The gargoyle is severely injured by Gift with Blue coming up quickly.
Rollo sighs as the chase begins. The Sage then gestures at an area 220' ahead in front of the fliers.
Wall of Ice
Rollo just smiles at the group.
He then Quickens Glitterdust at them!
Glitterdust
Now they are cold and pretty.
As the badly damaged and enraged metal gargoyle speeds towards Gift, Rollo casts his wall of ice in front of it and the thing immediately plows into the wall, freezing and shatterings, with the pieces falling down the hole with an extended "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle" (You will find pieces of both gargoyles on ledges in your next 1000 feet of descent).
She had hit it hard, her charged legs and fist slamming into it. She knew that then Blue and Terex zipped past her, Blue firing and Terex casting as the gargoyle kept going. Then faster than she could port to keep up, there was a wall of ice and everything got really pretty fast.
The gargoyle was no more. She waited for the others above to catch up.
While she did she wanted to clean up and change. If they were going deeper into the hole she wanted better clothing on. She pulled the catsuit out of Hexqils hidden space and slipped it on.
The ears clicked into the connectors on her skull and the tail the same. It really helped with balance and movement, and while in the caves directional hearing would help as well. She put her hand spares back in Helqil with her old clothing. Closing her eyes she opened them again so they had a more feline look.
If you're going to go cat, go all the way
She thought to herself.
She liked the catsuit, she had made it herself and it made her feel more her. She know out of everyone she was the most agile if not the fastest. The big dragon won that one hand's down. But she could move and in her inner-self, she had started to identify as feline than human, she had even learned the language.
Blue approaches to say something to Gift as the others catch up, but when she pulls a suit of some sort from Hexqil he decides that she might want a bit of privacy And I certainly wouldn't want Arlo to catch me looking so he slides on past and continues around a bend, making sure he is out of out of line of sight.
Terex shakes his head slightly as Gift changes. You're hard to keep up with, Gift, he says, his mental tone suggesting he meant that multiple different ways. Anyway, I'll go ahead. I can sense invisible things, I'm good at spotting traps, and I'm small and quiet myself.
Unless someone objects the little dragon then dives deeper down, trying to stay about 80' ahead of the rest of the group while flying as quietly as he can and paying attention to all of his senses.
Once Rollo's darkvision of 60' catch sight of the bottom of the long vertical tunnel. the Sage begins casting spells.
Terex shakes his head slightly as Gift changes. You're hard to keep up with, Gift, he says, his mental tone suggesting he meant that multiple different ways. Anyway, I'll go ahead. I can sense invisible things, I'm good at spotting traps, and I'm small and quiet myself.
"What can I say, I'm a synthetic being, body form is something that is fluid for beings like me. And this feels more like me now. O and a good idea about scouting ahead Terex, I did not even see those rock things"
As Blue slips past, she giggles to herself.
"He is so cute"
When changed she catches up with him.
"What do you think Blue, Perrr-fect?"
After some strategic rearrangement, the group proceeds down the hole, Terex now in the lead and the others climbing or flying, now 60' behind him.
Looking down 60', the range of his infravision, Terex finally sees the bottom - a rough stone floor about 20' below where the sides of the hole vanish. Going down to the point the walls vanish, the hole end at the ceiling of a square stone room, about 50' x 50', simply carved in the bedrock (it seems). At that point, Terex' trap sense is triggered - he can detect a kind of magical grid, crisscrossing the room and apt to be triggered by anything that enters, likely generating a storm of fire. Without doing more, he can see that there are four open passages coming off the room and a door with light coming from under it (the first light you've seen in hours).
The room seems old, ancient but spell seems recent. The door to the other room seems recent also.
She was standing off the wall, looking down to where Terex was somewhere.
With her psionic sight, she could see something crisscrossing the room. Looked like some kind of proximity-triggered thing, and what was the fun in that.
::"Terex, what we got?"::
Then her Cyber-Cat ears picked up sounds.
