[AP] Iron Gods by GM Rutseg

Game Master Balacertar

Rhoreen puts away her dagger, happy to have it be so successful in dealing with the threats. It's not her forte, but it's a good outcome nonetheless.

"Alright, let's see what this thing is made of..." Rhoreen begins to inspect the Collector, but then stops. "WAIT! <*sound*>," Rhoreen makes a sound like a goblin rat tearing into a two year old orc ration. "Did you say you heard something earlier? Where was that?"

She turns her attention away from the Collector and listens.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 Perception

Yambul shudders a bit at the invasion of tech into Chaance. I mean sure, it was one thing to use it as Zzvkgrogk does, but quite another to have it inside you. Ugh!

He steps up, gripping his falchion tightly. The whole team was behind him, urging him forward. He had but one chance, make it count!
Falchion: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 3 = 27 (Rüha & Rhoreen aid, studied)
damage: 2d4 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (3, 2) + 9 + 1 = 15 (studied)

critthreat Falchion: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 3 = 17 (Rüha & Rhoreen aid, studied)
damage: 2d4 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (2, 3) + 9 + 1 = 15 (studied)

Aid doesn’t stack with itself, right? So I just get +2 from Rüha and Rhoreen, not +4… right?

"Ha! Ha I say, you nasty construct you!" he is joyous at the swing, though he does wonder at Rhoreen's presentience.

As the collector inserts its token, Yambul answers with a devastating blow of his falchion that tears the flying machine in two parts. One lands into the ground, the other one is propelled by the gyros into the ceiling, crashing there and bouncing against a wall before it crashes into the ground too.

With a few sparks the energy quickly dies off.

Combat is over!

Collector: 44 damage, destroyed
Chaance: 10/16 hp, grappled
Yambul: 22/22 hp
Zzvkgrogk: 13/13 hp

Rhoreen is quick to have a look at the strange pod from where the muffled sounds where coming. There she finds the muff led screams for help coming from inside the stasis pod are from none other than Khonnir Bane!

As you open the pod, the man looks at you with relief but something is odd as he looks at you absentmindedly and does not even try to articulate a word to greet you "Hmmmmf" is all he says. This is a completely strange behavior for all of you who know him well.

In addition to his odd behavior, you can see the robots have crippled the man’s legs with surgical incisions, and his arms are all full of small dots as if they have been stabbing needles on him.

A search of the desks against the north wall uncovers several interesting technological devices—most of which are obviously broken, but Rhoreen uncovers in her search several functioning devices, including: a timeworn radiation detector DC 27*, a medlance DC 23*, a timeworn brown nanite hypogun, two nanite canisters, and 2 doses of grade I hemochem DC 23*. All of Khonnir’s gear is strewn among these items as well.

”Sir!” Yambul is overtaken with emotion a bit as he sees poor Baine in the shape he’s in. He turns to the rat, ”Can you fix him?”

Heal (taking 10): 10 + 5 = 15

”Oh! They’ve been torturing him! Look at these incisions. He won’t be able to walk for some time, we’ll have to carry him out. Thing is, he doesn’t have the water breathing, so I don’t think he’ll make the distance. I knew we should have brought something to do that with us just in case.”

GM Rutseg, can we haul him out through the water? Will he be able to hold his breath long enough for us to rush him through?

Zzvkgrogk offers the wand to Chaance then follows Rhoreen and the rest to the pod.

”Can you fix him?”

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

He gives Baine some fresh water. ”I think we need to see ClockFather Kyte. Maybe we can clear out the rest of this complex, and some of us can then go get things from ClockFather Kyte, or bring him with us for his ministrations. We can wait just out side the cave entrance.”

He looks around. ”Maybe there is a cart we can rest Dr.Prof. Baine on... We might be even able to avoid that sociopathic plant.” He thinks outloud, looking around.

DC27*: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28 Techno
"OOH! I've always wanted one of these!!! It's a radiation detector! See?! Look! This is how it works!"
DC23*: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27 Techno
"Ooh, this is a medlance, an unfortunate name."
DC23*: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 Techno
Zzvkgrogk shrugs at the last one. "Anyone know what this is?"

Rhoreen tries to help Khonnir, looking at his face and eyes.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 Heal

"Maybe it's some sort of cancer," Rhoreen offers weakly, happy to see the man, but not being able to help at the moment.

”Oh! They’ve been torturing him! Look at these incisions.”

Rhor looks at the incisions and thinks that Yambul might be right. It might not ovarian cancer.

"Well, one of us can go back and see if the priest has an idea. Maybe he'd want to come back if he knew what we needed," she offers hopefully, in agreement with Zzkgrogk. "Yeah, we gotta do something." Rhoreen will stand protectively with Khonnir.

She will help collect things from the room, then help Khonnir get out.

Yambul takes Khonnir on his shoulders. The man does not feel particularly heavy, although the cook is encumbered and using both hands like that, but he is confident he can bring him up in the lake.

The only question is who is going to breath air into the man's lungs as you make your walk through the sunken tunnel.

Rūha offers to take up the legs while Yambul carries Khonnir's torso. "However addled he might be, he's alive. I can't ask for much more than that. I like Zzvkgrogk's idea. We can bring Khonnir back to the shores of the cave and someone can go back through to let the priest know our predicament. He might have a potion of waterbreathing or something similar that we could bring down with us."

"As for everything else... there will be plenty of time for exploring this place further later."

The robot produces a rectangular token while holding Chaance on place, and with a fast movement opens a small fissure in the elf's skin and inserts the token there, quickly soldering the skin with a focused burning light from its other arm.[/b]

Chaance inspects her arm, palpating it methodically, testing the soldering line for signs of weakness or stress. She resists the desire to rip it open immediately, but her attention is laser-focused.

"It’s a tracking device! It’s tagged you!”

