"Arrghhh" screams JJ.
He swipes out at the place he was attacked from.
But as he can't see what he is striking at, it isn't very effective.
Then he steps back, away from the attack.
"There is another, and I can't see it. Oh gods, I'm wounded. I didn't mean to kill him!"
"The wound burns...."
Though not necessarily eager to leap into battle, Marigold finds herself becoming increasingly frustrated at being stuck behind the others with little to no way to see what was going on. Thankfully, JJ's voice provides some clarity as she manages to push her way past Dandarrion - though it's certainly not what she wanted to hear.
"રાહ જુઓ, શું? એક શારકામ મશીન!?" she sputters. "અમે કે જે કંઈક કેવી રીતે બંધ નથી???"
"Wait, what? A drilling machine!?"
"How do we stop something like that???"
Both Ryan and Ruben strike the air in their attempt to finish the mechanic creature pointed out by their companions.
On the center of the room JJ attempts to strike back at the invisible creature without success. He then steps back next to the wall.
Marigold tries to get into position while Maxim looks for a shooting angle without success.
The grinding sounds keep raising like if something is not properly working. The creature in the invisibility area shouts again “Litala zukel! Taral yan zyggek!”
"Stupid machine! Attack all intruders!"
You feel someone attacking you from the west but it does not hit you.
"Step back Kikinnin, let him come to us."
JJ readies an action to strike at the skulk if it comes into view.
"Maxim! that sounds like the language you cast in, can you understand it?"
Stepping to the side a bit so that he and Ruben have more room to work, Ryan tries once more to hit the Automaton.
"Step back Kikinnin, let him come to us."
"The invisible rat will remain behind the wall, until we flesh him out. You get me?" Kikinnin looks at JJ, and nods knowingly, before stepping to the west, and hopefully into another bubble of invisibility, revealing the sneaky stabber lurking not that far away. He keeps speaking. "If you want to do something helpful, kill the skulk before something heals it up."
Kikinnin moves in the direction of the last near strike on him. If his vision blurs again, he's at least ready for it. He'll also be ready for another skulk standing not too far from him. He swings mightily against the creature, glad JJ doesn't have to witness it.
He continues to move around the hiding creature, searching if he's unsuccessful in locating it, swinging again if he hasn't injured it well enough to send it to the floor.
He calls out to the others whatever he's seeing, knowing they might not be privileged.
As the battle continues Marigold finally manages to squeeze her way past the jam in the corridor and slip into the room, though she wobbles a bit due to suddenly seeing Ryan and some strange contraption pop into view as she does. "થોભો...શું હતી છે?" she marvels.
Then she realizes that whatever the contraption might be, it looks pretty dangerous! "ઓ મારા ઓહ! તે વસ્તુ શું છે?" she gasps as she takes aim and fires off a shot from her sling.
"Whoa...what was that?"
"O-oh my! What is that thing?"
Ryan hits the mechanical creature with his heavy mace on one of its drilling arms but that area seems too hard and the mace head is deflected.
Marigold's sling bullet strikes against the machine but the projectile gets deflected by the creature's armor.
The drilling arms seem to start spinning, but then they suddenly jam with a horrible squeal.
Ryan and Marigold disappear into the room, next, you hear a strong metallic blow.
You overhear a spinning metallic sound, suddenly stopped with a squeal.
As you step to the west, things get blurry again, but you are able to see the creature that just attacked you. This one is different from the skulks you have been fighting until now.
This one is a small humanoid wrapped by filthy, reeking black rags from head to toe, leaving only its hands and pale white nose visible. His eyes are milky white and he seems to exude a foul stench of sweat and spoiled food that you thought was part of the room.
Anyway you attack at it immediately, but you where not expecting a small creature and both attacks go slightly too high.
The creature steps to the side and attacks you. He seems bothered by JJ's lantern, because he places his left hand in between trying to hide from it, that making him to fail the attack. He looks then to the tunnel at his back.
Kikinnin shouts "There is one different here! Not a skulk but a small pale creature wrapped in rags and armed with a dagger! He seems bothered by the light!"
Maxim moves also into the room. He does not seem to know what the machine is, but he seems undecided to shot his gun, the plates of the creature seeming too hard.
Carefully JJ advances, trying to time his movement so that he is unpredictable.
