The parchment reads simply: "This writ entitles Rakar Alede, Broccam, Ix Louwcotle, Sesla Lento, and Kane, to a discount of Twenty Percent on gear needed for the rescue of Councilor Khonnir Baine."

"I'm sure Miss Murgrave or Mister Maust would honor it--not many people paying for rooms with the torch out--but Val Baine was offering to put up any expeditions at the Foundry Tavern."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Tue 29 June 2021.

Ix hardly let Dolga finish before he held the paper to her face. His other hand pointed to his last name.

"T'is is er-ro-ne-ous. Ix Tlacoatl." He was loud, the hum behind his voice resonating. There was no anger there, but his volume made pronouncing the last name no easier. "Proper spelling is T-elle-ah-cuh-oh-ah-t-elle. Tlacoatl. Like peaceful lapping of slow water snake."

Dolga leans back and lays a hand on the warhammer resting to her side as the android rudely shoves the write back in her face. She looks to the others, questioning whether they were also as unstable as this one, but after a moment's thought she replies diplomatically, "I'm afraid I don't know those letters, mister, but the writ will get you a discount all the same."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Tue 29 June 2021.

"A strong swimmer could make it through, he believed. Hmm, not exactly reassuring, those words. But perhaps we can find Khonnir before the spell runs out. Shall we head out?" Cain asks the party.

Ok, so we check out the robot at the Foundry, do a last minute shopping if we have any cash left (Cain is so broke he can barely pay attention), get the water breathing spell and then go cave diving? Any other ideas?

With business concluded at the Town Hall, the brave souls head out to have a look at this metal man recovered by Khonnir Baine with Cain, who is most familiar with the streets, leading the way and Rakkar and Sesla, the slower of the bunch, trailing behind. As they cross the bridge over the Seven Tears River they recognize two of the guards who had been with the council before them standing bored, watching over the river banks to the north and south, and as they pass the market they see only a few stalls open with desperate and bored merchants hoping for customers to come by--the normal bustle and noise that would be found here replaced by a sad silence and calm. Until, as the brave souls near Khonnir Baine's Tavern, Foundry, and Residence, a sudden scream of terror and a series of crashes from just beyond the nearest building splits the silence.
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This message was last edited by the GM at 02:58, Wed 30 June 2021.

"Oh, now what?" Cain asks in exasperation before moving forward. He does not really rush in to help so much as creep up to the corner of the building to see what's going on.

Moving to the corner to see what's between the two buildings.

Brokam had walked quietly with the group, taking in his surroundings to try and familiarize himself with his new surroundings. As they approached the Foundry and heard the screaming however, he jolted in surprise before looking to the others. "Sounds like some kind of fight. Maybe our metal man was not quite so broken as everyone thought," he said, drawing a mace from his hip and heading towards the noise with no further hesitation.

Sesla breaks into a run as well, hustling to see what might be the cause of the scream.

"I'm afraid I don't know those letters, mister, but the writ will get you a discount all the same."

Names, to Ix, were important. They differentiated individualized existence. They clarified his agency as a person. Despite his lack of flesh and blood, he knew his soul to be real no matter what others may have thought. It was a distinction far different than those foul alloy apparatuses.

In the end Ix scowled, but acquiesced with a grunt and a nod while remaining oblivious to the danger he put himself in. He did, however, say under his breath, "I am not mister. I am Ix."

If they said the writ would do, he would have to take their word for it. It was a first step in developing both trust and a professional working relationship. Mapa had always said his communicative skills "dramatically need a complete overhaul from everything above and including the foundation", so he tried his best to improve. At least he was talking now, to city folk at that.

He did think such a lack of precision was unbecoming of a member of the council.

---

Ix walked with a sure-footed gait; each step measured, aligned, purposeful. This Cain seemed to be a familiar enough denizen, though since such was the case, why did they seem so evasive about their name? Were they shy? He'd presumed the Ratfolk would have much more to be shy about; humans did have a way of being easily disturbed by others that didn't look like them.

At least Brokam and Sesla didn't seem scared. Yet.

Then came the crashing, the screaming.

"Sounds like some kind of fight. Maybe our metal man was not quite so broken as everyone thought,"

Ix had slipped his shield from off his back. Brokam's belief was not lost on him, and he raced forward. He wondered if Cain was scared as they crept, but the thought didn't slow his sprint.

Cain moves cautiously to get a look between the two buildings he knows to be the tavern and foundry to take a look down the alley between and towards the residence, but sees no signs of danger, although the crashing and now a sound of splintering wood continues. The ratfolk Rakkar scurries along behind the half-elf, peaking around the taller man's legs and down the alleyway as well. Meanwhile, Brokam the Alchemist hurries the other way along the wall of the nearest building while the Ix the tribal android sprints in the same direction but has to skid to a halt along dirt road as the residence comes into view. It is difficult to see what the commotion is through the windows on this sunny day, but the commotion continues within the building and SOMETHING is moving behind the southeastern window. Meanwhile, Sesla seems to have been confused by the sudden events and moves to follow Cain, some distance behind.
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[Private to Sesla Lento: I went ahead and staggered you on this first round of quasi-combat, per your curse, rather than later on.]

