Tiny Problem

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE.

There's work for you from the Guild of Explorers! You've been sent by them to the Guild of Artifice, that bizarre building in Alexandria, where you're being guided to one of the larger rooms in the establishment, where upon you see a great amount of activity, beeping machinery, whirring gears and cogs and the engineers themselves hovering over what appears to be a rather large golem of osme kind. Stretched out across the entirety of this large room, the twelve foot tall creation appears to be inactive itself. Ancient runes are scrawled across its body. Kulthian, if you'd be familiar with that. Old indeed.

Morgan walks in to the room and her nerdy eyes focus right to the runes on the wall "oh please tell me they want us to study this." she knows that it is not what she is here for.

Kalkorth hmms as he doesn't come to the artificer's guild at all. Not much to do here. He eyes the large golem and hmms, "So I hope we are going to wrestle that thing there." He says pointing at the golem

'A challenge,' the barbarous green Oruch has boasted, 'a deed worthy to fill his mug for toasting.'

There's no irony in the result. The green skinned lummox had been given a chore but it involved the Guild of Artifice a location whose very existence is - quite challenging, to his martial spirit.

Thick beetled brow draws to a perplexed look that does not seem to have been communicated to the rest of his body for he moves with a broad-shouldered swagger that only slows as it realizes the metallic humanoid is even greater than he - were it pieced together.

Is it not pieced together? Drok'thar is not certain.

The Oruch emits a low sound of discontent and reaches to pick some gawdy clockwork bauble from a nearby workbench. Tossing it carelessly in one hand his beady eyes narrow upon it in interest and then looks to the golem again.

Serraphine walks in at some point, probably with the rest of the people and there's a cookie in her hand. Coffin shaped with little heart-shaped sprinkles and a heart shaped frosting symbol on the back side with the letters 'S+A' in the middle of it. Serraphine perhaps sees none of this, or perhaps she already knows about this, or who knows what goes through her mind as she scowls around and takes a bite of the cookie. Munch-munch-munch-munch.

"...oh thank the Gods! THey found willing volunteers who'll do this for lots of gold! SO, ah... as you can see, we've recovered this construct from a recent Kulthian discovery from miles to the west of here. We brought it here for study but it's unstable." The older, human man with an artifice eye that's speaking to you is kneeling down by the side of the construct.

A nearby goblin wearing oil-covered clothes speaks up, "What he means is that it's going to explode."

"Yes," replies the human, "explode. Rather dramatically too. But that's okay! It's okay! We have a plan! Isn't that right, Golgi?"

"Indeed, Pevt, we have a plan. We know that the power core of the golem is incredibly unstable but we can't get to it. We're too big, too clumsy, to neutralize it without disrupting it and setting off a chain reaction! That's why we're going to make you /super/ tiny and send you inside to neutralize the power core without destroying this entire section of the city! This is a wonderful idea and will surely work well for all involved."

Morgan listens to the pitch of the mission "can you tell us what is a big no no in the core, and what will we see?"

Drok'thar still clutches the clockwork contraption but regards both the human and the goblin as they prattle on. The bit about the explosion stirs him a bit though and when told he shall become super tiny the jade giant exhales roughly and proffers his free hand.

Using his thumb and pointer he squints at the space between while examining the golem from a distance slowly collapsing the distance as if trying to somehow measure exactly -how small- the duo may mean.

"Neutralize," he asks then dropping his hand, "Do you mean pummeling until it yields?" He too seems sincere.

Kalkorth narrows his eyes at the duo, 'And I take it you have a plan on making us untiny when we are doing with this job?" He shakes his head, "No, I've worked with artificers before rarely if ever do they want you to pummel something."

Serraphine took another bite of the cookie. She probably would be more concerned about all this stuff, and Acleese would undoubtedly faint, but whenever they started talking about golems and neutralize and disruption reactions... Well there was this sort of white noise, like a high pitched whine that ran through her ears. Best not to worry too much. Crunch-munch-munch-munch-munch.

"...well, it will certainly be dangerous, you know. The golem's active, even if its in a low power mode, and what most don't realize is that their interiors are a lot like our own in particular ways: they purge foreign objects. You know. You guys." Golgi clears his throat.

"But this is our best bet. And I'm afraid you'll be very tiny. Just don't expect it to be easy. The good news is that it should be a relativey straight shot through the internal workings to get to the center core. Just follow the lights and try not to get squished by the cooling mechanisms and so on."

Pevt smiles brightly.

"We've modified this Brundle and Fythe company gnomifier device to simply reduce you all to a very very very tiny size! We'll slip you in through the golem's neck joint and you can come out the same way. But if you fail, well... we'll be evacuating a large portion of the surrounding city. Because explosion."

