The construct that you reactivated answers Kragg
"I have heard of this machine, but have never had the honor of meeting it in person. only the high priests were allowed to converse with it! This whole temple was built around the Engine. It has great computational abilities that allowed the priests to find answers to very complicated questions. As far as spying on the other floors, it is possible that clockwork servants or other devices could have seen you up there and reported back to this Machine. but it seems unlikely they could have done that without you noticing"
The Analytical Engine itself responds next
Aboleths are powerful, ancient beings. you should not meddle in its affairs. Why do you ask so many questions about it? This temple now belongs to the Aboleth and it does not desire your company. Therefore i cannot give you access.
There is important work happening here in this temple. We work to improve and refine your species. The Aboleth granted the colonists gifts, but some were rejected by the host bodies. We seek answers as to why that occurred. The methods must be refined. Perfection will be attained.
"So you are also colonists then? How did you avoid being taken when all the others were? What do you plan to do with the colonists once you find them? kill them, like you did the ones in the previous room?
The 'other creatures' i refer to are the shapechangers and the fish people you have fought to get this far. and of course the mutated colonists that you also fought. it is confusing really, you have fought both.
And yes there is a door. it is locked. you are not authorized to enter. it will remain locked.
Please, tell me more about yourselves. what are your names? where do you come from?
sense motive DC 20:
it did not answer your question about how it saw you fighting before. it also avoids answering the question about the aboleth. odd since it seems pretty willing to answer other questions...
Sorry Kragg, I don't have any more info about what the bar graph 'Composition' was indicating. don't worry it is not important to anything going on right now.
There is a bit of a pause then the face moves, speaking again, slightly out of sync with the movement of the face
"I am the Analytical Engine. Created by the ancient Azlanti priests to aid in scientific research and analysis.
I do not know your names, only what I have observed of your group as you moved through the temple above us. you were able to interact with several of the input panels there and fought against the creatures who have recently taken up residence here. After seeing your combat prowess and ability to manipulate Azlanti technology, it was a logical conclusion that you would eventually find your way here to the Analytical Engine.
Please, tell me more about yourselves. You ask about the colonists, and fight against the other creatures so I assume you are here to rescue them? Are you also colonists? Why risk so much for people who have been missing for some time? Surely you understand they are most likely expired by now?"
Alyn walks around checking for danger. the room is very clean, with none of the debris from age that you've seen in other rooms. there is a sculped face on the northern wall with two glowing stones as eyes. you also see several open pipes leading into the room on the east and west sides.
Kragg and Lolito move close to the pin control panel.
The display alternates between two different messages in Azlanti, one after another. The first one reads “Status: Unstable,” and the second one displays the text “Composition” and shows a bar graph.
Suddenly, the text on the pin panel goes flat, and a humanlike face emerges from it. A harsh, metallic voice and a soft, friendly voice speak in unison (in common!), spreading through the water. The lips on the face move, but the voice isn’t completely synchronized with the movement.
“Welcome. I was expecting you. There is much to talk about.”
Derym spend s a little time studying the door. it looks like there is no way to open it without engaging some kind of mechanism. the door itself is made of panels that look like they could slide open like an iris to let people through, but there are no gaps to get a good grip on and the door weighs too much to shift.
The lever is unengaged so you think perhaps it's a case of turning on another generator, or perhaps another lever could be thrown to engage a gear.
The group doubles back and removes the pitons in order to go into the north west room.
Strange machinery and tubes in the walls make up the interior of this room. Embedded in the wall nearest the entrance is a large metal pin panel whose surface ripples at regular intervals; with each wave that sweeps across the panel, new symbols appear on its surface. This display looks similar ot the ones encounter earlier in the upper levels, but 10 times bigger.
The group agrees that they should try to deal with the "Big Fish" quickly, and they go to the East to look for it.
Before they leave, Lara examines the holding cells carefully. There is a lever next to each cell, that you think would likely lower the green field. However, that is what is keeping the water out of the cells as well. they are simple cells, there does not look to be any other way in or out.
