The Forgotten God (Table 5)

Game Master Rednal

"Thank you for everything, milady. You've been most enlightening, and I look forward to our next meeting." With a short nod, Astoroth steps through the doorway.

She simply gave another smile - looking much more friendly and personable this time - as you stepped through the gate. When you stepped out onto the other side, a body - a real, flesh-and-blood body - was what you were inhabiting... complete with your clothing and items. This time, however, you were on the far side of the room from where you could see your old body, near the ramp heading down and further in.

Your HP has been restored to full, and all daily powers except your mythic points have been restored to full. Your mythic energy has had two points restored.

I thought I killed it before being dropped by the failed teleport attempt. Is this a different bird monster, did it regenerate, or is this an alternate timeline?

...Right you are! *Quickly edits things* XD; Forgot about that. There we go.

That would have been quite the plot twist, otherwise. ;-)

Although his face didn't show it, Astoroth felt good being alive again. His latest death had left him with many questions. From what he could tell, his old body had yet to begin decaying, so at most a day had passed. He made a mental note to avoid teleporting in this place until he could determine the cause. Either this area was warded against dimensional travel, or he was on another plane entirely. Cautiously, he proceeded down the ramp.

Assume he's taking10 on Perception until otherwise indicated. Total is 19 (20 vs traps)

The walls of this large chamber are supported by wooden beams. Several pick axes and other mining implements lie on racks near some walls. To the north, the walls drop away to give a stunning view of an impossibly immense cavern — a vast underground mine populated by countless toiling miners at work extracting glittering ore from the walls. Burning devils flap through the air, descending now and then to encourage productivity with strikes from glittering barbed whips, while amid the miners slither and crawl great many-legged serpents that spew lightning from their draconic jaws. A narrow ledge runs down into the mine below to the northwest. In the middle of the floor is a scorched corpse resembling those of the serpents you can see down below. Aside from, y'know, the whole 'burned and dead' part.

This was not good. Astoroth had no desire to end up in a hellish mining prison, but that had suddenly become a very real possibility. He crouched down to reduce his profile and began to examine the area - especially the scorched serpentine corpse. As dimensional travel appeared to be impeded down here, he had to be sure that it wouldn't reanimate and cut off his escape route.

Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 +1 vs traps
Spend a sphere point to divine as a standard action

The creature before you seems to have been killed rather recently - probably less than an hour ago. The burns are also indicative of excessive force being used, as if whoever attacked the creature wanted to be very certain it was dead.

In addition, the walls and floor of the room are covered in illusion magic - if the visions they're showing are real, they're not showing something that's actually here. There's a small change in the magic near the northwestern ledge - apparently, that's the way forward.

Out of curiosity, do I have any way of determining why my warp failed and any warning indicators for the future? It would be helpful to know which areas are safe to use it, or if it's just a general feature of this underground area.

Okay, so he might not actually be breaking into a devilish prison ... yet. However, there's definitely a powerful pyromancer of sorts somewhere fairly close. Hopefully it's the same individual who's been careful to NOT burn him. Staying quiet and alert, Astoroth continues forward.

The best you could do would be to experiment in different areas and see if it ever works.

A pair of fiery pools churn and burn at the far side of a clearing within a vast garden of metallic trees that bear brass-colored fruit. Gaps in the densely packed trees reveal barely visible glimpses of bestial couplings between devils and the damned. Mingled cries of agony, pain, and darker passions resound and echo through the sickly sweet and cloyingly warm air - but there's a constant theme to the images and sounds, and it's that the females are always being forced to submit. This... is not a very pleasant room.

There's a door on the northern side of the wall, but as you enter, you can see the passageway blocked by a flaming, stone minotaur who hefts his massive weapon up as he sees you. He's clearly more defensive than aggressive - probably for the best, because the creature is clearly far more powerful than your current form.

INT: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Fortunately, you do recall quite a bit about such systems. This creature - some kind of guardian construct - is probably keyed to an object or password of some kind that allows people to pass through. The safest way of getting by the guardian is finding whatever that might be.

An object of password. Hmmm... Perhaps the Lifesphere would grant passage? Retrieving it from his pack, Astoroth brandishes it toward the construct. "Let me pass."

Staying at the far end of the chamber, of course.

The guardian turned to look as you waved the Lifesphere - and did nothing else. Whatever the sphere was meant to help you bypass, this was apparently not it.