"Who wants the neutralizer?" A simple glass tube filled with a blue vial is held out. "Pour this on the Golem's veritable heart and everything will be peachy."

Kaelyn has arrived.

Aria has arrived.

Kalkorth shakes his head, "Not me I'm more then likely to get it smashed when we have to fight whatever defenses that this golem might have on it's insides. Where do you need us to stand so we can get going? Do you have a map of this golems insides?"

Serraphine takes another bite of the cookie. She hears what their saying, a nod, 'Wah wah wah. Wah wah. Wahwah wah wah. Dangerous. Wah wah wah. Golem. Wah wah wah wah. You guys.' Serraphine blinks and pauses as she stares down at her cookie. Then a look up and she scowls at Golgi, "I am not a guy!" She says and nods her head before taking another bite of the cookie again.

Drok'thar squints, perhaps this is a worthy challenge.

"We accept," he decides for the group and storms forward to snatch the blue vial from the artificer. Giving it a rough shake he seems oblivious to the fizzing bubbling and pops the cork before lifting it to his snout. Something in his brain warns, 'Do not drink'.

"Perhaps," he says in a deep baritone, "Someone with more care to their step should have the?," pause, "honor of carrying the newt-lizer."

He waves it outward for the group. Anyone? Anyone?

Morgan nods "Tell me all about it and how to use it." she steps up for the item. She wonders if she needs to take notes.

Aria has been standing silently in the back of the room. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on in her mind, though. Presumably, she knows something about this. She is an artificer, right? Or at least of artifice? Artificey? Is that a thing? And she might be competent. She's with the Skyguild, after all. They let her work on airships, and you don't see those falling out of the sky every other advent . . . Oh. Wait. Maybe that isn't a vote of confidence, either.

Whatever calculus she's using to analyze the situation eventually leaves her with a conclusion. With the same never-changing copper smile, she simply says, "Well, this is a terrible idea. It's not the most terrible idea I've ever heard, but it's definitely in the top 5." That's followed immediately by, "So can we start now? I don't think we're really getting much benefit from your explanation." Respectful, too!

Granit has arrived.

...the small device fires a beam at you as you're gathered into a group over the golem. You feel disoriented as the world... shifts!

You're definitely tiny, now, and can indeed seem the massive, cavernous seam of the golem's neck joint, where there's an expose you can indeed walk through.

The world itself is disorted vastly by this nauseating change of perception, but you're at least delivered close to the right spot you want to be.

Well, good luck...

Kalkorth looks around as he takes off his greataxe from his back. "All right let's go find this power core and neutralize it."

Morgan feels a bit dizy for a few seconds as she is new to this "Yes lets get going."

"Let's," Aria replies to Kalkorth, heading for the opening.

Granit has connected.

Kae is well following along, all disoriented and stuff as she looks around... She blinks "Everything is so biiiiig!" She calls out, arms flailing now while she stares around the place... "How'd this all happen anyway!" She calls then peers at Seraphine... "This isn't Sandy's fault again is it?"

Kalkorth starts to keep his eyes peeled for any internal defenses that the golem might have as he heads into the opening. He has his greataxe out as he scans around.

Granit crouches down, trying to let his senses adjust before he moves. "Oh, this is uncomfortable." He tests moving, then starts to follow. Weird or not, he's a spotter, so he gets up to Kalkorth's shoulder.

Morgan looks around and says "If I was not use to being short this might of cause a complex of my self."

GAME: Aria rolls fortitude: (4)+7: 11

• hurk* *hurk*

Drok'thar's incredible constitution subdues the pangs of nausea that arise from the rapid reduction in size. The lights seem to provide a pretty clear trail and so the Oruch moves alongside the others peering brutishly at their surroundings.

Serraphine was kinda used to this sensation. It was that fluttering sort of feeling you get when you eat demon. Yes. Mmmm, demon. She stares at the cookie in her hand. Now that it's all shrunk too - does it taste different? Chomp-munch-munch-munch. "Nope." Serraphine says, responding to someone, or maybe herself, who knows. It's Serraphine.

Morgan steadys her self and wants to get this done just incase there is a time limit on shrink ray before they enlarge in a area to small for them to fit.

You begin moving into the innards of the golem.

To say that this is odd is certainly an understatement. You're presently surrounded by odd tubbing through which numerous pulses of energy are travelling. It smells of metal and wood in here and the seamless (mostly) interlocking plates that compose the golem's exterior above you. All throughout, you're hearing thick, humming sounds of energy and whirring gears. Outside of it, they'd be all but silent, but here at this size, it's enough to make one's ears ring.

