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The party hurtles back towards the lift and accompanied by the whine of stressed motors, the spider kill-bot thunders after you taking out chunks of plaster and bonded builder-stone floor as it goes.
Zendara is unfortunately too busy dodging the spiderbot to observe anything else.
"Ehm, pity i can't read it, but the glyphs seem....more negative, than before."
Err... so not back in the box? We have to kill the spider?
Justifiably frightened by the spider kill-bot, the party retreats to the corridor debating as they go as to what should be done. The huge mechanical spider follows hot on their heels, gouging great chunks out of the floor as it goes. Curiously though it pauses at the threshold of the apartment allowing you to gain more distance than you have any right to, but then obeying some unseen signal it surges forwards in pursuit!
Environment: Normal brigntness near party
COMBAT ORDER:
Dr Munroe & Marek <----- WE ARE HERE
Edwin
Xindyra
Yukarii
Zendara
Spider Kill-bot
Dr Munroe & Marek, Edwin, Xindyra, Yukarii and Zendara are up.
Zendara knows that they are probably going to have to fight the thing, but she doesn't understand what is going on, so first she moves back 30 feet and then casts Comprehend Languages so that she can better evaluate everything around her and make better decisions.
Edwin retreated a few feet and cast a spell; he got the feeling that they were going fight this mechanical thing!
"Get behind me; I'll hold it off!", he declared brandishing his scimitar.
Realizing the others were probably right Yukarii moved further down the tunnel before turning back to face the mechanical spider and casting a spell so she could tell how badly injured her friends were in the coming fight.
Xindyra hurries to near Edwin.
As she drinks a shield extract, she studies the spider for any weaknesses.
"Chased by an overgrown mechanical arachnoid, how undignified!" grumbles Dr Munroe as he watches it approach, with both feet planted firmly on the ground.
"Don't just stand there, RUN DOCTOR!" cried a horrified Marek.
"Eh, where to Marek? I don't think we'll be able to get to that lift gizmo in time. Well maybe you'll make it..." replied Dr Munroe.
"Damn it!" snapped Marek before he pulled out a funny looking arrow with a blunt head. He didn't really bother to take aim but the unseen hand of fate or perhaps Saint Christopher intervened because his arrow struck true, striking the spider's abdomen where it smashed open a corroded panel and damaged the inner workings resulting in a shower of molten sparks!
<--- HIT
<--- CRIT!
The spider shuddered and you were assaulted by ear-bleedingly loud sounds of gears stripping teeth and an assortment of parts pinged off. Suddenly though with a wrench it started moving again, damaged but still dangerous!
Edwin cast a protective spell and brandished his sword. Xindrya downed an extract and studied the spider for weakness, her eyes where drawn to the damaged panel - hit that and blam... Anticipating a hard fight, Yukarii cast a spell to monitor her friend's lifeforce.
Zendara moved back and cast a spell to help her understand languages, and her eyes opened as she saw what was being said!
Leaving a trail of acrid smoke behind it, the spider kill-bot scuttles past Dr Munroe and makes ready to attack Zendara! But not before Dr Munroe
lashed out as it went past. His fists made a clanging sound as they hit the spider's metal legs but they just bounced off harmlessly.
<--- MISS
<--- MISS
With frightening reach and accuracy one of the spider's forelegs jerked forwards, impaling Zendara!
<--- HIT
Environment: Normal brigntness near party
Buffs and Debuffs:
Dr Munroe & Marek
Edwin Shield
Xindyra Extract
Yukarii Death watch
Zendara
Spider Kill-bot
Dr Munroe & Marek
Edwin Shield
Xindyra Extract
Yukarii Death watch
Zendara
Spider Kill-bot
Damage Log:Round: 1
Spider kill-bot was hit by Marek for 64 (total damage taken 64)
Zendara was hit by Spider kill-bot for 8 (total damage taken 8)Totals:
Spider kill-bot: 64 damage
Zendara: 8 damage
COMBAT ORDER:
Dr Munroe & Marek <----- WE ARE HERE
Edwin
Xindyra
Yukarii
Zendara
Spider Kill-bot
Dr Munroe & Marek, Edwin, Xindyra, Yukarii and Zendara are up.
Zendara reads the words and doesn't know what a Xenomorph is, but it sounded dangerous if it was under quarantine. She didn't really want to give up the brain, but maybe...
While she was thinking, the spider mech caught up to her and impaled her arm, knocking the cylinder to the ground. She stared at it, wondering if it was worth all this trouble.
