A pair of hulking humanoid objects stand quietly in this chamber, each covered in a thick layer of dust. Closer inspection reveals them to be clockwork assistants. They are broken beyond repair, but you identify eight gemstones used as bearings in the broken clockworks. The gems are worth 5 gp each.
"Shiny, shiny..." Wan mutters. He pulls a small craftman's tool from within Proto and works at prying the precious gems out of the clockwork cadavers, humming to himself as he does so.
Zin watches in horror as Wan slaughters the fly-like bloat. "Wan! Why? It didn't mean anymore harm." Though Wan ignores him as he begins prying the gemstones loose. "We aren't murderers...."
Zin tries to explain himself to the Tengu but in the grand scheme it was already too late. He peers into the room to the south as he looks to distance himself from the situation slightly.
Mazul sighs as the fiend falls to the floor. "Wan, I admit I was tempted to kill him myself and call it a reasonable precaution, but I didn't. Because we agreed to spare his life if he cooperated, and he did." Okay, so she didn't so much 'agree' as 'fail to disagree,' but it was approximately the same thing. "I don't mind distracting things while you stab them, or vice versa, but that wasn't what I was doing there and you know it."
"Zin, he was trying to kill us less than fifteen minutes ago, and it isn't like he stopped because of a sudden crisis of conscience. I wouldn't say with confidence he didn't mean anymore harm." She shrugs uncomfortably. "Whatever. Let's just get out of here." She follows Zin as he moves to the southern room.
"He savaged me and my Proto suit," Wan replies with a shrug to Mazul. "You speak as if I was consulted about the decision to spare his life after he dropped me on the floor to bleed out. I don't think we were planning on inviting it back to meet Wrin or Mayor Menhemes for a cup of tea. Here, have a gemstone for your troubles," Wan pops one of the baubles out and hands it to Mazul.
This long room smells of rust and grime. Stacks of splintered furniture, pieces of weapons and armor, frayed coils of rope, jagged shards of metal, and other bits of trash lie in heaps along the walls of the room. A cold, unlit forge sits in an alcove to the west. To the north, several heavy timbers are wedged up against a door to keep it shut.
Two morlock engineers toil at assembling a pair of broken ballistae here. When they see you, though, they grin wickedly and reach for cobbled-together projectile launchers!
The morlocks open fire, battering Toska with scrap metal!
"Everyone just wants to batter and harass us," Wan quips, ducking through the door and the battered Toska. "No one wants to make us a nice cuppa and let us set our feet by the fire. Ooooooh! That's a nice idea - FIRE!"
A small red bead appears in Proto's gauntleted hand, somehow ferreted down from the necklace around Wan's neck. The bead arcs just over the heads of the morlocks and their wooden ballistae.
Zin rushes into the room as he hears a massive explosion coming from Wan. "Looks like we found them." Zin holds his hands out and adds more fire to Wan's explosion.
AC 17 (18 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Moderate (-2 AC)
HP 20/22 | Resistance Physical 3; Harm 5
Hero Points 1/3
Focus Points 2/3
Spells (1) 0/3 |
Wand of Heal (1st) 0/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 3
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate - (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
"I could go for a nice cup of tea about now..." Rather than get in the middle of what sounds like some very impressive fireworks, Mazul takes off down the hall for the other door. All the better to flank you with my dear!
Akkaboo heads in as well. ”Take that!” she yells, throwing a handful a sparks at the two morlocks. ”Big meanies!”
Toska enters a rage as he moves up to attack, but fails to land a good hit. Zin burns both morlocks with his spray of stars. Wan hurls a fireball at the morlocks, but one dodges some of the blast while the other completely avoids it. The reverse is true for Akkaboo's electric arc.
The morlocks back away from Toska, shooting at the kobold again before reloading their projectile launchers. Luckily, one misses due to being dazzled.
Seeing the morlocks continue to target Toska, Zin decides to try and give them a new target of opportunity. Drawing his blade he goes down low and rushes at them, slashing across their ranks, before retreating.