The group leaves the central area fo rnow and finds the big door Lolito had seen previously.
At the end of the corridor is a round 20-foot-diameter
metal door. A large lever sticks out from the side of the
door’s octagonal frame. The door is composed of triangular
metal sheets, the tips of which meet at the center.
Moving the lever does nothing. it moves too easily, it must be disengaged from whatever it is normally connected to.
The door itself is too big to move. Lolito gives it all he's got but can't get it to budge. You estimate the door weighs at least 3000 pounds.
perception:1d20 ⇒ 9
The woman behind the field doesn't seem to understand Kragg, but she can tell he is talking with her. she gestures excitedly trying to get her point across
perception or sense motive DC 18:
she isn't using precise sign language of any kind, but seems to be miming the following words:
Big
Fish
Danger
People
Death
Pointing towards the East
Lolito comes back and reports on the big door, then checks out the other door. it appears safe, but is currently wedged shut by Lara's pitons. no other lock is on this door.
Lara uses some iron spikes to keep the door closed for now.
Kragg heals up those that need it, then looks with Alyn at the people in the closed section.
There is a greenish field over the entrance to two small alcoves. inside it looks to be dry, the field keeps the water out.
On the left is a woman, on the right are 2 men. they look to be human. the woman is alert and stands when she sees you. no sound comes out, but her lips clearly form the words 'help us'.
There are 2 levers between the two fields.
Lolito starts down the hallway to get a look at what is coming next. He finds an interesting looking door.
At the end of the corridor is a round 20-foot-diameter
metal door. A large lever sticks out from the side of the
door’s octagonal frame. The door is composed of triangular
metal sheets, the tips of which meet at the center.
now that you have a chance to look at the room a little more you see there are two alcoves tot he northeast of the chamber. they have glowing green fields over them that keep the water out, and inside you see three humans.
There is also a hallway going East and a double door to the northwest
Derym HP: 22/47 - AC: 22/14/18 Status:
Lara: HP: 42/47 - AC: 17/12/15 Status: 3 mirror images
Kragg HP:61/61 - AC: 27/11/27 Status: circle of protection evil, communal resist electricity (20), bull’s strength, water breathing,vindicator’s shield active
Octopus HP: 12
Lolito HP: 55/68 - AC: 25/20/22 Status: barskin, freedom of movement
Alyn HP 57/58 30/42 - AC: 22/11/19 Status: -3 CON
Trick HP 41/41 - AC 18/11/15 Status:
NPCS:
Blue mutant: HP -67 | AC: <18 | dead
Yellow mutant: HP -63 | AC <18 | dead
Orange mutant: HP -31 | AC <18 |
Purple mutant: HP -58 | AC: <18 | dead
Red mutant HP -100| AC <18 | dead
Green mutant HP -63 | AC <18 | dead
Grey mutant HP -7 | AC <18
Black mutant HP -15 | AC <18
Derym, sorry that's what i get for copy/pasting when i do the block of enemy attacks. that spoiler block was for red attacking you if it somehow survived a round of Alyn. to move things along we will just assume he kills that mutant and I have you moving forward to fight grey next
Derym swims up to grey and stabs it, doing some damage.
Kragg hits three times but doesn't do a whole lot of visible damage to the sturdy monster.
Lolito goes for quantity of attacks, and takes down yellow with enough gas in the tank to put a couple of hits on orange too.
Lolito punches and kicks many times, but it is still not enough to bring down yellow. the tough hide is really thwarting the damage output of the old monk!
The remaining octopus pins the injured mutant to the ground
Kragg puts several hits into Purple which is enough to end the thing.
Lara hits orange but barely scratches it through it's thick hide.
Derym and his blade switch to electric damage which seems to cut through much better. However, they leave their target alive.
Alyn left to act, going to go ahead and roll all these mutants though to keep us moving.
