Smaller Details pt 3

Good news, everyone!

Recently, a small Kulthian outpost, or at least a place with advanced artifice, was located near Alexandria. On occasion, these old buildings do get unearhed. Many of them are buried in the earth as aresult of the sundering. Adventurers were sent! Some of those adventurers, after clearing the first room, decided to split the party at the insistance of a couple who almost certainly haven't made it thus far. Those who survived this foolhardy mistake wound up glued to a wall about to be used for experiments by great Kulthian constructs.

Fortunately, after their having been gone for twelve hours with no check in for a building that didn't look all that big, the few Engineers on station ready to get a look at this place called for additional assistance.

That's where Baz, Lucy, Besra and Tirry came in.

Afte defeaating an ooze, they explored one of the other passages and discovered several adventures glued to a wall. Apparently, there was a plan to dunk them in a vat of green goo by the same automatons that initially captured them.

That's where Athrian, Kore, and Aerilaya came in.

Just now, everyone has been freed from their resin place of imprisonment.

"HURGH" Slam. "HURGH." Slam, goes Baz's shield as he hammers the corpse of the last construct into less and less recognizeable parts. With the single minded devotion of someone without much mind to begin with he quite litterally doesn't seem interested in stopping. Not when the arms fall off, not when the head simply evaporates into debri. Definately not when the torso splits in half and begins emptying gears and fluid out all over the floor.

Lucy half-curtsies to the new faces. "Are we glad to see you." She glances around at the racket. Noticing Baz still pounding away merrily she raises her voice in a vain attempt to drown out the sound. "We've been down here for hours! Or at least it feels like it!"

"...I'm pretty wsue I have been. nng." Kore climbs to her feet slowly. She's a tiny thing, half Mul'niessa and underisized for it, with naturally solemn features currently arranged to convey annoyance. The girl frowns as she considers the room at large and then takes a deep breath. "I've been meditating the whole time. They should make meditating in a cocoon stapled to the wall of a monster den the final step to transcendance. It wasn't easy." The Monk shakes her head slowl and adjsuts her rope belt.

"We're glad to be here." Athrian responds, mostly to Lucy at first, dipping his head in a gracious fashion. He's built like a whip, and tends to move like one as well, but for the moment he appears to be just taking stock of his surroundings. The ruckus coming from the direction of Baz does pull a look of amusement from him, one that settles across his lips in something between a smirk and a smile. "This whole thing looked like a sticky situation." he adds, as if he can't help himself, and he doesn't even let on that he's aware of his word choice, at least with nothing more than a slight arch to his dark brow.

Aerilaya stands there, huffing and puffing as she's worked up quite a sweat axing one of the automatons to death. This one looked like all the rest, only it had big ol' drills instead of the typical hands for it's type. The dwarven warrior heafts up and axe, feeling the weight of it as she looks to Baz as he slams his shield into the long dead thing. She just shakes her head, and starts to wipe more of the paste from her body as she hears more people. She looks as they free themselves and get situated, and she chimes "Ah, lovely timing you had there. Just when the fighting was over." She can't help but smirk at this. "Hey! Big lug!" She says, wandering over to Baz, and should he stop, she'd offer the Axe back. She does not comment on anything in the past if he does not either. She looks over to the others who freed themselves. She holds her left shoulder, some warm blood yet leaks from her wound she got from the drillhanded robot.

Tirr looks around, frownining as she rubs at her neck... "DO I have time to rest a little and recover?" She asks curiously... "Namely I'm kinda running low on spells..." She's not just kind of running low on spells she is rather dangerously low..." She also glances down to a few holes in her hide, hissing out a wince.. "That and I think I probably need a little medical attention to boot..."

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls 2d6: (8): 8

"Wot?" Baz says finally stopping, he reaches over and takes his axe and peers at the dwarf. His big nostrils flex and he brings a few fingers to the design on his chestplate. Calling upon Kor, the flood of healing energy flows outwards from him into those nearby. Then he straitens to his feet and peers around the room. "Right den, we all need ta form up and figure what ta do. Job's done now ain't it? All we 'ad ta do is save dese and now we can get paid."

There's still this place that needs clearing, too. The original job isn't done.

Still pleeenty of rooms to explore!

There is also a big spinning cylinder in here full of green ichor of some kind.

"Is it?" Athrian asks of Baz, before adding, "Is the job finished, that is? It doesn't seem right that the Guild would dispatch more for a finished job." He gives the huge beast a look, before he begins to wander around the room. His golden-touched eyes do light on the spinning cylinder with the green ichor for a moment, before he turns to address everyone else. The rogue spreads his hands out wide, and says, "We're already here, aren't we? We might as well do a little more looking around. Getting paid is fine, but why not take the place for all it's worth?" A grin cross his lips for a ghost of a moment.

