Kaad lets go of a war cry before charging the metal beast with the iron hammer once more.
Again, missing the creature again.
The sound of the net hitting the wall woke Jean up. She shakes her head clear and charges at the automaton, trying to disable it before it causes more harm.
Sorry, but survival comes first.
Try to disable it if you can, we might be able to use its power source.
But where is it...?
She raises her quarterstaff and tries to smack it in the head.
Askra blinks again with an emphatic "Woooah!" as the net slides past her at speed. Seeing the thing repair itself only makes her estimation of the ah-tomma-tawn rise a notch - leading her to redouble her efforts. She sets to with determination...
Standard Action: Again attack "butlerbot"
+2 BAB, +2 Str, +1 Weapon focus, -1 PA, +1 Studied Target]
[two hand Str, PA, +1 Studied Target]
The party surround the machine and pummel it to pieces. It's metal lies torn on the dusty floor, no longer repairing its self. The red light in its eye goes dim, and it stops moving. After a minute the smoke dissapates and the metal cavern grows quiet.
Val stands in the next room with a lit torch. Goggles on, she's inspecting a strange machine that's attached to both sides of the far door. Coils of metal tubes with nozzle-like protrusions jut out of the wall near the door frame and into the room. Val peers into the darkness beyond the far door. A long thin probe extends from a nearby wall, the tip flashing with lights. It appears to inspect Val from the side, as if a luminous head of a stiff snake.
"Lookout Val!" cries Askra. Without thinking she drops her greatsword, pulls out a javelin and hurls it at the tube. Her aim is awful.
Free Action Drop greatsword
Move Action: Draw javelin.
Standard Action: Throw.
[+2 BAB, +3 Dex]
[+2 Str]
The javelin sticks into the mess of wires and metal tubes with a *thunk
"WHOA. Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa." Val looks up at Askra with her hands raised. The little "light snake" quickly retracts into the wall and makes an angry chirp as its hatch slams shut. Val looks at it for a moment, then the Javelin, eyebrows furrowed. She then relaxes and looks over at Askra and the party and the downed machine.
"Are we okay to keep moving then? Jean, Relas? Nashara are you healed? Fij, Palo, were you hit? Any skulks on our tail Kaad? Khonnir's got to be close."
Ask maintains a steely gaze in return.
No "thanks, Ask". Just... "Woah!". Anyone can "woah!"...
She picks up her greatsword and takes some effort to remove her javelin - keeping an evil eye on the hatch the metal snake emerged from before just as quickly disappearing.
The Kellid girl shrugs. "I'm ready. These metal monsters give me the creeps tho'."
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"I am fine as well. Any more 'metal monsters' will meet a similar fate. I gave it a chance but twice now they've attacked me unprovoked. Either they're possessed by evil spirits or some foul master moves them from afar. Regardless, they are now anathema. Blasphemes to be unmade. I've heard them called tools by some of you, indeed they are - tools of destruction and chaos. Let us move on for now. My magical reserves run low and if we don't find Khonnir soon we will be forcd to return to the Foundry for the day or perhaps we can find a defenseable place to set a camp and take watches." the warrior priestess says as she pats a tender spot on her ribs. Her blood still seeping through a bit. Her voice is fiery with renewed conviction. Is that hate you hear in her voice? It could be...
"Could we defend this structure if need be? I wonder how large it is." Making her way to the other door in the room she attempts to open it.
What in Nethys' void was that..., thinks Jean when she say the tubes. Then seeing Askra violently chase it away before Jean could observe more closely, she glares at her in silence.
How ignorant! Who knows what we could have learned from that? These 'things' look intelligent by comparison. They might even be able to help us find Khonnir!
"Yeah, you're right Val. Let's go look for your Khonnir. Can anyone detect any evidence of his passing?"
Making sure she's in front of Askra, Jean follows closely behind Nashara and watches the surroundings more closely.
Hammer ready, Kaad does indeed check for skulks.
"Don't be such a gloomy-gus, Palo! Things have had a bit of a, uh...bumpy start, but we're alive aren't we? That seems to count for a lot for most people, you know."
Aside from the exits there is only one other door, but it wont budge for Nashara. Kaad looks behind for any trailing Skulks, but he finds none. The group moves into the room with Val and the collection of tubes, coils, and wires sticking out of the wall and pointing at them. From there they begin to move through an opening unlike the others. The ground quickly becomes sandy, and the walls are a reddish rock. The door has lead to a desert cave tunnel. After only a few meters, the tunnel opens up to a wide, pitch black desert.
At first glance, this cold cavern presents a strange and disconcerting vista - that of a desert valley under a starless night sky. A stretch of sand covers the ground, a vista broken here and there by bits of strange, spiky shells or contorted, dead fronds that look like branches.
Nashara spots several tracks in the windless desert. It looks like almost a dozen humans. The tracks seem to lead to a distant, faint blue light.
How in the world are we in a desert?
Kaad is confused by the unexpected landscape. He zones out as Nashara announces the tracks to the group.
Kaad stares at the tracks and then into the distance.
Well, whatever is out there, we'd best get after it. I fear Khonnir may be in for more than he can handle.
Askra just bites her lip and grips her greatsword all the more tight as she brings up the rear behind Jean...
What the frucque is this now!?!?! Where are we!?!?!
She tries to remain calm, and looks longingly back to the "normalcy" of the starship cavern as they leave it behind…
Askra finds nothing following the party, and they press on through the desert. The faint light grows stronger as the party treks through the sand. At the top of a nearby dune, a figure rises to its feet. Nearby, at the top of another dune, another figure stands. The party can't quite see what these figures are from this distance. Ahead, behind, to all sides, figures begin to appear, emerging from the sand.