GAME: Morgan rolls athletics: (7)+0: 7

GAME: Serraphine rolls Athletics: (13)+2: 15

GAME: Granit rolls athletics: (19)+8: 27

GAME: Kalkorth rolls athletics: (12)+12: 24

GAME: Drok'thar rolls athletics: (9)+9: 18

GAME: Kaelyn rolls athletics: (19)+-2: 17

GAME: Serraphine refreshes spells.

So far so good right?

Nobody ever said climbing through the innards of a golem would be /easy/. The reality is that the thing's body is not exactly made for people climbing insode if it. And thus, you are carefully picking your way through it, climbing down wiring and tubes and using them as pathways to maneuver down. BAsed on what you were told, all you should have to do is follow the enrgy and it should take you where you wnt to go, right?

The pulsing is steady and rythmic, not unlike what one would expect a heart to be like. In the distance, you hear loud scraping sounds, as if steel was grinding against steel. Is it moving? Not perceptibly to the outside eye.

And thatr's when Morgan loses her footing and goes over the 'side' of a sloping wire you're traversing down. She's hanging onto the ledge by a hand.

GAME: Drok'thar rolls reflex: (11)+6: 17

GAME: Kalkorth rolls reflex: (5)+3: 8

GAME: Kaelyn refreshes spells.

Kae flails as she sees a person start to fall? "Quick someone grab her!" She calls out, now turning to well, do just that, trying to get to the woman hanging on the innards of a golem... "I should so figure out how to do this miniature thingie! I can soo learn to make cooler thingies!"

Granit curses, and pulls a rope from his belt. It starts knotting itself, and it extends over the side towards Morgan (and Drok'thar). "Here. Use this."

The Oruch balances across the wire his broad arms elevated slightly in counter balance.

Moran slips, falls..

..careless, Drok surges forward falling to his belly as a broad hand snaps outward catching her supple wrist, "Got'cha," he hisses with a grunt her dangling for a moment as he tries to brace his body upon the wire with his legs.

He begins to pull her up.

Morgan screams words in strange languages untill Drok grabs her "Um thank you." she says as she is very emberesd about this.

Serraphine rummaged around in her bag of holding... this was not working how she would have liked. She pulled back out crumbs. Well, more like a ball of cookie, she stares down at it, and turns it over to see.... One massive sprinkle. "Mmmm, sprinkle." She nibbles on it as she watches the others save Morgan, a nod of her head. "Ah. Good catch. I would but-" And she held up the chunk of cookie with the one massive sprinkle.

Eventually, you're all able to pull Morgan back up to the 'path' and start heading down it again. You believe you're not in the cavernous chest of the golem proper.

It's a best guess, given it's not like you have a map, You're more or less moving down it's spine, now, so you're going to need to climb back /up/. Which is a slow process.

Having come down wires for an hour now (and hey, did thye even say how you were gonna get made large again?) you're looking at least that long to climb back /up/ through these nooks and cranies. It's at least a relatively st 5raighht shot.

You begin to hear loud, rythmic clanging sounds, like a multitude of blacksmiths working on their anvils.

Granit does use his rope to its best effect, to try to make the climbing a little less dangerous. He moves forward a little, to see if he can see anything before it sees them.

Morgan does her best to help the one that saved her with the climb

Hefting Morgan back up to the wire he shifts his positioning a bit and then accepts the help that is offered. His broad hand grabs onto hers and he manages back to his teeth. Lips curl into a fanged smile and he nods as if to say 'no big deal'.

Lost, certainly that's how Drok'thar feels. Were the directions not so clear not only would he have no idea where they were in the body but he would be uncertain if they were going the wrong way.

To the sound of the smiths his ears twitch slightly, "They always sound like this?" Golems? Black Smiths? His Imagination?

"Maybe that's why its broke." A bit cautious, he does look about as they move. Searching for a source of the sound.

Kae blinks .... "Anyone hear the banging on anvil like sounds?" She asks curiously, the curvy elf looking all around.... "Oh and climbing back out of this thing is gonna be a hoot folks.... " She informs then ooohs as she sees something she likes and quickly proceeds to draw it on a piece of paper... "Gotta use this in my next experiment!"

Serraphine picks her way along, now that the giant sprinkle is gone. She looks over the others in the party, but she also knows with all this armor... it's hard for her to move quick or help people with climbing like this. It was hard enough just for her to focus on it.

Closer, closer...

You know, there are presses and hdyraulics that make a golem go. One of those is a spasm right now. The clanging sounds is eminating from dozens of tiny pistons blocking your wa, smashing back and forth into the interior. Certainly, they are part of its 'engine', so to speak, but right now? Those pistons are really blocking your way and it looks rather dreadful.

Navigating this will be fun.

Morgan watches what is going on here "I can se why there stuff is as expensive as my magic stuff is."