Tirr ummms.... "Wel we still have others to go find and stuff.. I'm just out of spells for now, short of using nothing but cantrips." Tirr suggests and sighs before she rubs at the back of her neck.. She then finds her self a corner and sits back to try and rest, if someone stops her from doing such, well that's a different matter, but she'll try to recover things...

Aerilaya steps away for a moment, but not before the healing wave washes over her, and her shoulder's flesh knits together. She removes her hand, seeing that the wound is closed. She gives a thumbs up to Baz, and a big grin shows on her face. "Thanks!" She chirps, and goes about scouring the room trying to find her equipment that was stripped of her when she was put on that wall...

"Me job was ta find da boyos who got lost in here. Dats youse." Baz says in reply to Athrian. "Now you want we should stick around in here wit all dis crap for no extra pay?" The big Ork wrinkles his forehead as he reaches down and wrenches one of the constructs head off. Turning it over in his hands he then rams the mechanical skull onto one of the spikes on his armor as a trophy. He returns Aerilaya's nod and shrugs. "Well if we gonna be here a bit den dere work I can do." With great strides the big Ork makes his way over towards Lucy and he extends a finger to touch her rapier. His eyes closing and he begins to intone a series of phrases under his breath. A small glow stretching out from his finger to the encompass the rapier.

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls 1d4: (4): 4

GAME: Kore rolls disable device+2: (10)+13+2: 25

Lucy holds her rapier - and her breath, if anyone looks closely. As the blade's shine and edge is restored Lucy smiles just as brightly. "Thanks!" she swings the blade around a few times experimentally. "Good as new!" she declares.

Kore begins searching the room. She tugs on gloves from a pouch on her belt and then begins to eexplore the edges of the room. at one point she has out a brush one can only assume is made from horse hair and is carefully examining certain areas of wall. Finally she finds herself beneath the gigantic spinning vat of goo overhead. The tiny half-elf squints up at it and tucks her brush away. Then she shrugs and - leaps. Suffice to say she is far more nimble than one might expect of a girl her size. Kore can definitely dunk. She manages to climb up onto the vat, which sways slightly with the added weight. Then she sets to work on it doing - something.

"Pay is what you make of it, friend. Surely, this place is home to things that some would find quite valuable. Treasure is where you least expect it, sometimes." Athrian coaxes, turning his attention down, glancing at his sheathes and the blades held in them, as if checking to make sure he's still armed. He takes a knee then, adjusting a boot and tightening it, though his golden eyes remain up on the huge ork. "C'mon. What if we accidentally walk away from the find of a lifetime? I'll take point, do a little scouting. I'll get the WHAM first if anyone does. Maybe we find some great stuff here. And get paid by the Guild on top of it. Imagine what they'll say about you if we find something glorious. The stories!"

"Weapons are for kill'n, so Kor aids in dere repair. Repay Kor by spilling de blood of enemies." Baz says in a rote tone, likely something said to him many times as he aged. Then the big Ork turns to regard Athrian. "Ya right, or more everything eating ooze. Dese metal men or we can take turns be'n snotted ta da wall, right?" The Ork grimaces and seems about to say more, but takes in the fact no one else is suggesting leaving at the moment. Finally with a shurg he lays his battle axe across his shoulder and says. "Fine." With a defeated air.

Aerilaya gasps, and ruses over to a pile of discarded junk in a corner, and digs though it for a moment before she manages to pull out her greatsword. The scabbard, heavy steel inlayed with precious metals, showing some scenes of battles of ages past. She slings it over her back and bounces slightly, seeming quite happy to have found her weapon. She returns to the group, and looks about. "I've already got snotted to the walls, and got more goo in my hair than I am happy about. Going to need to have to get my hair done after we deal with this job..." She frowns and looks around.

As Kore works, the bottom of the vat suddenly drops open and the ooze splashes on the ground in a massive 'sploosh!'

Unlike the one that Besra, Tirry and Baz and Lucy dealt with earlier, this one does not immediately animate and start eating people.

It just kinda sits on the ground, smoking away like a wonderful acid.

