus, quickly reloading his pistol fires at the bug. "Sounds like were getting company." realizing he has jammed his pistol he starts to clear it.
The first shot hit the giant glowy centipede and it hisses in pain but still remains crawling on its many many feet. Then Angus's gun jams.
Hastur sighs.
"I did say that that weapon was proving to be quite unreliable..."
He then focuses his attention on the centipede.
Hastur recognises the centipede as a Cytillipede.
Derro alchemists adapted the diet of a species of albino centipede to eat nothing but cytillesh fungus. After these centipedes had endured years of exposure to the fungus and certain magical augmentations, the result was an entirely new species that the derros named the cytillipede.
Once per day, a cytillipede can cause the cytillesh patches that grow along its body to release a bright flash of blue light that provides bright light in a 20-foot radius and raises the light level by one step for the next 20 feet (treat this ability as a 4th-level light spell).
Creatures within the 40-foot area of effect must succeed at a DC 22 Will save. Those within the 20-foot area of bright light that fail are stunned for 1d4 rounds. Creatures within the next 20 feet that fail are instead confused for 1d2 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
Its bite is also venomous, and can cause people to be dazed.
The first blow fails to penetrate its scales but the other strikes land true, causing bluish purple ichor to pour out from its many wounds. The cytillipede, desperate now, emits a blinding flash of blue light.
Ignoring the attempt to mess with his mind, Hastur attempts to finish-off the centipede .
The other cytillipede rider rushes out into the chamber yelling,"Rhaid Gravvikk cael rhybudd!"
Gravvik must be warned!
Hastur easily smashes, then cleanly bites the head off of the centipede.
'stupid light' Angus shades his eyes by tucking his head down so his flop hat covers his eyes, fortunately he practices in the dark and begins to clear his pistol.
Hastur pounces on the new centipede.
getting his gun clear, Angus fires three quick shots at the rider,
Hastur eviscerates the cytilipede, sending showers of ichor and gore on himself and Angus. The cytilipede tastes like mexican spicy wings.
The cytillipede rider neatly tumbles off his dead mount in a perfect sommersault and lands on his feet. He attempts to tumble past Hastur.
The party can hear the sound of screaming and bone being crushed from the south eastern tunnel.
Angus's bullets clip the rider in his arm and calf, causing him to yelp in pain but he does not slow in his dead run towards the tunnel.
Hastur sticks one of his legs out, in an offhand manner.
It desperately tries to strike Hastur with its blade bouncing off Hastur's hide as it tumbles to the ground.
seeing the odd little creature rolling around on the ground, Angus draws a bead on it, firing three quick shots.
The odd little creature rolling on the ground stops moving after Angus pumps 2 shots into it.
The party hears high pitched shrieks, "Mae wedi mynd yn gyfan gwbl allan o reolaeth! Rhedeg ar ei gyfer!" from the South Eastern tunnel, and the sound of pattering feet.
"It's gone completely out of control! Run for it!"
The sound of something pounding against pulped flesh echoes from the South Eastern tunnel.
Hastur gives a dark chuckle.
"It sounds like these creatures released something... and they have lost control."
He then heads in the direction of the noise.
Hastur enters into an expansive cavern dimly lit by patches of glowing fungus here and there along the walls, floor and celling. It appears to serve some kind of laboratory sized for a small person. Contraptions of tubes, wires, glass bottoles and beakers – all of which bubble and steam with glowing chemicals and fluids – top low slab tables arrayed about the cavern. Three large cylindrical tanks contain glowing blue liquid. The northernmost tank is shattered and a large humanoid made out of flesh stitched together, wearing in a blacksmith’s apron is pounding on a short humanoid body in a laboratory coat. Another small humanoid body in a laboratory coat lies broken at its feet. 3 small humanoids in laboratory coats are desperately trying to get away from the fleshy aberration.
Bedraggled men and women in miners work clothes huddle together miserably within an iron cage held twenty-five feet above the ground by a thick iron chain attached to a pulley in the celling. From the pulley, the chain runs back to the lifting-and-lowering mechanism bolted to the ground. They are screaming in terror as they watch the large humanoid commence its gruesome task, wondering when it’ll be their turn next.
It is a flesh golem. Likely made from the Penal colony's blacksmith's corpse.
A magical attack that deals cold or fire damage slows a flesh golem (as the slow spell) for 2d6 rounds (no save).
A magical attack that deals electricity damage breaks any slow effect on the golem and heals 1 point of damage for every 3 points of damage the attack would otherwise deal. If the amount of healing would cause the golem to exceed its full normal hit points, it gains any excess as temporary hit points. A flesh golem gets no saving throw against attacks that deal electricity damage. Also resistant to physical attacks except for adamantine damage.
The small humanoids try to tumble past Hastur. The large humanoid starts chasing the small humanoids and squeezes into the tunnel to pound them. Its large fist smashes into one of them, breaking some ribs.
