Iron Gods : Double Characters (IC)

[Continental Op]

Yarro shakes her head at the skeletons. "Growing extra arms seems unlikely. I don't know what I was thinking..."

"Don't worry, we will find him," Kallak quietly says to Yarro.

"I am a little afraid of that, obviously." Yarro responds. "So do we think these things regenerate? I would like to take one with us and study it later, if possible."

Kallak looks a little alarmed, then shrugs. He puts most of one of the broken skeletons in his backpack. If necessary, he breaks it up to make it fit. He then spends a minute breaking up the skulls of other fallen skeletons with his planson. "Maybe it will stop or delay them from coming back? Anyway, I agree. let's follow the footprints." Kallak leads the way, following the trail east towards the mountain.

[Sleepy Shade]

The trail takes a quick path through the desert about 30 minutes if you don't push yourselves. As you follow the trail you see off in the distance a flickering light. As you round the bend and head into the cavern the trail leads to it seems the light is coming from... behind the wall?

Will Save vs DC11

The skeleton weighs about 27 pounds are you going to take it with you now or leave it behind to pick up on the way out?

[Sleepy Shade]

It becomes apparent to all of you that the wall is some sort of illusion much like a "silent image" spell. Looking closely you see beyond the illusion is a door that hasn't shut all the way. Beyond the door is light. Before this the only light has been from torches or Sarina's dancing lights spell. Next to the door you spy a gray panel next to the door this one has a small green light near the top left. Looking through the gap you see this metal room is brightly lit by glowing panels in the ceiling above. To the left and right, complex machines consisting of spiral tubes and nozzles twitch and hum.

Perception check Dc5

Spoiler: If you make it the perception check.

Show

The machines are in a lot rougher shape than the ones you saw before coming into the desert. The machines are shooting off arcs of electricity at random. You could disable the machines but it might only be temporary.

[u-b]

Sarina casts detect magic and studies the illusion. She is interested in finding out how long this thing did and could last and how powerful might be its creator. Thony approaches the gray panel and spends some time examining it. He wants to determine if the panel has something to do with the door and/or the machines and whether it can be used to turn off the machines without venturing into the room.

Spoiler

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Detect magic to estimate the aura strength and maybe the exact spell used, if applicable.

[Sleepy Shade]

Sarina finds no magic at all except what your group has. The illusion isn't magical in nature but it's apparent that this was put here to hide the door from curious individuals. The ajar door's light however ruins the illusion. Thony does determine that the panel is connected to the door and that it will probably respond to the key card you got from Sef.

[u-b]

Sarina and Thony discuss their findings. Those are nothing much, but one plan surfaces. Thony then proposes it to the rest of the team:

"If we can have a spare knife or a piece of wood to make a wedge, we could be able to jam it under the door when it opens, thus leaving a semi-permanent passage that would work both ways until someone undoes it. It might be tricky, but I think we can try multiple times. Any better ideas?"

[Continental Op]

Kallak looks confused. "Can't we just use the key cards? They aren't a one-time thing, are they? Why would we keep the door open for everything else down here?"

Yarro responds, "I believe they are thinking of others from Torch coming if we fail to return. It is pragmatic." To Thony, Yarro offers one of her daggers.

Kallak adds, "Well, I also have a bunch of skeleton bones here. Might as well use these for something, if you want to try to wedge the door open with one."

While Kallak is getting out a bone, Yarro looks inside. "I may be able to turn these machines off once we are inside."

[u-b]

"Thinking more about the door not shutting closed behind us, actually. Using the key card to open it, then making sure it stays open. We still don't know why people failed to return and if there is a functional panel on the far side."

[Sleepy Shade]

Taking a moment to confirm some things you try the key card and the doors open swiftly and about six seconds later shuts however they don't close fully the one inch gap is still there. Looking into the room their is their is a similar panel on the other side of the wall next to a door and their is a panel on the south side (the side your behind) of the wall.

To disable the machines
Disable device Dc 25

To disable the doors from closing
strength check Dc 25 will not for 1 turn and as long as you can keep it up.
Disable device Dc 20 will be depend on what you use.

Map here

[u-b]

Thony asks for a pair of torches and, if given those, makes two wedges from them, jams the near door without any problem*. He then declares his plan to get through the room after next zap, open the far door and take a look behind. He is then to decide between the following three options, in order of preference:
1. Get out of the room on the far side and jam the door as normal while outside of the room.
2. Jam the door while still inside of the room and then go out of the room.
3. Just go back without doing anything.

