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[Nezumi]

When she finds her domain largely undestroyed Viss feels a burst of relief that is cut short by the realization that Oldaraphon isn't there. Au's explanation doesn't really ease her worries for the ancient tree.
She nods after Shulmor speaks up. "You are right. I just need to..." She quickly jumps up the ladder to her little tree house and starts rummaging around in one of her trunks until she finds the little bag of balancing stones Curai had giving her all those years ago. She wished she had the time to sit down and play a round to regain her focus and provide her with calmness for the things to come. But for now just having them with hey calmed her down.

She jumps back down and nods to the others. "Let's go."

 

[ThLunarian]

((I need a destination from someone. I guess it might be worth noting that the remaining quarters all belong to characters who aren't in the party anymore))

 

[Nezumi]

Viss turns to rest of their group. "If no one has a better idea, I'd be in favor of Shulmor's suggestion to inspect the hangar. Even if we don't find Oldaraphon there, since it appeared to be the last place the Raven Queen has been we might learn something useful there nonetheless."

 

[ThLunarian]

((I'll type up a post some time today. You're going to find stuff there, just FYI))

 

[KittenMaster]

Satra doesn't venture far into the forest somehow embedded into the large installation, but its pleasantness brings back a forgotten sensation, "This is the first time I've stood in wild life since an eternity.."

Suddenly, he perks up, "Hangar, you say?"

 

[ThLunarian]

The residential portion of the Observatory is left behind, and the party continues through the quiet, darkened halls toward the hangar bay.

It doesn't take long until sounds can be heard up ahead - busy, industrial sounds, like work is being performed.

The clamor gets progressively louder. Eventually, up ahead, there is a wide opening, like a door frame without a door, that leads to what used to be the hangar bay.

Inside, there are dozens of archons, busily toiling away - building weaponry, vehicles, and various other devices. Among the archons are humanoids which look to be heavily augmented by technology, not unlike Viss's demon.

Neither the Archons nor the cyborgs pay the party the slightest bit of attention. They continue to work; if anyone tries to get in their way, the workers just go around that person and trudge onward.

 

[KittenMaster]

<oh gosh the nightmares are real, this really is the singularity machine>

Satra seeks out a corner to sulk behind and gaze about and it only takes a sharp jitter of his eyes to survey the hanger enough to say towards the rest of the party, "This is bad. Very very bad for everyone. I say we detonate this entire fortress from Esperia's airspace and find a ship to bail out."

 

[Nezumi]

Viss frowns at the pilot. "And then what? Hope that the problem just goes away on its own? That the enemy says, 'Oh bugger, looks like things didn't work out. I guess I go home then.' I highly doubt that destroying the observatory would be less than a mild hinderance for a being such as Zerome. I can't even begin to fathom what his end game might be, but I doubt he'll stop THAT easily. By all means though, no one is keeping you here. But ask yourself, where are you going to hide when there is nowhere left to run?

She shakes her head in silent disappointment before she herself peaks around the corner in the hopes of spotting Oldaraphon.

 

[KittenMaster]

He argues, "And then? And then we've gotten rid of a place where they're making weapons. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to stick around to be in the impending explosion."

 

[ThLunarian]

No sign of Oldaraphon in the hangar bay.

 

[Nezumi]

Viss looks at the machine like movements of the transformed humans. She shakes her head. "Not only is this our home and some of our friends might still be in here somewhere. Just look at this people. These aren't willing helpers. Chances are they are innocents that are simply being controlled against their will. Can you take it upon your conscience to just condemn them to their death." She looks around once more shaking her head. "I certainly can't..."

 

[KittenMaster]

Satra looks around once more, "... I admit, that part is going to be a lot harder. I'm willing to bet if there's anything that would destroy this facility or at least shut it down, though, it would be somewhere here."

Satra, not sure if he can spot any explosive weaponry, wonders if the surrounding facility he can see can be exploited in any way, including the possibility of getting Fleshbane to reprogram any archons.

Engineering: 1D20+18 = [17]+18 = 35

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Shulmor looks over the weapon room, taking in the production line. "It would seem they prepare for war. Someone here is seeking to go forth and conquer the planes." the lich says this with a degree of admiration.

In response to Satra, he replies "If a god was not involved, that would be a feasible plan. It would damage their ability to move forward and potentially kill the leader of their forces, truly crippling them. As it is, the best we could hope for is to gravely injure Zerome in the explosion. By itself, that is reason to blow it up over the lives remaining here. The benefit should put your conscience at ease."

"However, I am pretty sure that destroying the Observatory would go against our agreements with our patrons. You may not be so bound, so it makes sense you would not consider that. But it is not an option unless one of you is aware of discretion I am not." He says this as if it ends the matter definitively.

