Aurexil nods. "Right. We've got no clue what's really going on now, especially since this here," she points at their dead foes, "Seems like something's going wrong for the things that were supposed to be our jail guards. Now, which way?"
Artirian sends Jaxel to check out the north door.
On the Klaven zombie creatures, you do notice that each was wearing studded leather armor, three of them had battleaxes ties to their waists, and four had spur rifles slung over their shoulders *with a total among all of them of 40 spurs), and five of them had keys similar but not exactly the same as the one you found below.
When the door to the north doesn't open, trying one of these keys gets it to.
Four vats sit on the floor of this rectangular room with slanted corners. Each one is four feet in diameter and four feet tall, filled with a thick opaque greenish liquid which bubbles slowly, though no steam rises from the top. Next to each vat is a wooden enclosure filled with glass bottles and alembics connected to a maze of glass pipes. These contraptions appear to create the greenish fluid and slowly pump it into the adjacent vats through four transparent, flexible hoses. The entry is also the only exit.
Along the northern wall are set several more suits of studded leather and battleaxes.
Whatever this is it's not going to help us get out of here. Neve says Let's look somewhere else.
Aurexil looks things over then gives a small nod of agreement. "We've all already got armor and weapons. Do you think this is an... armory of some sort?"
She shrugs. "But you're right, let's keep moving."
The next door- to the northeast-
This octagonal-shaped room presents a bare stone floor, walls, and ceiling with no discernable function. Two door panels reside in the eastern wall. The wall between the doors is stone from the floor to a height approximately waist high. The rest of the wall is glass, too thick to be easily smashed open.
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Jaxel attempts to open the door panels in the eastern wall, at Artirian's commands.
Dont' think this room is useful. Neve mutters.
Aurexil frowns. "I feel like we're missing something, but there's not much reason to stay and look."
The keys open both doors. The northeastern door leads to a small room or booth with some kind of panel filled with switches a big lever, while the southeastern leads to stairs spiraling downward.
"Anybody know what to make of these switches?" Aurexil asks, peeking into the northeastern room. "The stairs are kind of odd, since we didn't see them down below. I suppose there's other parts down there we didn't see. Maybe after we finish up here we should look down there."
Artirian takes up one of the spur rifles and experiments how to use it.
"Lets head up then."
(yup. just -4 and vs. touch)
Anyone flipping levers, going anywhere or doing anything? :)
(yup. just -4 and vs. touch)
Anyone flipping levers, going anywhere or doing anything? :)
Fraejia approached the switched and began to examine them. She wasn't sure what they did but switches tended to be important. She looked to the others and said, "Give me a moment before we use those stairs."
Aurexil keeps watch as Fraejia examines the levers.
Faejia examines the booth and panel and determines its function: the booth is meant as an observation booth, looking out into the room you entered from. There is a switch to make the floor clear, and one to remove it entirely, dropping whoever is standing their into the room below.
From this, she can assume that the stairs leading down lead to the area designed to be observed.
"Let's hit the switch to make the floor clear," Aurexil suggests. "Then we can see if there's anything down there worth getting into."
Transforming the floor to transparent reveals what appears to be an arena-style pit below. Nothing is in the pit, but there is a ledge around it, and two smaller versions of the Tauslek scurry around this ledge with agitation. Additionally, you can see a room with an open door which was likely their holding pen across from what appears to be the stairs' entrance to the area below.
"There's that thing's kids," Aurexil says, nodding at them. "I think I'd rather not bother them. Let's go to one of the other doors."
There are doors to the Southeast, south, and West. Assuming for expediency that you are continuing clockwise, the southeastern door is locked but opens with a touch of the keys carried by the undead guards on this level.
Inside, the rectangular room contains two work tables, each covered with alchemical gear and medical tools and equipment, including an enormous frame-mounted lens to magnify images, several small, glass dishes, and a number of stoppered glass vials. Among the tools lies a book as well.
Aurexil looks at the others in the group and points at the gear. "Any of you know how to use this stuff? Any of it worth taking with us?"
She herself goes over to look at the book, wondering if whatever happened to make them understand each other would help her read it.
Artirian examines all the items trying to determine if they have magical properties.
Aurexil looks through the book. It seems to be full of alchemical formulae and notations. Of note, there seems to be some pages dedicated to a "field study trial" on a number of new planets. The names of these planets translate before your eyes to those of your home worlds, and that of the Bahgra, indicating that these notes were taken shortly before your capture. Noting that "xorophond agent Vuelib reported an initial degree of instability with its prepared assimilation strain due to genetic deviations in the natives" of these worlds. Lomrick's journal indicates that he sent instruction to "adjust accordingly and begin a second trial."