He advances directly west, As soon as the room shimmers, or after fifteen feet he stops.
AC = 18, Shield up
HP = 11/16
Weapon Equipped = Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = Blessed, Inspired
Kikinnin frowns as he looks this new aggressor over. "What under earth are you? You talk? We talk, and we can talk if you don't want to fight."
If the creature seems intent on fighting, the black-beard accommodates him, stepping just south of it, and bringing his axe around.
"JJ, I need some help here. This one is harder to hit."
Busy with another of the bloody things over here! Ruben shouts, slashing at the grinding noise in front of him.
JJ disappears into the left invisibility area. His target becomes visible to him, but he fails to connect a hit over the creature.
The creature reacts to Kikinnin words as if he could not understand, the not very patient dwarf attempts to strike over it, hitting only the air.
This is a Dark Creeper, a creature from the Darklands that survives from thievery. They are usually sneaky and have light blindness, but have powerful darkness magic.
Ruben ass well misses to strike at the machine.
"Odd looking thing. "
Marigold gulps when she sees that neither her sling stone nor Ryan's strike with his mace seem to have any effect on the strange metal contraption. "ત્યાં એક...એક છે...એક વસ્તુ અહીં, મેટલ વસ્તુ! અમે કેવી રીતે તે બંધ નથી?" she calls.
Realizing that there's likely not a lot that she can do against it with her sling, she decides to try a different approach as she watches it apparently...jam up, somehow. Pointing her finger at the thing, she attempts to conjure up water like she did during last night's tangle with the street thugs.
"There's a...a...a thing over here, a metal thing! How do we turn it off?"
"This one is a bit on the hard side" Ryan grunts to no one in particular
As Marigold ends her spell, a stream of water washes the geared machine interfering with its assembly points.
Ryan hits again the machine, but the heavy armor deflects the weapon once again.
Observing Ryan's difficulties Maxim moves towards the machine and harass the drilling limbs with his dagger trying to aid the cleric.
The water seems to block the drilling arms as they were starting to spin again.
The dark creature suddenly moves out of combat with JJ and Kikinnin, and trying to hide from the lantern walks towards the tunnel. As he steps of the invisibility area he appears.
The creepy creature holds his dagger up front and saying some words a horrible darkness expands from the blade filling everything in shadows at 20 feet from him.
JJs torch light is eaten by the effect. Greatfully, Kikinnin eyes, so used to darkness, can still pierce the strong shadows called by the Darklands creature.
"You are really starting to vex me, White-Snout."
AC = 18, Shield up
HP = 11/16
Weapon Equipped = Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = Blessed
Kikinnin moves in front of JJ, in case White-Snout tries anything funny.
"He ran down that dug hall in the wall."
<- includes flanking from square leaving.
"Arrghh.. I've gone blind!"
Then he adds in a pancied voice.
"શું મેરીગોલ્ડ થઈ રહ્યું છે? હું અંધ ગયો છે!"
What is happening Marigold? I've gone blind!
Ryan continues to his assault on the drilling machine, with help from both Maxim and Marigold.
"Hope you guys are having a easier time over there. JJ, stand fast you will prevail." He calls out to Kikinnian and JJ.
Marigold hears JJ's panicked cry and manages a quick glance over towards the other side of the room. She's still not sure what is going on, as she can hear both JJ and Kikinnin tangling with another creature but can't actually see them. However, she does see an area of darkness that she could've sworn wasn't there just a moment ago.
"હું...મને ખબર નથી! કોઈને મશાલ બહાર મૂકી હતી? હું તમે જોઈ શકો છો!"
She wants to go help her friend, but how can she help him when she can't even see him? And there's still the odd metal thing, which Ryan and Maxim are having little luck against also. With her water trick having done what she'd hoped it would do, the only other thing she can think of is to try and help Ryan land a blow against it. She reaches out and places a hand on him. "એચ અહીં, આ મદદ કરશે!"
"I...I don't know! Did someone put out the torch? I can't see you!"
"H-here, this will help!"
JJ feels in the last moment the guidance of Abadar that makes him strike at the creature when it seemed he will escape unharmed. The creature though dodges Kikinnin and moves until the tunnel completing his spell.
Ryan finally succeeds to make his hit at the machine comb one of the plates damaging the drilling arm.