Turning to Viss, he says "I see no signs of your Tree here, it appears that getting information from it is not happening right now."

 

[Nezumi]

Viss nods. "Unfortunately, yes," she says unable to hide the worry in her voice. She fingers the bag of stones, the small clicking noises strangely putting her mind at ease. "Which leaves us once more with the question of what our next move should be."

She thinks for a few seconds. "Shulmor," she asked when something occurred to her. "When you got assigned to this post, this whole mess had already started. Shouldn't your patron already had some knowledge of Zerons actions? This is after all a situation that concerns the council as much if not more than it does us.
" I'm just wondering if maybe they offered you some information that might be helpful to our situation? None of us had any means of getting in contact with our patrons since we retreated to the continent below us and every bit of intel might be of importance to decide our next action."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Shulmor thinks for a short time, then replies. "Unfortunately, I have been told nothing of this invasion. I do not believe my patron knows any more about this than any of yours. I am just as in the dark about this situation as you are."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Can I still get a result on my knowledge roll? Stuff in the room may be useful regardless of Satra wanting to blow up the Death Star.>

 

[ThLunarian]

There is lots of equipment that could be rigged to make a decent sized explosion without too much trouble, but nothing anywhere near enough to put even a tiny dent in the Observatory overall. Maybe, with a few weeks of work, in theory something could be rigged, but that's a big 'maybe.'

 

[KittenMaster]

<What about being able to hack an Archon to use it for our purposes? Is that a separate roll?>

 

[ThLunarian]

It's possible but would require a separate roll. Also a description of what you want to accomplish with it is important. ((Sorry, I've been a little distracted today))

 

[KittenMaster]

<You actually just answered what I wanted to know in my Engineering check. >

Satra continues to gaze around, his hands flustering around his head, "Well, okay.. I got a little panicked. Let me think.. We won't blow it up, but we might be able to take control of this factory if we take over one of the archons or two.. if.. we need to, of course."

 

[ThLunarian]

There are also various unattended weapons and armor available - stuff that combines Magic and technology in unique ways. With minimal searching, each party member could find something usable.

((Everyone can find an equivalent to any weapon, shield, or armor you're proficient with that has a +4 bonus to it. Just one per person though - either an armor or a shield or a weapon))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((I'll do a +4 double barreled shotgun for Shulmor.))

As Satra analyses the machinery, Shulmor notices a rather well put together shotgun and picks it up, giving it a look over. Satisfied with its quality, he encourages Satra to hack some archons. "Yes, it would be to our advantage to break their factory, or better yet, to have the archons create robots that serve us. It is more likely to gain the attention of our enemies, but that is an inevitability anyway."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Does it have to be +4 or can it be the equivalent of +4? Because Firearms really benefit from the Reliable modifier which makes them less likely to misfire (none at all depending on the weapon) and is a +1 equivalent.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((I'll allow Reliable. If anyone wants a different equivalent then I'll consider it on a case by case basis. Definitely no more than one substitution though))

 

[KittenMaster]

After Satra realizes that the lich had procured himself a stocky looking super shotgun, he turns to notice a conveyor transporting weapons that the mechanical denizens had mass produced. He grasps a firearm with an elongated barrel like a staff built into a wooden frame and examines it closely, pulling open the chamber and beginning to transfer one of the bullets, the explosive, from his revolver into the slide. "This is a lovely one, a 'Heartbreaker' model for generals on horseback- or rather a heartless imitation," he comments, "There are too many just like this one after today."

<Grabbing a +3 Reliable Rifle named "Heartless">

Once given the blessing that he should tinker with an archon, he slings the rifle around his back and says, "Okay, I can disable one momentarily with a jolt intended for Aldebaran, after that we'll have a short time to modify it. I may need Fleshbane or Menek to help."

 

[Nezumi]

((I somehow doubt that there'll be any ironwood armor lying around and I already have a +4 bow I think. So Viss will pass on the equipment))

 

[Azih]

((I somehow doubt that there'll be any ironwood armor lying around and I already have a +4 bow I think. So Viss will pass on the equipment))

((Your Metal to Wood spell is great for turning metal equipment into stuff you can use I think))

 

[Azih]

((Two questions.

Menek already has a +3 weapon that he barely uses and a +4 armor that buffs up his pretty crap AC. So he could use a better shield. I've got a question for this new item. Can it be a buckler made of Mithral as that's pretty cheap at these levels and necessary for Menek to be a realiable spell caster (reduces arcane spell failure chance to 0). If so he'll pick up a +4 Mithral Buckler.