AC 17 (18 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Moderate (-2 AC)
HP 20/22 | Resistance Physical 3; Harm 5
Hero Points 1/3
Focus Points 2/3
Spells (1) 0/3 |
Wand of Heal (1st) 0/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 3
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate - (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Akkaboo again conjures lightning between her fingers, followed by her magical shield. "Hurry!"
Mazul rushes through the door behind the creatures. Rapier in hand, she begins doing what she does best: distracting from behind.
When one of the morlocks emerges from the churning inferno unscathed, Wan crows in frustration. "Cheap goods from a disreputable mage, no doubt! It is my burden to have been saddled with faulty wares; I will have my buyer's revenge!"
Wan seems exceedingly melodramatic as he closes on the nearest morlock, clockwork gears racing.
"Hammer time!"
Akkaboo zaps both morlocks and Mazul lands a good hit, but Toska, Wan, and Zin all miss. Forced into close combat, the morlocks drop their projectile launchers and draw heavy hammers. One scuttles around behind Mazul to flank her with his ally and both focus their attacks on the half-orc. She dodges some of their swings, but one connects with a heavy thud, delivering a devastating blow!
Akkaboo shrieks in frustration as the mean morlocks refuse to stop hitting her companions. ”Stop that!” she yells one last time, throwing sparks with a bit more force than strictly necessary.
"Who's zooming who, Mazul?" Wan asks with a giggle, followed swiftly by a hammer strike.
"Hammer followed by sickle...is that the way it's supposed to go? I never get it right. Zounds, I don't even have a sickle!"
Proto-Wan, the tengu's voice running a commentary inside, draws a short curved blade from a side scabbard, and plunges it into the morlock once more.
Mazul doesn't have the energy to respond to Wan's quip, not after having all the breath knocked out of her. I suppose at least they stopped attacking Toska...
She doesn't like having her own vulnerable back to someone, but the quickest way to fix that situation is to get rid of the person in front of her so she can turn around. With that in mind she stabs rather frantically at the morlock between her and Wan, then raises her buckler protectively in front of her face.
Zin pushes past Toska, slashing at the wounded morlock. "There are quite inventive though." He observes the morlocks strange contraptions.
AC 17 (18 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Moderate (-2 AC)
HP 20/22 | Resistance Physical 3; Harm 5
Hero Points 1/3
Focus Points 2/3
Spells (1) 0/3 |
Wand of Heal (1st) 0/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 3
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate - (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Toska finally lands a hit, a glancing strike on the morlock in front of him. Akkaboo zaps both enemies before Mazul dispatches the flanked foe with a critical strike. She turns to stab at the second morlock, then Wan moves up to deliver the finishing strike to that enemy!
"That could have gone better." Mazul slumps to the floor and tries to remember if anywhere in The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You (And How To Survive Them) it mentioned how to set broken ribs. Because she definitely feels like her ribs are broken.
"I think somewhere in chapter 4...Zin, mind taking care of Toska while I patch myself up?" She starts flipping through the book while mumbling under her breath.
"Ribs, ribs...I was right, it was chapter 4. Let's see. 'Can you breathe? Move your arms? Then your ribs are almost certainly bruised, not broken. Smear a topical anesthetic over them and move on.' Huh, I suppose that's worth a try..."
Zin's splint breaks as its jagged edge drags across Toska's scales. "OH, no I'm sorry. I am been using this kit too much. Seems it finally hit its limit." He looks at the several wounded. "Maybe we should call it a day, gather what we can and rest?"
Wan looks up from where he’s been looting the morlocks.
”What’s that? Are people hurt? My poor little lambs!”
The morlocks don't have much of value besides their warhammers and projectile launchers.
Wan examines the projectile launchers critically, though with interest.
The projectile launchers appear to be modified crossbows, designed to fire improvised projectiles like rocks or sharpened sticks.
"Interesting design. I could make it better, I believe, but then again, I could make most things better with a bit of tinkering, if I do say so. Oh, and I do!"
