With the summoned snake slain, the clockwork machines retreat into the centre of the courtyard - various antenna and eye-like protuberances on the crab scan the area...
...and then there is a loud rumble from within the building, a small explosion from the area that Tychi and Nike ran through...
Tychi sits back on Nike as they get to the entry door of the building.
"Mana storm... not good... Fighting that thing in a mana storm is not ideal. We need shelter. Hopefully the others will notice it. We will wait here, it will offer shelter from the storm, assuming the building doesn't explode around us. If it looks like it is, we'll be poised to leave the building, although going into a mana storm doesn't sound much safer." Tychi sighs.
Figwidget thinks, Oh boy, a mana storm coming... I really didn't like that last one, and this time I'm not in an emergency backup body!
He continues to move towards the crab, hoping he'll be able to get in through the vents and find something inside that he can use to the group's advantage.
Peering outside, "Looks like a storm's a comin'." Spitting out his toothpick and replacing it with another, Casey holds his position within the building for now.
The impending storm must have been sensed by whoever is driving the clockwork crab for it retreats into the centre of the courtyard and, lowering itself with a hissing and puffing of various pistons, squats down in a crouched position... One by one, the many periscopes that protrude from the shell are withdrawn into the machine - hatches banging closed as the machine prepares for the battering that may come...
...and as Lector, Casey and Tychi all watch from the comparative safety of the facility, an odd cloud floats towards the crab...
Oblivious to Figwidget's approach, the crab continues to hunker down... and, it is the easiest thing for Figwidget to 'seep' through the hatch at the rear of the crab's body...
- the innards of the crab are a very cramped environment - valves, wheels and levers sprout from every surface and, furiously turning those wheels and throwing those levers, a gaunt and oil-streaked man is consumed by the task of driving the crab.
Tychi and Nike move back to the hallway leading to the courtyard, so they can watch the crab while the storm rages.
Figwidget blinks three times at the sight of the man he sees.
Not sure how to respond, he takes a moment to collect himself. Remaining in gaseous form, he inspects all of the wheels, levers, and valves, and tries to determine if there is a way he might be able to easily disable the crab's operation from where he is.
- there are several valves and levers which, if thrown at the right time, could destroy the gearing of the clockwork. It would, of course, not be possible to do this whilst remaining in gaseous form...
...meanwhile, outside of the crab, small vortices of dust are spawning across the courtyard...the winds of the incoming storm rising as, somewhere in the distance, the fizzing noise of lightning gets closer...
Figwidget decides to go for broke. Literally.
He dismisses the gaseous form, and resumes his own form. Attempting to be as stealthy as possible, he picks out a lever and flips it at just the wrong time, hoping to throw the clockwork monstrosity into a mess. (Of course, he still will want to take the wreck back home to study!)
As Figwidget solidifies, he picks a particularly promising lever and wrenches it downwards... The sound of metal screaming as cogs grind and declerate is momentarily overpowering - and it is only the sudden crashing of the machine to the ground as its legs give way that stops the noise...
...and when Figwidget regains his feet, the sharply angled face of High Minister Sultur is looking, with incredulity, at the gnome...
The ministerreaches for a silver cane to the side if the cabin and, pressing a latch on the side of it, withdraws a pistol from the cane barrel - aiming it towards Figwidget, "Have I you to thank for the disruption to my operation here? An inconvenience for sure but, given time, the Forge will run again"
"What do you think you're doing here? You're undercutting everything you're supposed to stand for!"
Having said his piece, Figwidget pulls out a potion of invisibility, and drinks it, using his "Enahnce Potion" ability to have it function at his caster level.
(His AC is currently 30, due to a Shield extract he quaffed earlier.)
He then takes a five foot flutter in a direction that will hopefully make Sultur not know where he is. (He still has fly active as well.)
He knows he's probably not going to do very well in a stand-up fight all by himself against this man, so his best bet is getting him outside to where his allies are. He looks around, trying to see a way to a hatch that's an exit.
Edit: Also, as a swift action, he activates his "Spontaneous Healing" ability to heal 5hp of damage to himself.
Behind Figwidget, a round wheel acts as the opening mechanism for the hatch that he originally 'seeped' through - floating off to one side whilst invisible, the gnome is able to spin the wheel... and the door springs free from the carapace of the crab. Red sand, borne upon the wind, buffets the entrance to the clockwork but it is clearly safer outside than in... Sultur starts swinging his cane wildly - looking for the saboteur of his machine...
Figwidget jumps out of the hatch, and calls to the others. "It's High Minister Aredil Sultur! He's one of the shieldmarshals, but he's betrayed Alkenstar! He was driving the crab!"
After he calls this, he will take a second move action to fly away from where he just yelled, and up, so that, invisible, he won't be so easily found. (Yelling is a good way to announce where you are....)
Tychi & Nike charge!
Nike pounds the dirt, the wind whipping up her mane as she charges past the giant machine.
Tychi leans out as they charge past, and whips his whipsword into the machine!
Casey flies back outside, takes aim at the over-sized construct and fires.
Lector activates his armor and sprints out into the open area.