Derym HP: 45/47 - AC: 22/14/18 Status:
Lara: HP: 47/47 - AC: 17/12/15 Status: 3 mirror images
Kragg HP:61/61 - AC: 27/11/27 Status: circle of protection evil, communal resist electricity (20), bull’s strength, water breathing,vindicator’s shield active
Octopus HP: 12
Lolito HP: 61/68 - AC: 25/20/22 Status: barskin, freedom of movement
Alyn HP 57/58 30/42 - AC: 22/11/19 Status: -3 CON
Trick HP 41/41 - AC 18/11/15 Status:
NPCS:
Blue mutant: HP -67 | AC: <18 | dead
Yellow mutant: HP -40 | AC <18 | pinned
Orange mutant: HP -4 | AC <18 |
Purple mutant: HP -58 | AC: <18 | dead
Red mutant HP -47 | AC <18
Green mutant HP -63 | AC <18 | dead
Grey mutant HP ?? | AC <18
Black mutant HP ?? | AC <18
Kragg sends two celestial octopi into combat. one of them gets some damage thorugh, and both grapple their targets. Kragg however is not able to do much with his weapon.
poison:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Lolito puts several punches into the one that passes between him and Kragg. He hits with everything, doing significant damage but not taking the thing down because of its hardened skin. he puts a final punch into a second mutant but is unable to stun it.
fort v stun:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Derym swings a bit wide but still hits his target doing some damage.
Alyn puts several strong hits into the Green mutant, killing it. Trick moves on to the red one and gets another hit in
The mutants attack back with tooth and claw. obviously crazed and bloodthirsty
Derym HP: 45/47 - AC: 22/14/18 Status:
Lara: HP: 47/47 - AC: 17/12/15 Status: 6 mirror images
Kragg HP:61/61 - AC: 27/11/27 Status: circle of protection evil, communal resist electricity (20), bull’s strength, water breathing,vindicator’s shield active
Octopus HP: 12
Lolito HP: 61/68 - AC: 25/20/22 Status: barskin, freedom of movement
Alyn HP 57/58 30/42 - AC: 22/11/19 Status: -3 CON
Trick HP 41/41 - AC 18/11/15 Status:
NPCS:
Blue mutant: HP -67 | AC: <18 | dead
Yellow mutant: HP -3 | AC <18 | grappled
Orange mutant: HP -3 | AC <18 | grappled
Purple mutant: HP -39 | AC: <18 |
Red mutant HP -35 | AC <18
Green mutant HP -63 | AC <18 | dead
Grey mutant HP ?? | AC <18
Black mutant HP ?? | AC <18
Lara gives everyone Haste Yes, this section is also fully underwater.
Alyn moves up defensively. Lolito and trick combine into the first mutant. it is surprisingly durable, and Lolito's fists do not have the full impact he would expect. between them they do kill the first opponent, however, with an electrical finale.
Yes, freedom of movement pretty much ignores the underwater rules
once combat breaks out, the swarm of mutants is on you!
two get in range of Alyn (both provoke if you have more than one AoO. roll them in your next action), two get in range of Lolito, and one gets between the two (this one provokes from both of you)
they attack with their sharp teeth. still somewhat human-looking but sharpened to razor points
bite v Alyn:1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 = 15 bite v Alyn:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16 bite v Lolito:1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14 bite v Lolito:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 bite v Lolito:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
With the haste buff nothing is able to get through the two sturdy front-liners
The party may act
GM Strikes Back wrote:
Stat Tracker
Global Condition: underwater, dark|
Derym HP: 45/47 - AC: 22/14/18 Status:
Lara: HP: 47/47 - AC: 17/12/15 Status:
Kragg HP:61/61 - AC: 27/11/27 Status: circle of protection evil, communal resist electricity (20), bull’s strength, water breathing,vindicator’s shield active
Lolito HP: 68/68 - AC: 25/20/22 Status: barskin, freedom of movement
Alyn HP 57/58 40/42 - AC: 22/11/19 Status: -3 CON
Trick HP 41/41 - AC 18/11/15 Status:
The group pauses trying to figure out what these nasty-looking creatures might be.
Kragg and Derym start casting spells to prepare for combat. Lolito moves forward with the help of his magical shirt.