Spoiler

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*The rest of the plan is suspended if this is not so.

Option 1 is only considered if there seems to be no immediate danger on the other side of the far door and there is a panel there to open it from the far side. Option 2 is only considered if there seems to be no immediate danger on the other side of the far door. Option 3 if a fall-back if the above is not good.

[Continental Op]

Kallak shrugs, and gives Thony the two torches he requests.

Yarro says, "While you are working on the next door, I think I can turn off thee machines. I'll give it a try the next time they go off. If it doesn't work, we can fall back and then rush through, as you suggest."

[Sleepy Shade]

It takes five minutes of Thony trying to keep the doors open long enough to set the makeshift torch doorstop before he finally succeeds. During this time he is very close to the electrical out bursts from the malfunctioning machines sometimes getting small static shocks. The doors constant pressure on the makeshift door stops are apparent as you start hear the hidden machinery operating the door begin to groan after you are done installing them. The torch door stops will hold for awhile but it's not a permanent solution. With the door finally propped open Yarro quickly makes her way in and disables the machines. They power down and stop shooting out electricity. With the machines taken care of Thony uses the card on the scanner by the north door and opens it. You see a hallway that is brightly lit the same ceiling panels glowing and bathing everything in light at the far end of the hall is a door and the hall way continues off to the right. Do you step in and look around?

[Continental Op]

Kallak doused and put away his torch while Thony and Yarro were working on the doors and machines.

As soon as they are done, he takes the lead down the next hallway, trying not to make noise (in case it helps at all, even though the doors may announce their presence).

[Sleepy Shade]

Kallak creeps down the hallway the only sound coming from the soft hum of the panels lining the hallway. The hallway at the end of the hallway that you can see it turns right then almost immediately turns left. The hall way continues on a door at the end of the hall and a door to the right just before the end.

Map here

[u-b]

Still somewhat concerned about getting back in the event someone or something shuts down the power or otherwise disables the doors the party has passed through, Thony concedes there might be just too many to practically take care of, especially that the closing mechanism seems to be more powerful than the normal manual door closing and simply inserting the wedge like you would under a normal door does not quite work. He continues to move behind Kallak, as far back as possible while still maintaining visual contact. Sarina follows.

[Continental Op]

Kallak turns around and goes back to the others. He says, "There are two more doors down the hallway, but I say we start with this one," pointing to the first door they can see, on the left. "Yarro, can I get your key card? Maybe the rest of you should stay here, and cover me just in case something nasty comes through the door."

Kallak then returns to the door, and using the brown card, tries to open it.

[Sleepy Shade]

You slide the card over the panel and it makes a weird sound as if both confirming and rejecting the card and the doors open. The air in this room seems to buzz and hum with energy. Strips of glowing rectangles light the room from above, while strange flickering windows line the east and west walls. A large glass topped circular table sits in the middle of the room. To the north sits a large metal desk covered with blinking lights, while a humming pillar of purple-and-black metal stands nearby, its sides flashing with tendrils of violet energy. A single golden panel flashes with a soft but incessant light on the side of this pillar.
A thick layer of dust coats everything, diffusing the lights shining from the various surfaces, and many of the machines seem to be damaged, cracked, or otherwise ruined.

Map Here

[u-b]

Given the thick layer of dust, the first thing Thony does is to check for anyone's presence in this room in the recent month. He then tries to reason about possible functions of this room and stuff therein. Sarina remains in the corridor.

Spoiler

Show

Perception 10 + 7 = 17
Engineering (1d20+5)[13]

[u-b]

Thony points at the machines. "This one seems like something having to do with artifical weather. Controlling wind, rain... and it's powered off. No surprise there's that desert in there. We probably do not want to operate this one. Yarro, can you make sense of the rest?"

[Continental Op]

Kallak and Yarro join Thony in the room. Kallak starts out stepping carefully and looking for tracks, but presuming he does not find any, he looks around the room for anything interesting that isn't bolted down.

Yarro makes a beeline for Thony and the weather machines. She then starts to examine them and work with Thony to figure them out.