Both Tychi and Casey Jayne find the immobile construct to be an easy target... It is already gently smoking after Figwidget's inelegant sabotage and, without expert repair, seems to be catastrophically damaged...
As Tychi races past, a man appears at the hatch in the rear of the crab's body (some twenty feet or so up) and, taking aim, fires upon the tengu with some type of firearm... And, in the courtyard, the last remaining Brass Guardian moves to engage Lector as he runs out into the open.
Seeing the construct is damaged, and the rifleman is perched perilously, Nike lowers her head, and charges forward, her hooves pounding the ground as she charges the construct!
+
Her charge is inspiring!
Tychi unloads with multiple sunders on the construct! His adamantine whip blade slicing into the construct's damaged frame!
Lector loses himself to the madness and roars, raining down a trio of blows on the construct!
Seeing the crab construct get practically shredded by the monk and his steed, Casey - who keeps to the skies - flies over to aid Lector against the construct he's engaged with, although, it appears that this one is close to falling to pieces as well.
Figwidget winces invisibly as he sees his companions tearing apart the construct. He so wanted to get into that and see how it was all put together! Ah, well, with some luck, assuming they weren't all killed by the High Minister and then destroyed by the Mana Storm, there would be plenty of time to worry about trying to rebuild it later. Perhaps, he thinks, he will need to expand his basement lab to be much bigger, so that he would have room to work on it there.
FOCUS Figwdget! The gnome thinks to himself. Combat in progress!
He briefly focuses on his inner bodily workings, using an alchemical discovery he's made in order to rapidly accelerate the natural healing process.
Finally, knowing it will end the invisibility currently on him, Figwidget flies to within 20 feet of the High Minister (at an angle), and throws a bomb at him. Figwidget hates to kill the man, but he's shooting at Tychi!
Lector’s blade slices through the already ragged armour of the Brass Guardian and when it seems that it is about to retaliate with an ominously raised metal fist, a shot rings out… with a crunching sound, the machine stops – smoke pouring from a hole in it’s head.
Tychi concentrates on the much larger construct that, even though seemingly inert, may still rise again… the tengu makes sure that can never happen – Nike’s horn and then, devastatingly ruinous, Tychi’s whipsword sever three of the clockwork’s legs. Groaning metal scrapes against the stone wall over which the crab was straddled as the machine overbalances – made even worse by Figwidget’s bomb… tipping the gun wielding man from his machine…
…with a crunch, he crashes to the floor and, as his weapon scatters off to the side, he raises his hands above his head…
Nike keeps her horn pointed at the man, while Tychi dismounts with a somersault and retrieves the weapon. The unicorn snorts. "Into the building, before the storm hits." She orders.
Tychi calls out over the wall. "Get under cover, the storm is coming! Friend Wind is angry with this man."
Tychi and Nike then walk the man into the ruins entrance. Once inside, Tychi searches the man for any weapons, and ties his hands behind his back. "Many people died unnecessarily due to your actions. May the gods have mercy on your soul, I suspect the elements and your people will not." Tychi comments as everyone joins them.
Nike huffs. "Be not afraid, a proper trial you'll get, before your justice arrives." She says, her voice cold as vacuum.
Figwidget, seeing that Tyche and Nike seem to have Minister Surtur under control, follows them flying into the building.
Casey follows the others into shelter, coming to a landing once secure. He looks to the prisoner through narrowed eyes. "So you're the fella that was controlling the big crab out there, huh? What in the blazes did you hope to accomplish, pardner?"
A beaten man, Minister Sultur is escorted into the shelter of the facility... And, not a moment too soon as the threatening storm - picking up sand and tossing it around as it crashes over the low walls and fills the courtyard with blinding, suffocating dust... With a stroke of luck, it seems that the fire that had threatened to destroy the building has burnt itself out... The sound of cooling, contracting metal acting as a strange contrast to the devastating howling from outside...
Sultur sneers at Casey Jayne, "Do you know who I am? I was the man who was going to rid Alkenstar's streets of thise hulking monstrosities and return honest law-keeping work to the Shield Marshalls... Regardless of what I did, and I will admit that my methods were not without casualty, I always had the greater good in mind"
Nike kicks the wall, cracking a stone in it. "What gives you the right to decide that innocent peoples lives are worth sacrificing? There can be no Greater Good generated by doing a Great Evil. Any good you hope to have done has been forever tainted by the evil you performed. Evil is insidious, like a plague, and you have caught it. Evil twists anything it touches, and when your plans are ash in your mouth, you realize that all along Evil was leading you to your own destruction, laughing at you all the time."
Tychi shakes his head. "The voices will tell you many things, only the wise man knows which ones are wisdom, and which ones are Evil. You sir, have chosen poorly. No one will remember the golems were corrupted and dangerous, what they will remember is that one man plotted to give the Marshal's power by plotting their deaths. Their anger will boil up like a kettle on a hot fire, and like an overboiling pot, it will not simply splatter the fire that caused it to boil over. Their anger will fall on the Marshals you claimed to try to promote. You have not saved the Marshals, you have given the Marshals their death sentence. The masses will rise up, and they will demand the Marshals be disbanded, as punishment for your crimes."