"Ha! That's the spirit, big guy!" Athrian says to Baz, seeming genuinely jovial about the huge ork's relenting words. He turns his attention to Aerilaya for a moment, and tells her, "I mean, if you've been snotted to a wall once, you've been snotted to a wall a thousand times, right? Imagine how much better prepared you'll be for it the next time." There might be more that he has to say, but the vat is opened, and the rogue takes a cautious step backwards, away from the smoking acid, a long and low whistle on his lips, in appreciation at the sight of it. "I guess we should all make sure we've got our things before we head on a little deeper in." He steps around the acid, carefully.

Tirr gets to her feet now, and begins to move after the others... She digs through her pockets and draws out a wand.. "All I got left.." She mutters, least her mage armor is still going.... "Best we get moo..." she peers at the at of acid and blinks "Yaaah don't wanna bathe in that."

Back the way you came. There is a third directio aside from these tunnels you went down to rescue the fellow adventurers who got caught (or in their case, who split the party) and there are still some missing folks who went the other way. No sign of them yet, after all.

So forward! Forward down the next tunnel. At least, so far, no sign of constructs or monsters or acidic oozes. You come to another intersection, unfortuinately. A path to the left, to the right, and straight on.

Lucy has a tiny ball of flame floating in lazy circles above her head, casting light as she walks. Upon closer inspection it there is a small gem that's doing the floating, and someone has apparently cast a spell of flame on it. She has her rapier out, but also carries a shortspear in her other hand, held in a reversed grip so that she can throw it.

As they come to the intersection, the quite Aerilaya finally has something to say. "Alright, where to now?" She asks the group of friends, the smaller dwarf puts her hands on her hips and huffs softly, "That ooze was just bad news. I wonder what exactly is going on down here. Why take us and plaster us like that...?" She peeks around, looking down the different tunnels...

GAME: Kore casts Know the Enemy. Caster Level: 3 DC: 14

GAME: Kore rolls Knowledge/Nature+3+10: (14)+6+3+10: 33

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls Survival: (17)+9: 26

Athrian pauses briefly at Aerilaya's side, and speaks up, "Well, whatever is going on down here, we should at least bring a report of it to the Guild. Even if we can't put a halt to it while we're down here." He glances up at Baz, then moves forward up to where to ork is, also keeping his eyes open for any signs of people who have come before, and wherever they might have gone.

Tirr? She's joining in with Lucy for the whole floating firelight... Circling around her own head is a small ioun torch, the large Sith Makar is checking around the place now curiously... "So! What else do y'all think is here?" She asks, voice all prim, proper and whatnot.... She idly checks her side where she got drilled and sighs... "Also, injuries? They're common to this line of work?"

"The ancient Kulthians were known for dabbling in deadly dark Arts," Lucy remarks, only she says it with a casual tone as if she's talking about something commonplace like the color drapes they used to like. "They probably didn't intend for their works and creations to threaten living beings so much, and for so long after they were gone..." she considers. "Although come to think of it, they probably wouldn't have cared."

The big Ork leans down, crouching with the expected amount of noise protest from his armor. He stretches out gloved fingers and runs them over the ground before remarking. "De tracks go strait here. Nawt ta da left or right." He waves his hand over a set in particular. "Dis looks like a drag mark. Maybe more of your friends are caught up ahead? Either dat or something big is rolling around." He sniffs and straitens, taking his axe in both hands. "Everybody ready ta fight, ya?"

"Perhaps they are. I.. warned them against splitting up." Athrian tells Baz. At the mention of fighting, he glances down to check his shortswords again, before drawing them both. Standing next to the Ork, a contrast in sizes, he grins at Baz's much larger axe, a bit of sheepishness to the expression. "It's not the size of them, yeah? It's just knowing what to do." He gives one small sword a bit of a flourish, then nods in the direction of the forward tunnel. "I'll go ahead just a little and have a quiet look, if you'd like. It's what I do."

Tirr stares at the ork, she's good at staring. IT's that whole draconic countenance... She hten holds up her wand and checks her crossbow before looking up. "Yah I have a bunch of cantrips I can throw out and I think I can use my breath weapon a few more times..."

Lucy nods in understanding as Baz explains, then again at his question of 'everybody ready to fight'. "Ah...maybe you should stay behind us," she offers to Tirrynelth. "You need plenty of room to work your cantrips, right? And save you, ah, breath, as a last resort. Or if we're fighting something and it gets by us."

Aerilaya nods when she sees and hears the Ork's findings of a possible lead to the next group of people. "I am ready as I'll ever be." She says, and looks to Athrian, saying "Sometimes, but size carries a lot of swinging power, too." With that, she draws her family greatsword from the sheath, the nearly blue metal of the blade shimmers in the little light of the tunnel, and says "I'm ready whenever." She grips the handle with both her hands, and would place herself out in front when they go where ever they do. "Do what you can, Tirr. But, as she says..." She gestures to Lucy, "Might be a good idea to hang back. Kill them with bee stings, yeah?"