Marigold touches the cleric guiding him in combat.
Maxim attempts to keep harassing the machine in help of Ryan.
But he seems to be not very effective.
The drilling machine seems totally jammed and unable to act.
The darkness bubble moves to the north, leaving again the tunnel on the normal darkness of the room only lighted by JJs lantern.
This thing is really starting to get on my nerves! he shouts.
Ryan hesitates before his next swing, "Is this thing even operational?" listening briefly to wether the servo are still running inside of it. Unable to tell he takes another swing.
glancing once more off it armor.
"I've had more reaction from the training dummies on the practice field."
Ryan and Ruben keep attacking the malfunctioning machine, their attacks deflected by the heavy armor plates once and again.
JJ sees the darkness bubble disappear through the tunnel in the west of the room.
Amazed at the resilience of the metal contraption, Marigold ducks around Ryan and waves her (empty) sling in as menacing a manner as she can muster up. "અરે! ઓ અહીં! શરત તમે મને હિટ કરી શકો છો!" she says, trying to distract it.
Unfortunately, all she manages to do is look pretty silly.
"Hey! O-over here! Bet you can't hit me!"
JJ advances on the Invisible contraption that the others seem to be fighting and swings at it. "I wonder if there is an off button?"
If it is still invisible he will step to the side to try and find another spot where his vision works, and then in the second round, swings again.
--
AC = 18, Shield up
HP = 11/16
Weapon Equipped = Dwarven Greataxe
Condition(s) = Blessed
Kikinnin remains in the invisibility zone, not interested in anything getting by him, while the others work on the mechanical man in the opposite corner. He repositions himself over the unconscious skulk, and for the third time brings his axe down on a helpless opponent.
He turns towards the hole in the wall, where White-Snout disappeared, and maintains his vigilance.
JJs strike is also deflected by the machine armor for most desperation of the group.
As Kikinnin brings down his axe over the skulk's neck, the creature's head is split cleanly from it's body bringing it's life to an end.
Seeing the desperation of the situation, Maxim's intellect is sprung by JJ's question about the off button. He shouts something in gnome "Akoist ^ lidkloriat!"
"Stop attacking and rest!"
The machine suddenly stops moving and rests silent once again in the corner of the room.
The dwarf satisfied half-smiles "It seems it worked"
The room becomes calm once again, giving you time to examine the machine closer. It looks something like a four-legged, metal lobster with spiked wedges instead of claws, probably able to pulverize the rock. Instead of a head, it has a round opening at the top of its body.
Other than the invisibility bubbles and the litter, the room seems empty, but you can take a closer look to the door in the north. It has a 4-foot-diameter and is carved from thick wood and encircled with a ring of molded iron teeth. The entire door is encased within a double-frame of beveled stone. Burned into the center of the door is another glyph that those in the group knowing gnome easily identify as the letter 'J'.
A small exploration of the west tunnel the dark creature used to flee discovers it forks to the north and west.
"The Toothed Door!" gasps JJ.
JJ searches around the room, most especially within the invisibility bubbles, to see what he can find.
"I wonder if that machine is what they used to bore the tunnels? That would be really helpful to your mining operation wouldn't it?"
He briefly looks down the various passages.
"But why did they bother with it at all, from our map it looks like there were already connections."
The door seems like the other two the group has encountered before.
The southern tunnel seems to open to a larger room after the stairs, and curiously enough something seems to shine there and you seem to overhear the merry singing of birds.
As you examine the machine, you seem to see some kind of big gem encased on its heart, just on top over some kind of bar, but you will need to break up the geared thing to free it.
There's some weird stuff down here... Ruben says with a frown. Doors with teeth, pockets of invisibility, this... he adds planting his boot on the machine and toppling it over with a crash.
What the Hell were the gnomes up to down here? And who's moved in since?
He then begins trying to prise the gem out of the chest of the robot with the blade of a dagger.
I say take the tooth door. I mean, why not? I'll check it ain't going to close and bite us in two but one of you lot can go in first, my armor ain't so thick as yours.
"D-didn't the riddle to say to b-beware the doors with t-teeth?" Marigold pipes up, relieved that the words of the others are making sense again. "Are w-we supposed to g-go through them or avoid them?"