Brokam's pace was hurried but ultimately calm as he approached building, heading for a window to try and get a better view of what was happening before he barged inside. He looked to the android, Ix it had named itself, and nodded toward the door. "Be ready for trouble, friend, near the door," he said before peering through the glass of the window.

Once Brokam has approached the window and cupped his hands up to block the bright sunlight from flooding his eyes and casting reflections on the glass, he can see within a monstrous-looking spider/centaur type of being with three asymmetric legs made of gears and metallic rope of some sort wrapped in metal plates and a humanoid though bulbous and hunchback torso also made up of metal plates. It's metal-plated, humanoid arms end in four-fingered hands and it's metallic head extends almost straight out of it's large torso with a single, glowing eye in the center of what would otherwise be a face. At the moment it seems unaware of the peeping alchemist and in the process of tearing an interior door violently from its hinges.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:45, Thu 01 July 2021.

Ix kept pace with Brokam, compartmentalizing his thoughts just long enough to wonder: what was the potioneerscientist(?) going to do in this situation? A bandoleer of juices and medicines didn't seem to be particularly helpful. Maybe they got thirsty, or they worked at an apothecary. Mapa always had a way with those reag-

"Be ready for trouble, friend, near the door,"

"My name is not fr-ohh," Ix says, trying to catch a passing glimpse inside as he tries to open the door.

Perception 15; moving to open the door.

Brokam's eyes widened as he beheld the machine, mind racing as he pulled away, reaching for a vial resting in the pack slung over his shoulder and drinking it, a subtle glow suffusing his body as he did so.

"I was right, the metal man is active and seems to be attacking someone, we need to hurry!" he shouted to Ix, hoping the others had heard him as well as he approached and tried the door himself. He wasn't certain if they could stop this thing, or what precisely it was, but damned if he was going to do nothing.

ooc: Drinking my Shield extract, which confers onto myself a +4 shield bonus to AC for one minute, then moving to the door.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Fri 02 July 2021.

Sesla looks through the window in horror as the, the-thing, rips a door from its frame. The splintering sound of wood, unmoors her from reality as a piecing whine resounds that the periphery of her senses.

Conflict was the natural state of things-not peace.

Sesla felt the world fall away as the Great Gears of the cosmos, crafted from starlight grind and spin up a kaleidoscope of possibility before her mind's eye. Multiple overlapping possibilities an probabilities force themselves into being within Sesla's limited headspace.

The oracle groans and falls to a knee, overwhelmed by the sudden psychic pressure.


If it is okay, I would like to use Sasla's Flash of Insight ability to "roll" a 20 on Knowledge (Engineering) check to ID the robot. I think that places me at 25 (+3 from Knowledge: Engineering +2 from Stargazer

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Flash of Insight (Su)
Once per day as an immediate action, you can peer into an occluded visual spectrum of possible futures, gaining insight that allows you to select the exact result of one die roll before the roll is made.

---

"Great, just great." Cain hurries towards where he heard Brokam shout, looking for a way inside the building along the way.

I'm a bit unclear which building is this happening in. The SE one? If yes, is that another door right next to us? If yes again (and it's not the door currently being turned into splinters by the robot) can Cain check if we can get in that way?

As Brokam peers through the residence's window, Ix moves quickly to the nearby doorway and Cain and Rakkar hustle through the alleyway to converge on it from the south. Sesla brings up the rear, sprinting across the roadway to the open alleyway where she is forced to change direction. The scream heard earlier has stopped, but a load crack is heard by all as Brokam sees the creature tear the door free and toss it aside before disappearing further into the house.
Edit: Link back to this game
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Fri 02 July 2021.

Ix attempts to throw open the door, clearly unarmed with naught but a shield not quite as big but nearly as round.

"Ex-cuse me," he booms. It's not yelling, exactly, but it might as well have been called such. The volume of his voice simply adjusted much louder.

Of course, there was less need, since the sound of screaming stopped.

Ix rushes in to see what the sound is stemming from, still unaware of the danger ahead.

