Reference picture for the 'angels' in the stained glass. Apologies for not having that up sooner :)
They're definitely bipedal, and seem to be machines of some type. They're different from the robots you fought inside, and indeed, different from the sentinel, in design, if in no other way. They have what appear to be vestigial wings built into their backs, being halfway between the angels in the window, and the guardians. They're approximately four feet tall, and as wide as a dwarf, yet they move with the same speed as the larger races. One has a crossbow of remarkable quality on its back, with a pair of kukri-like blades at his sides. The other has perhaps a dozen clockwork blades (like the ones inside) strapped across the front of his body on a well-worked tunic, along with a greatsword strapped across his back. Each seems to be wearing a thick armor that covers the majority of their body, seemingly woven of green and red plant fibers, standing in stark contrast to one another. In the case of the one with the gear-blades, the armor also covers the legs and arms.
They move in tandem with obvious purpose, as they continue to move towards your position. Every minute, the same tones play from the Carillon high overhead.
"crap, more constructs, no idea if they're intelligent, do we stick to the plan?"
Scath continues to wait in the bushes, having found an excellent hiding place. He eyes the approaching things, and huffs very quietly in disgust at more metal things.
Did any of you choose to take one or both of the shields?
How close will you be to the gate when they arrive?
Acting surprisingly like the newcomers, Hecate kept her gun ready to use - she didn't want to provoke a fight by appearing threatening, and fortunately, her training had covered such activities. "I don't think they're actively hostile yet." Hecate said quietly. "Machines can be strange, though. Try to avoid disagreeing with them."
As the group waits, the two continue their steady approach. Once they're fifty feet from the entrance, it's much easier for everyone to see them in the dull light. They are, in fact, mechanical in nature, and they're covered in some type of leaf-and-vine-woven armor. Given that it's still green and red, it's likely still alive, and it does look as though it would blend in well with the surrounding plant life, were they not on an open path. The two look to whoever is nearest, and the one with the great sword moves forward to the gate. He stands outside of it... and a series of tinks, plinks and chimes emanate from his stomach, overlapping in places.
He stares and waits for a moment, and then recognizes that there was very probably a lack of understanding.
The creature tilts its head slowly to the side, as if seeking a new perspective of the group... and then makes more sounds. But the chimes are more like a cacophony, as they interweave and overlap into a series of notes that perfectly replicates the Dwarven Language. There's no emotional inflection in what they have to say however.
It stared for a moment longer, awaiting any responses it may receive. It also stayed a little apart from the fence.
Scath stays on the fence, watching the creatures. He admires their armor, it's very nice and fits in well with plant life, much like his own.
His ears perk up as the thing speaks in such an odd way, but having no way to respond, he just stays hidden, wondering idly if the others can speak Dwarven.
Roy is on guard at first, but is eased slightly when they don't attack. At least whatever it said wasn't loud and angry.
He raises his hands.
"I'm afeared that I don't understand ye, mate."
He looks to anyone not being sneaky-like.
"Anyone know what he said?"
"sounded like dwarven... I don't speak dwarven...
That was a language she'd never practiced - rather than revealing herself, Hecate simply kept quiet, though she was glad that the creatures were talking instead of attacking. The organic armor was also an interesting choice... very unusual for machines, and probably the result of some important factors they didn't know about.
Pierce responds in draconic
If it is translated for the other's sakes, feel free to read the following. If not... blame Pierce :p
"Then you are like all the Others. You will either stay or go. Fall through the cracks of the world. You have arrived upon Eloda for now. When you next sleep, you will stay or go. We are seeking control of the cracks. Come. He said without any particular inflection, hope, sadness, or even concern. Even his body language spoke of nonchalance.
He brought a hand up to his chest, and the armor parted of its own accord, both on his hand and his chest. His hand slowly adjusted not a dome shape, which he cupped over a sphere of metal, wood, and crystal within his chest. He pressed that against a mechanism within the fatness he stepped forward, and the gate responded like the interior had, aside from the location the orb locked into.
"You will come with us." it said, the voice emanating now from its hand. Still a cascade of chords, tinks, and clanks.
Pierce dutifully translates to the others
Scath preferred it when the things spoke dwarven, the hissy grating language sounded like a bunch of lizards in the sun. Which actually was a nice sound, because it meant play things with snap off tails, which was always fun, lunch and they grew them back so you could eat another day! Surely a toy made for cats!
Since the things didn't appear hostile, Scath steps off the fence and lands on the other side of the gate, a few feet away from the creatures, watching their reaction to his sudden appearance.
