Flint sits this one out. Biago looks for mundane explanations, leading the way. Rubeg refines the definition of "mundane" while Berry ponders the mysteries of the outside world. Farzin wonders if teachers are half as clever as they think they are.
Though Biago finds a whisper of something else going on here, the majority of the evidence points to superstitious students gossiping about an enchanted door!
It's always nice when one's own theories are supported by evidence, isn't it?
Tables, flasks, vials, and alchemical equipment make the purpose of this lab room obvious, though the white plaster walls and stained tiles make it look both newer and cheaper than the rest of the building. Cases sit in neat rows on open shelves, each bearing a neat label listing its contents. A large window at the back of the room looks over the rest of the grounds.
Humanoid anatomical models stand beside the laboratory tables. The left side of the models shows the musculoskeletal system, while the right side shows major organs. Moonlight shines through the window onto the creepy mannequins; their round, wide eyes gleam in the pale light.
A poster on the wall proudly says ALCHEMY IS FUN! and it contains numerous equations.
If you can’t figure out what to do in lab, just whisper a question under your breath! You’ll hear the answer in your ear. Be careful, though; a lot of the answers are wrong.
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"Among the simple sciences, it can be," Rubeg answers Berry, in case some other voice does not. "Certain students with less aptitude create concoctions to help them be more aware. Or less aware, if that's possible. You can blow things up, which is quite nice."
He heads to the beakers to see what exactly they were learning here.
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When Rubeg moves to investigate the beakers on the table, the creepy anatomical model turns and stares at him. Its teeth chatter in excitement as it finally notices something to kill.
★
The creature reaches into its stomach and rips out some small intestine. It flings the sticky wet guts at Rubeg’s feet, tangling up the inventor.
The rack's wheels squeak as the dummy pushes itself closer; it then tries to slam the goblin with its exposed muscles — but it hits the table instead. Glass alembics and beakers rattle!
Musculoskeletal Model
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Biago
Farzin
Fearful Berry
Flint
Rubeg, flat-footed, Action to remove
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This is an Anatomical model, a mindless construct (meaning it’s immune to mental, nonlethal, etc).
Like most constructs, it has Hardness and once it’s reduced to fewer than half its Hit Points, or immediately upon being damaged by a critical hit, its construct armor breaks, removing the Hardness and reducing its Armor Class/
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Biago thinks this is not a construct, but a practical joke set up to scare the teacher! Children are cruel indeed. And since it's not a very funny joke, he flings a bunsen burner at it anyhow. It knocks some plaster off the wall.
Rubeg takes cover behind his shield after pulling the slimy intestines off his legs. They slide under a nearby table.
Farzin also takes cover, but only after screaming first. He sends a remedial studies book, The Humanoid Physiology Coloring Book, at the creature. It sustains some paper cuts to the ligaments holding its jawbone in place, but not as much as the sorcerer hoped.
Musculoskeletal Model, -5 HP
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Biago
Farzin, cover
Fearful Berry
Flint
Rubeg, shield raised
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"Let's see if we can call an actual spirit." Berry whips his vines around in the air as another of the bodies showing the musculoskeletal system slowly begins to move on its own. A dark green mist flows from it's innards as it raises both fists above it's head and crashes the down into the back of the construct.
AC 19
HP 52/52
Focus Points 2/2
Curse Stage:
Spells (1) 2/3 | (2) 3/3 |
Battle Medicine:
Plague Zombie
AC 13
HP 50/50
Fearful Berry adds to the scene of horror with a real zombie. But it's rather ungainly, and just flails at the anatomical model.
Flint is too excited about having actual combat to strike accurately.
The creature tears out its lungs and hurls them — like a bloody bola — at the dwarf's feet! They wrap around Flint's ankle and smear blood on the tiled floor. But the wheeled rack upon which the dummy is hung gets in the way, preventing it from connecting with its slams.
★
Model, -5 HP
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Biago
Farzin, cover
Fearful Berry
Flint, shield raised, flat-footed (action to remove)
Rubeg, shield raised
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The zombie immediately begins to slow further as it slams it's fists down at the model once more.
Berry reaches out a vine, drawing a ward through the air as he protects Flint.
AC 19
HP 52/52
Focus Points 2/2
Curse Stage:
Spells (1) 2/3 | (2) 3/3 |
Battle Medicine:
Plague Zombie
AC 13
HP 50/50
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Farzin eyes the biggest book he can and sends it careening at the construct like a cannonball!
The tome, titled A Comparative Study of Artificial Musculoskeletal Networks Using Reinforcement Alchemy and Multidimensional Conjuration, Using Parzen the Transmuter’s Density Estimation Theorem for Identification of GC-EIMS Spectra of in Osteoclast-Derived Apoptotic Bodies, impacts the dummy with just as much horrible density as the title itself! It knocks the creature in the chest with a deep crack, splitting open its ribcage like a cadaver's to expose its chest cavity!
The zombie flails more.
Musculoskeletal Model, -14 HP, Broken
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Biago
Farzin, cover
Fearful Berry
Flint, shield raised, flat-footed (action to remove), Forbidding Ward
Rubeg, shield raised
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Letting his shield fall for a moment, Rubeg uses that hand to pull a few levers on his armor, which starts whirring and clattering alarmingly, as if it might explode. Still, it seems to keep itself together as he hefts his shield again, followed a moment later by his hammer. He brings the latter down, a piston on his small arm pulling with the motion to slam the hammer into the creature with a reverberating crash.
Rubeg’s armor makes strange sounds, but the supercharged hammer takes a chunk out of the wall instead of the construct’s head.