Granit stows his rope and starts watching carefully, looking to see if there's a pattern to the pistons...

Drok'thar comes to a halt in front of the pistons his broad nose twitching as he watches the metal smash over and over and over again. Lips barely moving as if trying to count their actions, determine a sequence, "It's very loud." His shouts in a brusque tone, "Whadda we gotta do to stop it?"

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

Kae blinks at the crusher thingies and tilts her head "Ummm, we can soo do this! And remember... Never give up! Never surrender!" she then blinks and taps her head "Dunnow here that came from, I think I heard my cap'n say that once on the airship... Annnnyhooo...." She sits down near the entrance to the crushy things and stares ahead, squinting as she tries to deduce the pattern to the thingies.....

Morgan looks and says "what is the point of this." she is looking for a off switch like if this was in the duengon of some sorts

"Maybe we can use some of the materials around here..." Serraphine says, looking about, "And make a rudimetry thunderbelcher for one of us." She reaches up, scratching at her chin. Somehow this would be the answer to it, she just wan't sure how yet. Another scratch and a shrug of her shoulders with the clank of plate armor.

"Or," Serraphine adds, "We can just try to... time it or something. Like, one, two, three, one, two three, one, two, one, two, three, four. You know?" She blinks and looks down at her bag. Maybe she should try and find another big sprinkle. That would make this situation better.

GAME: Drok'thar rolls perception: (5)+9: 14

GAME: Kaelyn rolls knowledge/engineering: (9)+10: 19

GAME: Serraphine rolls perception: (2)+4: 6

GAME: Kaelyn rolls craft/artifice: (5)+11: 16

GAME: Kaelyn rolls perception: (4)+10: 14

Granit has connected.

GAME: Drok'thar rolls reflex: (20)+6: 26 (CRITICAL SUCCESS)

GAME: Granit rolls ref: (4)+8: 12

GAME: Serraphine rolls reflex: (5)+4: 9

GAME: Kaelyn rolls reflex: (14)+7: 21

GAME: Morgan rolls reflex: (5)+3: 8

GAME: Not-a-Whirl rolls 3d6: (13): 13

Drok'thar stands for a moment head bobbing up and down as he counts the movement of the pistons.

Then he moves through. Quickly, fluidly, without pause. The lumbering Oruch demonstrating for the second time this day that despite appearances he is quick on his feet.

Making it to the other side he turns around to see how the others fare.

Kae is studying things, and finally she hops to her feet! "Eureeka! I thinks I haz it figured out!" She calls out. Then she beams and begins skipping through it, pausing here, jumping there, running ahead in other places and finally she's at the end "Never give up Never surrender! Eep!" She hops back now as a crusher comes from above... "Oopse forgot about that one, but all is good!" She glances around again and sits all indian style at the end of things and a bit back to give folks room as she waits.... "Dun wanna use the Grabthar's hammer line, so nobody get squished!"

Morgan was doing well at first avoiding every piston untill the last one that snags her robe slaming her head against against the part that holds the botom part. She falls down in a great pain as she has blood on the back of her head.

Granit tries to time it -- he really does. THere's a pause as he looks at Kore. "I don't understand what that means." Maybe it'd be better if he did, because try as he might, he gets hammered as he tries to get through.

Indeed. Drok'thar makes it look so easy that when Morgan, Granit and Serraphine all get clobbered (glancing blows, thankfully, or they'd have been squished) painfully on their way through it's probably all his fault.

Totally his fault.

In any case, one makes it through the spasming pistons, a sure sign (at least to Kaeyln and Aria's eyes) that this golem's power systems are in some kind of flux. It's not good.

You are now moving within what can only be described as the central chest cavity of the golem, moving along tubing and complicated looking machinery that gives it life, growing clser to an ever-loudening hum.

Actually, that's al ot of humming.

And that humming is getting... closer?

Kae hops to her feet and moves to Morgan, the goofy elf muttering something as she sets a little object on the injured person... It looks like a little origami pigl, or iss it a gear driven lizard, maybe a bit of both? It starts to vibrate, then somehow turns inside out, releasing blue healing energies, before exploding into tiny little gears....

Granit drags himself through the pistons, limping. He stops, then takes out his rope again. More climbing! He tries to find a place to squat down and listen to the humming, in particular. That doesn't sound good.

Aria has connected.

GAME: Aria rolls reflexes: (18)+7: 25

It looks like shrapnel as it arrives.

Tiny slivers of flying metal zipping throuh the innards of the golem. But it's not shrapnel in the traditional sense. No, they're moving with too much purpose for that as they hum through the interior of the golem. No, this looks like some kind of defense mechanism of some kind.

Likely something designed to identify and eliminate 'foreign bodies' within the structure of the golem itself.

And they're coming riiiight for you.