Keeping a close eye on the guardian, Astoroth begins to move about the chamber in search of any clues. If the minotaur acts hostile, he backs away quickly. While he searches, he asks a simple question. "Can you understand me?"

Taking 20 on Perception for a 29. If there's an affirmative response to my question, I'll then ask "Can you speak?"

The guardian raised its weapon a little higher the moment you crossed through the halfway point of the room - but didn't step out to pursue you. It didn't respond to your question, either - there didn't seem to be any intelligence guiding it, just magical energies and whatever its purpose was. Aside from having one foot in a fire pit - which didn't seem to bother the construct any - there didn't seem to be anything else of relevance within this room. If there was something that would help you get past the golem, it wasn't here.

Hmmm. Acting on another hunch, Astoroth presented the seven rainbow-colored gems he'd found in the abandoned museum. He hated the fact that he may have overlooked something in one of the other rooms. Backtracking was so tedious.

The gems glittered brightly, their colors contrasting sharply with the mostly-natural lighting in this chamber... but again, did nothing to affect the creature or encourage it to move. Sadly, there didn't seem to be any places to put them, either. They didn't seem to have any relation to this chamber.

It was time for one final attempt before backtracking. With a thought, Astoroth summoned Minion. "I'd like you to try something for me. Fly toward that guardian construct and attract its attention. Try to get it to chase you. From what I've observed, it's purely defensive in nature, so you shouldn't be in any danger. I need you to lead it away from the door."

Spending two sphere points to make Minion last for 2min without concentration. Hopefully the door forward is unlocked. XD Of course, if the guardian returns its attention to me, I'll back away quickly.

As your minion darted out - after looking nervously towards the statue's brutal-looking weapon - the statue stepped five feet forward and swung its weapon though the air. It looked towards you as your minion retreated, though, and did not advance further. Instead, it kept one foot within the pit of flame, seeming unwilling to step further away from the door.

"Thank you, Minion. That will be all for now." Dismissing his companion, Astoroth considers what he's learned. The guardian construct seems entirely defensive in nature and may be bound to that pit of fire. Time to test that. Staying safely out of range of the statue's weapon, he launches a bolt of magical force toward the guardian.

destructive blast
Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 Bludgeoning Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

The blast blew off a small piece of the construct's armor... and as it stayed within the pit, its body quickly started to repair itself. At the same time, the creature let out a loud roar, then reared back slightly. A thirty-foot cone of flame erupted out of its mouth, scorching through the air and straight towards you.

Fire Damage: 6d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3) = 22
Reflex DC 16 Halves: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31 Total: 11 Fire Damage.

You were easily able to dodge the worst of it, but the blast was too widespread to dodge entirely - and it probably wouldn't be long before the construct unleashed another burst.

Well, that was unexpected. And it seemed to be using the fire to repair itself as well. Time to backtrack. Patting out a few lingering flames from his clothing, Astoroth beats a hasty retreat. Once he's sure that he's not being followed, he begins re-examining the rooms he's already passed through.

Taking 20 on Perception (for a 29) for Room F29. If nothing's found, he'll do the same in Room F28, followed by F27.

The construct took a few more steps before finally ceasing its pursuit of you, seeming content to stay within its own room. It was nearly half an hour later, when you finally made your way back to the room with the eight landscapes, that your careful examinations bore fruit. The mirrors continued their endless depictions of conquests and being conquered, glory and suffering - but the more you looked into them, the sharper each image became... and it's the fourth mirror that truly catches your eyes. In one of the renditions, you can see the hunted girl looking straight at you and beckoning you forward with one hand before the picture is replaced.

With a shrug, Astoroth reached into the fourth mirror. Whoever had built this place liked using illusions to conceal things of importance, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if this held true here.

As your fingers touch the mirror, you can feel it beneath your fingers, warm to the touch. The red-robed figure whirls towards you as you touch it, then rushes forward, face obscured by the thick haze of the hellish landscape - and reaches out. As her fingers touch the other side of the mirror, you can feel a warmth from where you're keeping the contract you received earlier, and the entire mirror vanishes to reveal a five-foot alcove. Sitting on the floor within is an iron ring etched with runes - though examination shows the ring isn't magical in and of itself.

why would something like this mundane be hidden? ... Perhaps this had something to do with the guardian statue. Preferring not to touch it, Astoroth levitates it out of the alcove and keeps it floating before him as he returns to the room with the fiery pits.