As Ix throws open the door and rushes into the room beyond he spots the metal man, the spider-legged hunchback with features alien even to him. Brokam, after quaffing a potion, enters the residence right behind the android and sees the creature clearly for the first time. The metal beast notes their arrival, turning to look at them with it's single, blue-burning eye, but otherwise pays them no heed and instead turns back to the closed door to its west and begins to tear it down as well, forcing its metal fingers through the seams near its frame, splintering and crushing wood like parchment. Meanwhile, south of the building, Cain closes the rest of the distance to the residence and quickly opens the doorway into a hall which he knows accesses Khonnir and Val's rooms to the north and the den to the east, but soon he spots the metal fingers of Khonnir's 'metal man' force their way through that eastern door and begin to crush it. Rakkar continues to scurry along, barely keeping pace with Cain, and Selsa sprints through the alleyway to catch up, comping to a halt at the building's wall just on the other side of the sounds of splintering wood.
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I wouldn't normally only give 24 hours to respond, but I get the feeling 'getting there' was just wearing a bit thin for some of you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:09, Sun 04 July 2021.

Pausing only to cast what protection magic he can, Cain tries the door in front of him. He is still not sure what they are getting themselves into, and does not like that one bit.

Mage Armor up. Trying the doors to the north-north-west.

As Brokam entered the building, he took a moment to properly assess the machine and its position before drawing a syringe full of a dull red substance from his pouch. "The creature is damaged, aim for the joints or else use electricity. Try to lure it from the door if possible," he said to Ix before injecting himself, veins and muscles bulging and skin graying and thickening as he did so.

A wordless snarl escaped his throat as some part of the intelligence left Brokam's eyes as he tossed aside the now empty syringe, advancing on the mechanical beast after Ix, mace gripped tightly.

ooc: For my standard action, I'm using my mutagen. For the next ten minutes I enjoy the benefits of a +2 natural armor bonus to AC as well as a +4 alchemical bonus to strength, while suffering a -2 penalty to intelligence. Following that, I will use my move action to get within melee range of the robot after Ix has done so.

Also, sorry if I missed this, but has initiative been rolled, and if so, what is the order?

Despite his leather mask, Ix's confusion was evident.

His fabricated muscles froze as he drank in the carnage. Ripped doors and metal parts. A single, abnormal eye glowing with strange luminescence. The screams of someone scared beyond the barrier. The last thing didn't concern him as much; all barriers were meant to be broken.

"The creature is damaged, aim for the joints or else use electricity. Try to lure it-"

"Mon-stro-si-ty!"

Ix yells, charging forward with his shield stretched in front of him. His feet slapped against the floor, his wrapped arm dipped toward the axe at his waist. Just before he collides with the creature, his arm swings up, hoping to catch the creature right in the eye.

Charging
16 Atk
6 Dmg (B)

-2 AC (16 AC total)

Sesla moves closer to the creature and looking over the creature expects that the group might have a better advantage if they were attacking the creature while it was prone. The Oracle points at it and commands. "Fall"


Command Spell, Will DC: 15
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/command/

This message was last edited by the player at 13:01, Wed 07 July 2021.

Cain casts a protective spell and steps into the building's hallway to throw open another door, this one into Khonnir's private room which appears to be empty aside from his bed and a modest desk in the corner.

In the next room, while Brokam takes some drugs that seems to push him into some kind of rage, the android Ix rushes forward at the strange construct and delivers an uppercut which would floor most men, but instead, after the loud metal-on-metal *clang* rings through the interior of the stone building, the construct is hardly phased and simply turns to look with a blank stare at the android, its glowing blue eye shifting to a fiery red.

On the other side of the partially collapsed door, the small rodent Rakkar squeezes by Cain's legs and rushes into the hall, straight up to the broken door, and pulls out worn pistol. He reaches over the remains of the door and presses the muzzle of his weapon against the creature's 'belly' and pulls the trigger. The explosive *BANG* is deafening and prolonged with echoes within the confined stone rooms and the smell of spent black powder quickly fills the air, but the bullet seems to leave not even a scratch before it ricochets back at, and barely missed, the rodent. The lead round bounces a few more times off the stone walls, endangering Cain as well, before finally bouncing weakly across the floor.

Finally, Sesla enters the door behind Cain and simply points at the creature and commands it to fall, as if it would listen to her. [Private to Sesla Lento: It made the save with a 16. You recognize this monstrosity as a type of robot, which you have heard of before. They are generally weak to electricity and lucky strikes but exceedingly durable in general--although this one seems to be less armored and even missing several plates.]

After a moment's hesitation, glancing strangely in the direction of Sesla, the creature seems to shout with a breathless, stilted voice and in clearly defined tones but a strange language, [Language unknown: "Onsionugh oereenund!<en>ieine! Ntisonkor talana <erof> icliletrross fo ncse<proeenday>utessi!"] It the lurches forward at Ix, swinging wildly with one of it's arms, but even off-balance as he is, the android is able to raise his shield in time to absorb the blow.

The partially destroyed door can be attacked through, providing cover (+4 AC), but also prevents Attacks of Opportunity. It can be opened with a Move Action.

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Shocked by the failure of his firearm to even scratch the beast and the fact that he nearly shot HIMSELF with the ricochet, the ratfolk does the only smart thing in this situation: scurrying right back out the door and away from this mess.