::"Did you hear that someone is down there, they said"::
She repeats the sounds telepathicly not being able to speak, Aklo
Good ears, I didn't catch anything. But that's Aklo. Sounds like they're draining energy--typical Dark Traders! Terex growls telepathically.
They've set up a magic trap here, but it's nothing I can't handle. In fact...
The little dragon pulls his trap-stealer's rod out of his pack and sets to work.
It's my trap now, he declares to the party as the rod absorbs the trap. Which direction did you hear the voice from, Gift? Let's make our way that way carefully.
She drops down but being an Elocater, she like blue she stands above the floor. Her cybernetic ears twich a moment.
::"The door there, with the faint light"::
Her cybernetic tail swishes back and forth.
Blue smiles "Somehow, you always are, no matter how often you change things up. Just don't grow your dad's whiskers." he says with a wink. "I like the tail. That's different, but somehow it suits you."
Despite the distraction of Gift's swishing tail and the shapely portions it's connected to, Blue hears the conversation, though he doesn't speak the language.
Entering the large room, you continue to have the impression of great age, like other complexes you been in that were original wrought by the gods (in the world of Ovium or the world of Oomsata, say). But this has been disturbed recently. You can smell humans and even notice their minute skin particles and hair - and you smell some other creatures, acrid and insectoid and possibly related to the lower planes. There's a closed door with light under it - the door itself looks recently built.
There are also sounds. Gift and others with extraordinary senses are able to easily pick up the conversation behind the door. First, a voice slightly whispery and sibilant but still eloquent: "(cursing in Aklo)" then in common "I see I shall have to speak your bowdlerized common tongue... How can I make things clearer? The purpose of the "start-up" which you joined six months ago was to seek unique planar resources suitable for trade to the Baatezu (so bring you wealth unimaginable on your pitiful native plane). Four months ago, our investors paid a hefty price for tip concerning valuable plane that was opening soon. That lead us here. Unfortunately, the description, "Major Darzani Fortress, Fort Odran, abandoned and readily looted." didn't include the fact that every single Darzani item had turned to dust. Fortunately, and credit where credit is due, Miguel our researcher was able to quickly locate the one valuable thing on this [expletive] plane - a vast store of souls used to break the seal on the planar entrance that characterizes this plane. But it's tied to the spirit of the seal. So you, Migual and Xenox have been working on a way to salvage the value of this (while Beleg and Gundam provide security). You have so far failed. You have one month from now. And it really would help if you could extract some souls now, just so we could show prospective buyers a sample. I cannot torture you too much - just enough to bring encouragement and good work habits. Give me a sample in a week and it will stop and fail in a month and it will be forever. Good Bye for now." After a short pause, you hear two human voices. Dude! and Don't worry, I know how we'll handle this... and all you hear is soft movement.
At same time, you hear movement from the tunnel to the right of the closed door - something slowly moving towards you, sounding like maybe another gargoyle. It might arrive in four rounds.
She sees of she can port past the door.
Terex gives the door a quick check for traps and sees if it's locked.
Hello.
Rollo (standing in the back of the group) watches the activity at the door with the rest. The Sage then readies to cast Haste on the party once the door is opened....
The door doesn't seem to be trapped but it's solid stainless steel and locked with some sort of mid-level tech electronic lock aided by magic. Terex is not able to open it.
There's nothing disrupting teleportation down here that anyone can sense. And in fact, something beyond the door has certainly attracted <Sparkle>'s attention (The artifact had been very quiet since you left the wall).
Despite it's strength and powerful construction, the door has gap at the bottom of a quarter to a half inches above the ground.
Terex pauses after fiddling with the lock for a bit. It's not too tricky, I could get it in a bit... but I don't think we want to be flanked. We should handle the one coming up behind us before we go through this door, he suggests.
She stood on front of the door, her eyes glowed she she stopped movng. The here she was fell away as she moved her mind just past the door.