Flint seems to be experiencing awful luck. Biago’s arc seems effective this time, though the construct is rather agile.
The model’s large, round eyes roll around. They pinpoint Farzin, hiding behind the table! It leers at him as it wheels itself around the melee combatants, intent on destroying the creature who's done the most damage. It leaves bloody footprints on the laboratory tile as it moves.
★
Musculoskeletal Model, -20 HP, Broken
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Biago
Farzin, -13 HP, cover
Fearful Berry
Flint, Forbidding Ward
Rubeg
Flint has had enough and demonstrates this by way of hammer to kneecap. Bone cracks.
Biago bolsters his friends’ armor.
The latches on Rubeg’s gauntlet save him from losing the weapon after it kicks back from a solid blow.
Farzin, in his panic, only blows a piece of scrap paper at the creature. It doesn’t even notice.
Fearful Berry shows off some very sharp fangs, but only consumes air. He drops the forbidding ward, knowing it won't stack with Biago's spell.
This triggers a retributive strike from Flint — — who helps mitigate some of the damage but cannot hit.
The construct lands a very solid blow on the inventor — his whirring armor chews up bits of exposed muscle, but the anatomical dummy doesn;t seem to mind.
★
Musculoskeletal Model, -36 HP, Broken
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Biago, 5’ or 10' Ward
Farzin, -13 HP
Fearful Berry
Flint
Rubeg, -15 HP
Flint finally connects! Farzin is too panicked, and a composition notebook full of bad student poetry only knocks over an alembic. The creature swings on its wheeled gurney, avoiding Biago’s arc.
The zombie cracks the construct’s spine like a horrible chiropractor. Berry tears the trapezius muscle; it dangles off the creature’s back like a useless flap.
★
The creature turns to Berry… it reaches into its opened ribcage and throws its esophagus into the leshy’s vines, tangling them up before landing a devastating slam!
Flint’s retributive strike hits AC for damage. Bones crack. He helps his leshy friend weather the critical hit.
The creature is more than just broken now — its jawbone hangs by a ligament, one of its eyes is melted by the arc, some of its muscles hang in useless flaps… the ribs surrounding the chest cavity are broken to bits… but it inexorably keeps trying to kill…
★
Musculoskeletal Model, -78 HP, Broken
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Biago, 10’ Ward
Farzin, -13 HP
Fearful Berry, -20 HP, Flat-Footed (Action to remove)
Flint, Shield Raised
Rubeg, -15 HP, Shield Raised
FINALLY… Flint has had enough and smashes his hammer across the creature’s skull, caving it in. The construct collapses into a pile of sticky organs and greasy bones.
The lab space is a mess: books are flung about, plaster is knocked off the walls, one of the anatomy models has been raised as a plague zombie, and the other is in bits smeared all over the floor. No one would hold you to blame for this horrific attack, though.
★
Biago examines at the ALCHEMY IS FUN! poster. He notices that while the equations purport to be for useful but harmless items like school glue and volcano science projects, they have been subtly altered to actually produce fart bombs, exploding firecrackers, and the like.
★
If you can’t figure out what to do in the lab, just whisper a question under your breath! You’ll hear the answer in your ear. Be careful, though; a lot of the answers are wrong.
Several of you have confirmed that voices respond to whispered questions. It’s almost like the phrases are out of context — voices echoing from another place or another time.
It’s time to investigate again. You can do so while healing up. You may make a Religion check to identify if there are any haunts within the room, or a Perception or Performance check to examine the acoustics of the room. As before, you can sell me on another skill. The DC is the same as all other skill challenges… 18.
★
Biago
Farzin,
Fearful Berry
Flint
Rubeg
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Berry drips the thick red sap-like substance into Farzin and Rubeg's mouths using his vine. The strange substance seems to sparkle with the same gleam as the shard imbedded into his stalk.
As he is done with the more serious wounded Berry's own animated display crumples unceremoniously to the ground without another thought. The blooded entrails all over the ground, from their armored foe whipping them about, makes Berry quite curious. He scuttles over to them and picks a long tubular section up with his vined hands before sniffing it and giving it a bit of a taste.
The blood from the entrails seems to invigorate Berry even further than he imagined.
AC 19
HP 52/52 | +10 Temp HP
Hero Points 2/3
Campaign Coin 1/1
Focus Points 2/2
Curse Stage:
Spells (1) 2/3 | (2) 1/3 |
Battle Medicine:
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Farzin falls dramatically across the nearest lab table, holding his wounds.
"Go on without me." He waves Papayo away. "Carry on and complete our mission. Don't let -OUCH! Don't let the children dow-"
And then Berry's vine falls across Farzin's mouth, dripping its healing sap, and repearing Farzin's wounds.
Farzin sits up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
"That's actually quite tasty, like a medicated cherry syrup. You could sell that, I'm sure."
"Boss screamed," squawks Papayo.
"Yes, well," Farzin straightens out his clothes. "On with the investigation!" He peers around the room. "I'm never one to give up so easily. Let's see what we can discover about this horrible lab."
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Rubeg groans in relief as Berry's ministrations help with the worst of his wounds, though he's still in some pain .
Still believing it's likely there's some noise coming from the teachers' lounge, Rubeg begins investigating the room's acoustics, using the knowledge he picked up from his own studies -- a sonic retort against anyone that his him would be quite the innovation, if he could just figure it out without blowing out his own eardrums!
While the lab does have bad acoustics, the whispering doesn’t consistently carry. Rubeg finds a strange interference here…Biago discovers a pocket of planar energy from the Maelstrom generates noise in response to questions asked. These answers are haphazardly strung together from other statements previously uttered in this room, though they’re out of context and often wrong.
★