"Zzvkgrogk, you know what this is? Is it bad? What should I do? We should cut it out, right? Can you cut this out? It doesn't explode, does it? We should cut it out. Please, I can't do it myself."

The elf extends the body part currently housing the piece of tech, hoping she'll be free of it, after a bit of frontier surgery.

...

Chaance looks on, as the others help Khonnir. She's still as a deer, imagining every incision or needle stick on the mage as something very possible on her own person. "These TickTocks are horrid little things. I can't imagine what he went through, ending up like this."

"Yes, let's see to Khonnir first. We trace our steps back, so we don't needlessly risk encountering more hostiles."

"Zzvkgrogk, you know what this is? Is it bad? What should I do? We should cut it out, right? Can you cut this out? It doesn't explode, does it? We should cut it out. Please, I can't do it myself."

Zzvkgrogk nods, shrugs agnostically, pulls out a small pocket knife "Usually for cheese," he explains, then nods, shakes his head, and nods again.

Heal: 10 + 7 = 17 "Hopefully it's not too deep. Otherwise, you might want to break out some whiskey or something..."

~~~

When it comes to evacuating Baine, Zzvkgrogk considers a new possible option. Why swim if I don’t have to? ”I don’t weigh much, especially in water. I could sit on Baine while Yambul carries him, and breath for him…” He holds up a straw.

Zzvkgrogk retrieves some cool parts from the remains of the Collector Robot. He tries to grab the engine flywheel, but it proves to cumbersome. ”Hmmmph.” he grunts. ”We’ll just have to come back.”

He waits until everyone is at least 20 feet away from him before trying the timeworn radiation detector.

Glitch, High good: 1d100 ⇒ 35
Glitch!: 1d100 ⇒ 58

Much to his surprise, the item functions normally!

He gives Baine some fresh water. ”I think we need to see ClockFather Kyte. Maybe we can clear out the rest of this complex, and some of us can then go get things from ClockFather Kyte, or bring him with us for his ministrations. We can wait just out side the cave entrance.”

"As for everything else... there will be plenty of time for exploring this place further later."

"Yes, let's see to Khonnir first. We trace our steps back, so we don't needlessly risk encountering more hostiles."

”I agree, let’s get him out to safety and then we can come back and continue investigating, tomorrow maybe, and keep trying to find the others while Mr. Baine recuperates.”

Yambul is a little disappointed Chaance asked for Zzvkgrogk, and not him to help with his arm. But he must agree, a cheese knife is probably better than his chef’s knife which might leave scars. And he’s still learning but Zzvkgrogk seems to be really good at it!

Zzvkgrogk considers. Why swim if I don’t have to? ”I don’t weigh much, especially in water. I could sit on Baine while Yambul carries him, and breath for him…” He holds up a straw.

Yambul loves the idea, and hoists Baine with Rüha’s help. He makes his way to the water, where he carefully lowers Baine into it - with Zzvkgrogk ready to go.

He’ll move quickly through the underwater bits. As quickly as he can dragging Baine and the rat with him.

I expect he'll just walk along the bottom, but he also has a Swim +8 if need be.

Rhoreen will help as much as she can with Khonnir, breathing as needed for the man. Just because she can't carry his weight doesn't mean she isn't proudly trying to do what he can.

Perhaps hoping the ratman little hands will be less painful that the falchion holding ones of the chef, Chaance puts her arm on Zzvkgrogk's hands. The cheese knife is stabbed in the skin and through a bit of pain a small slice is cut extracting the tracking chip and applying some strength afterward to avoid the bleeding.
-1 hp

When Zzvkgrogk turns on the detector, the device starts to tick softly, and a blue area is drawn on the glass on top of it. Zzvkgrogk knows from Scrapwall's experience this means low radiation. Now, the display is only a 2D map, that means, the radiation might be as much up, down or here.

With Bane over your shoulders, you take the arduous but encouraging trip back to the surface, through the broken ancient vessel ruins, the desert, the skulk's caves and finally reach the pond. With the help of everyone's strength and ingenuity, and Zzvkgrogk pumping air on the man's lungs, you finally manage to emerge into Torch without your rescued suffering further by the trip.
Yambul swim: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

As you walk through the streets people start to flock watching in awe your arrival, not only all of you still alive, but carrying the lost Council member. You are praised and clapped as you make your way and some curious ones try to ask you how did you do it or where did you find him. Soon, all of Torch will know about the great achievement and the group responsible of it.

Eventually you reach the bronze wind chimes and clockwork statues that decorate the domed portico of the Temple of Brigh. Inside you are received by an enthusiastic Joram Kyte "In the name of the Bronze Lady, you made it!!!"

The man does not lose too much time with questions before channeling energy to heal all of your wounds and then follows up with some restorative magic, not to heal Bane completely, but to clear his mind enough to ease his tongue "Where was him? What happened?"
lesser restx2: 2d3 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4

As you question Khonnir, he makes an attempt to talk, although it is clear he has a hard time to communicate still "Zzanks my friends... it's been horribble"

"We folowet da' trail left by the Brigh worshipers, foughzt our way through the awakenet zkeletons, and defeatet their zombie leader when he confronted us. We headet into da' science deck, where we destroyed the mold in da' entrance, but not before Gerrol, became infacted. He ran away, I-I hope he fared better than us." Khonnir brings his fingers to the temples making a clear strong effort to go through the clouds in his mind and the stress of the situation described "We wa're overwhelmet soon thereafter by several constructs... we faught with magic and blade, and destroyet a few, but they tracked us and could not go through the hull of da' flying one. They took me after killing da' others I fear..."

Rhoreen stands with Khonnir and listen carefully to his story, and will explain what the party has done if Khonnir wants to hear (and she is sure the Clockfather might as well).

”…and so we ran outside to quickly heal up, then charged back in to take out that flying construct. That’s when we found you. Seems like there is more to explore down there, but that can wait another day. It was important to get you out,” she will explain.

She will have more questions but doesn’t want to overwhelm anyone at the moment.

Isn’t lesser restoration a d4? Though I hesitate to mention it as you could roll lower… :)

Yambul would have cast Prestidigitation when they left the water, especially to clean Baine as much as possible of that nasty stuff.

He is pleased to get Baine into the hands of the priest. While he’s administering to him, he asks Joram, ”Can we have more water breathing tomorrow? There are still rooms to check, and while it seems likely Baine is the only survivor, we should be sure.”