"Baatezu? Whoever this is, they're in league with devils. be careful." Blue whispers via Message to the others.
Gift focuses her clairvoyant sense on the opposite side of the door and beholds the following scene; Another large room, also 50' x 50', dimly lit by several glowing balls floating through the area as well as a collection of computing devices and alchemical instruments scattered about the area. In the very center, there's 10' diameter circular bulge carved with runes and circled by a whirlwind of dark shapes. On the outside of this is, there a is series of instruments - spectrometers, lasers, radio antennas as well as levitating crystals connected to cables and a piece of silk stretched on a frame that changes colors as you look at it.
Further back from these instruments, she sees two humans and an elf working feverishly but silently on various computing devices (apparently communicating through them also). The human are male, bearded, and have the look of scientists or engineers. The elf is androgynous and has the look of a magic user but is also manipulating a computing device.
Closer to the door, you see two disturbing creatures lounging on a couple large couches. They vaguely are humanoid shaped but with insectisoid features - antennas, faceted eyes and so-forth. They're each manipulating some small electronic entertainment system that looks very small indeed in their spiky mandible-like "hands" and one of them has a bone with some flesh still on it that they're nibbling on.
There's a variety of good quality furniture scattered through the room, technological food preparation devices and the like. This group has been here some time.
No other doors beside the other side of the one you're at, are visible.
Terex listening down the corridor; whatever is down the corridor, gets a bit closer but then moves further away. You also hear a soft moan from this direction.
Gift telepathically describes what she sees to the others.
::"We need a plan"::
"Can someone put a Silence effect on the door so they don't hear us take out the one on this side?" Blue whispers.
The party members are crouched in the large entry room or sitting above it on a ledge on the hole, discussing and investigating the situation in this underground complex. The room is almost pitch dark, though virtually all of you see easily in it and it is nearly empty save the nearly invisible runic lines of the disarmed trap and some very small detritus showing humans and outsiders have passed through here. Nothing can be heard but very soft sounds from other rooms (footsteps and occasional breath from the corridor, keyboarding from behind the stainless steel door). There's a certain beauty to the rough quartz-granite walls.
Minna says that she could put some felt under the crack in the door that would blot out sounds, lowering herself with a rope to place it silently.
Perhaps, we just knock?
The dhampir smiles, although being invisible, it's probably not seen.
Rollo simply waits for the door to be opened, so that they may capture these poor saps....
::"How about I just port is all in there and we just start kicking some butt?"::
Armaund comments, telepathically, "My sense is that the humans there underlings studying this place. Capturing them and learning their information might be very helpful. Would some sort of bluff be possible? Could we learn more about them? Would you be able to hack those computing devices you saw, Gift? Or perhaps our other technology savvy people? The guard creatures would have to be dealt with but we want every advantage, I think"
Rollo smiles at Armaund.
I shall Haste us and Slow them. That should even the odds a bit in our favor.
"That could work", Arlo says, removing his heavy crossbow from his backpack and loading a crossbow. "I'm less lethal at a distance. I can fire to wound, not kill."
"I'm, ah, less good at not killing things. Let me, ah, I may have a spell for that. Yes, here's one that could help." Blue says, flipping virtual pages on his spell-tablet.
Investigating the door, Terex has discovered that it's disabled for about a minute, then it will reset and he can attempt to pick it again (it's electro-mechanical - with magical protections also).
Armaund comments: "I believe we'll have our hands full with those Baatezu - our hardest hitting melee people should be on them or it could a disaster. Perhaps Terex and Minna could look after scientists if we're going in to 'kick butt'." Minna has taken the time to weave her ropes into a series of nets that could be used to entangle people.
::"I can get us in a spot to hid a moment then we can jump them, time to power up everyone we only have 60 seconds."::
And she dose, her hands a feed glow a moment as psionic power goes into them.