The tengu seems full of himself.
"Resting sounds good." Actually, everything sounds good to Mazul right now. That topical anesthetic had worked wonders.
"Let's just search this room real quick, then maybe head back to town? Not that we've discovered all that much about the creepy undead-raising light, but I do want to ask Yinyasmera if she has any idea who that dead guy we found was. His family might be looking for him." Mazul follows her own advice and begins looking around. She pays particular attention to the northern door, listening carefully to see if she can get any hints about what might be behind the barricade. (She does not make any attempts to open it.)
Mazul can hear groans, coughs, and voices speaking softly in Common on the other side of the barricaded door.
"What do you think all that ruckus was? It sounded like there was an explosion!"
"Do you think somebody's come for us? Or just more monsters? Maybe ones even worse than those morlocks?!?"
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Huh. She'd been expecting some sort of unspeakably terrifying entity that even the morlocks were afraid of. Another web lurker, maybe. Or shadow thing. Not...people?
"Excuse me? Hello in there, random voices. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical, but so far literally everything in this lighthouse has tried to kill us. Okay, technically the mitflit king didn't try to kill us, but I think that's more because he thought (correctly) that we'd kill him...and I'm getting off topic. Anyway, I must ask, are you people or are you horrible monsters trying to trick us into opening the door so you can slaughter us all?" She pauses. "Not that horrible monsters can't be people, I suppose technically anything sentient counts as a person, but you know what I mean."
"We're not monsters!" the voice calls back. "We're human. My name's Gorul, and there are two others here with me--Shad and Ziskilly. We're from Otari! The morlocks killed our friend and locked the rest of us in here. Can you get us out of here?"
Mazul senses only desperation in the man's voice.
Mazul shrugs, leaning back from the door to look at the rest of the group. "Sounds like he's telling the truth to me. We okay with opening this door?" She doesn't want to unilaterally make the decision, (particularly with Toska still so badly hurt), but neither does she want to leave people trapped in here.
"If they're mean, we can just shut the door again." Akkaboo nods affirmatively.
Zin looks at the secured door. "We will try and get this open to get you out of there." Zin tries the obvious and attempts to open the door. He looks to his companions. Any of you able to pick locks?"
”I’m good at putting things together, not taking things apart and deactivating them,” Wan shrugs.
Fortunately, the door isn't locked, just barricaded by heavy timbers. It's simple enough to remove the timbers and open the door.
Alcoves along the walls might once have been storerooms, but the stone shelves are all empty. The room smells foul, due to its use as a prison. Two human men and one woman are here, clad in rags and suffering from malnutrition. Each bears a bird tattoo on the right shoulder that marks them as members of the Osprey Club.
"Thank you!" they say, crying with relief. "Please, help us get out of here so we can get back to Otari. I'm sure our boss, Yinyasmera, will pay you well for rescuing us!"
"Oh, you poor dears! We found one of your colleagues. He seemed to be particularly enamoured of a statue. Shall we bring his body back with us? I think we might be returning to town now, yes?" Wan's brisk tone makes his demeanour seem particularly cold.
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As Wan speaks Mazul elbows him hard in the side, (not that he can feel it, given Proto). "We're sorry about your friend. And I'm sorry for doubting you, it's just been a hard couple days. Can you walk? Like Wan said we're heading back to town now, so we can escort you and make sure you get there safely." Her own tone is far gentler and less sarcastic than normal.
She has several questions she'd like to ask, (mostly along the lines of 'What were you doing here' and 'Did you see anything we should know about') but refrains from asking them at the moment. It doesn't seem to be the time. Maybe on the way back to Otari?
The thieves all can walk, and they happily follow you out of the dungeon and back toward Otari. Along the way, they recount how they had come to the ruins of Gauntlight a few weeks ago after hearing rumors of treasure stashed in a cavern under the island. They entered through the cave beneath the boathouse, only to get in over their heads when the morlocks attacked them and imprisoned them. They were treated horribly as prisoners and are grateful for your rescue.