She carefully pulled her arm off the sharp protrusion of the increasingly-broken spider, and backed away again, leaving the cylinder on the ground and taking out her bronze griffon statuette, in case she needed the help.
Xindyra steps another 5ft back and gulps down an extract of Blur.
Realizing that the mechanical creature had and extensive reach, Edwin realized that he would have to stand and fight. He tried to figure out the best way to fight this thing,
Then he swung his scimitar at the belligerent thing!
Dr Munroe hammers the bot with his fists but with little effect beyond making a racket.
<--- MISS
<--- MISS
Marek tried to follow up on his lucky shot but the mechanical spider was moving in hard to predict ways and his shot sailed a foot or more past.
<--- MISS
Edwin could't tell anymore about the robot () and just like Dr Munroe he couldn't connect with it solidly, his scimitar bounced off with a shower of sparks.
Yukarii hesitated, eyes wide as the spider advanced. Then something unexpected happened, Zendara dropped the cylinder as she retreated.
The spider kill-bot had ample opportunity to skewer her once more but instead one of its needle point legs thrust thorough the cylinder and it became stuck. The spider tried to shake it off to no avail, it then tried using another leg to scrape it off but that skewered it too! It tried to use a third leg to pry it off but it suffered some sort of malfunction, there was a loud bang and it fell over, legs thrashing in the air.
.
The spiderbot looks like it is disabled now at least, so we don't need to run anymore. I would stay back from it though. It isn't destroyed, and if we try to mess with it, it could still be dangerous.
Zendara takes the time to walk around and make notes of what everything says while she has Comprehend Languages up, and takes notes in her journal about what the different figures are and the translations, trying to record things so that she might be able to learn the language at some point enough to read it without magic.
Edwin was about to hack at the mechanical spider again, until Zendara pointed out that it wasn't functional anymore (for now). He went back into the apartment and moved the pile of boxes out of the way, so he could look behind the door that had been blocked.
When Zendara is finished taking language notes, she sees if there are any more interesting things in the remaining boxes.
It isn't destroyed, and if we try to mess with it, it could still be dangerous.
"Aww, yet think of what we might learn if we pull it apart. Build our own spider death-machine, how exciting would that be?"
Zendara smiles.
True, true... but let's at least check out the rest of this place before you try to build one, so that we won't have to leave everything behind when we run for our lives. Sound fair?
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"Sure."
Building a mechanical beast of war of ourselves.....that might be a fun project for the future.
Zendara finds herself overwhelmed by language, there's text everywhere on a bewildering array of subjects. Even though she could read the words, she lacked context to understand much of what was said. Still from what she read it was apparent that like airships, the ancients used electricity to power their systems - but their use was utterly ubiquitous in a way that was alien to her.
Alarmingly the city script was instructing them to stay there to await "processing" by officials. Considering they'd encountered no people down here, she had her doubts about that. She made copious notes of everything was confident that in time she'd be able to read the ancient language without magical aid.
Before Zendara had a chance to see what else was in the boxes, a curious Edwin moved the boxes in front of the door and was surprised when it opened and one of the strange dog like mechanoids bounded out. It loped towards the stricken spider, looped it twice while regarding it closely before rushing back in the opposite direction. It paused at the door and glanced at Edwin as if to say, follow me before scurrying back into the small gloomy room from which it burst.
Edwin, perhas foolishly, decided to follow the mechanical dog into its small room, "It seems to want to show me something!"
Edwin followed the repair dog into the room which was dominated by a wall of strange equipment on the curved northern wall surrounding a very curious looking recliner seat / bed. Thick cables ran from the bed to the equipment but this wasn't your main focus. The strange dog circled around Edwin before walking over to a strange piece of equipment on the western work bench. A spark spat out of its nose, arcing to the beige boxy thing. Suddenly the image of a man appeared suspended in thin air. He was was of middle age and in very strange looking clothing, a brilliant white suit, jacket, shiny shoes and trousers with the air of a uniform. To cap this he had a bushy moustache and a tall white brimmed hat of weird design and a fussy little black bow tie. He looked ridiculous and to add to the strangeness, the projection lacked any depth. It was also glitching in a way that had to be seen to be described.
He spoke in a lilting language quite unlike anything you'd ever heard before. A second or so later another androgynous voice devoid of emotion spoke directly into your minds, this you understood even though it was not speaking your language...