::"I'll take one of the devils. Don't get close to it, ill be moving fast"::
I can stay hidden and surprise the scientists. I doubt I'd be much help with the devils, Terex 'says', keeping the slight taste of bitterness out of his voice as he admitted this last bit. I'll have a look at what they're working on while I'm at it... and make sure they don't press any buttons while you're fighting.
The little dragon casts a simple spell on himself, then focuses his mind and fades from sight. He flies over and lands on Gift's shoulder to make sure he doesn't get left behind in the teleport.
Ready! He declares.
The party groups together in preparation for the jump. Armaund notes, "I'll try leading with a bluff while transforming, I'll leave to you to decide if it's worked." Minna is going to try to grapple/entangle the scientists if that seems necessary and also maybe disable their machines.
Then Gift takes the group to the hidden spot and Armaund steps out in full dragon, intoning in a voice of iron, "The security team is being revamped, Beleg and Gundam, your services are no longer needed. Also, a consulting agency had been added."
One devil says "Highly irregular, let me see the paperwork" while the other says "Just like Methenuis to leave this to some draconic subordinate, what souls have to you got to sweaten this bitter pill?"
The dwarf tries to blend in with the others as his hand rests on the handle of The Arlosword.
Gift scans the tech, looking to see if there is a link Jack or access portal.
Terex may be invisible right now, but he doesn't trust that the devils won't be able to see him. So rather than flying he quietly scampers across the ground, trying to keep out of their line of sight as he sneaks closer to the scientists. As he does so, he tells the others, If you hold their attention for a bit I can get in position.
He also keeps an eye out for interesting equipment he might want to sabotage.
As Armaund steps out to do his thing, Blue activates his Ring of invisibility, then attempts to fly silently into place.
Terex looks at the electronics. At first glance, it appears to be only middling computing tech, less advanced than that of the Fendarions . But then he notices that screens are running something called an Arcana Analysis Pad - so they've managed to used software to analyze magic, .
It looks like it would dangerous to shut down the system but you easily make it unusable by sneaking a few shims underneath the keys of a keyboard . And the system looks dangerous, like it could conduct magic energy - which has <shimmer> extremely interested suddenly also.
Armaund says, through the telepathy channel, "Anyone have something we can toss at them that might look like 'paperworkd' or 'souls', my knowledge of Baator is limited.
Rollo (invisibly) looks into the chamber. The Sage studies the contraptions, describing them.
"It seems to run on some form of electricity."
They're actually doing genuine technomancy! Terex declares to the party, his mental voice slightly awed. Of course, that means they could be quite dangerous. This equipment could... well, it could do almost anything depending on how the arcane-to-technological connection works!
Keep on holding their attention. I'll see if I can disable the interface here so they can't pull any surprises on us while we take out their guards. Though who knows? Maybe they'll work with us when it's clear we're better partners than devils are.
Cautiously, Terex jumps up onto the desks and starts trying to disable the keyboards while he's still invisible. As he does so, he directs a thought to <Shimmer>. What's got you so excited, <Shimmer>? Do you think there's something you can affect here?
"It seems to run on some form of electricity."
"It seems to run on some form of electricity."
<Shimmer> responds with a desire to transport the entire magic-computer mechanism and the scientist to a demiplane to study the system. It would need some of the force going through some of the cables and be a bit dicey (say the least)
Armaund tosses a black scroll at the devil's insect-like feet, telepathically "It's nonsense so we'll be attacking next I think."
Terex immediately balks at <Shimmer>'s suggestion. We're not kidnapping them. How about we get rid of the devils and then offer them a job? Then we could be a bit slower and more methodical about moving the equipment over, so it there will be less risk of damaging it, and it will be ethical.
Switching his telepathy to the rest of the party, he says, If at all possible, avoid damaging this equipment here during the fight. I'm going to make these guys a job offer. Hopefully they'll be willing to work with someone a bit nicer than devils, assuming they haven't already signed too many contracts.
Even as he speaks he keeps disabling keyboards.