[Sleepy Shade]

Kallak looks over and notices that the dust is thick very thick like no one has been hear for years thick. It seems all the previous groups have not entered this area. Yarro notes the panel doesn't seem to be just a weather machine dozens of imputes gauges and screens line it. But what every one notices is the yellow flashing screen near the front. Deciding to try and get a better look at the screen Yarro wipes off the dust covering it. This seems to be enough input that the screen stops flashing and suddenly everything in the room seems to groan, click and whirl.(It sounds like a bunch of computers starting up) The table suddenly lights up and you see the area "outside". Several monitors start coming on only showing static and the pillar of purple metal flashes and begins to pulsate. It's quite a show.

Skillprompt
Sarina I need a Perception check -4 due to the spectacle that is all these strange machines coming online.

[Sleepy Shade]

Out in the Hallway
Sarina is in the hallway by herself. Strange noises fill the once quite hall. She guesses whatever the others inside had done had worked. She catches the tell tale whoosh of a door opening looking back at the door the others had gone through it's closed and she doesn't have a key card to open them. Someone else is here.

What does Sarina do?

Skill propt
If Sarina tries to get someone's attention roll a perception check DC 14 to hear her over the machines.

[u-b]

Not waiting to learn more about what's happening, Sarina quickly swipes her card to enter the room with the machines and warn everyone. She sees the equipment quite a lot busier than when she saw it just a few moments ago.

"There is some activity in the corridor. I've heard the door opening."

Thony looks a bit worried. "Shall we go check or pretend we are not here?"

[Continental Op]

Kallak responds, "Well, with all this going on, something probably knows we are here." And he gestures to all the strange lights and noises coming from the machinery.

Yarro shakes her head, "I would like to stay and figure out what these do, but it may be beyond me. Also we should find the others."

Kallak nods, "Good idea. But before we continue on, maybe we should make sure nothing is behind us? Sarina, do you know which door was opened?"

[u-b]

"No, I did not see which door was opened and I did not dare to go there and look. Not the one behind us, I'm sure."

[Continental Op]

Kallak nods. "Then lets continue down the hall. If we don't see anything in it, we can take the next door down the way." Kallak then moves to take the lead, keeping Yarro's key card handy to open the next door, if he comes to it.

[Sleepy Shade]

Before you're able to leave the room you all hear a Whoosh the door opens revealing a gaunt yellow skinned creature dressed in rags and a billowing red cape that wraps around its lower face concealing it's mouth. The being is wielding two swords in two of it's four hands another set of arms and hands put something away in the creatures trouser pocket. On it's back are two spears. It speaks a odd word in a language none of you recognize and attacks.
It's A Fight!
The creature rushes towards Kallak and swipes with it's sword. Kallak's armor saves him and deflects the blow from landing.

Map Here
Creatures image

Spoiler: Initiative

Show

1. Monster
2. Yarro
3. Thony
4. Kallak
5. Sarina

[u-b]

Thony points his musket at whomever it is and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. He curses and quickly clears the musket making it ready to load again. Sarina intends not to spend the only few real spells she has remaining and instead to blast the creature with tiny globs of acid.

Spoiler

Show

Spending 1 grit on a move-equivalent quick clear.

[Continental Op]

Yarro pulls out her crossbow and fires at the creature over the table in the middle of the room. She notices that the arms match the skeletons, and tries to speak to it in Androffan. "Why are you attacking us? We are just trying to find my teacher and friend."

Assuming the creature does not back off at this, Kallak pulls out his greatsword and attempts to slice the creature across the torso. But he checks his swing a bit, trying to keep his sword between himself and the many arms of his adversary.

Spoiler: OOC

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Does Yarro have any way to identify the creature, now that she is seeing one alive? And Kallak is using combat expertise, so his AC is 19 for the next round.

[Sleepy Shade]

The creature dodges Yarro's crossbow bolt and the bolt only hits the wall. It responds in some sort of language you can't understand but it continues it's attack. Thony's gun jams he clears the breach quickly. Kallak draws his weapon and swings at the creature but the creature easily parries the attack and Kallak catches a guttural chuckle it seemed the creature was laughing at him. Sarina chucks her acid at the creature but the fighting between Kallak and the creature shifts at just the wrong time and she misses the shot. The creature is unleashing a flurry of blows at kallak which he parries or is able to dodge the display shows however the creature is deadly serious.
Everyone Missed!