He listens respectfully to Baine’s description, and Rhoreen’s replies. He has nothing to add beyond his plea for more magics tomorrow. He stands in the back, warm with the pleasure - and relief - of having succeeded in their main goal.

Rūha shoos away the townsfolk as they start crowding the weary team and their wizardly rescuee. She clears her throat no less than three times as people get in the group's way, and gently moves one insistent celebrant out of Yambul's path.

Once at Joram Kyte's, she listens quietly to Khonnir's explanation. Afterward, she pulls the others aside for a moment "I presume he didn't speak like this before he went missing? I wouldn't expect so, but better we clear that up before I insult the man." Once she gets the confirmation she returns to Joram and Khonnir.

"Khonnir seems to be under some heavy debilitation, if your magic wasn't able to lift his burden. Do you have a sense for what might be wrong with him, Joram? We know that the medical robots and other automata there were likely injecting him with all manner of substances." She sweeps her gaze over the wizard. "I can't feel happy bringing him back like this, without helping him with whatever they inflicted him with, if I can."

”No, he wasn’t quite like this, Ruha,” Rhoreen answers the big woman(?) with 4 arms. ”Maybe he just needs time and rest. He’s been through a lot, no doubt. But also, if he is not getting better, then maybe we should go back to see if we can find either what happened to him in more detail, or find something to fix him. Either way, I think he, and all of us, need to rest now.”

Rhoreen suggests giving the man some space.

”Let’s meet tomorrow for breakfast. Then we can see how he is doing, then plan next steps?”

Oooops!: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
As minutes pass, the recovery seems a bit better on Khonnir, but he is still far from good.

Khonnir's mind is still a bit overwhelmed and cannot really process what information you give him, but Joram Kyte does in fact ask you about the details of what you have found "So you mean there is some kind of desert world there below? And it was made to examine beings from other worlds?"

"Sure good Yambul, come here tomorrow and I will hand you more water breathing" the priest smiles in real good mood "The restoration worked quite well, I think Rhoreen is right and Khonnir only needs some more rest Rooha" patting the shoulder of the recovered friend "And now, you are going to tell Val to take care of you and have a good rest. No more hero-be expeditions on a time. Let's the next generation do that this time."
Heal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Afterwards you bring Khonnir together to the Foundry where Val is ecstatic by the arrival and gives the man a strong hug and serves you with all you need. You are free to take another route or do other stuff after dropping the man home of course.

"So you mean there is some kind of desert world there below? And it was made to examine beings from other worlds?"

"Yes, that's what we think was there, and how it worked," Rhoreen says. "When you feel up to it, we can go back and check it out. I think it will be safe if we're all there, I'm sure. Besides, we need to get the fire lit again, don't we?"

* * *

If and when the party decides that they are going to split up until morning, Rhoreen will head to the marketplace to help sell the good that need selling, and hopefully find that one merchant to really wanted the parties interesting finds to see if he wants any of the scraps and bits Rhoreen collected.

She also wants to describe what she saw and learned, and hopefully have him fill in the gaps.

"...so yeah...the key cards were surprisingly important. I think we need to find a white one."

"I presume he didn't speak like this before he went missing? I wouldn't expect so, but better we clear that up before I insult the man."

”Ah, no… he appears to be in reduced capacity from his… ‘treatment’ from those awful Collectors and medi-drones in the wrecked starship… he is usually very quick and articulate. It’s usually hard to keep up with him. But under ClockFather Kyte’s care, he will be mended soon.”

”ClockFather Kyte, how is your 'Stench Prevention Big Iron Can for Sorted Waste Disposal'" coming along? Is it in need of parts? There are quite a few parts we collected…” he explains pulling out everything from the solenoid to the eight inch cyclotron. ”I am not worthy of The Hammer, but I can collect parts for the causes. Maybe someday I’ll collect enough parts to create a battery charger!”

"And now, you are going to tell Val to take care of you and have a good rest.”

”OOH, yea! It’s been ages since I had a ginger beer. What do you say after selling some stuff, we grab a couple of suds and head over to The Silverdisk – see what Garmen Ulreth has to offer. Then maybe hit the nest. Er, bedroll. Whatever you all call it.”

Rūha eyes Khonnir with concern, despite the statements from Rhor and Joram. Mental decline was not exactly something you could sleep off. And if magic wasn't able to undo it, that meant that maybe some kind of vectors were still in his system. Then again, she was no doctor, and the extent of her medical knowledge was a class she'd taken a long time ago in first aid. Maybe they were right. Time would tell.

With Khonnir in good hands, Rūha heads over to bring Dolga Freddert up to speed on the happenings beneath the Black Hill. She keeps some of her introspective speculations about the nature of the Androffans to herself, but otherwise provides some comments on the technology and hazards within. She finishes with "With the robots all uncontrolled as they are, they are quite the hazard to anyone exploring the halls. If they get out, I can see the town also being in trouble. So we'll be heading back in tomorrow."

Temple of Brigh
"Ah! My SPBICfSWD? We already have two prototype units, and you know what, people is coming for more. The waste is filling every house backyard. We need to lit that fire" the father smiles at Zzvkgrogk desire to help and accepts some of the parts "Yes Rhoreen, please need that flame again child, I cannot be doing collecting waste material for the rest of my life..."

Marketplace
Sanvil Trett is very interested on what Rhoreen has to explain about their findings, and he buys all the technological stuff at a fair price and without pickiness for the dented parts "You say you found all these stuff bellow Black Hill? This is very interesting stuff... do you think I can go with you in your next foray? I would love to colle... to see this with my own eyes. Maybe I can help you find those white cards."

Dolga's Foundry
Dolga Freddert listens Rūha attentively and ponders carefully all the information "I can hardly believe that thing has been there down for such a long time without none realizing about it until now... Thanks a lot for bringing back Khonnir alive. As promised..." the dwarf delivers a bag full of coins 4000 golds to the four armed Kasatha, as well as a scroll of resurrection "As we do not need to bring him back from the death, you can keep the scroll for yourselves. And remember, there is still a 4000 golds reward for restoring the purple flames."

"As about that kind of lift you were mentioning... tell your friends you can use my Foundry for any crafting work you need to fix the parts to make that lift work again so you can explore the top areas"

