Overcoming Meyanda's possibly devastating spell, Chakha fells the android with a mighty swing of her sword. The thundering of the giant machine keeps on going endlessly, but the fight is over. Meyanda, the group met her only half a minute ago - but looking at her, they know they have been on her trail for quite a while - since they first met Sef:



...and more recently, they met her direct subordinates, the orcs in the warehouse:



On the topic of the warehouse, what was found inside it and guarded by first Garmen Ulreth and then by the strange orcs, was a relay...



Furthermore, the relay was transmitting the energy to somewhere in the vicinity of the town Scrapwall. More detailed studies of this device and of maps could yield a more accurate position and information on the location.

---

More of Meyanda's thugs soon come rushing to her aid. Far too late. Each of the ratfolk and orcs who were apparently holed up in the north part of this engineering deck, as it was labeled in the elevator, is killed, captured, or driven off by the group.

The group has yet to earn the reward of 4.000gp for reigniting the torch atop the Black Hill. And what then? In light of what has happened below the town, is Torch safe? Perhaps Khonnir or any of the other town councilors have something to say about that, unless the group does.

Panels of blinking lights and machinery line the walls of the chamber Ren, Chakha, Nameless and Daken are currently in; but the true spectacle here is the massive machine of metal that looms against the far wall on a ten-foot-high platform. Two immense cylinders of pulsing violet light throb at the machine's core, while above a thinner cylinder extends through the ceiling. Ladders to the north and south provide access to the machine's platform, while at the center, a smaller machine with several metal spikes protruding from its heart extends from the larger one. The entire room vibrates with a roaring thunder, and the air in it feels strangely alive, almost as if it were vibrating as well. On the floor in the middle of the room lies a robot, one of the same type that the group fought about a day ago when finding Khonnir. A flying robot. Except this one is lying on the ground, motionless. It must be going through a reboot</>, some sort of process that Nameless initiated at the <i>Robot Command Core.

As is typical, Nameless starts examining the panels and screens for more information. Daken assists him wherever necessary while Ren searches the two bodies for clues.

Chakha meanwhile goes over and uses her sword to ensure that the robot remains motionless even after the reboot sequence was finished. She never met a robot that she liked. After that she quickly dragged the bodies into the room and shut the door behind them creating a secure place where they could rest and recover from their harrowing fight.

<orange>OOC: Daken and Nameless will take a couple 20s on perception check to explore the room.

Then the group is going to rest for a change!

Ren will cast all 4 CLW spells she has remaining:

Ren casts 1 on Chakha: 11
Ren casts 1 on Daken: 5
Ren casts 1 on herself: 9
Ren casts 1 on Nameless: 7

Ren: 23/23
Chakha: 24/33
Daken: 14/16
Nameless: 21/23

The panels around in the room are filled with flashing lights and screens with text sending out enormous amounts of information. Most of this, Nameless cannot begin to comprehend due to the complexity of the machine in this room... But he can tell, that the machine is creating power - it is a generator. Judging by these panels, it does not seem like it is generating as much power as it is capable of. But it is generating a lot of power, his investigating the panels leads him to conclude that it is generating a total of 250 power units - units that can be used to recharge weapons and devices. Most of these units, 240 of them, go towards different activities which Nameless cannot identify - but likely this includes keeping the panels of the entire complex alive. It also seems that there is a surplus of power leading out of this generator: red flashing lights on panels everywhere seem to indicate broken connections of some sort, in several different places. The panels do also indicate that 10 of the charges are being extracted.

Nameless identifies the device in the middle of the machine, up the ladders - the small, spiked machine - as the one extracting these charges. A screen on a part of the main machine close to this device is flashing, with red text in the middle of the screen, saying:
DANGER! GENERATOR MALFUNCTION! ENGAGE FAIL-SAFE!
The spiked machine itself also has a screen. On the top of the screen, there is a message saying:
Relay disconnected.
Safe shut-down instructions:
Long and detailed instructions follow, giving information for how to perform a shutdown on this spiked device. There are many buttons and switches on it, and the task would be very difficult, but given that Nameless can read the instructions which are written in Androffan, it should be possible.
OOC: Disable Device DC30, +10 on check with instructions.

The spiked device, as it is extracting 10 charges from the generator, can be used to fill a device, weapon, or battery with these 10 charges each day. There may be a way to do the same with the generator itself, but Nameless does not know how it will respond when the spiked device is no longer connected.

---

The room outside contains the big, rather strange statue... Meyanda has a necklace with a symbol that somehow resembles it. No amount of study does help the group remember any sort of being this particular symbol (the somewhat crooked claw or talon) would be associated with, that would fit this situation, however. The mound of rubble before it contains some interesting high technological devices...

Level up! Also, loot as in OOC!

Nameless tries to get things shut down but the number of blinking lights and flashing screens makes him miss a step or two...

OOC: Uh oh...

18:52, Yesterday: Nameless rolled 26 using 1d20+22.  shut down reactor safely.