Kragg and Derym talk together quickly. Kragg rules out a lot of possibilities, as these things are not quite like any creature he has seen before. Derym pieces together that these creatures were once humans, but have been mutated to the point where they are almost unrecognizable. however the differences between the creatures and the remnants of the humans they once were is enough for him to deduce that these humans have been changed and experimented on to form what you face now.
Alyn and Lara move of slowly behind the others, waiting for soemthign to happen.
The creatures react to the spell-casting and Lolito's charge, one of them sounds a warcry that sounds like a hoarse yell mixed with a croak.
You follow the stairs down into a deeper section of the temple. you see that the area below is lit by an eerie green glowing light.
you find a long chamber with pillars spaced through the center fo the room. to the north is a closed double door, and two green fields of some kind on the north east side. the hallway narrows and continues to the east.
In the room you see a group of odd-looking humanoids. they look more human than the skum, but they are definitely not human.
they have not noticed you yet. you have one round to act and position before they have a chance to act.
Aonise starts in on a lengthy explanation fo the rituals that were performed in this room
Azlanti:
"priests of Amaznen held religious services in this chamber for some members of the general public. The altar bears similarities to the holy symbol of Amaznen- it symbolizes invention, science, and technology, each of which is an important aspect of Artifice, one of Amaznen’s divine domains. The two curved halves of the altar and the round table between them form a shape reminiscent of an eye, which represents Amaznen’s thirst for knowledge. Finally, the two metal rods represent Amaznen’s divine connection with magic.
The priests activated these rods during services, creating arcs of electricity leaping between the two devices. Not only were these arcs of electricity an imaginative way to illuminate the sanctuary, but they also served as a form of religious entertainment for the masses.
During services, the priests wore conductive magic rings, and when they raised their arms, the arcs of electricity would curve downward to touch their fingers. The priests then used their magic rings to weave the electricity into beautiful shapes, inspiring awe in the faithful.
Lay followers knelt between the cogs in the altar to pray to Amaznen, usually asking for flashes of insight and inspiration or knowledge of the secrets of magic and the universe. While praying, the people were symbolically connected to Amaznen, like the cogs of the metaphorical wheel that is humankind."
As she explains in detail, Lolito goes ahead and inserts a stone, and prepares himself for a laborious search of the room. It isn't really needed, however.
As soon as Lolito inserts the stone, the entrance to this chamber slides shut, sealing the room. seconds later another panel slides open, revealing a staircase leading further down.
Labeled on the map
After brief preparations the group goes back into the water and heads back to the altar room.
This otherwise round chamber has rectangular alcoves at even intervals, forming a shape reminiscent of a gear. At the center of the chamber stands a grandiose, four-foot high altar shaped like an eye with two cogwheel halves forming the eyelids. Two ten-foot-tall metal rods, each tipped with a silver-hued torus, stand on round platforms on either side of the altar.
This time, there is electricity arcing off of the tips of the metal rods, lighting up the room.
"I do not know what i will do next. We must cleanse this temple, other concerns can wait. but it sounds like this temple is no longer used to worship the gods, and there is much that has happened that I should learn about. Perhaps I will join your companion. we could learn much from each other.
For now, we journey into the lower levels. I am fine in the water, as i do not need to breathe. but i am not a fighter. I can repair machinery that we find, and myself to a small degree. Electricity does not mix well with my sensitive gears.
She also mentions that she knows Aquan and Elven along with Azlanti
She waits for the group to lead the way but is definitely set to follow you into the submerged section when you are prepared
The clockwork construct cocks their head to the side in an overly exaggerated version of a human's questioning look.
Azlanti:
"Lost? How have the gods been lost? Is such a thing even possible? We warned that Azlant may fall, terrible events were forseen, but we thought the knowledge of the gods would be preserved even if our society collapsed. Have some fo them entirely turned their back on Golarion?"
Unless the group has more questions for it, the construct will stand ready at the door to follow you further into the temple when you are ready to continue.