Khonnir's mind is still a bit overwhelmed and cannot really process what information you give him, but Joram Kyte does in fact ask you about the details of what you have found "So you mean there is some kind of desert world there below? And it was made to examine beings from other worlds?"

”And it’s huge! We’ve only just scratched the surface.” Yambul exclaims happily.

Yambul spends the afternoon smiling. We saved Baine! he keeps telling himself joyously. Sure, there were others to save, or at least reclaim their bodies, but Baine is home safe and on the road to recovery. A long road perhaps, spanning weeks without further clerical aid no doubt, but alive.

”OOH, yea! It’s been ages since I had a ginger beer. What do you say after selling some stuff, we grab a couple of suds and head over to The Silverdisk – see what Garmen Ulreth has to offer. Then maybe hit the nest. Er, bedroll. Whatever you all call it.”

”No thanks. I’m in a good mood, and I don’t want to sully it with that den of gambling.” he frowns clearly having no interest, ”But you go ahead, and have a good time for me!”

He’ll visit with Val to see if there’s anything he can do in the kitchen for her. ”I’m sorry I’ve been gone these hours every day lately, but I’m here now and ready to work!” He’ll use his old knife while cooking though. He doesn’t want to dull his new masterwork blade on prep cooking.

Yambul will work in the inn, or just hang out there if Val doesn’t need anything - just in case. He’s ready early the next day to make another foray into the underground lair.

The next morning, Yambul asks Zzvkgrogk to take another look at the Hemochem to try and ID the contents (DC 23). He’ll also offer the cloak of resistance around if anyone wants it. If no one does, he’ll put it on himself, to improve his chances (cloak of resistance +1 anyone?).

Everyone please take a look at the loot sheet. I think we should sell the tech stuff as a wand of CLW, even without the discount, is far, far cheaper a way to obtain healing. But if there’s stuff your character wants, speak up now before Yambul sells it all.

Rhoreen will take the cloak +1 but others should have it first.

Rhoreen will help sell supplies, as previously noted.

"You say you found all these stuff bellow Black Hill? This is very interesting stuff... do you think I can go with you in your next foray?"

Rhoreen shrugs, not really having an opinion on it.

”Yeah, sure,” Rhoreen comments. ”But it’s dangerous down there. I almost died, let alone what Yambul has gone through. I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you, but I won’t argue against you joining us…it’s just…dangerous.”

What are the chances of Rhor finding a lvl 3 wand of Magic Missile?

"Usually for cheese...Hopefully it's not too deep. Otherwise, you might want to break out some whiskey or something..."

The cheese knife is stabbed in the skin and through a bit of pain a small slice is cut extracting the tracking chip and applying some strength afterward to avoid the bleeding.

Chaance grits her teeth, but she doesn't look away. Her desire to know she's free of the violation to her body is stronger than her squeamishness at the sight of her own blood.

"Thank you, Zzvkgrogk. I will rest easier without that piece of metal under my skin."

...

Chaance listens intently to Khonnir and his Tale of Androffan Woes, as well as Rhoreen's debriefing. None of it speaks to Revion's disappearance, but she doesn't press her concern onto the slowly-healing sage. She follows the others back to the Foundry, very content to partake of a shared meal.

"OOH, yea! It’s been ages since I had a ginger beer. What do you say after selling some stuff, we grab a couple of suds and head over to The Silverdisk – see what Garmen Ulreth has to offer...”

"No thanks. I’m in a good mood, and I don’t want to sully it with that den of gambling. But you go ahead, and have a good time for me!”

"Oh! Yes, now that we have some time, I should probably catch you all up on Ulreth, as I understood it. It's certainly a lively hall," Chaance shrugs her shoulders at Yambul, "I've never myself visited a gambling den, so it's given me a measure of such places."

The elf starts with her opinion of the hall. "The mostly-naked men dancing I could have done without, but there was nothing overtly impolite about the visitors. There was talk about Jhestine of Tempting Tonics. There might be a clearance sale, as the woman is rumored to have a love in Chesed, and wants to depart Torch." A sip on her wine, and Chaance continues. "There are also some young men who have traveled from Iavendeigh, and are struggling with their crops being tainted by contaminated waters. They're looking for help, of course."

"Now, Garmen himself. I inquired about my brother. Garmen baited me with work, in order to review his reception books, should Revion, that's my brother, have passed through his Hall. Privacy concerns, apparently. He asked me, well, possibly us all, if we'd investigate one of his properties for signs of an intruder, and 'discourage' them from intruding further." Chaance waits to hear what her associates might have to say on this. "It's a warehouse."

"Now, I was lucky enough to turn my house credit into real gold, then unlucky to draw the attention of a tiefling. One who already knew my name. He was kind enough to offer me his- Hyrsek Caio. He is interested in learning about someone called Therace. Apparently, Therace is interested in alien technology, much like Zzvkgrogk." The elf considers what else to say about the Silverdisk Hall.

"We all know Yambul's aversion to the Silverdisk, but each of you have the chaance to win gold, truly. I wouldn't miss that opportunity, even if it comes to nothing. As for den owner or tiefling, I am unsure whether I would benefit further in helping them in their requests."

Zzvkgrogk keeps one of the flare guns.

”Hey, does anyone want the radiation detector? Anyone can use it!” If no one takes the radiation detector, Zzvkgrogk pockets it. He looks over the Cloak +1. He looks down at his own cloak, then back to the Cloak +1. His eyes glitter. This is a newer cloak! ”Do you suppose this is made of woven bleater fur?” he asks.

"You say you found all these stuff bellow Black Hill? This is very interesting stuff... do you think I can go with you in your next foray? I would love to colle... to see this with my own eyes. Maybe I can help you find those white cards."

Zzvkgrogk frowns, his beady eyes fixed on Sanvil. He wholeheartedly supports Calliope. ”What? Collect what? You were going to say you would love to go down there and collect — what? What do you expect to find there worth collecting? Maybe we can collect it for you, and you can avoid the army of Skulks, , the swarms of – uh, googely eyed beetles… And – Oh Brigh! The boiborn oozes! …”

”The gremlins…” he continues, muttering in contempt hoping to have offput Sanvil of the whole idea. ”Oh, yea – there’s logs of electrical hazards down there as well! Speaking of which, what can we do about charging these batteries?” Zzvkgrogk plops two drained batteries onto the negotiating table.

”This though,” he says holding up the cable coupling from the elevator circuit in need of repair, "isn’t for sale. Calliope is going to reforge this. It’s so we can fix an ele – uh thing. Door. C’mon Calliope, let’s forge!”