It takes Nameless ten minutes to go through all of the steps of the instructions... Well, not all of them - Nameless must have missed a part or two, because as Nameless finally pushes the button labeled EXECUTE to make the machine go through the shutdown procedures, the screen goes black for a moment and then prints:
Relay disconnected.
Safe shut-down instructions:
...followed again by the same instructions.

This time Nameless realizes what he had done wrong before and follows all the steps exactly...



10:51, Today: Nameless rolled 39 using 1d20+22.  let's try this again..

To make use of the energy sent through the device before Nameless shuts it down, the group finds a cord like a thin rope but constructed in a similar material as the cards use to pass through doors. There is a metal piece at the end, which can be inserted into the robot's baton-weapon. As they do so, neither the machine nor the baton seems to react at all, except for a short message on the screen:
ERROR
Perhaps the baton is faulty somehow, damaged... Nameless instead inserts one of the silverdisks which still glitters with little threads passing over it in different directions. The machine seems to accept it, and there is a meter which seems to show the amount of energy in the machine. It begins to sink first, but then stops abruptly and instead the same message is shown:
ERROR
Taking the battery out, Nameless finds that those very threads that were visible just a moment ago seem now to be gone! There is a faint burnt smell from the battery.

OOC: 18:02, Today: DM Ventrikel rolled 16 using 1d100.  1-20 = destroyed battery.

The machine still seems to hold the same amount of energy, it can still be used before it is shut down.

Nameless and Daken insert a battery into the baton to charge it. A miniature panel on the baton seems to display that there are 6 charges left in it... When the battery is inserted, nothing changes. The baton does not react, just like when connected to the generator. It is not functioning properly, and that indicates that the baton might even be somewhat unstable. Daken and Nameless figure out, and perhaps have heard, that such an item may cause unpredictable and even possibly dangerous reactions.

Nameless and Dakon shuffle through their equipment topping off the charges on all their equipment before proceeding to the shut off the generator.

OOC: I don't have much to charge because they haven't used anything. Go through the following items and make sure they're fully charged:

E-Pick (Black)
Medlance (gotta start using those chemical boosts)
Grippers (if it even has charges...)
Ion Tape
And if that's all there is then they'll top off the last flashlight.

I don't want to quibble over charges so say the above is fully charged and 1 charge to the flashlight and call it a day?

Nameless connects the e-pick to the spiky device, the power transmitter, and in moments it charges up to full capacity. The power transmitter signals that the energy output has reached minimal capacity, and then that same message.
Relay disconnected.
Safe shut-down instructions:

Nameless proceeds to shut down the power transmitter, the spiky device connected to the generator. The panel on the transmitter goes dark.
The two immense cylinders at the core of the generator pulse softly with purple light, but now they stop - and instead emit a stable purple light. Then light pulses through them upwards once. Then again, and it passes through the previously unlit column above. As it reaches the top, there is a violent flash of light, illuminating the whole room with a purple hue. A tremble goes through the floor of the room. The machine roars and the top column, reaching all the way up to and perhaps through the ceiling, continuously burns with purple energy.

OOC: Ion tape does not use charges, neither does grippers. I updated your loot sheet, perhaps messing your order up until you make it look nice again, with the charged items. And medlance is a more simple 10 uses until ruined.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:47, Fri 13 July 2018.

Ren pumped her fist in joy.?

"This is it! I think this is actually it! I think we did it!"

She does a little jig around the room as all of their hard work and near death experiences have finally paid off.

---

The party rests and recovers here for the night with Chakha and Nameless taking up the watches. When Daken and Ren are refreshed and recharged they will then move through the gargoyle chamber to the North to finish exploring the Engineering level.

OOC: Don't know if you want to do this room by room or just summarize everything. Either way I'm fine...

The night underground is strange, even though it's not the first for this group. It's easy to lose track of how long time passes when there is no sky but only a smooth, gray metal ceiling. Eventually, the group feels ready and decides that there has been enough rest.

A quick look out the door to the west of the room with the statue is enough to know that is no safe exit. It seems something has broken off some of the machines on the walls. They flash and periodically emit trails of green energy passing from one wall to the other. Ren instead leads the way north, past double doors, into some sort of tavern area. Cushioned chairs and metal tables are situated throughout this small room. To the north are several doors, while a few broken machines lie against the walls. Broken panels cover the ceiling, and mounds of what looks like shattered glass have been pushed under the tables.

There is a distinct lack of light here, where all the other rooms have had panels flashing in a rather annoying manner. It does not take much investigation to find that those panels in this room have all been smashed, hence the glass under the tables. On one table, a simple grid has been etched or carved in the metal, and six pieces of scrap metal - three of them burnt and sooty, the other three unmarked - lie on or around this grid. Among the broken machinery in the room, one standing against the wall towards the generator room actually seems somewhat intact, and although it surely does not seem functional there seems the whole front can be opened like a door.

Four of the doors to the north lead to small chambers, each one investigated more filthy than the previous. There are three sleeping areas, and one room where the orcs and ratfolk have disposed of their body waste in four different but simple machines. Two of the machines are about the size of chairs but with holes filled with fecal matter. One is large enough to hold almost a whole human, if one were to lie in it - which no-one would anymore as the filthy smell is enough to tell what it is filled with. The fourth machine does not rest against the floor but sits against the wall three feet above ground, its location prodding one's imagination as to how the filthy residents of this place managed to fill this too with their waste.