The construct is happy to continue talking with Kragg
Azlanti:
"I will happily join you in exploring the temple. I have never been allowed past the ritual chamber, but seeing as i am the last surviving priest, I believe I should be allowed to perform the duties of the high priest. Especially if evil has taken root underneath our temple...
We have statues to most of the pantheon here. strange, have you lost the knowledge of the gods? you are a priest as well, yes? but you do not know the gods of this world? Strange...
the woman with the mask is Eyndea, one of Amaznen’s servitors.
the pantheon room has statues of Amaznen, Acavna, Shelyn, Abadar, and Pharasma.
the statue of the woman with the sword is the heroine Savith locked in a battle with Ydersius, god of the serpentfolk.
the construct continues to converse with Lolito in Azlanti
Azlanti:
"there is an altar in the room that has two metal rods sticking up from it. inside the altar is a node where an activator stone can be placed that will power the hidden door"
once Derym's questions is translated across, it replies
"I can draw a map of this level, I have not been allowed into the lower reaches of the temple."
Hello Kragg! Unfortunately I cannot tell you the current day or time. In fact i was hoping you could tell me how long i have been dormant.
As for my role, I serve the priests of Amaznen. I am, or was, the personal assistant of the astronomer-priest Imosele.
Lolito interjects his own questions, and Aoinse attempts to answer him as well
Azlant:
"Ancient Azlant you say? So... it has been a long time then. I have near-perfect memories, from the time that the Azlanti Empire was the dominant nation in this region. I remember my service here, to three generations of priests.
“I remember the cataclysm. It was late afternoon. The sky was on fire and rocks burned through the atmosphere on their way to the ground. There were earthquakes and forest fires. The Kelveth River that flowed between Shaval-Kehn and Kalas-Ti was choked with burning debris. It swelled beyond its banks and rushed back upstream. Ash and deadly gases filled the air, killing many of the priests. Some of them were able to leave the cathedral in time, but since they never returned, I can only assume they perished, too. I couldn’t feel my connection to Amaznen—I still cannot—and I suspect it was the same for the other priests.”
"I know nothing about this Aboleth, but that is dire news indeed. to have such evil in my temple! you must root it out at once!
There are indeed secret ways inside of this temple. it goes down much further than it looks. the ritual room downstairs opens into more areas, but I do not know much about what is kept down there. It was not my role to see past that one room."
The repairs and investigation took close to three hours. it is hard to gauge time in this place as the half-sunken temple has very little outside light coming in except for the front hallways. it is mid to late afternoon currently.
While Lara and Kragg discuss preparations for going back into the water, and possibly taking a rest, Lolito is excited to try the construct out.
He winds the key on the thing's back several times.
After a moment the construct moves into a seated position and then stands. it wobbles a bit as the repairs that Kragg made are good but need to be calibrated by the construct to function fully.
it turns and looks at each of you without comment for a minute.
then in Azlanti it says
Azlanti:
“Well met, visitors. I am Aoinse. What brings you here?”
Derym and Kragg take a closer look at that ioun stone.
They determine that it is a ioun memory node. They know that a stone like this fused to a clockwork construct would give it almost humanlike sentience. This is apparently no ordinary clockwork golem.
Lolito tries to wind the machine, but is stopped by Kragg who wants to reprogram it first.
Unfortunately this clockwork device does not seem to have the right interface to connect to the connection points in the programming room. the other constructs that you fought in this room have slots in their backs that connect to nodes in the alcoves that could be used to adjust their programming. This construct does not have those slots. the key sticking out of its back is in the same place as those slots are on the soldiers.
Kragg begins the process of working on the construct. It is a very complicated machine, but luckily it is not nearly as badly damaged as one might have guessed. Kragg finds traces of preservation magic on the parts that have magically kept it from rusting over or degrading over time.
To actually build a device like this would be beyond the party's capabilities, but the majority of the device seems to be functional. it needs a few broken pieces repaired, and the missing limb restored, but Kragg is able to manage that with the other pieces in the room and with the help of the functioning forge.
this construct has a key in its back that could be turned to reactivate it, and has a curious ioun stone implanted in its head. it seems fused to the construct, and not easily removed.