"Greetings travellers. I am afraid to say Vesta has taken something of an interest in you, I don't think any living creatures have been down here in centuries. I'm not sure it'll let you go, especially not when the conclave is interested too. But anyway where are my manners? I am Dr Taproot, at your service. Or at least I am an image of the good doctor and a partial one at that... "
Edwin tried conversing with the image, to see if it would respond, "Hello Dr Taproot, my name is Edwin. I am part of an expedition from the Miskatonic University. What is the conclave, and how is it interested?"
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There was a moment's delay as the image of the Doctor blinked at Edwin in mute incomprehension. Then his expression softened and he seemed to be listening to someone after which he replied in the same peculiar lilting gibberish.
A second after he finished speaking the androgynous voice replied in its emotionless way, "Miskatronic University? I'm afraid I never heard of it, but I'm glad all learning hasn't been lost. The conclave is both easy and hard to explain, you see I refer to the conclave of city minds. The minds however are not so easy to explain. Back in my day the city minds and the ship minds ran everything, they enjoyed it and were frankly better at it than us. So much so that the idea of humans running the government filled my generation with horror, we only had to look to our history to see what that meant. Anyway I'm afraid over the centuries the minds have gone rather strange and besides the adversary corrupted many of them doing untold damage."
Doctor Taproot, could you tell us more about this place, and who you mean by "the adversary"? I'm not sure I understand the reference. Is that a symbolic religious evil, or an actual person?
The Doctor's image glitched several times and it was as if was snowing were he was but suddenly the image was sharp again, "The minds are trying to shut this node down, I'm not sure how long we'll be able to talk. Anyway, our civilisation shined like a beacon. At length we'd dragged ourselves out of the mud of hunger, war and pestilence and reached for the stars.
We had what was called a post scarcity society, the machines provided for everything. We thought it was beautiful and we shared it with open arms to anyone who wanted to join. In hindsight this was a mistake, a lost tribe who called themselves elves joined us but they would not forsake their cults. There are elder forces out there in the darkness between the stars that found what we had built inimical. We thought we were sophisticated, we thought we knew the horrors of war, of what evil was. We had no idea.
One of those things, an elder whose name I will not mention here, was awakened by the elves. He fell upon us like a curse, whispering poison, setting brother against brother, sister against mother. He blessed or perhaps cursed the elves with dark gifts, magic that disrupted advanced technology, a gift of the silver tongue, words that would incite a mob and corrupt the minds of innocents. Worst of all these fell gifts was the darkness that devours.
We found out too late that the darkness is fuelled by the souls of those who die in war or in terror. The cultists claimed the only path to salvation was to turn our backs on technology to go back to the simpler purer life of hunter gathers. Not everyone agreed. There were wars, brilliant and terrible. Appalling weapons where used on both sides, the losses where catastrophic. That wasn't the worst of it, deep in the cores of our orbitals and planets the darkness was rotting the foundations.
One day he came, the Stalker among the Stars, manifesting on the southern continent. None could stop him, not even our gods. At his command the darkness seethed and the core as we knew it vanished, transmuted into gas and then everything fell apart."
Taproot tried so say more but his image distorted terribly and there was a sound like pounding rain that drowned out anything he tried to say.
Edwin listened intently, but couldn't quite follow the mentions of unfamiliar technology. After the image and sound failed he commented, "It seems we've lost communication. I wish we knew how to contact him again. I have so many questions!"
Xindyra had a feeling she should know something, after all the learning, but she doesn't recall reading or hearing of such a cult.
The red button catches her eye.
"Hmm, perhaps if we....", she walks towards the console.
"I get the feeling this light is connected to his odd functioning. Be ready, i'm going to try and see if this helps.", as she holds her hand over the button, not yet pressing it, but given her curious nature, she's not far off from pushing it.
Zendara walked over to look at the red button that Xindyra was talking about
Yeah, good idea. Go for it.
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Yukarii was glad the fighting was over and then surprised at tehir find of the doctor. What he had to say was interesting but the way he got cut off was strange. That his voice turned into rain was more than a little strange and the suddenly glowing button looked rather ominous to Yukarii. "Are you sure it is safe to touch that?"
Dr Munroe found all of this utterly fascinating, and he had his notebook out and was jotting down everything Dr Taproot had said in shorthand. Folding the notepad up after taking a quick sketch of the equipment he answered Yukarii, "There's only one way to find out, stand back everyone. Just in case!"
