Zeke dodges behind the creature as it lunges toward Wulf and draws his dagger , imagining he might be able to cut one of the tubes or wires that he can see inside the construct's joints. However, since it seemed to have done some good a second ago, he tries to keep their opponent disoriented and reaches out to touch it again .
(BAB + DEX)
The familiar greenish mist briefly appears over the robot's eyes.
Zeke moves up to the robot and does something to it that seems to disorientate it for the moment. But in doing so he also steps into Ton's line of fire.
Cursing at having to move again when he was lining up to blast the thing with magic, Ton instead does his quick-shamble to once again get a clear shot.
He raises his bow and fires off another quick shot.
His adrenaline rising from the firing of his weapon, Garfaulk wanted to get in there and get a piece of it! Keeping the firearm in his left hand as he dare not throw it to the ground, he pulls his light mace with his right hand, stepping up to it to take a swing, aiming right where he saw working parts in an effort to cripple the creature.
(BAB+Dex)
"Hah! Now tha's better!" He yells triumphantly as he hopefully leaves a nice dent in the side of the creature.
Charles grunts and swings again with his little mace. (Standard action, full attack)
Ton watches as the group piles in on the construct but pays particular attention to the dwarf.
"Hey Sharpstone, so much for not 'smashin' up other people's hard work! Those things are expensive ya know!'" he calls with a passable imitation of the dwarf's earlier criticism of his chosen occupation.
Damned things are dangerous when they go heywire. Wulf, bust this thing's gears!
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Wulf grits his teeth in pain as he feels his muscles tense up after the heavy miss. "Gorum!" He shouts out as he hefts up his hammer in both hands and swings at the body of the robot.
Missing again, and smashing a large hole in the door behind it.
Garfaulk laughs, looking over to the elf giving him a hard time. "And back when it was supposed to hold still, I'd stand by that!" he calls back. "Guess ya ain't wrong bout it bein necessary work. If only yer partner there were good at it! At least we dont need to worry about the door bein a problem." he snickers
Then he frowns "Though ya gotta work on your accent, kid-what's with tha voice? I don't sound like that!" he yells to him in a voice that very much sounds like that.
Wulf swings at the robot with great ferocity, smashing a hole into the door, and accidently hitting the side of the stone door frame as well. Everyone hears a loud "crack!" as the head of the hammer splits.
Thankfully, Ton, Charles, and Garfaulk all deliver solid hits to the robot and it collapses to the ground.
The machine was really no true threat; though obviously something caused it to go haywire. The only one who took any damage in the scuffle was Wulf, and all of that was self-inflicted. Wulf continues to bleed from the deep gash caused by jumping through the window.
Shortly after the creature goes down, a blonde head peaks around the broken door frame.
"Oh! Oh my! Charles! You are early. I said two hours after dusk... but... but... oh I am not going to complain. As usual, you arrive exactly when you should, and you brought friends! Friends to help find Dad?"
Val steps around the corner and you all get a better look at her. She is an attractive 19 year old human, clearly of Kellid origin based on her hairstyle and red facial tatoos- permanent warpaint etched under her eyes.
"Dad's blasted contraption here..." She kicks it "... came to life while I was cleaning up in our den. I have no idea why. One minute it was just sitting there, the next, lights came on in its eyes and it started to spin about, flailing at the walls, the furniture. I ducked under the table and just started screaming. Looks like that was the right decision, because here are my heroes! Big, strong heroes..." she says as she begins to eye Wulf like a tiger picking its next meal.
Garfaulk cheers as the thing fell to the ground, laughing as he put his mace back onto his belt. "Well now, that wasn't so bad-though it seems they need a new door now." And then he got a good look at Wulf's hammer, making him wince. "Yeesh. And a new hammer too, though if ye want, I can give it a looksie. Heh, guess it wasn't dwarven construction afterall, ay?"
He loaded a new javelin and gunpowder into his Fire Lance, then tried to salvage the other one he'd shot into the mechanized entity, though wasn't sure he could save it. Then he looked up at the house as Val came out. "Ah, an ere's the source of that screamin." Pushing his way to the front of thr group, he bowed a bit, taking off his hat in the presence of a lady. "Garfaulk Sharpstone, pleasure to meet ya lass. Heroes might be a bit of a strong word, but always happy to try an help."
"Though ya gotta work on your accent, kid-what's with tha voice? I don't sound like that!"
