With Sabi and Valya in front, blade and club in hand the door is opened...
A small pool of water in a basin of gold tile lies in the center of this chamber, and the walls are decorated with tiled patterns, once colorful but now cracked and faded. Four staggered columns support the vaulted ceiling.
Near the entrance is a large brass-plated statue. It appears to have the body of a man but the head of a bull. To nobody's surprise, especially having heard it before opening the door, it attacks with its greataxe and horns!
Initiative
Valya
Tico
Sabi
Nar
Statue
Everybody is up!
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Sabi is eager to try his newly practiced ability. He quickly drops his club—as much in fear as out of the necessity to have both hands free to gather elemental energy. Cold whirls around him in a riot of light and noise, snowflakes swirling around him and his shield of ice glows a deep blue with the energy.
Water leaks from his pores as he releases the energy in an explosive, entangling blast.
Reflex negates; DC 17
Your kinetic blast surrounds your foes in elemental matter. Whenever a blast with this infusion deals damage to a foe, that foe becomes entangled for 1 minute. The foe can remove this condition as a standard action with a successful Escape Artist or Strength check (with the same DC as for saves against your kinetic blast) or by dealing an amount of damage to the entangling matter equal to double your kineticist level . If the foe was already entangled by this infusion and fails its save against a second instance of this infusion, the increased amount of elemental matter fuses to the ground, causing the foe to be rooted in place as though anchored to an immobile object.
Entangled: An entangled creature moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell.
Sabi then moves a hesitant step back from the monstrosity to judge his handiwork.
The statue acts with alarming speed dodging one of Nar's arrow, but taking the other one between metal plates.
Blood begins to ooze out of the wound. It bleeds!
It then takes an icy blast to the face and slows down as frost coats several of its plates.
Valya cuts into it as well, and it's ferocity seems to turn quickly into terror.
Initiative
Tico
Statue 50/Entangle
Valya
Sabi
Nar
Tico is up!
Tico is unsure of the creature, and unsure of his ability to hit it.
It turns tail and withdrawds from the fight running for the back door of the room, where a good deal of noise is coming from. Clattering, the clang of metal on metal, scraping, rustling and occasional whirring.
Initiative:
Y'all!
Nar's shot drops the fleeing bull statue.
It drops to the ground as blood oozes from between the copper plates.
You're not quite sure what the creature is but it definitely has fleshy bits underneath those metal plates.
It seemed to smart to be a flesh golem, but which came first the minotaur or the statue, you're not sure.
Sounds like a forge behind the door, you're not entirely sure though.
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Very strange indeed, I'm normally not one to shoot things in the back, but it seemed too dangerous to chance it coming back at us later.
Nar will inspect the bull and perform some last rites over it despite the danger it once posed as he feels bad for not letting it leave.
Then will inspect the door and make himself ready to move further into the new area.
Piles of scrap metal and broken machinery lie around this room, organized into tidy rows. Most are disassembled limbs or torsos from human-shaped machines. There’s a panel with a red-handled lever on the room’s east wall.
A pair of four-armed uman-sized clockwork creatures work on repairing machenery.
They stop when you enter the room and shout "Intruders!"
as they attack/
These are clockwork servents N Medium construct (clockwork). They are really good at repairing constructs but aren't especially dangerous on their own.
The red clockwork creature acts first, a shoulder mounted launcher releases its ammunition with a bang and plume of smoke as a net shoots out and engulfs Sabi, entangling him.
Initiative
Nar
Blue Clock
Sabi
Valya
Tico
Red Clock
Nar is up!
Nar moves in and misses with an arrow.
The blue clockwork creature skitters over a pile of junk, careful not to knock anything else. It's head tracks Nar and it's shoulder mounted launcher fires a net at him.
There is some sort of malfunction though and the net drops harmlessly at the creatures feet.
Initiative
Sabi Entanged
Valya
Tico
Red Clock
Nar
Blue Clock
Sabi, Valya and Tico are up!
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Sabi sighs slightly as the net wraps around him. This is what I get for trying to be heroic.
Let's see ... I can try to burst my bonds (wouldn't that be impressive?!) or wriggle out like some slippery eel .. But maybe there is a more practical solution ...
Not feeling as if he's in immediate danger, Sabi draws a dagger and begins to cut his way out.
This will take forever!
Tico's fire catches the red one full on, while clipping the blue one. Neither seems particularly resistant to the flames.
Sabi slowly works on the net.
Initiative
Valya
Red Clock 22
Nar
Blue Clock 11
Sabi Entanged
Tico
Valya is up!
Valya's first attack takes down the construct, but after a 5ft step there's no where to have the rest of the attacks follow up.
Initiative
Nar
Blue Clock 11
Sabi Entanged
Tico
Valya
Nar is up!
Nar's arrows drop the remaining clockwork creature.