The second question is about the Spell Storing magic ability. This is a pretty nifty +1 ability but there's some confusion on whether the touch spell stored in the shield would need a touch attack roll to deliver the spell or not. It seems to me the touch spell should just hit as Menek is getting touched by an attack when the spell goes off but there's some confusion about that. If the rolling is that Menek needs a touch attack roll for the ability to work than he'll take a +4 Mithral Buckler, otherwise he'll get a +3 spell storing mithral buckler and stick a Vampiric Touch spell in there when he learns it.)).

The terrible site of his destroyed home still weighting on his mind Menek lapses into uncharacteristic silence This does not make sense he mutters looking around Why is this place not guarded or defended? We could do terrible damage to this weapons factory if we chose too. Perhaps Viss's demon was Zerome's steward in this area and with him gone they do not have orders to defend themselves? There must be a control area

Menek shakes his head There was one other in my domain, Zeilos, he must still be here. And where is Ozzang'ac? There are many secrets in this place.

Menek drinks an extract of Arcane Sight and looks around.

 

[KittenMaster]

"Maybe one of these constructs will help us find out. Maybe.. at the very least I can disable an Archon, we re-wire it, and maybe Fleshbane can access its memory banks to see if it ever recorded any activity logs of what was going on?"

<I plan on using Diable Construct to stun an Archon to give us a few seconds to do stuff to it.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"Yes, the lack of security is quite odd," Shulmor says in agreement. "The cyberdemon seemed quite capable of continuing combat when it was fully automatized. Perhaps it has been left to guard somewhere of more importance. And then there is the question of this Archibald's forces, you would think we would have encountered some sign of those by now. With any luck, Satra's hacking of an archon will give us some insight."

((Typos from fast posts are a bitch ))

 

[ThLunarian]

((I'll allow a mithril shield. However, you would have to make the touch attack with Spell Storing. It doesn't say the spell automatically hits, and part of casting a touch spell is making the attack roll. Also, just because an attack hits you, that doesn't mean it hit the shield. So you'll probably want to take the +4.

Satra can go ahead and implement his plan by making the required rolls. The targeted archon failed its saving throw pretty badly))

 

[Azih]

((Archibald not Abbott lol. Edit: +4 Mithral shield it is. Any hit from Menek's Arcane Sight?))

Menek sees a small buckler sitting in an ordered pile very similar to his own but far far more effective in a magical way.

There is strong magic in the construction here. An army equipped by this armory would be formidable

 

[KittenMaster]

<What should I roll to do this? Disable Device or Use Magic Device?

Also I think I'm the only one that has noticed something peculiar about Archibald's name, but it probably was unintended on thLunarian's part.>

 

[ThLunarian]

((Roll Disable Device, KM. And yeah, I don't know who Archibald is outside of this game, so it's just a coincidence, sorry

Arcane Sight shows that everything in the room has its own moderately strong magical aura. Nothing stands out significantly more than anything else, though))

 

[KittenMaster]

<His name sounded strangely familiar... Maybe that's because everybody in Esperia's name starts with the letter A and I assumed we had met him already, so I searched the topic to remind myself of when we last met him or heard of him... no results. I was seriously confused... And then I searched Quest for the Holy Relics topic and hit results

Spoiler

He was the ring leader of the orc reformation camps that we never directly met

>

Disable Device check: 1D20+24 = [2]+24 = 26

<Menek halp>

 

[Azih]

((Rolled 5+21=26 so as an aid that's a +2 to yours ))

 

[ThLunarian]

Satra successfully disables one of the commandeered archons, but when he tries to tinker with it, a moderately painful jolt of electricity surges through him.

The archon looks up at Satra with an eyeless face. "You are wasting your time," intones the same voice that came from the resurrected demon earlier. "We await you in what you knew as the Briefing Room."

It hops to its feet and resumes its previous duties.

((Satra, take 5 nonlethal damage))

 

[Azih]

It wants something from us

 

[KittenMaster]

Satra is reeled back, his limbs contorting for just a brief moment as a low voltage of electricty brings pain to his entire nervous system.

He gets brought to a simmering pain, his body trembling, "Aahhhahh... Why did you have to do that you-", he responds, trying not to be humbled by the shock.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"That all but confirms that the lack of security is due to Zerome waiting for us. You didn't disrupt their weapon output, but that wasn't a pointless endeavor."

 

[KittenMaster]

"But you didn't get to see what happened to this place-" he grunts, "Those archons are as bad as Aldebaran's security to re-wire."

 

[Nezumi]

((I don't think there is anything useful I can take from the factory. Both my armors and my weapon is already +4. So unless there is a T-Rex sized head cannon lying around, I think I'll pass.))

When the same voice that had spoken to them before interrupts the pilots tinkering with the machines, Viss' hair starts standing up all over her back and her tail begins twitching left and right almost like a whip. It is obvious they have little choice put to comply to the voices wishes, which didn't mean that Viss liked doing so all that much.

