The robot, sparking and nearly broken, goes for one last attempt at taking its only consistently-successful attacker down with a series of slams and attempted grabs, though as they've all largely missed in the past... it goes the same way with both attacks missing. Grezzag's axe once again exposes more of the heavily damaged creature, along with some muffled Androffan words as its speakers glitch out:
"Biological sample" and "Patient", but you can't make anything else out.
After more glitching, both the gun-wielders fire shots at the creature, with the magic in Zelvin's bullet, however slight it might be, causing the different that allows it to cleanly sever an exposed cord! Your eyes, in the flash, are assaulted by sparks.
"Put it down!"
Khoran lunges at the robot.
+2 bab +2 flank+1 str +1 flagbearer-1 risky strike
+1 str +1 flagbearer+3 risky strike
The creature is struck hard with the longspear, severing yet another of several braided wires. All you need to do now is sever the main wire!
Hekau will attempt to distract the robot so that Grezzag's blow can land.
Eying the exposed innards, Grezzag times his strike carefully, and with one massive swing, he sends the robot crashing to the floor.
As the robot falls to the floor, electricity sparks all around you. Once Hekau opens the pod containing Baine, he seems... extremely feeble, and can barely even utter a word. Whoever and whatever put him down there, seems to have also affected his mind as well, so you imagine it'd take some time for this to clear up... if it clears up, considering the guy can barely stand.
Now, the all important question: how will the party get Khonnir Baine up to the town so he can be healed up?
"Mr. Khonnir!" Zelvin cries, overjoyed to see his adopted father is still alive, though in a sorry state. "Lean on me, sir," he suggests, taking his arm and putting it around his own shoulders. As anxious as he is to talk to the man, he can see that he is in no condition to question. "I'm guessin' we don't want to go back the way we came, since that blob creature is still feastin' that way. I think I remember east-facin' doors from that first chamber, which if I'm not mistaken would be due west from the last room we explored. Maybe a couple of us could peek down that corridor and see if the way is clear?"
"Whoa there youngster, hold your horses. Let me have a look at him, before you get him up."
Khoran stops Zelvin from getting Khonnir up from the pod, instead, taking a careful examination of the injured man.
3 rank +3 trained +4 wis+1 guidance
"Also, who else is hurt - I can see that Grezzag has taken a whack or two - anybody else?"
"Should we take the time to rest, I can manifest magic to surround Khonnir Baine's head with breathable air. It should then be a simple matter to pull him through the water."
"I am unhurt. I can start scouting out another way out if that is what we want to do. But we may run into something worse then that other creature." Uwe says.
While the others see to Khonnir, Grezzag pokes at the robots they've destroyed and pulls off a few parts (including the syringe that stabbed him) to attach to his trophy necklace.
"Yeah, avoid that blob thing if we can, I got enough cuts that it might try to eat my red stuff."
"We could always camp out in the caves for the night. The priest could come down in the morning to cast his magic on Khonnir so he can get out, maybe he's got some healing for his mind too."
Alyn lingered by the doorway, tapping her fingers against her necklace as she kept watch.
"I'm just worried about what else might be down here," she admitted. "We didn't check everything. Are we gonna be able to handle it if something new sneaks up on us while we're asleep?"
"We could fall back to near the entrance, an area that we have explored more thoroughly. As I said, once I have replenished my mystical energy reserves, I can summon a bubble of air to surround Khonnir Baine's head.
I consider it probable that creatures or robots deeper within do not emerge to the areas near the entrance."
"The fact he was dragged down to this point indicates there is some movement. But if we want to rest, I can try and wedge a door closed so it cannot open." Uwe offers up as an idea.
"I believe that Khonnir Baine's group made it considerably far into the interior of this space on their own before being slain or captured. We know from the Skulks that they made it through the door from the Skulk area. The continued existence of the Skulks (and the mites that we dispatched) suggest that nothing from within emerged to trouble them."
"You rush the healer, you get lousy healing. Let's see what we got here before making plans..."
Khoran, you realize that whatever surgeries have been done to Khonnir have caused massive amounts of brain damage, but considering brain damage caused by lo-tech non-magical injuries can be solved by magic, you surmise that this damage (heavily damaged legs, 13 points of Dex damage, 12 points of Int damage), as Khonnir is half-mad, and his state shocks both of his adopted sons, who have never seen the normally extremely intelligent Wizard-Alchemist act so... incoherent. He rambles about "trying to discover magic," in Taldane, and a single word in Androffan interspersed with the Common -- likely a concept that doesn't exist in Common, or-- even if it does-- is probably only well-known in Alkenstar.
Assuming you arrive on the surface, Val is there, panicking as she realizes how her adoptive father is acting. Not even Val has seen Khonnir like this, so it's likely this is certainly something caused by the robots down in the cave. Val, panicked, asks the group, "What happened? Zelvin, Hekau, is he okay? Will he be okay? Where is Penka?" She looks at bewilderment at Uwe, not having met
She looks like she has a lot more to say and ask, but right now her primary concern is the safety of her father.