No magic currently flowing from what they are repairing but they clearly appear to have been working on broken emerald automations. Ones that appear to have been disabled in combat in the relatively recent past.
The wreckage is of little use to you but there is a door on the north wall, and the red panel with lever on the east wall.
It is currently in the down position.
No traps are apparent on the north door, but when searched and then opened.
After about 5 feet the walls change from stone to bronze, but change back to stone after the first turn.
The passage twists and turns but quickly comes to a dead end with another curved wall of bronze.
Being currently in the down position, the red lever is quite resistant to being pulled further.
It is however easy enough to push into a neutral and then raised position.
Upon doing so there is more grinding as the passage to the north rotates to be facing west instead of east.
It opens up into a small antichamber with double doors to the west made of bronze plates. They are inscribed with runic lettering and the images of strange, partially formed creatures with blank faces and featureless bodies.
The passage also curves around into another bronze walled section that dead ends.
It is not in a language that Sabi can read.
Nothing to be heard from behind the door other than the incessant ticking and grinding that permeates this whole level.
Opening the door increases the volume quite a bit though as this chamber seems to be the origin of the ticking sounds heard elsewhere.
A heavy brass housing in the middle of the room covers a clockwork arrangement of gears and cogs, that clank loudly as they slowly move.
Revolving camshafts and rocker mechanisms extend from the housing to various points in the ceiling, driving unseen mechanisms. The room also seems to serve as a workshop. Nine alcoves contain unfinished automatons in various stages of assembly. A panel with a red lever and a black lever is set in a curved wall at the west end of the room, and a door leads north.
Across the room is a tall and gaunt man, with gold plating joined to his inhuman colored flesh.
He greets you "I have visitors it seems! Yes I do not recall inviting you. Explain yourselves!"
His voice drips with disdain as he responds. “I am Klarkosh, Master of the Emerald Spire! How is my presence not obvious to you?"
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Thank you Masao, as he said. I'm Nar Ibn Saif, this is Valya and Tico, it seems we may have stumbled into your demesne and for that we offer our apologies. You see we have a bit of a desire to explore these ruins and have so far seen many a wondrous thing, but have yet to sate our curiosity. For example, your atomata are wonderful, perhaps you would care to share your vision?
Klarkosh responds "“My affairs are none of your business...
But, if you must know, I am in the process of devising the perfect mechanical servant. Absolutely loyal, absolutely fearless, every bit as capable as a living human with none of the fears or vices or ambitions a fallible human might harbor. While I have not yet achieved perfection, I would be willing to part with a rather potent one for the right price."
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Valya grits her teeth, her mind almost cannot fathom that someone would trade their flesh for... metal and clockwork...
She shudders in revulsion.
We wish to pass through this domain to the lower levels. Where are the stairs down?
She knows she is being impolite, but it's the nicest she can muster even with all her concentration.
Klarkosh ponders for a moment
"I could show you the way down, know that the Spire is mine though, and all you recover from the vermin below is my property. I understand though that your service would not be without toil however and I would be willing to grant you the boon of 50% of any treasure recovered."
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Tico uses his scroll of comprehend languages to translate the the runic lettering.
“Glory to the makers, the shapers, the fashioners of servants. In this crucible let artifice and theurgy be joined in noble purpose for the dominion of derrokind!”
He makes a brief pause, then asks to the others: "does somebody knows what it could mean?"
Tico remembers Tarrin's offer, and her proposal for gold and information, as well as Zarta's suggestion that Klarkosh could be a generous ally. The wizard's arrogance makes the cleric's decision very easy.
"I am Tico Marvillos. Can we enter the room, Mr. Klarkosh? We would like to speak about the Splinters, specially their Guildmaster Tarrin", he says as he walks through the chamber.
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"It is odd to me that none of the sentient creatures we have encountered thus far in our explorations have spoken of your 'ownership'. Pardon my bluntness, but I expect you have evidence to document such an important claim, as unfortunately, the government of the surrounding area has no record of such a claim, nor even of any inhabitant whatsoever."
Klarkosh smiles at Ticos silvery words and motions for him to step forward. As Tico steps forward a clockwork pillar rises out of the floor a trio of blades spinning around it.
The blade barely nicks Tico but it continues to spin.
Klarkosh grins "I'll show you why I'm the master of the spire. When your pain outgrows your insolence you're ready to surrender we can discuss those terms instead."
Initiative
Nar
Sabi
Valya
Tico
Klarkosh
Everybody is up!
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"You invite him in, and then have your dark machines attack? Such cowardice and treachery are unbecoming of anyone who calls himself 'master of the spire'."
Sabi gathers power quickly around him. The surrounding room heats up slightly as cold energy is sucked to him in a cacophony of sound and snowflakes. Elemental energy is suddenly release in a blast of cold at the cackling figure.