Zerome and that Archibald character obviously were confident that they would have the upper hand in the encounter and to tell the truth Viss was relatively sure that they had every right to do so. It didn't help that the whole existence of a being like Zerome was an enigma to her. How to prepare to fight an enemy who you couldn't even understand on the most basic level of your being?

Maybe if she hadn't spent so much time loathing Fleshbane for his unnatural existence and had instead tried to understand him more, she might not had to walk into a confrontation with almost no preparation. Then again, to actually pay attention to one of the machines seemingly endless ramblings about superiority and all that nonsense, just to gather a little information... Nope, not worth it. After all, there was tolerance and having an open mind and there was self torture.

She shrugs. "I guess, we can pull it off as long as we want but sooner or later we have to go talk to these guys. Might as well be now."

She turns around and walks out of the hangar in the direction of the briefing room, Tessa trotting along behind her.

 

[KittenMaster]

<Maybe there is a +4 Amulet of Mighty Fists laying around. AoMF are basically the way Monks have to get enhancement bonuses and Animals can use it to boost their natural attacks.>

 

[Nezumi]

((If it is OK to somehow fasten it to Tessa I'll gladly take it.))

 

[Azih]

We have been putting it off long enough Menek agrees and follows Tessa towards the briefing room.

 

[KittenMaster]

Satra stumbles forward, flicking his arm sharply in a desperate attempt to force feeling to return to himself, "Aaahh.. ugh, at least Zerome dropped any sort of pretense compared to some of our other hosts."

 

[Mike M]

((Sorry for going AWOL, been dealing with the joys of home ownership and thousands of dollars of catastrophes the past week. Everything's under control now, will catch up tomorrow.))

 

[ThLunarian]

((I've also been a little AWOL - this has been a tough week, though apparently not so tough as Mike's. Luckily I can use his absence as an excuse When Fleshbane chimes in on the hangar situation, I will follow up soon after))

 

[Mike M]

"Downing the Observatory will not stop Zerome," Fleshbane confirms. "Even if we were to succeed in such an undertaking, I assure you it will have reserve measures already in place. The lack of security in this facility is testament of that fact; It is not concerned with preventing us from doing damage because anything we do is ultimately inconsequential. Everything is proceeding exactly as it has calculated, we are nothing but cogs in its machinations."

Fleshbane watches with wry amusement as Satra's attempt to compromise one of the archons backfires upon him. "Come," he says as he begins to march toward the exit. "I believe we are late for the denouement of our farce of an adventure."

((My sword and armor are already +5, so I can't think of anything I'd want to take here.))

 

[ThLunarian]

A low, steady humming rapidly intensifies as the party approaches the center of the Observatory. It is accompanied by slight din of commotion - the sort that is common when there are many people together in the same room.

Again, the doors to this room have been removed, in favor of open archways; Zerome and Archibald do not appear to have much use for such barriers, here in their repurposed floating fortress.

On the far end of the room from where the party approaches, there is an enormous computer; this is the source of the humming. It has no discernible user interface, and appears designed solely to maximize processing power. It takes up the entire wall, which stretches nearly fifty feet high.

A line of people is shackled to the right wall, including a tree whose trunk and branches are fastened to the wall with metal bands. Its roots are connected to some kind of machine, which seems to be keeping it alive.

The others shackled to the wall include Fe, Cu, Arlen Firebeard, Hugh, Pepa the Kobold, and the villagers from Mako's home town who had made residence in her so-far-unseen domain.

On the left wall, the Raven Queen is shackled in a similar manner. Her expression is angry and defiant, but she is trapped all the same.

In the center of the room, between the party and the giant computer, are five people: a line of three, and behind them, a line of two.

On the left in the front row is Brick - the large man who Fleshbane might recognize from Ciel's quarters. He is sporting some machine-like equipment, but is still mostly human.

Next to him, in the center, is the reanimated, mostly-machine demon that the party previously vanquished outside of the Observatory. It appears to be in fine health, though its stature is obviously diminished when compared to before.

On the right in the front row is Ozzan'gac - a giant head made of water, except now the water that comprises him is neither clear nor blue, but instead a murky shade of gray.

Behind them, on the left is Zelio. His body has been modified extensively by machinery; his face is untouched, but even the crown of his head has something on top of it.

On the right is an unfamiliar man, wearing a body-tight suit of ballistic armor and a red cape. His hair is short, black, and slightly spiky; he looks young.

"Welcome home," the demon says, in the same monotone drone of Zerome.

((Time for reaction scenes + initiative rolls. I will be controlling Au for this battle. I have not had a chance to put together a map yet; sorry about that))