"Fighting isn't a problem if that's what is neded." Kore takes a deep breath and then reaches down to her belt. She seems to be counting through a number of shuriken placed there. "...Does anyone happen to have a stick on hand? ... Nevermind."

GAME: Lucy rolls perception: (16)+12: 28

GAME: Baz da Ork rolls Perception: (20)+3: 23

GAME: Athrian rolls Perception: (2)+7: 9

GAME: Kore rolls perception: (16)+12: 28

GAME: Aerilaya rolls Perception: (4)+6: 10

"...Halt." Kore's voice is soft but firm. She raises a hand and makes a fist, mimicking the order in simple sign. Then the petite woman is on a knee, checking out the floor. "We have traps in here," she states then, tilting herh ead slightly to the left as she does. "I'll see what I can do about them. Unless we've an engineer...?"

As the group progresses forward the big Ork nods his head towards Athrian. "Yeah, Kor says it ain't da size of the warrior in da fight, but der size of the fight in the warrior." Then he grins, his tusks glistening. "It's just dat.." He stops talking as Kore calls a halt. His big form rolling to a stop, taking the moment to swing down his shield he now holds his axe and shield at the ready as he waits.

Tirr just does as she's told for now, the Sith'Makar indeed hanging in the back as she watches the others.... "Sooo what didja find?" she asks curiously....

GAME: Tirrynelth rolls perception: (11)+6: 17

Athrian laughs and nods to Baz, then moves forward, but not even a step further than where Kore is. He kneels some, to try to get a better look at what the woman is talking about. When pointed out to him, the traps themselves become more obvious. Strange how that works. He glances over to her, "Have you ever seen this sort of trap before?"

GAME: Athrian rolls disable device: (11)+9: 20

GAME: Kore rolls disable device+2+2: (11)+13+2+2: 28

Aerilaya stops dead in her tracks, a foot raised in the air, but she freezes SOLID! She looks around at everyone, "Just... tell me when I can step again. I can hold this for a while..."

Lucy watches carefully what Kore does to disable the trap. She flashes an amused look at Aerilaya, then the expression fades away as she realizes the Khazad is serious. Lucy turns back towards Kore, expression neutral.

"And... Athrian, tuck that knife under hte plate and hold it taut. If you drop it we'll both get electrocuted." KOre's voice is soft but tense, the half-Mul'niessa girl as still as she can manage while she reaches a tiny hand beneath the plate in question and grasps something. "Okay. When I tell you pul lthe knife free. One... two..." Then Kore is on her feet in an instant, turning to look over the rest of the party. "Let's keep moving... Ah. You needn't stand on one foot. Truly. Good safety precaution I... suppose?" She blinks once at Aerilaya then shrugs.

With a nod Baz once again takes up the march, axe and shield ready as he starts forward his eyes sweeping back and forth as he looks for danger.

...and pushing forward, thenb, you find the tunnel expanding in a large, seventy foot across circular chamber. About forty feet ahead of you is a second, smaller circle that seems to fit inside this larger chamber you've just entered. The walls here are smooth and it looks like you've got to walk along the outter ring here to get to...wherever this is taking you. A thrumming sound is now audible.

Tirr blinks "Electrocuted? I'd probably a been a better choise to step on that one.." She muses and she follows along after the folks, the tall Sith starting to whistle a jaunty tune for lack of much more to do... Even as she sings she waves her wand a little as a conductor might while just generally enjoying the tune... She pauses in her whistling when she hears the thrumming "Think we've found something interesting?"

The whip of a rogue does as he's told, learning as he goes, deft with his precise hands, as if perhaps he had disarmed a trap or two in his lifetime. But nothing like this. And so his interest is keen. When it's all said and done, he rises up again and brushes his hands off, slipping the dagger away. "An interesting piece! Maybe we could return for it when the place is all cleared out?" he suggests, grinning at Kore. The ork is on the move again, however, and the half-tsuran decides he's a good sort of person to stick close to. He follows along, re-drawing his shortswords in case it comes to that, his steps light and careful.

Lucy comes to a stop just inside of the large chamber, panning her gaze slowly around to take in the sights. "I hope there aren't more traps on the way," she murmurs, then looks expectantly at Kore and Athrian. Immediately a guilty expression flits across her face and she looks away.