They take in the creature as it dives off, and aside from the one in the rear grasping the crossbow's handle, there is no more sign of reaction. Not even surprise. It simply was to them.
Pierce rapidly speaks in draconic
Cracks in... my report is going to involve frequent uses of the word 'Quantum', isn't it? Hecate pondered as the metal creatures moved around. All right, so the creatures seemed to have a core of some kind - useful, that - and they weren't the first ones to land on this world. "Ask if they have any control at all over these 'cracks', or if it's all theory for now." she said quietly.
"Indeed." The one in the front said. The breastplate-crossbow one continued to watch the cat, however.
"What do you mean 'Cracks of the World.' Several of these beings aren't even from my planet. Nor do any of them speak Nimgraen or Ciramaen. And I have certainly never heard of Eloda."
Damian weighs his next question for a moment then adds "What sort of being are you? mechanical or flesh and blood? If the former, then where is your creator, and can we speak with him/her/it?"
Damian begins speaking quite a bit in the language he shares with Pierce.
"Here, and gone. Those who are here that are not of here, are from elsewhere. Those who were here that are not here, are elsewhere. Bonds tie the Others to one another and to things. And then to places. We are not of blood. Our creator resides in the city. You will come.
"Hopefully whoever it is can speak something more of us know."
He climbs onto Bear's back and follows the mechanism things.
"Who is their creator, and what do they do with those not from here?" Hecate inquired, pressing the line of inquiry. You didn't want to go with robots just to be turned into food to feed the local populace or something... ack, she had to stop watching so many movies. Just stick with standard protocol for dealing with unknown civilizations and, hopefully, they could avoid getting themselves killed.
Pierce politely repeats the question in draconic as he follows.
"There have been many through history. We believe that we have created ourselves, we believe that we could not have created ourselves. We believe much, and know little. We will study you. You will stay, or you will go. We may go with you. You may stay with us. You will come."
The one in front continued to talk, unmoving, 'holding' the gate. The one in back was giving more space for them to follow him if that was their desire.
"Oh, great. Robots with logic problems..." As if she hadn't seen enough problems caused by that. Still, they didn't seem to have much choice but to follow, so she did... keeping well away from the machines.
Pierce translates the robots and responds to Hecate saying "yeah, none of the computers or golems I've ever seen or heard of were like this, perhaps they were designed to philosophize?" he follows after them.
If the entire group of two-legs follow the metal things, then Scath will trail along behind, checking for scents, and watching them fall into the trap they are being led into. Learning about what sort of traps this new world holds is a good thing.
Damian will move with the rest of the party, twirling his strange rods as he goes.
Once the group is through the gate, it closes, and the mechanical man withdraws his hand, reattaching the orb to his chest. He then moves back into his position at the fore and begins leading the group along the road.
Seeing that the other soldier is moving into a guard position at the front, Pierce does the same at the back.
As the group follows along, the road twists and turns, always uphill. The road is quite a bit softer than concrete or pavement, but still looks to be poured stone. In short, it is very easy on your feet, causing very little wear. The forest is full of all manner of vibrant reds, and greens of all vibrancies and hues. It becomes apparent that there are effectively no large trees. All are new growths and small, not even large enough yet to be fruit-bearing.
It is a little on the cooler side, but it feels like a temperate spring night. The green sky illuminates the skyline in the distance, growing ever nearer. The songs of birds and insects sound readily around the group, and an exotic bouquet fills the air.
Scath continues along, memorizing the scents, and compiling a new mental map of creatures in this new environment using his sense of smell.
Are there differences in the smells the mechanical two-legs give off, or do they all smell the same?
As Hecate continued walking, she quietly considered the forms of their... escorts. Societies tended to do what was most convenient, so when creatures seemed out-of-place, there was usually a driving cause of some kind. In this case, the creatures seemed to make no natural sense, which suggested that the cause was artificial. Could be lack of resources, or perhaps proximity to some kind of field... she'd heard stories of old-school magic that could have odd effects on people, but the huge majority of individuals in her time preferred technology because of its ease of use. Maybe it was something in the process that created them...
Still, she never stopped scanning the path ahead, watching for any enemies that might try to attack the group. One could never be too careful, especially in a strange land.
To clarify, Scath could tell Hecate from Brosnan, while each is human, and smells like a human, they both have individual scents so that he would recognize them. Do all the machine men scents have the same thing, similar but each one has a slightly unique scent, or do they all smell the same and telling them apart is impossible by smell?