"Yeah, well all dwarves sound the same to me, like you're chewing gravel and dirt." the Elf replies nonchalantly as he moves to the three-legged construct and gives it a good kick to make sure it doesn't twitch any more.
He notes the girl's eyes falling on Wulf's rugged features and claps the big man on his back before whispering crudely to him;
"Don't worry about it, friend. Play your cards right and you might hit something afterall tonight."
"Val right?" he says to the blonde. "Ton Wexley. You live and work here with Khonnir then?"
Wulf is flushed with anger as he failed to even hit the damn thing. Ready to shout out obscenity and smash the robot up now it isn't moving he stops as Ton claps him on the back and he spots what the elf is talking about it's where the screams came from an incredibly attractive woman stepping out of the house.
He takes three deep breaths attempting to charm himself down after the fight, he's lost for words and then snaps out of it. "We heard you were in danger, nothing would stop me from helping you. Wulf Torstein at your service." He says ignoring the pain for a moment before turning to the Zeke. "Would you mind taking a look at these cuts? The window cut me up a bit." Then turning to Garfaulk. "That last hit seems to have cracked the head of my hammer... If you wouldn't mind taking a look while I get patched up I'd appreciate it."
He says handing off the large hammer to Garfaulk then ripping off whats left of his shirt, now showing his scarred and tattooed skin but what stands out clearly is the speckled spots of silver. He waits for someone to call him foil.
"Yes, hello. My name is Val Baine. I live here with my father, and Zeke. Zeke is like me, an adopted orphan. Dad is like that. A big heart. Often more heart than sense. I run the tavern for him, while he is always tinkering away in his foundry. Speaking of..."
At this moment, Val finally notices Zeke is there too and she stops what she was about to say. She scowls. "Charles! You were supposed to leave him out of this!"
After surreptitiously checking that Val is uninjured, Zeke rolls his eyes and lets the others fawn over her while he looks over the recently reanimated construct. He could have sworn it had been deactivated when he and Mr. Khonnir carried it into his workshop. Someone or something must have done something to it, he suspected. Val? Eh, she was smart but he didn't think she had the know-how. Pretty dumb to put herself in that kind of danger just to get rescued, and it sounds like she hadn't been expecting them to arrive yet. He pursed his lips and started gathering up the pieces to put them back inside.
Passing by Wulf, he only half-hears the man speaking to him. "I'm sorry, what was that you were saying Mr. Torstein? Oh hey Val. Keepin' yourself out of trouble, I see." He sniffs disdainfully and looks around for the best place to pile up the robot parts for further study.
"Tried. Couldn't shut him up. Bleeder with broken hammer broke your window. Not me."
Not my family, not my business. This heavy is reckless. Better keep watch. Other hand, good distraction.
Grabbing Wulf's hammer, he tosses it over his shoulder, realizing there's work to do-and maybe his craftsmanship and ability to help the bigger guy might get Val's attention. Looking to Val, he smiles "Speaking of foundries, have a place I can work on this? One with proper tools, a real workshop."
Then he looks from Zeke, to Val, to Charles, a bit confused. "Which reminds me-how do all ya know each other anyway?
"Sigh... Oh, I tried then. If we manage to save Dad, at least I can tell him I tried to keep Zeke safe."
She turn to Garfaulk next. "It's not too complicated, good sir dwarf. Dad adopted me about 10 years ago, when he found me in Starfall. We moved to Torch, and I got to know Charles, and he's always been my friend ever since. Soon after we arrived here in town, Dad started taking care of Zeke too. He calls Dad "Mr. Baine" but that is because he is just too polite. Khonnir has been our dad for a long time now."
Just then, a loud clash and clamor comes from the foundry. Rather than act surprised, Val nods and smiles. "You wanted to see the foundry, sir dwarf? Sure, let's go. I have a surprise for all of you."
Barely know these kids. Khonnir's. For good reasons, most like. Trust him, but- Val calls him a friend. He probably blushes.
He is glad for the clamor.
Val leads the group into the Foundry, the larger building next to the tavern. While it hasn't been used for several days, the Foundry is still warm and some of the forges are still burning hot. The whole building has a sense of organized chaos. Tables are filled with various tools, gizmos, cauldrons, chemicals, and vials.
"Dad's cast some spell or another on these forges. They never go out."
But what draws everyone's attention is the man.