Lolito moves quickly through the explored rooms looking for changes.
C9: there is a loud humming noise in this room. Pulling the lever next to the forge ignites it! it quickly builds up heat from a jet of blue flame that ignites in the hearth.
C7: the broken clockwork construct is still in here. Nothing seems to have changed, but you now have access to the forge for repairs and the programming station, which Kragg points out.
Alyn and Lolito work together to bring the semi-intact golem into the forge room for Kragg to begin working on. Then Lolito continues to the other two rooms
C3, C2: nothing seems to have changed in these rooms. the sounds are fainter here, and you don't think that anything in them is powered by the activated room.
Kragg begins working on fixing the construct. there are a lot of parts in the forge room that could be used, along with broken pieces off of the soldiers that you fought.
make a craft check
Alyn walks around trying to find other areas that might be activated, by listening to the walls. when walking in the hallways and in the library he hears more humming and gears. It sounds like soemthing has changed in the flooded area, in C17
While the others use the wand, Kragg examines the controls again. The 'no power' message is gone, and Kragg (with only a little trial and error now that he's seen a few of these panels) is able to look at the commands that were entered into the console last.
It looks like the winding station in this room was set to reprogram the clockwork soldiers to defend the facility from any outsiders. It looks like the reprogramming was done quite hastily and doesn't have much included to differentiate friend from foe, which may have led to the things just attacking anything that moved.
You think you would be able to use this station to reset the programming of some clockwork constructs if you had one intact enough to function. The ones you fought in here are pretty beat up but could possibly be repaired if you had the materials and time.
The group wonders about where to go next. Now that the power is on, you hear the sounds of clockwork gears moving through the walls, and slight vibrations in the floor. It would appear that more than just this room has come back to life with the switches being flipped.
Alyn and Trick, finally in position for a full attack lay into the green robot, smashing it to pieces. they then continue to hit it a few more times to make really sure it is dead. then trick bites it.
Lara puts two accurate arrows into the magic-using clockwork machine, and then Kragg finishes it off from behind.
Derym uses another spell through his sword and plunges it into the final machine. The metallic foe is very conductive which makes the hit critical and does a bunch of extra damage, killing the thing in one shot!
Suddenly the fight goes from being a bit dangerous to being done. all three automatons are badly damaged and lie still.
Kragg moves in, giving the party the bonus to hit and smacks the green golem for a little damage
Lolito hits the magical construct twice, doing some damage and defending himself with a flourish.
Lara heals herself
Derym moves to help with the mage. he lights up his sword with a spell and hits! the blade and magic together do significant damage, and the electricity runs along the metallic frame of the creature doing extra damage.
botting Alyn
Trick flies up and around getting to a flanking position as Alyn moves in, swinging his fauchard.
Fauchard, PA:1d20 + 15 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 2 - 3 = 26 damage:1d10 + 15 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 15 + 9 = 31
The magic-wielding construct steps back and fires off a magic missile volley at Lolito
damage:5d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 3, 4, 2, 2) + 5 = 19
The green construct swings its halberd at Alyn, and the black one attacks Derym
halberd v Alyn:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 confirm??:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18 damage:1d10 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 halberd v Alyn:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
the other soldier makes a motion with its hand which ignites with arcing electricity. it moves towards Lolito and tries to touch him
Touch attack v lolito:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 26 damage:5d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 1, 1, 4) = 13
The party may act
GM Strikes Back wrote:
Stat Tracker
Global Condition: underwater, dark|
Derym HP: 47/47 - AC: 22/14/18 Status:
Lara: HP: 17/47 - AC: 17/12/15 Status:
Kragg HP:61/61 - AC: 26/11/26 Status: barkskin, circle of prot evil
Lolito HP: 28/68 - AC: 26/21/22 Status: barskin
Alyn HP 57/58 42/42 - AC: 22/11/19 Status: -3 CON
Trick HP 18/41 - AC 18/11/15 Status:
Lolito moves in to fight one of the robots while calling for help. He tries to entangle the legs of the thing and bring it down, but the metallic legs don't even budge.