The final entry reveals that this xorophond agent discovered a "critical discovery" and shows that Lomrick requested some "sample" life-forms to confirm the matter, which would then need to be reported to "the Scions of the Celestial Helix" immediately following confirmation.
Artirian detects a magical aura and spends a few rounds narrowing it down to two of the stoppered jars. These contain potions of cure moderate wounds.
As Aurexil looks through the book and Artirian examines the items more closely, they both feel a little light-headed.
Perception Aurexil
Perception Artirian
Fraejia had been examining some of the equipment in an effort to understand how it worked. She hoped to find a way to use it to supplement their meager healing supplies. She was quite occupied while Aurexil and Artirian were looking at the book and didn't notice anything unusual as they did.
Fraejia finds enough to work out a healer's kit. Most of the rest of the equipment is more chemistry set/alchemically orientated.
Fraejia Perception
Fraejia also seems to be getting a bit light-headed.
Fraejia managed to assemble a working kit for healing, even if she wasn't skilled in it's use some else might be. She was about to ask when she suddenly felt a bit woozy. The feeling washed through here and she knew something was wrong, even if she didn't understand exactly what it was.
Aurexil shakes herself slightly. "I think... there's something in the air here. We should get out of the room," she says, walking out a little unsteadily.
Artirian is too happy to haul himself out of the room.
Everyone alright? What'd you find down there? Neve asks.
You pull yourselves from the room, the effects of whatever it was doing no further damage to Aurexil ()
The room to the south is an octagonal chamber with several glass cases, each big enough to hold a large dog or Halfling. A solitary workbench sits near the southern wall, two large diagrams looming over it with strange symbols and formulae covering them.
Look I don't think we should mess around with this stuff. Let's just find a way out. Neve says. This place seems to be a death trap and the sooner we get out the better.
Aurexil grunts. "I don't like it, either, but it's not like we even know the way out. What if we need a key or something, or there's a weapon somewhere that could help us if there are more of those things? Besides, I'd rather not leave guards behind that flank us just as we meet something else. So can any of you make anything out of all of this? Especially that," she points at the diagram.
Neve sighs and tries to read the symbols.
Fraejia suddenly felt weaker than she had before, like something was taking the wind out of her. She focused and tried to shake whatever it was off as she asked, "Does anyone else feel weaker after that room?"
The diagrams seem biological studies of oozes. One is labelled "Xoraphond" and illustrates the nature of a translucent slime with two protruding pseudopods. It indicates the is a small, amorphous aberration with anesthetizing properties, resistant to piercing and slashing, with several ooze-like properties and an immunity to cold. The second shows a grey-green, roughly square and backpack-sized glob of sludge with twisting fungal growths labelled a "mindslave harness model 3" and indicates its use as a mind-control device by the personnel here.
Something scuttles under the workbench, its four metallic legs clacking against the floor. A scorpion-like robot labelled "BR-N3R" makes a move towards one of the glass cases, seemingly intent on smashing it open.
Neve may react before it does so.
Neve rushes to interpose herself between the robot and the glass case it's heading towards.
Grab that thing! It's trying to release, like, mind control oozes and stuff!
she shouts towards the others.
Artirian
Aurexil
Fraejia
Neve
BR-N3R
With Neve's shout, everyone is free to react before BR-N3R may complete his action (including Neve.)
With the warning from Neve Fraejia turned to face the thing and quickly sent a blast of cold into it. As she sent the energy out it appeared that it was going to spear right into the tiny thing.
"What?" Aurexil is moving even as she forms the question, sprinting into the room and slashing with her glaive at the little metal thing.
"Grab im, Jazel!" Artirian commands."Don't let him get to the glass case."He then moves into a flanking position with Jaxel, his dagger drawn.
Fort
The little robot, apparently already having been damaged by something, is easily destroyed under Fraejia's icy blast and Aurexil's mighty blow, leaving little for Jaxel to fetch for his master.
The room grows quiet again, though you can see the case is full of tiny bubble-like globules of sickly green ooze, like someone boiled a green slime.
This place is messed up. Neve says. They were going to do all kinds of horrorshow experiments to us!
Aurexil growls in wordless agreement. "Anything here we can turn back on them?" she asks, figuring the others will know better than her what the things here might be.