Using the Telekinesis sphere, of course.

The guardian creature stiffened as you entered the room again and crouched down, only to stop as it saw the ring. It stood aside a moment later, allowing you to move forward and down quite a few steps into the next chamber.

A domed, 20-foot-high ceiling set with countless sparkling gems rises above this circular chamber. A round table stands in the middle of the room, a single chair sitting before it and a cracked crystal ball sitting on the table’s center. Perhaps more relevantly, the room also contained a massive, metallic figure, who rose up to his full seven-foot height as you entered... then bowed. "You are the carrier of the contract." he said in deep, rich tones. "I am Signatory Vaccha, its enforcer. Please present it for inspection, so that I may verify your status." he extended one hand.

Though you don't recognize what he is, he's clearly not hostile - and might even be willing to answer your questions once he's reviewed the contract.

Astoroth hesitates momentarily. This place is full of tricks and illusions, and the contract is the only thing keeping him alive.

Sense Motive (with Inspiration): 1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (14) + 9 + (6) = 29

The bulky figure waits patiently, hand outstretched - and he doesn't seem to be lying to you. In fact, your instincts are telling you that he's probably the least threatening thing you've seen so far. Not out of weakness - fighting him would probably be very short and very painful for you - but because there's no sign of evil. He truly means you no harm.

Astoroth retrieves the contract and presents it to the metal man.

Signatory Vaccha carefully looked over the contract, pausing by the end where your status as the mayor's representative had been written in. "Everything appears to be in order." he said, returning the contract to you. "Welcome to the Infernal Engine of Westcrown, Mister Astoroth. You may proceed further if you would like to do so. If you have any questions about this place, please do not hesitate to ask - though I am not to leave this chamber until the conclusion of the primary contract, I am otherwise at your service."

"Thank you, my good sir," Astoroth responds as he retrieves the contract. "In case you weren't aware, the Engine appears to have gone haywire and is causing great destruction aboveground. I'm supposed to bring it back under control. Can you, perhaps, enlighten me as to its workings?"

"Of course." Signatory Vaccha said, inclining his head and gesturing to a chair so you could sit down. "Infernal Engines are a type of magical generator, based on techniques and rituals used by this world's ancient nation of Thassilon. The enchanters of House Thrune, the current leaders of Cheliax, took these designs and enhanced them. While I can explain the workings of the engine in full upon request, that would take several weeks, so I shall content myself with the highlights unless you wish otherwise." He paused for just a moment.

"At the heart of the engine is its power source. Infernal Engines, despite the name, are not reliant upon the powers of Hell to run - any creature of fire will do so long as their bodies can continue generating heat and power. This particular engine is run by siphoning the power of Miss Kozuri, transforming her fires into energy that can be used to run various objects and comforts. For this engine, they built a manor above it and used the power to run the household - magical lights, endless hot water, that sort of thing." he shifted his head to the side slightly and glanced up. "Though I do believe they will need to build a house now, assuming the engine is put back in proper operating order. Of course, greater engines can be used to power more things at once. This particular engine is essentially a luxury item, to be paired with those favored enough to be granted the benefits of a home powered by magic."

Astoroth nodded in understanding. "I see. What can you tell me about Miss Kozuri? Her fires seem to be going out of control at present. Massive columns of flame shooting into the sky, for example."

"Ah, yes, I can understand why that might appear to be the case from outside." Signatory Vaccha mused. "However, I can assure you that the flames above ground - which, by the way, stopped when you shut down the cooling chambers - were quite deliberate on her part. She was brought here several decades ago by the devils who helped build the engine, and has been trying very hard to get free ever since. They did not write in a clause preventing deliberate damage to the engine when they first got her agreement to be sealed in, and she refused to accept any amendments relating to her behavior later on. Had the contract owners tried to force that, I would have had to stop them. They used to fix things, but recent owners of the house have forgotten about that, possibly because it took her so long to break anything at all. However, I'm afraid I do not know much about her other than that - I have never gone into the inner rooms, and the areas she can have some small effect on ended with the previous chamber. Though, I am given to understand that several of the rooms preceding this one were meant to help convince her of something... but that is only hearsay from a previous contract holder, so please do not assume it to be fact."