Zzvkgrogk listens intently, his eyes wide as Chaance describes the gambling hall. His head spins with all the information. ”Revion? You are looking for your brother? Tiefling?” He shakes his head. ”I have never heard of this Therace. That all does sound intriguing. Shall we help them out after we clear out the starship and fix the flame?”

The next morning he tries to identify the Hemochem.
KnowEngDC23*: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24 Techno
”Oh, right.. I remember now. See what rest can do for you? This is Hemochem . It stops bleeding and promotes healing… I bet it goes with the medlance.” He yawns, and heads out to get some pancakes.

Having forgotten the reward up until now, Rūha is taken aback by the sudden treasures being thrust in her general direction. Still, once she recovers, she realizes the others would probably appreciate everything, so she accepts the reward with repeated thanks.

Once back at the Foundry, she distributes the treasure and payment between the members of the investigation team, while leaving the scroll in the hands of whoever is closest to Joram Kyte - the one who would probably best understand such a powerful divine magic. She also mentions that Dolga's workshop is at the team's disposal for repairing the pieces needed to get the elevator functioning once more.

While Chaance explains what she learned at Silverdisk Hall, Ruha slumps into a seat in the Foundry's common room. She half-listens, thoughts wandering back to the strangeness all mixed up underground. The Androffans, the explorers, the kidnapped Kasatha, and all those robots turned mad by the passage of time. She rests her head on the arms, frowning behind her mask at the mention of a tiefling interested in alien technology, but soon things get hazy. She falls asleep in her chair, quietly snoozing away the exhaustion of the long day.

Market Square
Rhoreen finds a man that sells magical trinkets, when she asks about the wand, the man hesitates "Those you are asking are advanced magics, the Tecnic League hoard that stuff and anyone dealing with such quickly bring their attention. But... I know of certain contact that smugs such items from the wizards' eye during their scrap-raids and sells them. Name is Paola." if Rhoreen is interested the trademan gives her the address of a warehouse in Torch under the promise he will be cited as the contact man.

Sanvil Trett smiles back at Zzvkgrogk "Collect more scrap. I was hopping by going myself I can get a share and do a better business, as much as learn more directly about it." he looks down at the batteries "Mmm... you will need a generator to load those ones. They are rare, you can travel to the capital, Starfall, and pay the Tecnic League taxes to access one, or you can buy me two fully loaded batteries on exchange of the empty ones" the man grins "I will only charge you 10 golds for each such a recharging exchange"

Dolga's Foundry
Dolga smiles at Rūha's surprise by the reward "Do not be ashamed, for you have brought goodness to this town, and I think all citizens are starting to recognize this. I know this might seem strange to you, but all this has value here and will help you to bring others to help you."

And when the Kasatha is up to leave, she adds "Oh, a last thing. Please, if it is not too much, make sure to get rid of that fungus infection that ended poor Gerrol Sonder. We do not want it to expand upwards and into town."

Next day

During breakfast time, Val is very happy and hands you over sweet crepes made by Yambul's skillful hand "Thanks again for bringing back father. I..." she looks up at Yambul and adds "We are forever indebted to you."

Rūha and Yambul distribute new money around the party, which gives the chance for better preparation if the party wishes to prepare better. Chaance updates you about Silverdisk.

Khonnir Baine wakes up and joins the table while you are finishing your breakfast. He smiles at you, but his talk feels as clumsy or worse than yesterday, if you were hopping for a quick recovery, today's rest does not seem to have done any good on him, despite he seems to move more nimble, and almost without help.

Yambul spends a little time with Sanvil, giving him first crack at the technical and other loot if he has the coin for it. As for him joining the group back down there, he advises against it, ”As Rhoreen suggested, it’s very dangerous down there. A few of the fights were touch and go, and we’ve had to retreat. We cannot protect you down there. It’s not for sight-seers. At least not yet.”

Party Divvy
Each of us receives 1,274gp. No group purchases this time around.

He’ll hold onto his gold, knowing that to obtain the falchion he wants will be quite expensive. He’ll just have to plod along with what he had for the moment.

If anyone wants a grand on loan for stuff, let me know!

Yambul will linger over breakfast, and smiles when Val thanks them again. "So, should we fix that box thingy before we go back? I mean we could do that this morning, then head in. I dunno how long it'll take to fix."

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16 Fort

* * *

”This, though, isn’t for sale. Calliope is going to reforge this. It’s so we can fix an ele – uh thing. Door. C’mon Calliope, let’s forge!”

Rhoreen looks shocked at Zzvkgrogk's outburst, but quickly agrees with her ratlike friend. "Yeah, we're going to do some metal workery to the doohickey. We'll get it right as rain, pretty quick too. And yeah, it's dangerous down there."

Walking away from Sanvil, Rhoreen turns her attention to the task that Zzvkgrogk has set them on.

"Yes, I think I have enough tools for the job, but getting it hard enough without the Forge might be difficult. And I'm sure the two of us, working together, can get it done," Rhor says, excited by the challenge.

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 Craft (mechanical)

* * *

"...someone called Therace. Apparently, Therace is interested in alien technology, much like Zzvkgrogk."

"Someone named Therace?" Rhor's eyebrows quirk up, as if she is trying to remember something.

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11 Know History

Is that name familiar?
* * *
Will need to save the wand buying for the next distribution. Not sure Rhor is going to have that much cash just yet. It's a good scene and will come back to it. She's a bit too proud to borrow money. Not when she could earn it on her own.

Rūha wakes up sore and disheveled and ends up disappearing for the first half-hour of the morning. She spots back in the common room briefly to pick up a crepe with each hand before disappearing once more. When she finally makes it back to the group, her attire is tidy and the crepes are nowhere to be seen.

She sighs when she sees Khonnir struggling "I've sorry Val, but it seems it may take a while for him. Either that or we will need to learn more about what happened to him down there so we can reverse it more... thoroughly." She places a reassuring hand on her shoulder and nods.

When Rhor mentions the repair work, Rūha comments "Though I won't be useful, I will come with you. I expect the two of you will be quite impressive in action, given what I've heard from you both so far."
----