A man lies on his hands and knees on the ground next to a table. His eyes are open, and he is looking about, a blank look on his face. He is surrounded by a set of traveling equipment, a sheathed longsword, and scalemail, and based on his and their position, up until a few seconds ago they were all lying on table with him.
Val approaches the man, but motions for the others to stay back for the time being.
"It is okay. We are safe. You are safe. My father found you lying in the streets of Torch a few weeks ago, and brought you back here to protect you. You, my new friend, are an android, and you have just awoken. My name is Val. Do.... you know what your name is? "
Blinking several times he looks around the room as he acclimates himself to the feeling of the floor and begins to raise his hand to his face, moving his fingers several times as he stares. As someone else approaches he sits up and tilts his head, listening to the woman.
After a moment he narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to speak "Va-" He looks around a moment before looking back, "Varrad. My name is Varrad." Furrowing his brow he looks around and then down at himself, "I'm missing... clothes. Is this normal?"
"Oh! I... sorry, about that. Does anyone have something he can borrow for just a bit til I dig up something more reasonable?"
Ton moves into the room and skirts to one side of the android. It's very clear that he is maintaining a clean line of fire as his bow is still in his hand, an arrow loosely nocked against it's string.
Baine just found it lying in the street. Around the same time the Torch went out? Have you asked it about that? he asks Val.
He eyes the thing with undiluted suspicion. His first and only encounter with an android was not a pleasant affair.
Wulf is quick to notice the robot and Ton's reaction as he moves opposite to his friend not wanting to block his shot. "Val, step back. We don't know if this thing is going to go berserk. Thier not safe."
He snatches his hammer off Garfaulk, holding it up high attempting to protect the others. The hairs on his arms standing up, he has that feeling in his gut again should he stand and fight or run. Not again, you metal monster.
Seeing Wulf's actions he eyes the sword next to him a moment before looking at Val, "I am not safe. A large hairy biped seems to be threatening harm with an overly large tool. But it speaks." He turns and tilts his head at the dwarf, "Is this your pet?" He looks at Wulf and frowns, "It is not well behaved."
"Stand back, stand down, for the love of Brigh!", shouts Val as she puts herself into Ton's line of fire. "Varrad had nothing to do with the torch! How could he, he was lying on this table for 3 weeks! He's not a robot, he has a soul!"
Val desperately looks over to Zeke for help.
Spooked, Charles tries to hide among the devices and clutter.
"We'll see. Reckon goblins and ettercaps and trolls have souls too. They all probably worship some kind of God anyway and that don't mean I trust them right off either." Ton says grimly, slipping the arrow back into it's quiver. "Awakened or not it has to have come from somewhere three weeks ago, and that seems pretty coincidental to me."
"Easy Wulf, let's see what it has to say. You remember anything before waking up just now?" he asks.
At that moment, Wulf collapses into unconsciousness, his bleeding wound having never been healed.
Ton looks sidelong at his collapsed friend;
For frex sake Wulf, I didn't mean that easy!
Moving to his friend he bends with a groan and begins staunching the flow of blood from his wounds by pressing on them with his hands. Honestly he had no idea if he was helping or hindering.
One of you, a little help here? he calls.
"For the love of Brigh!", shouts Val. "Zeke, could you stick a bandage on him or cast a spell?!! And the rest of us, we are going back to the tavern so I can find some clothes for this man and answer all your blasted questions in some comfort. Charles, get out of there. We can all see you. Everyone! Get into the tavern before I get mad!"
This has been a long day... For some reason he thought only the first of many
Charles grimaces. He'd been particularly sloppy. Not as sloppy as the big, dumb human, but still sloppy.
In all the commotion with his adrenaline running high, Wulf was ignoring his pain. But is quick to realises as everything around him starts to spin, looking down at his chest he could see the cuts still bleeding pretty badly. Before he can say another world everything fades to black, just like last time they confronted a creature like this.
Zeke blinks, having been distracted looking over the new member of the family. An android? She's been hiding one of these creatures here this whole time? How did I not see it? Was it really Mr. Khonnir who found it, or Val herself? Shaking his head, he registers Val's request for clothing, and steps out of the workshop to run to his room and get the thing some pants.
When he returns, he hears raised voices and peers in expecting matters to have devolved into violence, and feels slightly smug to see that he wasn't wrong. He interposes himself between Wulf and Varrad, tosses Varrad the bundle of clean laundry, and says "Here, uh, you-- here you go." Val seemed determined to treat it like a person, and dressing it up like one was a good first step.