"If you want to spend half a day excavating it I won't stop you," Kore informs the rogue matter-of-factly. She comes to her feet then and takes a deep breath. "Thank you for your assistance. you're quite good at that. With time you'll probably be better than I am." She smiles at that and then looks down the corridor once more. She is clearly watching for the aforementioned traps and Kore, for one, has no issue going ahead of the party to prove it. She must take pride in her work.

"Wots dat noise?" Baz says shifting on his feet as he listens to the thrum. "Never heard anything like dat before." Finally after a few moments of introspection he simply shrugs and continues to march along the path before them. His armored form rocking left to right with his heavy steps.

"I've had a bit of practice. Not so much as I would like, but then.. that's why I'm here." Athrian remarks, and then compliments the woman in return. "You've a steady hand. A pleasure to watch in action." He sheathes one shortsword and brings his own hand up to run it through his hair, pushing a few stray strands out of the way, before drawing his second weapon again and moving forward with everyone else.

ONWARD.

You circle around the outter ring and move to the opposite side of the room. here, there's a door on either side of you at the central point, one into th center ring and another leading out of this area and down another hallway.

The thrumming seems to be coming from inside the center ring.

"Huh." Baz says as he stares at the center door with it's thrum hiding mass. "I'm gonna open dis big door here." He says starting towards it. His big hand slinging the battle axe at his hip as he reaches out gloved fingers towards the indicated portal.

Tirr glances from the thing in the middle to Ba then to the thing, the Sith tilting her head left and righ curiously as her jaw gapes just slightly. "Hmmm... Wonder what eactly this ring thingie is?" She asks curiously as she studies it.

GAME: Athrian rolls Perception: (14)+7: 21

Athrian gives the door a quick once-over, the one that Baz seeks to open. "I mean.. it looks fine to me..", he suggests, seeming satisfied with the door's lack of ability to harm anyone, though he does give the half-Mul a questioning look a moment after that. In testament to his confidence in his own abilities, and to his credit, he does take a step or three backwards before any door-opening actually happens.

Lucy frowns. "That certainly sounds important," she ventures. She looks curious. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like a creature. More like some machine. Something that's running by itself, not some artificial walking construct." She looks around at the others to see if they show any signs they agree.

Kore watches as Athrian examines the door, tilting her head slightly to the left while she studies the rogue's movements. She seems to be content to allow him to work, her hands at her sides. The Monk starts to hum somehting to herself. Some people might recognize it as a dedication to Vardama. Nothing happening here. Yet.

After a bit of time, you're able to get the door to the inner passage open.

Within this chamber, smaller than the one encompassing it of course, is large, central machine. Whirring gears and glowing crystals comprimise this machinery and it appears to be... doing something. Aligned along the wall are crystals at regular intervals. Glass tubing set from the central machine run along the floor to each one, some sort of sparkling blue light coursing and pulsing down each one to the crystal.

This is, in short, some advanced artifice.

While each direction has a a crystal, there are at least half as many humanodd constructs, apparently depowered at the moment and with their heads down, staning stock-still here. Like the ones that were fought earlier.

Tirr stares at the giant artifice, then the humanoid constructs curiously...

GAME: Lucy rolls craft/artifice: (1)+10: 11 (EPIC FAIL)

Some of the wind is taken from Athrian's sails at the sight of the egregious amount of artifice that's in the room. His golden-struck eyes widen just a little, and he hangs back a small bit, close to where Tirr is. The rogue mumbles, "Well.. that's a good amount of strangeness. More than I'd know what to do with. I'd likely bring all those constructs to life. Not a fantastic proposition.." His shortswords, one in each hand, lower just a little bit. He speaks up, "Are any of you skilled in this sort of mechanization? I admit, it's a touch intimidating."

Tirr glances to Athrian curiously, and glances over at the artifices... "Might wanna get an artificer in here? I have very little familiarity with those thingies, save the automata things hurt... a lot.. and watch out for the ones with the hand-drills..." She suggests..

Kore is searhcing the area determinedly, her blue eyes wide as she takes in everything around her. She sees no need to speak which means she likely hasn't found a thing. But for now the monk continues to search. "I'm not skilled in it in the slightest, I'm afraid. I could probably turn it off but knowing what it is first might be wise..."

Lucy squints at the machinery. "It looks familiar, but I'm drawing a blank," she admits. "Maybe if I had more time to study. And to try taking some of it apart." She examines the constructs and the empty spaces where more should be. "I'm sure I won't wake the rest of them!"

All of the cosntructs stand up straight suddenly.

They are turning to regard you, now, openly. Spikes and blades erupt from their bodies, metal flowing to form them like liquid.

Great. <unknown>