Later on, when the group reconvenes with (hopefully) a repaired part, Rūha asks "In addition to the unexplored elevator, we have the rest of what appears to be the medical wing to explore. Dolga reminded me yesterday, but we did not manage to track down the source of the spores that infected Gerrol. As much as I would like to stay away from that particular hazard, it seems to now be our responsibility to do something about it." She shrugs "We also have parties in town interested in us. Do we want to talk to this tiefling that Chaance mentioned, as well as Garmen, before they think to come after us instead?"

Market
Sanvil shrugs and smiles at Yambul "Oh, well, I do not want to be a nuisance to you. Keep the parts flow coming though. Given your success I think I will stay a few extra days in town to see what else can you bring up."

Today
Rhoreen has not heard Therace name before, that is, unless she had some Kellid familiar by this name, in which case the name would be familiar by all sorts.

The coupling repair process takes 8 hours. It requires a Technologist to avoid pitfalls but working along with Zzvkgrogk fulfills this point as the ratman aids Rhoreen with why the pins shall be made in a certain shape.
DC 25
Even with the ratman's help, the glaucite is too hard to work without the flame and despite Rhoreen will never accept this openly, she has no idea what is she trying to achieve. The half-elf works fine though, and at the least does not ruin the piece. After a workday of hard work you think you can continue on it tomorrow and maybe make it. It was perhaps the headache.

While they work on the crafting, the rest of you can do some other activities, like work or gather information, train or just enjoy yourselves.

After the 8 hour work you can join together and do some afterwork stuff or some overwork stuff like the one proposed by Rūha, unless the elf and the kasatha want to deal with that while the others work.

There is still the security bin you dragged back home.

"In addition to the unexplored elevator, we have the rest of what appears to be the medical wing to explore. Dolga reminded me yesterday, but we did not manage to track down the source of the spores that infected Gerrol. As much as I would like to stay away from that particular hazard, it seems to now be our responsibility to do something about it. We also have parties in town interested in us. Do we want to talk to this tiefling that Chaance mentioned, as well as Garmen, before they think to come after us instead?"

"I'm disinclined to talk further with the tiefling. There's something about him that niggles. I am certainly in favor of speaking further with proprietor Ulreth. I'll understand if not all of us choose to. Still, our vouchers were written out in each of our names, and it would be a shame not to use them." Chaance looks at Yambul evenly. "Otherwise, I'd place your wager for you."

Chaance turns to the kasatha. "Roo, when you're ready to head over to the Silverdisk, I'll join you, if you're amenable."

The elf will use her time to inquire about Torch, regarding her brother, also interested in speaking with Khonnir when he is well enough. She marks him for her best chaance to learn something of Revion, though she is not exactly hopeful.

When Rhor mentions the repair work, Rūha comments "Though I won't be useful, I will come with you. I expect the two of you will be quite impressive in action, given what I've heard from you both so far."

"Oh, yeah, come, Ruha," Rhoreen is not at all flustered by the interest from the large woman(?) with many arms who's people who may have or may not have saved her life. It's nothing. Please look someplace else for things to read because Rhoreen is not.at.all. impacted by this. She tries to make Ruha welcome as she works to fix the device, and, ultimately, fails.

"Dammit, <*sound*!>!" Rhoreen makes a sound like a centaur hacking up an accidentally swallowed hemochem, but proudly because Zzvkgrogk is her friend. "I think I completely screwed this up. I'm not sure what nabob goes to which thingamadoozy. Not sure I did this correctly." Rhoreen begins to pout in frustration, ashamed that she failed.

"I think it would be *SO* much easier if the Flame were rekindled, the heat we have is just...insufficient to the task," Rhoreen tries to deflect blame. "I think we need to get back down there and get the flame lit."

Rhoreen feels she needs to do more research and reading before she will try it again. She's worried about damaging the component permanently.

* * *
Rhoreen doesn't have any thoughts about the security bin at the moment.

* * *
She will return to her home and, thankful that Khonnir is back, go to bed so that she might be ready to return to the undertech in the morning.

After spending a day mostly relaxing and observing the masters at work, Rūha meets back up with Chaance. "You're welcome to place a wager for me as well, as I'd prefer not to gamble. However, I'll be coming along. We might as well see what request Garmen has in store for us." Her brow furrows for a moment "While I'm not exactly inclined to take up a job 'discouraging' intruders, a man like Garmen might have some technology at his disposal that we could make use of."

"I will only charge you 10 golds for each such a recharging exchange"

Is Sanvil offering to sell Zzvkgrogk two fully charged batteries for 10gp and the two empty batteries? If so, deal!

”"Dammit, <*sound*!>! I think I completely screwed this up. I'm not sure what nabob goes to which thingamadoozy. Not sure I did this correctly. I think we need to get back down there and get the flame lit."

”Don’t be silly, Calliope! You can do this. I’ll make an extract tomorrow. It will be your favorite, and we can try again.” He deliberately omits the fact that it might be necessary to fix the elevator before the purple flame can be rekindled for fear that it might put too much pressure on her.

If Rhoreen is willing Zzvkgrogk will make a honey or other flavored extract of Crafter’s Fortune for a +5 Luck bonus to the craft check.

Once back at the Foundry, she distributes the treasure and payment between the members of the investigation team, while leaving the scroll in the hands of whoever is closest to Joram Kyte.

Zzvkgrogk accepts accepts the scroll humbly. ”ClockFather Kyte has been like a brother to me, showing me about town when I first arrived. I was looking to study firearms and other things, and he introduced me to Dr.Prof. Baine.”

”I'll understand if not all of us choose to. Still, our vouchers were written out in each of our names, and it would be a shame not to use them."

Zzvkgrogk nods. ”I’ve been thinking about what you said, Chaance – about Jhestine of Tempting Tonics leaving Torch. I worry if it is not a lover, but really for the same reason that Ulteth is thinking of leaving Torch. It’s because – there is no Torch.” he says, pointing to the now silent and cooled hill. ”...Unless of course, it's Ulreth who is her lover and is also thinking of moving to Chesed, but I digress. I really think the priority should be to try and get the torch going again before our vouchers expire if possible, then visit Silverdisk.”

”Besides, it'll give Cook Boy some time to mull it over, but we should definitely visit before the vouchers expire.”

The next morning
~~~
Zzvkgrogk stares suspiciously at the crepes on the plate in front of him. What kind of pancake is this? He sneaks a glance over at Yambul. Is he feeling O.K. today? He pokes at the thin pancake tentatively with his fork. Is it bigger than it looks?