Just then Wulf slumps to the ground. Shocked, Zeke now recognizes the severity of the seeping wound and rushes over to him. He glares at Ton, silently holding him responsible for his brutish companion's senseless stoicism. "We're not by the fireside; it all right with you if I take a look at your friend's wounds?" Without waiting for an answer, he kneels next to Wulf and mutters another incantation. A wispy green mist coalesces from nowhere and at Zeke's direction begins spreading weblike patches over the bloody cuts in his chest, closing them.
As Wulf comes to again, Zeke helps him to his feet and motions Val to come over and take some of his weight. Together they walk him back to the tavern.
Zeke and Val lug Wulf into the tavern. Along the way, Val looks down into the alleyway and sees the broken shards of glass.
"Hey, what happened to my window? " She pauses for a few seconds, and then says in a voice of realization. "Oh. Well, you are getting what you deserve, Wulf. I suppose I won't charge you for it, as long as you and your elf friend help find my Dad."
"Zeke, he has lost a lot of blood. Would you mind running to get Father Joram? I'm sure the temple is still open at this hour."
Zeke shakes his head. "No need, Val. I think the big guy's on the mend now. I'll keep an eye on his wounds while you answer questions." He looks meaningfully at the android following behind them.
"Fine, Zeke. Don't expand more of your limited healing on him, though. I have a feeling we will all see Father Joram in the morning, if things go according to my plans."
The group gathers in the tavern. Val jumps behind the bar and starts to pour some ale and wine. She digs around for a few minutes, and those closest can hear her muttering, "Where in the name of Brigh did that blasted gin go to... "
With everyone settled in, and with Varrad clothed, Val turns to the group.
"Now listen, all of you. Thanks to Dad, I know a few things about androids, that you probably do not. So let's just clear the air here. First, they are not automatically bad. Or good. And a newly awoken one like our friend Varrad here probably doesn't even know yet, so let's not scare him into doing something rash. If you two..." , pointing at Ton and Wulf, "... have problems with an android, they don't carry over to this one. That would be like me calling Wulf a stupid barbarian just because I've met other stupid barbarians. See? Doesn't feel so good, does it?"
"Newly awoken androids don't have memories of their former lives. They live their life, usually about 100 years or so, they die and their soul leaves, and after a period of renewal and healing the body accepts a new soul. Sure, that sounds really strange to us, but that doesn't make these people bad. And Varrad, I'm saying all of this for your benefit as well as everyone else. If you have more questions- and I'm sure you must- you let me know, ok?"
She pauses a second before she drops the next piece of information, wondering how they will all react.
"Given his sword and his armor he had when we found him, I was assuming Varrad used to be a warrior of some sort. I am actually hoping he can join this group in finding my father. He could very well be the missing piece that helps this band of misfits come together. Maybe all of you think I'm just too trusting. But I've been watching Varrad's body heal itself and grow younger for 3 weeks now. I feel like he is supposed to be here with us...I feel it is the will of Brigh."
Garfaulk watches, bemused, as Wulf picks up the hammer. "Your gonna break the damn thing unless you put it down" then chuckled as he collapsed. "Well, I guess tha works. More his pet than mine - and ya, his behavior is a bit rough, eh. Bad dog." He indactes Ton, then sighs, moving over to the wounded Wulf, grabbing the hammer back with a chuckle. "Heh, idjit" though his tone was more ribbing than annoyed.
He sits down as Val talked, listening and nodding while he works on the hammer. "Wow, yeh sure know a lot about them, must've spent a long time with yer Pa studyin up on em. Tell me, Mr. Robit, ya got no memories of nuttin, eh? Must be confusin-though convenient to be an adult right off the bat-and to be made of metal must sure be sumthin."
Just to demonstrate that Val isn't the boss of him, Zeke rebelliously casts another healing spell on Wulf while Val is talking.
He blinks, trying to keep his face expressionless, when Val suggests he take the android with him into the caves. He regards Varrad cooly. Well, if it doesn't kill us, it could certainly be a big help. I wonder how the town council's going to feel about that? And the two mercenaries, the archer and the brute, they seem like to jump it as soon as Val turns her back.
Managing these folks is going to be a circus!