The moment Dr Munroe touched the button, there was a loud buzzing and the image of Dr Taproot stabilized enough for you to understand him, although the quality was much worse than before. Again he spoke in a language so alien that none of you could make heads or tails of it and once more the androgynous voice translated directly into your minds. "... will be here soon, there isn't much time. I recommend you use the machinery by the couch, I've programmed it to install a custom skill slot chip, which will help you understand our technology as well as written Marin. With that knowledge you might be able to hack your way into the armoury. You're going to need some energy weapons if you ever want to see the surface again, Vesta won't let you go willingly. I also think you should know..."
The image suddenly vanished and stinky blue smoke billowed out of the machine.
where it injects a tiny device directly into the brain. There appears to be enough of the tiny devices for everyone present. You also think you know how to start the sequence to activate it.
Marek was appalled by this idea, "None of you are crazy enough to do that right? I mean look at those restraints and that needle! God's that's horrific!"
Edwin was rather taken aback by Dr Taproot's suggestion that they were going to need energy weapons to fight their way out. He studied the machinery next to the couch for a few minutes, and then reported, "I think I get how this is supposed to work: someone gets strapped into the restraints, then that enormous needle is moved by the mechanical arm in contact with the skull of the subject. Then it injects a tiny device directly into the brain!
"I think I understand how to initiate the sequence as well. I must say this thing creeps me out more than a little!"
Zendara straps herself in
Do me first. If I don't die, the rest of you will know it is safe.
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She's actually just excited to get the knowledge of the ancients, but is trying to be grave so that they will let her try it.
"Horrible way to put logic...."
"Don't die though, seriously."
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Showing bravery bordering on madness, Zendara claimed onto the peculiar "couch" it was more comfortable than she expected although the restraints were rather tight. She wasn't able to apply the head restraints herself and Edwin and a rather reluctant Dr Munroe set those and then Zendara was well and truly helpless.
"I hope you know what your doing..." Dr Munroe said to her, "It's not too late to back out." But she wouldn't and Marek stormed off saying he wasn't going to watch this.
Edwin managed to partially figure out the controls, but there were lots of settings that he didn't understand, so wisely he stuck to starting the sequence and trusting the defaults.
The machine whirred into life, the robotic limb moved with alarming speed as it twitched this way and that near Zendara's head. As it did so a strange picture was built up on the display which after a while you realized was an image of her brain. Suddenly and without warning the adamantine spike plunged savagely into her skull and she screamed and thrashed around before loosing consciousness.
Host interface v1.27 r-13
Booting...
Nanite link enabled, good dispersal confirmed.
Cultural adaption module installed.
Technology primer v12.4 installed.
Engineering helper IV installed.
Combat module disabled by policy.
Shield module disabled by policy.
Neural lace construction initiated, 24 hour ETA
Another smaller arm rose out of the machinery and this zapped the wound as the needle withdrew, cauterising it with a red beam. This arm then seemed to rotate something on its head, revealing a new tool which it sprayed the wound with a sort of foam which started healing her skin as it bubbled. Within a minute the terrible looking hole had closed and leaving a faint scar.
"That was pretty harrowing... I hope she's going to be OK!" muttered a concerned Dr Munroe.
Edwin was very alarmed when spike suddenly pierced Zendara's skull, causing her to scream and struggle. But he dared not try to stop the machine, for fear of causing her irreparable damage. There was nothing he could do except wait anxiously by her side and monitor her condition. He couldn't even bring himself to respond to Dr Munroe.
Uuurrgghh says Zendara, slowly coming back to consciousness.
Ooooohhh, my head...
She considers saying "Kill All Humans" in a voice like that spider they fought, but luckily she regains her wits fast enough to reconsider, thinking the group will probably not get the joke.
When she feels well enough to speak further, she says
Wow... that wasn't exactly pleasant, but it seems to have worked. Suddenly all of the Marin language falls into place, when I was just struggling to begin to understand it on my own without the spell... now it just comes naturally. Oh, and did you hear that? I just called it the Marin language. The recording mentioned it, but I didn't even really know what it was called before. Now, I just know that, and many other things. Awesome. Worth it. ... It says it is working on something called "neural lace" that will be complete in 24 hours, so I think it is safe, but if you are really scared, you might want to wait that long to make sure I'm still okay.
She left it at that, but she was definitely going to test the engineering abilities that her internal uh, display, seemed to indicate she had gained, and she was also planning on looking around and figuring out how to enable the "combat" and "shield" modules too. I mean, if you were going to have a device inside your brain, you should know how to use all of it, right?
Unstrap me now, so I can look around and see if I pick up on anything else.
If she gets unstrapped, she looks more closely at the machine to see if there are settings to unlock the other modules, or anything else that her new knowledge might help unlock.