At the top of a dune one of the humanoid figures slowly begins moving towards the party, and a faint misty light appears where his eyes should be. He is dimly illuminated, and appears to be an emaciated skeleton like humanoid with four arms, and an elongated cranium. His sharp teeth bare a permanent, skinless smile like that of a skull. The other creatures slowly shuffle forward, closing in on the party!
These odds aren't great.
Hammer at the ready, Kaad is hoping for a diplomatic solution, but is open to aggressive negotiations. It is always better to have the high ground and not to get pinned down in one spot. He looks around for the weak spot to push in that direction, should the situation become hostile.
"What do we do? Are they looking to kill? Val?"
Askra grips her greatsword handle tight by her head, blade standing straight up. She peers at the incoming creatures - for once unsure of what to do...
Great... I was expecting more machines to toy with, instead we get more creepy crawlers? But why is that one's eyes glowing?
Jean carefully moves behind Askra and Kaad, using the cover to draw out arcane energy and create a shuriken (Create Gear usage).
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[ooc]A skeleton you say? Pharasmin, hooooo! :P[ooc]
From beneath her dark hood Nashara snarls, and presses forward to launch an assault on ....
"An abomination! the warrior priestess yells as she charges at the skeletal creature.
"Lady of the Graves, I condemn this blaspheme. We shall not suffer the unlife to linger in your venerated presence. Please, allow me to remove it's offending presence from your divine sight!!!
Kaad looks all around him at the creatures emerging from the dark, just at the edge of Nashara's sword's light and Val's torch. The creature with the glowing eyes of smoke stands directly between the party and the distant light at the end of the tracks. Kaad can see that the creatures have the advantage here, and to punch straight through and towards the light would be most strategic option.
Askra can see no weapons in the creature's hands, only long fingers ending on a bony claw. They shuffle forward unnaturally, as if moving on instinct alone.
"How am I supposed to know? I mean Khonnir already past through here. Mayb-"
"An abomination!" Nashara yells, interrupting Val. She darts forward at the glowing creature, stricking with her mighty sword. The creature lacks skin and muscle, its difficult to strike it with full force, but Nashara has no trouble cleaving the monster and reducing it to rubble, but not before the creature strikes at Nashara with four sharp claws!
One of the sharp claws finds a weak spot in Nashara's armor.
Palomia can tell, this creature is certainly from this plane, but she cant quite make it out. Her and Jean can sense the magic in the glowing eyed creature as it's destroyed. At that moment, another of the monster's eye sockets fill with a misty glow. The arcane signature is that of some sort of scrying, as if someone is watching through these eyeless skulls.
The other monsters move with incredible speed! They're fast and agile, even in the sand. The rush the party and strike with sharp claws from all sides!
A monster rushes Nashara from the back. Four claw strike!
Askra gets rushed from the side!
One strikes at Kaad!
Two claws get through!
Jean is apprached from the rear!
Jean is struck twice!
Fijit is assailed from the back!
Relas is also attacked!
Relas is hit once!
Kaad's blood boils as his hammer alights with fire.
Punch straight through towards the light!
Askra turns, and head held to on one side for the merest fraction of a moment she searches the creature assailing her for any signs of weakness or vulnerability. Then eight pounds of steel and all of her force swing toward her foe. Her blade misses, cleaving sand and dust.
Move Action: Studied Target.
Standard Action: Attack assailant.
[+2 BAB, +2 Str, +1 Weapon focus, -1 PA, +1 Studied Target]
[two hand Str, PA, +1 Studied Target]
"Skellingtons!" Fijit cries somewhat belatedly. "FIRE TWO!"
Relas yowls in pain and surprise as one of the creatures manages to catch him with a claw! Whipping around, he attempts to return the favor with a savage bite...
And then a painful sting, for good measure!
"Ahhh!"
Jean once again staggers under the pain. Looking around, she sees that they are surrounded and retreats to the middle of the group.
Nashara cleaves through her second target with ease, but as the bones collapse on the ground, she notices an eerie trait about them.
Palomia casts a slippery spell to help protect Jean.
The monster maintains its footing, at home in the sand.
The rest of the party fights the creatures, but cant seem to land a decent blow. The party grows tired, and afraid, they lack Nashara's conviction. Her sword of light which pierces the darkness. Even Relas, who is agile enough to land a blow, finds that only his teeth can crush bone, but his stinger cannot seem to harm the monsters.
Relas is attacked again by four savage claws!
One attack hits!
With Palomia and Jean retreating to the center, Fijit is left directly between two of the four armed skeleton creatures. The simply close the gap, flanking her!
The monsters cant quite seem to hit Fijit, the strike wildly kicking up sand. One claw finds Fijit squarely.
Kaad is attacked!
Askra is attacked!
The monster in front of Kaad twists unnaturally. It's head swivels, and empty eye sockets flicker with a misty green light.
Angry and frustrated, Kaad's blood boils fervently. He strikes again with the flaming hammer.
"Who's carrying the potions?" says Jean, her breath escaping her like hot air from a vial.
5' step + Move Action Shift over to melee range of Fijit's bottom flanker.
Standard Action: Attack Fijit's assailant.
[+2 BAB, +2 Str, +1 Weapon focus, -1 PA, +1 Studied Target, +2 flank]
[two hand Str, PA, +1 Studied Target]
Snarling in frustration, Relas attempts another bite at the skeleton-creature that he's been trading blows with.
He then shifts his weight backwards, attempting to close ranks with Palomia and the rest of the group to prevent these things from being able to attack everyone on all sides at once.