"That's very interesting, and I'm glad that I was able to stop the destruction. Would you have any objection to my speaking with her? If this is not the first time she's caused problems for the owners, perhaps it's time to broach the topic of a reconfigured contract. After all, keeping her content and preventing future escape attempts would likely be cheaper than repeated repairs to the premises."

The Signatory simply gestured to the door behind him. "As the contract holder, you are, of course, permitted to go in and see her should you wish to do so." he answered. "I am charged to stop those who have no right to be here, but you represent the Mayor, so there are no problems. Is there anything else I can help you with before you proceed?"

"Are you familiar with any of the other rooms? Several of the preceding areas have been quite dangerous, and I don't like being unprepared."

"As I said, I have not gone into the inner rooms myself, but I do not believe they are particularly dangerous. While a few areas are meant to help thwart intruders - though few could reach this place at all - I am the final line of defense for the Engine. I do not expect you to have much trouble."

"Thank you very much for your help." With a respectful nod, Astoroth continues through the door. Despite the Signatory's assurances, he continues to proceed with caution.

Taking 20 on Perception the entire way down the staircase.

There's actually no stairway to the next room - just a very short hallway.

The walls of this pleasantly warm chamber are lined with bookshelves heavy with tomes and scrolls. A pair of large tables surrounded by chairs stand in the middle of the room — each table is cluttered with a wide array of alchemical gear, magical crafting tools, and other devices one might expect to find in a wizard’s laboratory. It's also devoid of inhabitants - and doesn't look like it's been used in many years.

This room seemed rather pleasant - which was suspicious. After all, the previous rooms had a distinctly Hellish motif. Knowing the architect's fondness of illusion magic, Astoroth began to scan the area for any tell-tale auras.

Spending a sphere point to divine as a Standard Action. If nothing is revealed, he'll then take20 to search the room.

The books, as it turn out, are real - and while not explicitly magical in and of themselves, they do seem to contain a great deal of information on the Infernal Engine and its workings. Studying these for long enough would probably have taught you how to start shutting things down if you hadn't already uncovered that. Perhaps more usefully, though, there's also a pile of faintly magical supplies - about 3,800 GP worth of magical crafting materials. Of course, such supplies are weighty (about 38 pounds in total), but could prove quite useful the next time you want to make something.

Crafting supplies - how delightfully useful! This would serve as payment for the service he's rendered thus far. With a surge of divine power, Astoroth attempts to store the materials in a pocket dimension.

Activating Wild Arcana for the extradimensional storage talent from the Warp sphere.

You gain a permanent extradimensional space that may hold up to 10 pounds per caster level of non-living material. You can create a portal to this extradimensional space within arm's reach at will. Placing an object in this space or calling an object from this space requires a full-round action, but it may be done as a swift action by spending a spell point. Living things and attended objects cannot be placed in your extradimensional storage. If you die, all contents of your extradimensional space appear in your square or the nearest unoccupied space.

Ooh, that's a useful one. XD

Whatever effect was messing with teleportation here didn't seem to be blocking your extradimensional storage space - and though you filled the area almost to the brim, everything fit by the time you shut it. Unless you chose to stay in this room awhile longer, there was little else to do except see what was behind the doors.

This short hall beyond the library is dominated at the southern corner by an immense double door made of polished iron and inscribed with a single glowing phrase. Unfortunately, it's not written in a language you know. On the bright side, given who made this place and your own training in linguistics, it's not hard to figure out that Infernal is the script of choice here.

*Rolls Linguistics* 17 + 13 = 30.

And with a bit of focus, you're able to parse the meaning of the hellish text.

Living fount of endless fire
Forced to play our game
If to see her you aspire
Then call aloud her name

In a commanding voice, Astoroth speaks the name of the captive who lies within.

"Miss Kozuri."

I don't believe any other name's been given.

At the second word, the doors swung open of their own accord - revealing another pair of doors ten feet ahead of you, once more inscribed with infernal text.

Placed in iron by ruling hands
By contract bound and sealed
Call upon the crafter's name
And let their glory be revealed

"House Thrune"

The second set of doors opened as promptly as the first... and revealed a third set. It was unclear just how many of these doors there were, but they seemed the be growing just a little thicker and more ornate as you opened each one. The inscription on the third simply read:

Under watchful eye on high — call upon our crown and liege.

let's see, who was mentioned in those terribly-censored history books?

"Queen Abrogail II of House Thrune"

The doors remained solidly shut after your words - that, apparently, was not the answer they were looking for.