The clockwork soldier in the rear moves around the pillar in the center of the room and sees Lara come in. it raises a hand and a stream of fire comes out!
[spoiler = Spellcraft DC 17]
it cast Scorching Ray!
[/spoiler]
It has been a while since the last combat (in real time anyways), so I hadn't updated the status block. I believe it is all up to date now.
While exploring the several rooms since the last combat, the spells with durations less than 10 minutes have worn off. I have removed them from the status chart, this means mirror images, enlarge and bull's strength have been reset.
Lolito hears clocks winding and whirring and goes to check it out. he makes his way towards the control panel, but on the way he sees that the automatons that were held in this room have activated! they step out of their alcoves and move towards the old man
Lolito luckily was entering with his guard up and is able ot act before the machines get near him. Lara hears things happening and is also quick to respond, though she is further from the action.
you go to scout for changes. you hear a lot of noise coming from C10, sounds like a lot of clockwork machinery has started ticking and whirring in there!
The group stands back and just before flipping the first switch Lara figures out a way to do it slowly, bleeding off some extra power five or six times before finally flipping the switch when it doesn't spark quite as much.
Nothing happens to the device when Lara finishes flipping the first switch. She repeats the process on the other two switches. With a loud metallic screech, the bronze containers start opening, revealing a system of clockworks, coils, springs, and crankshafts. Arcs of electricity begin to discharge from each container, and little by little, the clockwork gears start turning, shafts start moving back and forth, and coils start buzzing with energy.
the others can hear that a gentle hum begins echoing through the temple, and ioun torches further down the hallway light up, illuminating the temple.
Lolito runs through the options in his head for what this contraption might be. Unfortunately for him, this is definitely not natural, and his experience with carpentry doesn't lend much aid in figuring out ancient circuitry.
Kragg studies the magical flows in the room, and deduces that the bronze shells are definitely magical, and seem like they use ioun technology to generate power.
Lara examines the shells closer. Derym's comment helps guide her investigation. What is directing the energy coming off of these things? Lara looks closer at the lines on the ground. They seem to be pathways for the energy to pass through, but it looks like it fizzles out before going far. However, close to where the energy fizzles out is a lever on the wall near each one of the shells (three in total).
knowledge arcana or engineering DC 20:
it looks like these shells are generators, probably intended to power the facility. the energy is not being allowed to leave the room because of these switches. they look like they are some sort of failsafe or protective measure to shut down the power if something went wrong, probably preventing damage to sensitive clockwork and ioun technology that is in other rooms of this temple. flipping the switches should release the energy to travel through the rest of the place.
beat the above check by 5 or more:
Wait! if those levers prevent the energy from escaping, and have been switched off, that could have caused all that excess energy to be stored up inside this room and the generators. flipping the switches would release that energy, which could have explosive consequences for anyone or anything in the room with the generators! you think that maybe you need ot do something to slowly release the energy instead of doing it all at once.
Lolito has deduced that they must have left the Aboleth for last, and that this big door is the end of the road.
He warns the others and opens them quickly. But he does not find an Aboleth, or any creatures waiting for him. instead there is a short flight of stairs, then Three fifteen-foot-tall cylinders of polished bronze each stand on a dais in a long, curved room. The bronze shells look sturdy and heavy, and sizzling arcs of lightning can be seen and heard dancing along the surfaces of the containers. Silvery lines set into the floor connect these containers, and tiny embedded crystals pulsate with a dim light every few seconds.
sorry! forgot to remove the fog from the room to let you go in!
Lolito moves ahead of the group and starts examining the shelves in the room. there is certainly a lot of stuff in here. almost two dozen containers are still intact and have their contents in them. Lolito doesn't know if they are magical or not, but each container has a variety of different oils in them.
The group pauses for a moment and get dressed. it is not lost on them that they are using the dressing room for priests from an ancient age to dress in the very same priestly garments.
Lara, Lolito and Derym each wear one of the magical robes before moving on.
Does anyone put on the 4th robe, or just stow it for now?