Nike nods. "And thus do you taste ashes, as you realize what Evil has wrought through you..."
A beaten man, Minister Sultur is escorted into the shelter of the facility... And, not a moment too soon as the threatening storm - picking up sand and tossing it around as it crashes over the low walls and fills the courtyard with blinding, suffocating dust... With a stroke of luck, it seems that the fire that had threatened to destroy the building has burnt itself out... The sound of cooling, contracting metal acting as a strange contrast to the devastating howling from outside...
Sultur sneers at Casey Jayne, "Do you know who I am? I was the man who was going to rid Alkenstar's streets of these hulking monstrosities and return honest law-keeping work to the Shield Marshalls... Regardless of what I did, and I will admit that my methods were not without casualty, I always had the greater good in mind"
A slight chuckle escapes from the gunslinger. "Well that makes a whole helluva lot o' sense. You were going to rid this land of the constructs with one of yer own? That's funny." He simply shakes his head in unbelief at it all.
He then looks over at the steed and rider as they speak before turning back to the guilty party and leaning in close. "In case you don't understand what those two are tellin' you, pardner, the gist of it is: you've screwed up royally and now there's gonna be hell to pay." As the toothpick dances feverishly from one side of his mouth to the other, Casey leans back out. "Sucks to be you." Turning back to the others, "Good work, people. Once this storm clears, we can get this one," he nods in the direction of the minister, "behind bars where he belongs and we can all go our merry way. Or... whatever way we wanna go. Don't necessarily have to be merry, I guess." He shrugs.
Lector leans down with a twisted grin. "You're lucky I'm working under contract, or you wouldn't be treated so nicely for what you've done."
High Minister Sultur, as arrogant in the flesh as his reputation suggests it would be, flashes a look of anger at his captors, ”It seems that a reckoning is upon me… but if you believe that I will be powerless to defend myself against the accusations of some crazed wasteland wanderers then you do not understand where the true power in Alkenstar lies – tell me, do you really think that your word will be believed over that of a High Minister?”
He changes tack and addresses Nike, ”And… if the populace does rise up against the Shieldmarshalls - tell me, who will have blood on their hands then? It seems that you have a dilemma in front of you… your best option is to let me free – I will see to it that you are rewarded for seeing sense but, if you step foot in Alkenstar again….”, the implied threat hangs in the air.
"Hmm. He may have a point." With a flick of his wrist, Frost Brand appears in Lector's hand. "We could just kill him now." Lector proposes casually.
Tychi shakes his head. "No, he should be publicly tried and punished. However, he has said he wishes to abuse his power further. Ergo, we now have leave to take care of that ahead of time." He pats Nike's neck. "Nike and I can return to Alkenstar much more rapidly than anyone else, in less than an hour or so with her speed. We will explain the situation to our employer, and then proceed with ensuring he receives his day in court while ensuring that measures are in place to ensure it is a fair trial, from both sides."
Figwidget says, "I agree. Take him back. Give him his day in court. We have evidence from this facility. We have the corruption that was being done on the clockwork guardians of Alkenstar."
"I also suspect that not all of the Shieldmarshals will line up behind him. They are the defenders of Alkenstar, and while some may feel their territory is being encroached upon, most will be horrified at the attacks on innocents. In the longer view, I know something about automatons, as I build them in my own lab. They're versatile and fascinating things... but they are not creative in the same way that we are. They are useful tools and assistants, but they cannot do everything. They will not replace the shieldmarshals; many will see that. They are useful aids for the shieldmarshals."
With a shrug, Figwidget says, "In any event, yes, get back to Alkenstar and make a report."
From the Journal of Minister Baratella,
Our gravest suspicions have been confirmed – that not only have the Brass Guardians been intentionally sabotaged but that the perpetrator was from Alkenstar… and, worse still, was of our council. When Tychi informed me of their discoveries in the Karggat mines, I was sceptical but their subsequent discoveries at Megator Facient and, ultimately, their capture of High Minister Sultur put it all beyond doubt. Sultur had planned to discredit the Brass Guild, to sow the seeds of discord within the citizens of Alkenstar and ultimately to replace the Brass Guardians with an increasingly powerful Shieldmarshall force. It will be a matter of public record that thanks to Tychi, to Figwidget, to Casey Jayne and to Lector Enteap, his nefarious plan shall never come to fruition…
His trial, scheduled not two weeks hence, shall expose the depths of his plan… his misappropriation of public funds, his sabotage of the guild properties, his involvement in slavery out at the mines and his implicit involvement in events that have led to the deaths of citizens of Alkenstar. I anticipate, I hope… that, in time, the balance of lawkeeping within Alkenstar shall return to a shared responsibility between the Guild and the Shieldmarshalls… and that peace will return to our streets.
I have authorised the transfer of any salvage from Megator Facient to Figwidget such that he may study it at his leisure… and for Tychi and Nike, for Casey Jayne and for Lector Enteap, I have recommended to the council that they be given the freedom of the city. They have saved us from dark days…