Bliss fills his being on first bite in an explosion of pleasing flavors (this one is filled with custard), and he practically inhales the crepes. Satisfied, he slowly sips on citrus juice enjoying a general feeling of well being. ”Thank you, Yambul.”

He takes heart in the fact that Khonnir is able to feed himself and move about without much assistance. ”Don’t over do,” he cautions his tutor, ”I think you are healing well, but you’ve been through a lot and it will take more rest.”

Is Sanvil offering to sell Zzvkgrogk two fully charged batteries for 10gp and the two empty batteries? If so, deal!

"Yes" Sanvil strikes the deal with Zzvkgrogk and gives up his part on the charged batteries.

---

Chaance walks around town asking questions to many people through the day. Most people are eager to answer her questions after some complains on how badly the town smells with all that waste in the streets. Some people say to have seen Revion at different times, but after some more questions it is clear they are just talking about some elf they once saw at town. Some ask back if there is any distinguishable feature to recognize Revion from other elves.

---

There seems to be some ongoing discussion about visiting Silverdisk Hall or not, or maybe later, while some others seem more eager to go back to the tehno-ruins. Please, feel free to add any extra activities you wish to do back in Torch.

After a sweet and delicious breakfast, where Chaance tries to ask questions to Baine without much success, you pack your things and go visit Joram Kyte who very gently casts another extended water breathing on you after some chat about current health of his Council friend.

Once everyone is ready, you make it back through the water pond, caves, desert, control module and plant yourselves back in the Science Deck. Opening the southern door there finds a small corridor with two more doors.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Yambul looks up in some surprise, ”Oh, Sanvil, look, I’m sorry. You won’t be a nuisance. It’s just dangerous, that’s all. Look, you’ve been really good about buying all this stuff from us. And we’re dealing square.”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19
”Trust me.”

Later, when when he learns it’ll be a day to try and repair the part asks, ”Do you need help? I mean, can I help? I dunno much about technology or stuff, but I am a jeweler, and I bet my tools would help with the finer bits.”

When we try again, can I aid with craft jeweler as well?

Oh, nice, I hadn’t realized the security bin was transportable.
”Let’s not break it. For one thing, it’s probably made of some hardened substance that makes even that really hard, but for another it’s a nice protected box. Might be we want to use it for something later - once we figure out how to open it anyway.”

Yambul is ready when they go back in, more or less. He wishes they had cold to destroy the mold, but he’s not sure how to make that happen. So he stays mute regarding the whole thing.

Sorry for the lateness in posting!

”Don’t be silly, Calliope! You can do this. I’ll make an extract tomorrow. It will be your favorite, and we can try again.” He deliberately omits the fact that it might be necessary to fix the elevator before the purple flame can be rekindled for fear that it might put too much pressure on her.

"Yes, of course, I'll try again. Maybe, after we return from the UnderTech, I'll have a better idea of what I need to do to fix it," Rhoreen lifts her head pridefully. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll get it next time."

