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No warm welcome awaits at the meeting place - you were summoned to the Grand Lodge grounds, and are now in a glorified basement of an outbuilding. This cold subterranean records hall is barely lit and deathly silent. In front of a heavy wooden door stands Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae, one of the Society’s premier experts on the ruined siege towers near Absalom. She waves and begins speaking eagerly as she approaches, the flame of her candle struggling against her pace.
“Hello! I’m sorry to summon you to such a bleak meeting space, but I’m gathering intelligence that I can really get only here. Come, you’ll have to see for yourselves.” Venture-Captain Iorae gestures toward the door behind her, saying, “Before we go in, tell me—do you know much about the Red Redoubt of Karamoss?” She gives Khellek a knowing look, obviously aware of his reputation.
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A tall, thin half-elf, dressed in a finely-tailored explorer's outfit, strides confidently into the room.
"Varian Jeggare is my name. I will be providing some of our arcane support for this mission."
He then nods to the (apparently) empty air, and clears his throat.
"If you would be so kind?"
So saying, a terrifying-looking demonic mask appears out of nowhere, and starts lazily floating around the room.
"That's Tanbaru. He's on... well... let's call it a voyage of self-discovery. For the moment at least, he is also my familiar."
"Karamoss was a wizard from Numeria known as the Machine Mage. He allegedly spent decades researching automatons inside the notorious technological dungeon known as Silver Mount, and was said to possess unparalleled mastery over all kinds of constructs and machines.
The red metal from which the Red Redoubt was constructed is called djezeteel, and has an enhancing effect on magic.
The robotic army that Karamoss used to attack Absalom is rumored to have been built within the siege tower itself, using forges powered by elemental energy from the Plane of Fire.
I may need to rethink my usual spell selection!"
The entire Red Redoubt was built in a single night out of a strange red skymetal alloy called djezeteel, said to have been invented by Karamoss himself.
Though the aboveground sections of the tower were destroyed, the underground levels seemed to be sound. As far as anyone knows, there could be dozens of unexplored levels below the surface.
Supplying power to the tower—and creating an army of constructs—would have required an immense amount of energy. The tower was likely equipped with a powerful energy source, possibly a massive Numerian power generator or some kind of magical reactor."
"The uppermost surviving levels of the Red Redoubt are considered relatively safe. Junior members of the Pathfinder Society are often run through obstacle courses here set up by their mentors.
One recent such excursion took an unexpected turn when a team of Pathfinder recruits stumbled into an undiscovered sublevel of the siege tower. Since then, Pathfinder Society activity in the area has increased dramatically.
Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae has led the new efforts to explore the Red Redoubt, and she has sent scouting teams into progressively deeper levels of the tower. For the last few days, Shevala has not left the Grand Lodge, instead remaining cloistered below in a darkened records room."
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Doodle waves at Khellek and Varian as she jogs I tot he room late, as usual. ”Hi everybody! I’m Doodle,” the little blue haired gnome squeaks as she looks for a comfortable place to sit.
”I’m so excited to go on another adventure. Things had been really slow around the office. Hopefully we all have fun. Fighting constructs sounds hard though. Anyone know any good way to damage them?”
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"Well met everyone" An middle aged tian male approaches the group. "My name is Yen Jinsa Taishin. You can just call me Jinsa for short."
He looks at the group assembled so far. "Most of your names I have heard of, it is nice to finally meet you all in person"
"Metal men. Hmm. Maybe my cousin would have been a better fit. He is a bit better at hurting things."
A lean female elf sneaks in, almost undetected. She looks around as she listens to the briefing and the mage's recollections of the subjects.
Lovely...machines. Not many weak spots to shove a rapier in on those. Might have to invest in a hammer or just fling rocks at them.
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”Hey everyone! Sorry I am late. Oh hey Doodle and Khellek! “
For those who do not already know her, you see a tall, stately human woman with fiery blond hair, wearing scale armor and a cold iron scimitar on her belt.
She wears the symbol of Sarenrae clearly visible on a silver chain around her neck.
Oh, I am like sorry to be so rude. I am Lasaraleen.
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Shevala nods approvingly at your wealth of knowledge. "I fear you may have to deal with some newly-minted mechanical soldiers, yes. But allow me to explain further."
The Venture-Captain opens the heavy wooden door into a cramped records room, eliciting a painful cry from inside, followed by curses in a strange language. The room is even darker than the hall outside, lit only by a few small candles. A sturdy wooden chair stands in the center of the room, on which writhes a curious creature. Long, rubbery arms spill over the sides of the chair and brush the floor, connecting to a torso covered in dirty green scales. Huge black eyes protrude over a drooping, sharp-toothed mouth that appears to close on only one side. The creature squints against the meager light from the hallway, shouting, “Shut it! Shut the blasted door!”
“Pathfinders,” Shevala says with exasperation, “may I present Marw.” She beckons you inside quickly so she can fulfill the creature's request.
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Marw glares at Khellek as he looks the choker over. His skin is covered in hexagonal scales, unlike the usual rubbery coat of his people, and his eyes are massive and completely black.
"Among his peculiarities are above-average lexicon and great intelligence," Shevala adds. Marw turns his glare to her, prompting another sigh. "And until he sees fit to speak for himself more, I am forced to iterate some points. His tribe lives in a junkyard of a floor in the Red Redoubt - the Scrap Heap. Per his word, it has seen much more robot activity than usual of late, raiding parties dragging parts away and attacking when interfered with.
"Since we were recently put in contact when junior agents discovered his people there, we have discussed. He has provided a great deal of information on the siege tower in exchange for our help dealing with whatever issue plagues him. We think the constructs came from a lower level, known as the Forge. But there is little other information on it beyond logical guesses."