As JJ and Ruben each have a look around the nearby tunnels and the toothed door she curiously moves around and tests the limits of the invisibility fields, waving her hands around and marveling when they simply seem to vanish from view. "T-these are s-strange...I wonder if they're m-meant as some sort of defense m-mechanism?"
With effort and patience Ruben succeeds to remove the plates of the machine and obtain the big ruby on it's heart.
Beneath it, there is a long rod with an squared prism shape. On it there is a glyph in gnome some of you recognize as the letter "A" in their alphabet.
A close inspection to the door reveals a series of small holes on the frame, most probably a trap.
Marigold examination of the invisibility area is fruitfulness, but with the help of Maxim, you guess out they are the product of some mishap with a Permanent sphere of invisibility spell.
There is no further trace of the dark creature or its darkness spell. The bless spell effect expires.
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With a grunt of effort Ruben rips out the ruby heart of the machine. It is only when the jewel is sitting in his hand does he feel the comforting weight of it and see its clarity.
This is more than I would earn in six months on the grift... he thinks to himself.
Why do I get the feeling we are rats in a maze down here? Ruben says as he stands.
Maze or no, if those kids... and more of these jewels... are down here, it's worth the risk.
You got any ideas, Dimples? he asks of Marigold, with a grin.
With an audible sigh, Ryan lowers his mace as the automaton powers down... "Those will not be fun if they are operational and trying to turn you into their next tunnel." Feeling the tendril of magic dissipating, he renews his light spell; searching the area.
Seeing a closed tunnel to the north and open hallway to the south, some light apparent below, Ryan opts to inspect the southern hallway.
"Gonna check the hallway below, something shines in the distance, the riddle stated beware the toothed door, just finding it was dangerous as Kikinnian and JJ can attest. Perhaps the new tunnel system will allow us to bypass the doorway all together. Nodding towards the direction the creature disappeared in the darkness."
"Why do I get the feeling we are rats in a maze down here?"
Kikinnin snickers, and nods. "These holes in the walls, you're absolutely right, Ruben. And you, too, Ryan. Smart boy. We run the same runs as the rabbits. Likely, they won't run through traps they set, if we don't give them the time to do so."
The black-beard moves to the narrowed hall White-Snout used to retreat. He keeps an ear out for the others to make sure he doesn't lose them in an unseen retreat down another hall.
JJ studiously avoids looking at the mess that Kikinning continues to make of the disabled Skulks.
I'm going to have to harden up. But jeepers, he sees everything as rats to be put down.
"You okay Marigold?" he asks with genuine concern.
As Kikinn heads towards the tunnel, JJ falls in next to Marigold, casting a suspicious eye at Ruben.
Dimples? He's flirting with her!
You follow the tunnels until you overhear what seems the faint talking of two dark creatures. There, from the corner of the tunnel you observe the white small creature talking with a taller one excitedly.
The dark room has exits in the north and southwest walls, plus gear doors set into the south and east walls. A stone oven fills the northwest corner.
Iron tongs hang from a hook nearby. Bottles, flasks, and pottery clutter shelves and tables haphazardly pushed against the bare walls. Shards of broken glass and ceramic cover the floor such that you think it would be difficult to cross the room without step ping on them.
Without the presence of any revealing light source, they seem not to notice your presence.
This section of the dungeon looks like a small forest. Four great trees sprout from the grassy floor, their leafy crowns fanning out twenty feet overhead to form a roof of deciduous leaves through which rays of sunshine filter. Brambles and thickets form impassible walls, although bramble archways set into the north and south walls lead to dark passages and chambers beyond. Two mounds of stony rubble flank a hole in the middle of the east wall that appears to be a natural tunnel through the underbrush. A gentle zephyr causes leaves to rustle, and birds chirp merrily in the boughs above.
You see how Ryan and Maxim disappear through the southern corridor while Kikinnin does so through the tunnels.
He shrugs to Marigold; Decision made, I guess. We split up.
He begins following Kikinin and Ryan before briefly turning and saying to the halfling;
Nice trick back in the lock-shop by the way. I didn't mention it at the time but you fixed that boy right up. How about Doc? That sit better than 'Dimples?' he asks without waiting for an answer and making his way out of the room.
Hey, Ratchatcher! Ruben hisses. Don't wander off down here.
For a moment JJ looks very young, wracked by indecision as the group splits up.