In the meantime, she turns her mind on how to deal with moldy mold.

Does Rhoreen think that Liquid Ice would work to destroy the mold, and is it available in town?

Rhoreen will do some shopping before heading back down. List will be in discussion.

I'm OK with coming back to the in-town loose ends later, but I think we should get the elevator part working first before heading back in, so we have that option once we're inside.

After the others explain more about russet mold, Ruha picks up several bottles of spirits from a general store in town. The higher ethanol content seems like it should do better work against the mold... or at least she assumes so. She stores the bottles carefully in her satchel and heads to join the others before heading back into the caves.

Sanvil accepts Yambul's explanations with a simple nod of his head "Well, let's see what more you can find there then"

The cook offers to help on the crafting, at least lending his tools. He can aid on the group's next attempt.

Rorheen knows only acid, alcohol, or a remove disease spell can deal with the russet mold, before the spores can create a vegepygmy. She knows Jhestine Imierin from Tempting Tonics 13 sells liquid ice, but that is not likely to help with the mold that affected Gerrol. Now, it can help to destroy the brown mold in the Black Hill caves where you found his body.

Rūha on her side, loads herself with alcohol and similar liquids she gets back from town.

I am fine if you want to finish other stuff or spend one more day crafting in Torch. Just give me what activities you do and rolls if some checks are needed.
If you prefer not to, just let me know which of the doors you open next! :)

If it’s OK, Yambul will grab three flasks of acid (-30gp).

He turns to Rüha, ”I think we should go back now, today. I don’t want to wait another day. That looked hard, and could take several days, not just one.”

”We haven’t finished searching the medical areas. Could be someone else is still alive in there, being tortured as Baine was. We have to go back. Quickly.”

Yambul is insistent in his view, but he bows to the majority vote if folks want to wait another day.

Seeing Yambul at the Ye Olde Acid Acquisition Shoppe, Rhoreen is ready to return to the Undertech to see what she can learn.

Sanvil’s
”Done!” Zzvkgrogk says, plopping the two dead batteries and 10 golds onto the trading table. ”We’ll be back, I assure you!”

~~~
”Hey, Chaance, if you don’t mind me asking – did your brother run away?” On the lam, like me! ”Did you come here together? Did he get a headache and wander off? Did you follow him here? Why did he come here?” There is something genuinely familiar about the Elf people to him, yet Zzvkgrogk can not pin point exactly why he feels this, so he needles the Elf with what pins he has. The Question kind.

”We haven’t finished searching the medical areas. Could be someone else is still alive in there, being tortured as Baine was. We have to go back. Quickly.”

”Oh,” Zzvkgrogk sighs regretfully. ”I – I mean, did you see the amount of connective tissue on the floor just between three rooms?” He shakes his head. ”It is not consistent with life. Baine was spared only because of his intellect… I think there is more down there to eradicate, but it can probably wait a day. We can prepare better. Maybe I can prepare something just for the mold and oozes.”

@DmRutSeg how long to prepare an Alkali Flask ?

”Hey, Chaance, if you don’t mind me asking…”

Chaance brightens to speak of her brother. ”Oh, Revion is to the pursuit of frontier knowledge as a mosquito is to an exposed backside. He wasn’t content with the firsthand accounts of Numeria he’d come across. It piqued his interest strongly enough to set him on his own path. I’m only here because he’s overstayed his sabbatical.” Chaance doesn’t look disappointed in the slightest.

…

Chaance relents to the cook’s desire to return to the UnderTech. She has found renewed motivation to see the starship cleared out, and others freed if possible. She rubs her forearm, where once resided her own chip insert. A light case of goosebumps breaks out across the elf’s skin.

”As long as we’re good with our supplies, let’s not lose another day. I’d like to see those moving blood clots eradicated, at the very least.”

…

Preparations in hand, Chaance lets Yambul take point again, growing more comfortable with his leadership. It’s seen Khonnir returned safely, and may yet bring more Torch kin home.

He turns to Rüha, ”I think we should go back now, today. I don’t want to wait another day. That looked hard, and could take several days, not just one.”

”We haven’t finished searching the medical areas. Could be someone else is still alive in there, being tortured as Baine was. We have to go back. Quickly.”

Ruha looks over at the hill, then nods "You're right, as much as I wish it weren't so." She furrows her brow at Chaance's comment "Don't remind me of those moving blood lumps. Surely we can leave those for later."

Assuming we're heading back in, Rūha will ask Rhor to read out a mage armor scroll for her once the group is back in the medical wing. Then, I've place Rūha in front of a door heading south-west we could try next.
Perception to check for hazards, if needed: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Rhoreen will read the scroll and protect the giant 4-armed female(?) because...uh...for many reasons...because she just would.

"The UnderTech is not safe, you should be protected."

"You're all right! What was I thinking, giving up on the others!" Zzvkgrogk looks ashamed. He follows the others to the medical wing.

With things sorted out, the group goes into the medical area. Rūha directs herself towards the southwest door.

C6. Xenobiology
The stench of mold and decay fills this open, dark chamber, no doubt created by the thick blanket of fungal matter coating the floor. Several chairs sit before work tables containing unusual tools and equipment, while a row of doors line the curved southern wall.

There is no light in the room, in part due to the rampant overgrowth of brownish and black molds and fungi in the area. These growths smell somewhat foul and are unpleasant to look at or touch.

The single occupant here is a vibrant plant slowly but dangerously whipping about its trio of tendrils with spiked heads.

As the door opens, the plant wades through the ground, very slowly, but very decidedly towards Rūha!

Depending on your light sources, some of you might be affected by dim light miss chance 20%.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 Know (Nature)

DRs?

”Weedwhip! I think we knew we might see one down here!” Rhoreen draws out an acid flask, and readying for battle. ”Yambul! Bring your hoe!”