He sighs audibly. "I'm going to go get Mr. Khonnir back, and anyone who wants to come along is welcome. Or, y'know, go the same direction as me for their own reasons." Still watching Varrad, he tries to smile in a friendly, diplomatic way. "Mr. Android? Er, Varrad, I mean? You got any reasons for working with us?"
Always forget how religious Val can get. Doomsday and clockworks ...Khonnir attracts stray weirdos. Me, too, if I'm honest. Rest of the family thinks he's nuts. And now an android. The heavy and the elf seem suspicious. Wonder if Zeke will feel jealous? Best to keep watch and keep quiet.
Charles sits quietly and listens.
"Not exactly made of metal, good sir dwarf. Had I not mentioned he was an android, would you have even known? Androids bodies are made of flesh. Dad would tell me that android flesh though is not like ours though; he called it... "synthetic" ? Yeah, we had plenty of time to study and look at Varrad these last weeks, up until when Dad disappeared. Dad was actually taking measurements to document the changes that happened during the renewal process. Uh... don't worry, Varrad. He kept a towel over, well... you know."
It is true; as the party looks more closely at Varrad, no part of him appears metallic. Careful study, though, does reveal a light blue tatoo pattern that runs under his skin.
Wulf jumps as he's awakened by Zeke. "Did It get me?" He says looking around the room spotting Ton with his weapon down he focuses more on himself as he winces at the pain. He accepts the help as he's moved back into the tavern.
"Nothing a few drinks won't fix, but you're healing is extremely appreciated." He arms Zekes hand and nods at the man. He settles in as the radiantly glowing Val speaks, it might be the blood loss or the drink Wulf didn't care.
He rubs the back of his head as she calls him a stupid barbarian. She isn't half wrong after what I just showed, pretty bad first impression.
Taking a long sip of his drink, he waits to see what Ton has to say, he's put his foot in it enough today and plans on listening first.
Zeke tries not to show it, but the stunned look in his eye implies that he's hurt that Khonnir Baine and Val apparently kept this discovery from him deliberately. They worked on it for days, weeks, while I was out... doing what, drinking? Probably drinking, yeah. His cheeks darken a bit with shame. He was non compost mentis for a few days there after the fire went out. They think I'm that closed-minded? They don't trust me, maybe? He stares into space, going over it in his head.
Garfaulk hasn't gotten that close, still working on the hammer. "Ah, just assumed since the crazy robit was metal, I just guessed this one would be too, my mistake. Nice to meet ya. The name's Garfaulk Sharpstone." he'd go to shake hands, but didn't want to mess up the hammer. "if someone could grab me a drink, tha'd be great-I do meh best work after a few"
"We're not by the fireside; it all right with you if I take a look at your friend's wounds?"
Ton's lip curls at the remark and he retorts;
"Oh I don't know kid, why don't we argue you about it for a while longer. Maybe if you'd been listening when he asked for help the first time instead of having stars in your eyes and your head up your arse he might not be bleeding to death now!"
Inwardly Ton sighs with relief when Wulf regains consciousness and stands up though chances are he would never admit that.
He realise that he still has the half-bent cigarette between his lips but in the excitement it has extinguished. He looks about and finds a slender piece of wood that he plunges into one of the forges for a moment and then withdraws it to light his cigarette once more.
As he draws the acrid smoke into his lungs, he says;
"Actually sweetheart, I never said anything about the fact he was an Android. I said it was strange that he was found in the street the same time things started going wrong around here and that's weird whether you want to admit it or not."
"You can call him android, synthetic, artificial or skinjob for all I care. Let's stick to Varrad for now. Hi." he says blowing out a lungful of smoke and waving, incredibly taking the moral high ground. "Your Dad have any theories on where he came from?"
Ignoring Ton's outburst, Zeke quietly tells Wulf, "Mr. Torstein, the healing comes from a god called Groetus, he's the one that looks over the End Times. He ain't got a temple around these parts, so I'm pretty much the only one here that pays him any mind, not that I can comprehend his will or his favor a'tall. Anyway, it seems to me he wants you living on this earth a while longer, and as long as you're willing to help me find Mr. Khonnir, I'm very glad to share the moon-god's gifts with you free of charge."
Val hesitates in answering Ton's question. She opens her mouth, closes it, and then opens it again to answer.
"No, no idea. Varrad, I'm assuming you don't remember where you come from. Right? "