OOC: Map found at "group 3" under game maps! We'll take the next two rooms once you decide to leave the area.
This message was last updated by the GM at 13:39, Sun 15 July 2018.

The three organics all retreat swiftly from the foul smelling room but Nameless is curious and as the filth doesn't bother him is willing to sift through the waste piles as long as Daken would be willing to use magic to clean him off afterwards.

OOC: Nameless is immune to disease so he will sift through shit no problem!

The other three take their time sorting through the bedrooms and looking in the other storage containers in the main tavern area.

Once everything was searched(and Nameless was clean again) they would move into the [North room with all the crates in it but they don't know that yet]

A long search through the orc and ratfolk waste turns out nothing. Luckily, Nameless was the right person to do it given his nature. The others search the more pleasant surroundings of the tavern-area. They open the door-like front of the mechine, finding several rows of of metal rods holding squishy metallic tubes, the whole machine likely built as some sort of dispensor. There appears to be 32 tubes in total, and a brief inspection by Daken reveals that they are filled with food. Very efficient containers holding food for one person for a whole day. The Goo Tubes are all labeled with different colors and symbols, hinting at the flavors of the food within. Some seem to be fruity, others meaty, others fiery - and in many cases, the meaning of the labels can only be guessed at.

The group collects the 32 tubes, clean up Nameless, and move on.

---

In the next chamber, they find walls battered and dented with flickering light panels giving it a phantasmagoric cast. A mound of rubble from floor to ceiling sits heaped to the north, while numerous strange containers lie in haphazard piles throughout the chamber. A pair of desks with chairs are placed to the south. It seems the room has been mostly cleared of anything of worth, likely most of what has been found in the entire area - if unused - was placed by the statue where the group fought the gargoyle. There is however a locker in the northeast corner of the room, that could contain something of value. It is severely battered, but seems to have resisted attempts at opening it.

The smaller room to the south contains a multitude of small boxes, discarded wrappers, and opened crates lying scattered, along with several empty shelves. In one of the boxes lie four crossbow bolts which Daken determine to be magical, but he cannot identify the specific magical properties of them.

The party takes note of the items and then continues back towards the elevator entrance to finish out their search of the upper area.

OOC: I've updated the loot thread. Man there's a lot there I have no clue about....

The group begin making their way back to town. Through the strange chambers of the complex housing this massive generator, through the Black Hill Caves where Sef and her tribe are still making their homes, through the Weeping Pond with it's disgusting waters. One after one they make it to the surface of the pond, and up on the shore. Ren breaks the surface first. She sees that the streets are unusually crowded today in this north-western part of town. Khonnir is walking around, gesturing and waving to people. There's Dolga Feddert too, the councilor. Nameless comes next out of the water. Windows to most houses around the area are open, and people are looking out. The humans, dwarves, half-humans and the few of other kinds on the streets spot the two swimming out of the water, they point and talk to each other... The mood seems to be rather festive. Chakha and Daken get up on the shore too. There's a rumbling, and a noise like burning fire, and the group turns around.

The Weeping Pond is just at the base of the Black Hill, and the top of the hill cannot be seen from here. But from it, well into eye-sight, all the way up until it disappears into the cloud, rises a pillar of purple energy. It is steady, burning fiercely, and the whole hill seems to rumble with its power.

Nameless, Ren, Daken and Chakha turn back around again towards the people on the streets. Khonnir Baine now stands in front of the crowd, a wide smile over his face. "Three cheers for the Heroes of Torch!" he yells out, and the response of the crowd thunders towards the heroes. "Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!"

Amid applause from the crowd in the streets and from the people looking out of the houses and manors around the area, five people approach the heroes, who are still soaked in the disgusting Weeping Pond water. The heroes know Khonnir Baine from before, as well as the dwarf Dolga Feddert who gave them the promised reward for rescuing Khonnir, and Joram Kyte the cleric of Brigh who cared for Khonnir when he was recued. The other two introduce themselves, they are nobles and their family names are well known: councilor Bazlundi Otterbie and councilor Serantha Olandir. The gathered council congratulates the party on their efforts, and Dolga hands over a small chest filled with the 4.000gp reward as Khonnir speaks. "Amazing! You made it! The torch is burning again, and should soon be back to normal from what I have heard." He looks at Dolga who smiles and adds "Yes, it usually takes a day or two after a burst like this."
"Our whole town is in debt to you!" And he leans in for a more personal word, in a joking tone but likely also a very serious request sprung out of his curiosity. "You will have to tell me all about this. You said they were transferring power elsewhere, did you find any further clues on this? What did you find down-" Dolga pushes him in the side lightly. "Well, at a later time. I'm sure everyone gathered here wants to buy you a drink, so you have plenty to do first."
Joram Kyte, the cleric of Brigh speaks up. "And should you need any further equipment - you are welcome to my temple, you can count every twentieth gold you would spend as a gift from me!"
"And the same goes in the guild house!" adds Bazlundi Otterbie.