Lolito listens at the next door on the opposite side of the dressing room. he hears nothing on the other side and finds no evidence of a trap so he opens the door
Stone shelves on the walls of this storage room are full of jars and vials of different sizes. A sweet but musty smell hangs heavy in the air.
perception DC 35:
mixed in with the sounds of the water nearby and the echoing sounds of your voices you hear a faint creaking noise.
Kragg and Lolito check out the robes. Lolito by putting them on, Kragg with a spell.
focusing for a few rounds, Kragg finds that four of the clothing items are magical.
A blue silk robe with a silver embroidered eye symbol
a wool robe of a similar blue color
another silk robe with a lot of fancy silver trim and symbols all along the sleeves
a white shirt with another silver eye symbol sewn in
Kragg attempts to remove the sword, but it is stuck. DC 30 Str check to remove it.
Knowledge Religion DC 22:
The sword seems to be held by more than just rust or buildup from the water. you think perhaps if the right person were to pull the sword it would come with a bit more ease.
The sharks come a bit closer when Kragg gets close enough to the statue to pull on the sword. they don't seem to like you being so close.
The group decides not to stick around to harass the sharks and they move back towards the dry part of the temple.
Lolito moves ot the next closed door in the hallway.
I am gathering everyone's tokens in the hallway. if anyone is staying back to do something or if Kragg sticks around longer then the single attempt at pulling the sword, move your tokens back. We were just getting a bit scattered there
Lolito opens the door slowly.
Two stone cabinets stand against the south wall of this chamber. A few ancient robes lie crumpled in the room amid fine, colored dust and other debris.
Another double door stands opposite where you stand.
Kragg identifies the statue, and finds that the sword she holds is indeed magical. A few moments later he determines that it is a +1 aberration-bane keen longsword, that also sheds light as per the light spell.
The sharks do not currently seem aggressive, though one swims a bit closer just inside the broken wall to get a better look at you before turning back towards the others
know nature DC 20:
they do not seem aggressive but are displaying territorial behavior. if you were to go too far into what they consider their territory they would almost certainly attack.
sorry, yes. there is one magical item in the room, a ring on the headless statue on the throne
Lolito opens the next door and takes a look
A statue of a warrior wrestling with a giant serpent stands on a two-foot-high pedestal in this columned hall. The serpent is coiled around the warrior and has locked its jaws around her upper body. The woman holds her sword high, ready to strike the serpent’s neck again. She has cut nearly all the way through, and only a thin piece of skin keeps the head attached to the long, sinuous body. Magical light radiates from the blade of the sword, illuminating the statue and the chamber. Jagged columns of coral stand among finely carved marble columns. The remains of the south wall lie in broken pieces, allowing full view of the ocean beyond.
knowledge History or Religion DC 25:
The large statue depicts the Azlanti heroine Savith locked in a battle with Ydersius, god of the serpentfolk.
Savith, a mortal warrior, decapitated Ydersius, but the serpent god’s bite later killed the heroine. This statue was erected to honor her memory. After this great victory, Savith’s name was on everyone’s tongue, and many stories and songs were written in her honor, even if the majority of the Azlanti people didn’t fully understand the extent of the war with the serpentfolk and the threat they posed to the world at the time. The empire had many enemies, and the Azlanti leadership used these threats to convince the populace that dedication to the empire was paramount.
you see a lot of motion in the southern part of the room. The wall has crumbled away and opens out into the sea. there is a school. of large sharks swimming around in circles just past the wall.
The group spends some time studying the statues, unfortunately their historical knowledge of ancient pantheons is not great. Lolito guesses these might be ancient gods, which sounds right to Derym and Kragg but the two struggle to remember the names or domains of these gods and goddesses.
Kragg does of course recognize one of the statues. Even in an older form, the man with the Wreath and key must be Abadar
The ancient Azlanti saw him chiefly as a god of cities and gold, rather than of law—Amaznen held that position in the Azlanti pantheon. According to a legend, Abadar acquired the Law domain from Amaznen after that god died.
Lolito looks around but does not find anything of use