"That's a flesh golem. Use adamantine bullets, if you have them."
Hastur happily punches one of the small humanoids as it tries to duck past him.
He then begins to systematically squash them.
Hastur ploughs through the laboratory workers like the way a farmer reaps a wheat field. In a matter of seconds, all 3 laboratory workers lie dead at his feet, one with its neck broken, the other with its head bitten off, and the under dead from a quick thrust to the heart.
'well you don't see that everyday, I wonder if it's undead' Angus moves to a position where he could shoot at the creature, dodging the small humanoids he fires a shoot at the walking meat sack, and his gun misfires.
The flesh golem lumbers up and strikes at Hastur, determined to pound him into the ground. It catches Hastur with a lucky blow on the shoulder.
Hastur shakes his head.
"More data in support of my premise regarding the inefficiency of your weapon continues to accumulate at an alarming rate."
He then rubs his shoulder, before turning his attention to ripping the golem apart.
'Maybe I should use the dragon pistol and fire.' Angus takes his time clearing the pistol making sure he gets it clear, "I could try the dragon pistol, but there is no guarantee that it will work better." slipping a cartridge in to the barrel, Angus prepares to shoot the meat sack.
The flesh golem stubbornly remains standing and attempts to clobber Hastur again. Both blows do not come close to touching Hastur.
"I must admit, the aroma of a creature that does not even have the faint whiff of a dreaming soul is quite unusual... I only wish that it tasted better..."
Hastur calmly continues to strip the flesh from the construct's bones.
'the what?' Angus looks at Hastur, seeming a little disturbed. "I have no Idea what that means." Pointing his gun at the meat sack Angus squeezes of three quick shots. After the first shot echo's through the cave, the hammer falls on another blank cartridge.
Hastur slams the flesh golem twice, and it collapses onto the ground, a lump of unmoving flesh.
Seeing Hastur drop the meatsack Angus tucks his pistol into his belt, and takes a good look around the room, looking for a way to let the cage down. "I guess freeing the remaining miners would qualify as part of out employment."
Wiping strips of preserved flesh from his hands, Hastur looks up at the cage.
"I take it that you are some of the miners?"
He then searches the room.
"Get us out of here! Please!" The party hears the prisoners cry from their cages, suspended 20 ft above the ground."Yes we're miners...we don't know how we got here. We went to bed one night...and then we were here." They clamor."Who are you?"
In the room there are 4 complete alchemist laboratories and an oil of gentle repose. The party hears cries from the cages, "Did the entire colony end up here? I hope they didn't end up here!"
"We were sent to discover why the supply of crystals had dried-up, and to ensure that they kept flowing."
Hastur then carefully lowers the cage.
"Are you here to bring us back to the colony? Yes, right? The colony is fine, right? Do you know how we ended up here?"
"Eventually, yes. I will point out, however, that you are basically the only survivors that we have encountered thus far - the colony was abandoned, apart from a single, insane woman. As to who is responsible for you being here," Hastur shrugs. "I dare say it was those small creatures,", he says, pointing to the forlorn piles of pulped flesh.
"Oh, oh."They look at you vaguely."Why are you here again? Can you let us out of this cage? Do you know the way out of here?"
Hastur sighs, and turns to Angus.
"I sense that these ones are suffering from the same tainting of their dreaming consciousness that you did over night. I think it would be best to leave them here, whilst we clean-out the rest of this complex."
He then turns back to the trapped miners.
"We will be back for you; unfortunately, I don't think it is safe to let you out, just yet - if we did, you would forget what had happened after only a short period of time."
Hastur then leaves the chamber, and heads down the next corridor along.
"Hey! Hey! Don't go so fast! Let us out first!"The party hears cries of protest from behind them, then some questions echos off the walls. "Do you have any idea how we ended up here? Why are we in a cage?"
This narrow passageway ends at a set of iron bars that have been clumsily yet efficiently bolted in place to form what appears to be a prison cell. The cell’s entrance is secured by a rusty padlock.
A decrepit-looking group of six human miners huddle at the back of the prison cell. Their skin gives off a faint blue glow, and the party notices patches of hair that have been shaved to reveal cruel incisions in their scalps and stitched-up wounds on other areas of their bodies.
The glowing blue skin is a result of experiments by their captors and being subjected to long exposure to the cytillesh patches cultivated throughout the caverns. You have a bad feeling about these humans...you suspect they are no longer living.
"Oi, you lot - can you understand me?"
They respond to Hastur's voice but not the way he'd expect. They start charging against the iron bars in an attempt to break them.
With a shrug, Hastur starts attacking them through the bars.
Hastur puts down 4 of the humanoids with his powerful blows. The other 2 shamble up to slam him, hitting only empty air.
Hastur attempts to put the last two down.