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Marw doesn't have any wisdom regarding the robots and their specifics. "From his descriptions, there is a wide mix of different robots," Shevala chips in. "Mostly humanoid, with varying amounts of weaponry. You'd be better served figuring out their weak points in the fray than relying on my idle speculation."
"What's so odd? We're living where we gotta. Just turns out they were there first," the choker says to Lasaraleen. He turns from his reclining position to face those who are talking to him. "And my people aren't being taken, they're being rottin' fools. Only get hurt if we're in the way, though sometimes the statues are after a trove of metal right where we're holed up and we can't run. Can't even stop these few that come up to us, we're in no shape to take on the source on our lonesome. So I suppose you're my instrument if you say."
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"I need you to find out what’s going on within the Forge; if something is providing power to Karamoss’s robot foundries, it’s imperative that you deactivate that power source to prevent history from repeating itself," Shevala cuts off the choker again. "Of course, Marw here would also like us to ensure that whatever is scavenging in the Scrap Heap and endangering his people ceases to do so. Finally, please keep an eye out for anything of academic significance. The entire tower is a trove of historical data from one of the most fascinating periods in Absalom’s history! Bring me anything interesting that you can carry, and secure everything else so that future expeditions can study the artifacts in relative safety.
"I'm sorry I don't have much solid information to give you. Assuming a literal interpretation of the Forge's name, preparations against heat and flame might be in order. Barring any other questions, please take up to the rest of today to make any purchases or fine-tune magic as you see fit. Then Marw and his allies will take you where you need to go."
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"These robots... I've heard some are resistant to normal weapons. Mawr... were your weapons effective against them at all?" asks the scholar.
"Rest assured that securing any ancient documents will be the absolute top of my list of priorities" assures the elderly scholar.
"Though I may need to go and request some items from the stores.."
Yes, any hint at a weakness would be ideal....I can't shove my dagger through hardened metal, but I can dislodge a cog or two...
Don't worry about me....I'll be fine....hopefully....
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Your preparations made, you leave the Grand Lodge the next morning, before dawn can break and offend Marw's sensitive eyesight. He guides you to the Red Redoubt, not speaking outside of curt replies. At his shouting down a chasm, a pulley-based lift is drawn up to bring you to the Scrap Heap.
The plain of junked red metal quickly gives way to corridors of the same make. Along your trek down them, several other chokers pop up before hurrying along on their own business. Marw and the few who remain stop you at a heavy door that opens into another lift. "This goes to the Forge. We're not following you down," he says. "Couldn't do much to those things, don't know much of the place down below. So...good luck."
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The lift door slides shut and whisks you downwards at least several hundred feet. The trapezoidal chamber it opens into displays signs of recent vandalism. Battered red panels hang from single bolts, revealing exposed wires and structural supports. Glowing tubes flicker behind smashed translucent panes on the upper walls that intermittently emit showers of sparks. Opposite your northern elevator, a set of thick double doors stands in the room’s shortest side.
You are not alone! Standing on the ceiling of this room is a strange red robot. Humanoid in torso, its waist is more akin to the abdomen of a giant metal spider. From there extend three legs which nonchalantly stick to the ceiling. The sphere also houses many more robotic hands, smaller than its normal two but constantly moving like tendrils. Its head turns to face you.
“Hello. Are you designated as maintenance units? Maintenance request—please assist. Open Forge power core access doors.”
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Varian raises an eyebrow, and smirks faintly, before replying:
"This unit is not designated as a maintenance drone, but is capable of helping to organise other units in its grouping to render assistance. Query: State designation of unit requesting assistance. Query: Is the requesting unit damaged, or is the only assistance required opening the door?"
Merisiel looks on quizzically, not knowing how to react to the automaton's directions. She looks around, checking to make see if there is an off switch should the need arise.
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The robot walks down the wall and onto the floor to face you. It ignores Jinsa, replying to Varian first. "I am unable to ascertain your models, but it is not critical for the moment if you can open the doors. State your designations and dates of construction for later entry? I am unit Tig-0. My primary designation is oversight of Forge power control systems in service of Lord Karamoss." Tig-0 runs one tentacular hand over a damaged eye. "I have sustained damage, yes. As for how...ERROR: requested memory file corrupted. Self-diagnosis routine indicates negligible damage to memory drive and sensor arrays. Unknown origin. However, the primary concern is the doors. My memory can be fixed and updated with crucial information at the Forge power control station."
Tig-0 moves on to Khellek. It looks at him as if he were a fool, proving his reputation only reaches so many. "Doors are directly behind me. However, it is possible others along our path may be similarly blocked. Our groups will thusly work together under my supervision. We must reach the main control station, as ordered. And I am able to traverse walls and ceilings with electromagnets built into my feet. Fortunately, they remain undamaged. Are your models not similarly equipped?" The robot tilts its head in as close to a bewildered expression as it can make. "This may prove problematic. But we must reach the main control station."
Merisiel does not find such an easy way to deal with Tig-0, sadly. Looking at the indicated doors, she can tell they are blocked from the other side with massive amounts of rubble. They will need great strength or magic to fully open. On this side, a skymetal coffer lies amid the scrap. It holds several strange contraptions Khellek could likely puzzle out the uses of.
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Khellek has a look over the technology items with interest.
"My designation is Khellek. My date of manufacture is mumble"
"None of our units are equipped with electromagnetic feet.." he explains to Tig.
The scholar examines the doorway, wondering if there is a good way he can lever it open somehow.
"Could you tell me about Lord Karamoss while we work on the door?" he asks, hopefully.