You return to Otari where the thieves bid you follow them to Crook's Nook. Crook’s Nook serves several purposes: it’s a public bridge over the Osprey River, a tavern known for serving the best seafood in town, and a cheap place to stay for the night. Its attic serves as the guildhall for Otari’s thieves’ guild, the Osprey Club—a function that’s perhaps the town’s worst-kept secret, as evidenced by the edifice’s very name.
The owner of Crook’s Nook is a lanky woman named Yinyasmera. While she’s never run for mayor, her influence in town remains as strong as that of any publicly elected official thanks to her position in the Osprey Club. Yinyasmera keeps her illicit operations from overly inconveniencing Otari’s citizens and economy, so Captain Longsaddle turns a blind eye.
Yinyasmera is grateful for her "employees" rescue, and happily provides you with a 50 gp reward, as well as promises of her personal support and respect.
Zin collects the bag of coins. "Thanks, just glad we found them in time. Another night and they may not have made it."
Zin sits down for a bite to eat. "You happen to have a few rooms available by chance as well?" He delicately cracks open a crab with a dagger and sucks out the succulent meat. "This is the best in town."
Wan seems a bit ruffled at the prospect of heading off to the Crook's Nook upon returning to town. He excuses himself and heads off to his domicile, promising to return.
"Just to freshen up, sweetlings! I will return; don't cry!"
Upon returning, Wan (sans Proto, which has been conspicuously left behind), follows the team into Yinyasmera's place. The tengu seems conspicuously demure as well. The offer a quality chowder is too much to completely dampen Wan's demeanour, and he raves alongside Zin as he demolishes two straight bowls of the seafood stew.
"You can taste the brine! It's quality seafood that you notice first, but the broth is this magical wagon train that ties the dish together..."
After letting out a raucous belch, Wan announces that he needs to go sit on his nest (whatever that means) and abruptly departs.
Yinyasmera smiles at the praise for her cooking. ”We do have some open rooms. You are welcome to stay here, free of charge.”
At the Osprey Club, Mazul nods at Zin's comment. "They were imprisoned next to the last room we checked before heading back to town. I don't know what gods they worship, but they should probably offer a few extra prayers tonight in thanks."
She's honestly a little surprised that Yinyasmera gives them a reward for a job she didn't ask them to complete, but pleased with the free money nevertheless. The free meal is also appreciated. "A hot meal after scouring a cold dungeon; nothing better. Thanks."
She doesn't need the room, nor does she have anything in particular she wants to do before heading back to Gauntlight the next day. She's content to let someone else, (probably Zin), take care of the hard work of selling the loot while she relaxes in her own room with a good book.
That night, a small group of kobolds arrives in Otari and seeks out Toska at the Crook's Nook. They speak to the barbarian for a while, then Toska comes to you all with an apologetic look on his face. "I have to go now. My clan needs me," he says. "It has been fun fighting by your side, but duty calls. I wish you luck with the rest of your exploration!"
"I'm sorry to see you go, Toska. If you or your clan ever need help, you know where to find us." Mazul pats the kobold on the shoulder. "Don't forget what I said about arm-wrestling; it's not cheating, it's taking advantage of other people's expectations." She winks at him with a smile.
"Toska! Sweetling! We will miss you so. I, personally, have grown very fond of you and your ragey ways. May the winds always fill your sails, and your nest always remain warm."
Wan gives Toska a firm hug, followed by a peck on both cheeks - literally (but gently).
Zin gives a curt nod to the kobold. "You were the bravest among your kind I have encountered so far. I hope one day we may see you soon under better circumstances."
In the morning Zin goes with Wan to find a crafter about getting the rune set into his weapon (3.5 GP) and sell off a bit of the equipment they found.
Akkaboo gives Toska a hug before he departs. "Be nice," she says, pushing a crumpled drawing of a small kobold wielding a giant glowy sword with some extra squiggles for good measure into his hand.