Zelvin looks wide-eyed and confused, but does his best to put on a brave face for Val. "He's had something done to him, that's for sure, but Mister Khoran thinks he can be treated with magic. Don't you worry, Val, us and the good folks of Torch will get him fixed up right, as soon as can be." He seems to be saying this as much for himself as for Val. Ever since they found him, he has tried his best to stay close to him, so that he knows his adopted father has something recognizable to latch on to. "Penka got called back to her shop, something about an emergency at home. I'm sure she's okay. This is Uwe. Uwe, this is Mister Khonnir's daughter Val."
"Oh! Hi, Uwe. It's," she says as she gulps, tears welling in her eyes as she realizes her adoptive father (and her two brothers as well) are okay, but then she brings a few more things up. She then wipes the proto-tears, hugs both Hekau and Zelvin, then begins talking "There's also someone here, that merchant who ocassionally spends time in town? Do you remember Sanvil? And, since you found him alive," she says with a bit more pep in her voice, "if any of you need the scroll of resurrection, I don't doubt that they'd be willing to throw it in with the reward."
Sanvil Trett is known as a wandering merchant, courier, and tinker -- a collector of relics and ores, which pretty much everyone believes he resells on the black market to avoid the Technic League finding out. Certainly, the black market outside of Starfall is easier to get into than in Starfall proper. Summarily, he is known throughout central and southern Numeria as a fence who deals in technological items. He's also known to visit Torch more often than other towns, presumably due to... well, the Torch, which is still out-- saving Khonnir not-withstanding.
Zelvin blinks. "Oh, that black market guy? Yeah, he's always selling strange stuff. I guess maybe he'd be interested in some of those artifacts we found down there. I bet he knows more about them than he lets on, though. You think he's already heard we found Mister Khonnir and came by to find out what he saw?"
"I believe Khonnir Baine will recover in time, Val, although such recovery may be accelerated by both magical and mundane assistance."
"Hopefully, no one will need that scroll. But having it is better then not in case. I have not met this Sanvil before. Is he a trustworthy sort?" Uwe says as he considers what the merchant may want.
"Khonnir is badly injured, but not beyond my skill. In time, he will recover fully."
Khoran spends a quarter hour consulting the spirits , and his magic is able to heal some of Khonnir's injuries...
He follows up by channeling energy to heal everyone's assorted boo-boos...
"Yes Val, Khonnir will recover fully, but it will take me a few days. As for what happened to him, hopefully he will be able to tell his tale when he recovers."
Khoran makes sure that Khonnir is set up to rest in his own bed at the forge, and treats him in tribal fashion - good chicken soup!
vs DC 15
3 rank +3 trained +4 wis+2 healers kit +1 guidance
As the spirits' magics heals Khonnir's body, with a little less effect on his mind, he seems more generally able to move his body around... but he's still rambling about magic and lifts in a mix of Androffan and Taldane, with the occassional Hallit word thrown in here and there.
"Oh! Mrs. Freddert would probably like to see that Khonnir arrived back okay, but Sanvil is also looking for you. Do you know what that guy could want? It's not like you found anything other than Khonnir down there, right?"
Hekau will translate the Androffan where he can.
"Once we claim our reward, it is possible that we may wish to purchase items from Sanvil Trett. He may be interested in purchasing some of what we found as well, such as the four-armed creature's short swords."
"There were some crazy robots down there. I'm sure the ol' guy'll tell us more when he's feeling himself again. I reckon we oughta keep looking into it, the torch still ain't lit up again after all."
"Welp, first things first. Let's go report to Dolga Freddert that we have retrieved Khonnir. Once we have done that and collected our reward, we can sell the loot from our little expedition and split it. I'll be spending a day or two healing Khonnir, to put him back together properly. During that time, we can spend our money, maybe meet this Sanvil guy..."
"That sounds great. I would like to continue traveling with you all, if you are interested in the company while searching what lies below." Uwe offers the group.
"Val, is it okay for Uwe to stay with us here?" Zelvin asks, blinking his eyes. "I am so tired, but I'd like to make sure Mr. Khonnir is okay and settled before we do anything else. Can we go see the mayor tomorrow?"
"Oh, it's fine for Uwe to stay here. You probably should go see the mayor tomorrow, as well." Val gives both her adopted brothers another hug. "Hopefully the conversation with Sanvil goes well, he's at the same inn as normal, I think? You probably found lots of cool stuff down there," she says excitedly.
As you re-meet-up with Dolga, with the brain-and-muscular-damaged Khonnir in toe, she looks first to make sure the crazily babbling man really is Khonnir, since normally he'd act a bit... different than he is doing now. "Do any of you know what even happened to get the man in this state? I think it'll heal on its own," she guesses, and then she continues, "but the town managed to scrounge up some extra cash, more than was anticipated to give you for saving 'im. It's the least we can do." she then hands you 600 platinum pieces, making a quick remark about how it's probably easier to carry platinum around then 10 times the weight in gold.