Turning to Marigold he says "What do you think Marigold? This place is dangerous, I think we should stick with the main group."
He tentatively heads off after Ruben, Ryan and Maxim.
"Wow, this is nice. But..." he looks confused as he realizes they must still be under the mains streets of Cauldron.
"This can't be real, surely? Someone would have noticed a hole that would let in this much light."
He peers around the room, suspiciously poking at a tree with his sword.
Looking around at the park like area in the dark here underneath the street of Cauldron, Ryan is struck by the wonder of it, much like JJ. Curiosity getting the best of him, he cast detect magic once more to see how the gnomes did it.
"Would you look at that..."
He begins to move towards the middle of the room....
This time instead of scowling at the nickname, Marigold gives Ruben a suspicious look.
Is he making fun of me?
But after a moment she realizes that he's not, at least not in a cruel manner. Even though she'd made some friends at the orphanage, she'd had her fair share of tormentors too. After awhile, she'd gotten pretty good at being able to tell the difference between someone being malicious and someone who was just teasing. The eyes would always give it away.
No, no malice there.
"N-no, no good ideas here," she finally replies. "I'm p-probably the least qualified to b-be running around d-down here." Offering a weak smile to JJ, she adds, "I'm o-okay, are you? I can use the wand that Ryan g-gave me to p-patch you up."
As the group seems to split up with most of the others following after Ryan, Marigold looks back and forth between the direction Ryan went and the one that Kikinnin went with indecision on her face. "K-Kikinnin! The others are g-going this way, let's stay t-together okay?" she calls before hurrying to catch up with Ryan and the rest.
When they enter the odd little forested area, she gapes with amazement. "T-this...c-can't be p-possible, can it?"
As they all look about with surprise and wonder, Marigold glances at Ruben and coughs. "Um, i-if you really want to c-call me something b-besides my name then I g-guess 'Doc' will work, even though I'm n-not a doctor," she stammers, looking a little embarrassed.
When you like the tree you feel the tree is solid but the texture is not that one of a tree.
Then, you see the hallucination for what it is, a magical illusion modifying the room columns, tiles, etc...
The room looks, smells, sounds, and feels like a forest. None of you sees anything out of normal.
JJ sighs "It's just an illusion. But a very pretty one. I wonder why the skulks don't like it here? It is really nice. I can see why the gnomes would have a place like this if they had to live underground."
He looks around the group.
"Why did they build under Cauldron anyway, rather than on the surface?"
Passing his hand through a tree trunk he wonders "Perhaps there are things hidden amongst the illusion. We should go and check on Mr Rouradont though. I don't like the idea of him getting caught by that creature than ran away."
Kikinnin returns to the main room, heeding the advice of Ruben and Marigold. "White-Snout is still about, and he's talking with someone down that rabbit run. Surprised they didn't hear me coming, what with all the noise I was making. They looked distracted, come to think about it."
The black-beard waits patiently for the others to return from the southern room. "The corridor is pretty skinny, and it joins with another off to the left. We thinking we'd like to corner White-Snout?"
After consulting with Maxim ..."It seems this is a permanent illusion applied to this room, perhaps done to remind them of somewhere else. .... They built in one of 2 natural caverns that already existed, perhaps that as well reminded them of something the original gnome explorers left behind.....Agreed while splitting up momentarily to investigate was OK, we should catch back up to Kikinnian. We're safer as a group."
Ryan waits for the others to finish their investigations before turning back to catch up to Kikinnian.
When Kikinnin returns JJ looks relieved.
"Well, maybe we should have a talk with them and see if they know where the children are. They'll be scared down here, the doors alone will give them nightmares."
He starts to head back toward the area that Kikinnin came from.
"No sense in giving them time to spring an ambush on us."
As you came back to the room Kikinnin was peering too, you find no trace of the creatures back there.
The dark room has exits in the north and southwest walls, plus gear doors set into the south and east walls. A stone oven fills the northwest corner.
Iron tongs hang from a hook nearby. Bottles, flasks, and pottery clutter shelves and tables haphazardly pushed against the bare walls. Shards of broken glass and ceramic cover the floor such that you think it would be difficult to cross the room without stepping on them.
Maxim points towards the geared door at the east wall and says "That glyph over there, that one is the 'A' in the gnome alphabet"