She then holds her hands out, one of which is holding the scroll of resurrection, and makes a remark. "I'll need the writ the flat 20% back now. The 600 platinum is plenty enough as it is, even for the heroes of the town -- at least until someone gets the torch back up and running that is -- bankrupting it and ruining their good fortune now, can we?"
Once you do indeed hand her the writ for a flat 20% off for supplies in town, you and Khonnir head back to the Foundry Tavern -- specifically the area where Khonnir's house proper is, behind the tavern, where over the course of a few days, he heals up. For some reason, he seems insistent on not letting Sanvil talk to you while he's recovering, but once he recovers (at least, mostly, so it's only a few days advancement and he can talk.), he begins to ease up on what seems to be baseless paranoia and begins speaking about what happened.
"The... the group I was with was investigating a broken down structure, the elevator, that should lead to a level in the caves no one has even explored yet. While... while the group was admittedly distracted trying to get the measurements for the metal piece, we were ambushed by the robots, which seemed to have once served some kind of surgical or medicinal purpose since they kept telling us to lie down and remain calm. They were reckless, probably malfunctioning, and so the scrapes killed a few of them." He then shakes a little and takes a breath, offering hugs to Val, Zelvin, and Hekau (although the last one may not necessarily be returned).
Then, he continues. "I am so glad that you two made it back okay. Thank all of you for that. But if you do go back down -- since the torch is still out -- just know that their bodies may have been claimed. I don't know if it's by undead, malignant plant or fungi, or some tech we don't even know about -- but their bodies might be there to stop you in your tracks...," he pauses, takes a sip of the ale with a relieved sigh, and then continues. "If your group wants to go up there, which I believe leads to somewhere where the torch can be fixed -- go on ahead, I'll still need a few days to properly recover. Mind to tell me or Sanvil what you found? Sorry about... properly freaking out earlier, Sanvil just seemed to remind me of an old acquaintance I would rather forget, but it was probably the brain damage from magicless automata trying to figure out magic that caused that."
"An elevator to a new level sounds quite interesting. It would be good to find the missing bodies and see that they are properly laid to rest if possible as well." Uwe says as he muses about what might be found in a new area.
Khoran spends the next few days imposing a ferociously healthy regimen on Khonnir, hopefully resulting in a full recovery.
As you descend back into the caverns, you're told by Khonnir to "get good measurements of the broken [i[lift," interspersed with Androffan for things that (well, most of -- Alkenstar aside) the Golarinite populace hasn't properly invented yet. He says the area you need to enter is behind the door, straight ahead.
This unlit circular room is empty... save for a panel of what appears to be controls on the wall to the northwest. A coil of tubes dangling from the left side of the panel periodically flashes with sparks, while a single square window on the panel blinks with several lines of Androffan text. Those of you that can read Androffan know these lines of text to be several layers of a building -- clearly delineated and labeled. One of these lines is flashing in an alarming red colour, while the other is in a warm blue color. The remaining lines are a very faint blue.
Deck 4: Engineering
Deck 3: Science (blue)
Deck z: Crew
Deck 1: Docking
WARNING: Elevator off-line-please contact maintenance! (flashing red)
Once the lot of you gather the necessary measurements for what appears to be a missing chunk of metal lodged upwards, you realize you could probably even [i[climb[/i] it if you don't wish to wait for Khonnir to forge the proper piece needed to get the machine functional again.
"Climbing is not my greatest skill. Perhaps someone else can climb up and drop down a knotted rope." Uwe says as he looks up the shaft.
Zelvin looks hopefully at Grezzag.
"Climbing is not my greatest skill. Perhaps someone else can climb up and drop down a knotted rope." Uwe says as he looks up the shaft.
Khoran chimes in "Yeah, my old bones don't bounce that well; I ain't getting up there without a rope either. But there's lots of stuff down here to explore."
He gestures at the square window on the panel and asks "By the by, can anyone read the this?"
...
"Yeah, I reckon I could make it up there." Grezzag remarks, peering up the shaft. "I don't understand the writin' here though, so I ain't going to be fixing the Torch by myself. I can take up a rope if you like, but if yer ol' man thinks he knows how to fix it, then we should maybe give that a go first."
He attempts to climb up the shaft and take a peek out at the next level.
"I can read this language," Hekau says.
"It identifies the purpose of the various levels of this structure. The phrasing lends credence to the hypothesis that it is a ship for traveling between planets. The levels are termed 'decks'.
Deck 4 is Engineering
Deck 3 is Science.
Deck 2 is Crew, presumably meaning crew quarters.
Deck 1 is Docking.
The transport between levels, the 'elevator', is currently nonfunctional.
I believe we are on Deck 3."
Grezzag, you see pretty much the same scene as you do on the deck everyone else is on, except there's a pair of doors, currently closed, blocking your view from everything else... and it's locked with the same mechanism the doors on the lower deck used.
Zelvin waits for Grezzag to tie off and throw down his rope.
"Let's finish deck 3 and then we can climb later." Uwe says.