Frack hustled toward the first of the bodies, stowing his sword in anticipation of needing both hands to lend aid. "Tears of the hammer. I hope they're all right."

Frack is not trying be stealthy, but I rolled in case it is of interest.
23:39, Today: Frack rolled 20 using 1d20+6.  Stealth, if needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:41, Wed 20 Sept 2023.

Inside the ruined manufactory was the infamous clockwork dragon, as well as voices from somewhere within and a pair of bodies.  Dead or alive was hard to tell at this distance, but Vera wouldn't bet on their breathing.  Frack showed much concern for the fallen and was on his way over quickly.  Would the owners of those voices see him?  That wouldn't be good.

Veracity decided she'd give them something else to look at.  She remarked quietly to her nearby companions,
"Sneak around or do what you're gonna do, boys.  I'll go be a distraction.  If they decide they'd like to kill me, I'd appreciate assistance."  Without further discussion, Veracity sauntered toward the voices.  Before moving to break cover, she transformed.  Between two strides the slender tiefling swashbuckler became a hulking blue-skinned firbolg man, and a familiar one at that.

After circling around to approach from a different angle from the group, Crajeon rounded the corner to happen upon the voices.  He paused, made a show of glancing toward the corpses, and in a pitch-perfect impression of the firbolg Descendent's voice as heard in Owl's End, he rumbled, "What's going on here?"  It was a general enough question to be open to the listener's interpretation, and their reaction to Crajeon would be instructive no matter how it went.  Would they cower, salute, argue, pal around, flee?  Maybe Crajeon himself was in attendance, in which case there'd be confusion.  She could work with that, too.

Veracity had no plan but to react to however this approach was received, and play the scene accordingly.  This was improv at its finest!

---

Disguise Self to take on illusory appearance of Crajeon, lasts 1 hour.  Performance with advantage to impersonate Crajeon and mimic his voice, via Actor:

• 02:02, Today: Veracity rolled 16 using 2d20+6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 10,1.  Performance (actor advantage).

As Veracity began walking toward the stairs which led to the basement from which the voices emanated, Kreo worked his magic, causing one of the slain figures - from where the tiefling-turned-firbolg now stood, she could see they'd both been run through with blades and left to bleed out - sputtered and sat up. His disorientation at being wrenched back from the brink of death only deepened when he found himself staring at a mirror image of himself.

"It's true what they say, then," Crajeon said with a peaceful smile. "Those who are true to Tiamat spend eternity with the most beautiful people in the world."

The body next to him, naturally, belonged to his erstwhile companion, Syntus. The yuan-ti had succumbed more quickly to his stabbing and was well and truly dead.

The voices are coming from downstairs. You can still go down there if you want, but I figured I'd pause at this significant development!

Baern sniggered and stepped clear of the shadows, Bessie resting easily across his shoulders. "If eternity looks like the inside of a Cognelius factory, and a crumbling one at that, I'd say you'd been cheated. Looks like they were none too pleased with you and Syntus, hey Crajeon?"

Frack stopped quickly when the first of the fallen bodies started to rise. He wasn't sure how this happened, but concluded they were sleeping, for some reason in a wide open area on a particularly hard floor. Further thoughts about that mystery were stifled when he recognized the body as the kidnapper-firbolg from last week. With surprised eyebrows disappearing under the rim of his helmet, he turned to his companions for a hint of what to do next, only to find the same kidnapper-firbolg was approaching from behind.

Completely befuddled by the scene surrounding him, Frack put both hands on his ill-fitting helmet and wiggled it around on his head, hoping to massage a good idea into it. It wasn't working.

Verajeon paused on the way toward the voices and turned to regard the real Crajeon, now sat up with a smile on his broad blue face as he delivered what was honestly a damnably good line.  In his own rumbling voice, the illusory firbolg replied, "Then Tiamat must be displeased with us, because we're both looking at an ugly blue arsehole."  This guy tried to kidnap the Spark's new tinker and nearly barbecued the lot of them.  How dare he have good lines?!

Lumbering over to the recently-risen firbolg, Verajeon tweaked the illusion to mirror the stab wounds, then crossed big arms to face down the doppelgänger.  "First that debacle at Owl's End, and now this.  How about we talk on how we got here?  Maybe that'll help us see where to go next."  Pointing at the still-bleeding Syntus, Verajeon asked himself, "Should we bother saving him?  He never did appreciate us."

Upon realizing the two bodies were that of Crajeon and Syntas, a mixture of disappointment and annoyance washed over Vecaal.  He had wanted to gain revenge for himself on these two, especially the sorcerer, after their transgressions against him at Owl's End.  And now here they were, already dispatched.

Except Crajeon sat up rather unexpectedly.  And then even more unexpectedly, the firbolg was confronted by...himself?  If it weren't for the Whispers Vecaal would have taken longer to suss out what was going on.  As it was, he manage to keep his annoyed face in place, an easy feat when looking at the dead yuan-ti halfblood.

As he watched and waited for the drama to play out between the two Crajeons another thought came to him.  The dragonborn looked up at the giant mechanical dragon, a sudden possessive envy in his eyes.  If Syntas controlled the mechanical dragon, but there was no more Syntas, then wouldn't it be free for the taking?  What an intriguing idea!

Crajeon cast a disinterested glance at the yuan-ti, then looked back at his twin. "Daresay he's past saving. Though he always was a tricky one..."

The firbolg poked his companion with a furry blue finger to confirm he was dead. "Pity. The two of you would have got on grandly."

He expanded his gaze to encompass the rest of the group, looking disappointed when he did not spot Ilga among them. "I don't suppose you all would care to accompany me downstairs and assure the Dragonfather Syntus and I put up a respectable fight? He was none too pleased to hear you made off with the half-orc."

Catching Vecaal admiring the dragon, he remarked, "Beauty, isn't she? Imagine the skies full of them. The past is not lost, brother. It is not even past. For as long as we honor the strength of the dragons, we keep their legacy alive. As she wills it."
This message was last updated by the player at 23:35, Sat 23 Sept 2023.

Verajeon reckoned Crajeon wasn't convinced that he was hallucinating himself, but she decided to keep up the act because it amused her proportionally to how much it confused everybody else.  Syntus's death merited little more than a shrug of brawny shoulders.  Keeping up the pitch-perfect mimickry of the firbolg's deep voice, the doppelgänger said, "Remind me how it is that you're owed any favors?  Lies don't get much more brazen than you and fork-tongue being competent, so telling that would be a BIG favor."  Gesturing to the stab wounds and the dead yuan-ti, Verajeon added, "If this was the Dragonfather's work, then it seems late to convince him, anyhow."


The mechanical dragon was indeed magnificent and Verajeon wouldn't mind acquiring such a fine artifice, but the dragon-worshiping rhetoric grated.  The illusory blue brute growled, "Let's leave the pious past behind us and start talking about now.  What's the occasion for this little gathering?  Turned up any leads on the Luminescent Athenaeum?  Start talking, and maybe we can be pals after all."

---

Persuasion to convince Crajeon to spill the beans on what's going on here and what the Descendants are up to:

• 20:59, Today: Veracity rolled 27 using 1d20+8.  Persuasion.

"Didn't think so." Crajeon liked this doppelganger, whoever they were. They were clever. And fit. He caressed his own bicep appreciatively as he admired its twin on the body across from him.



"Someone did. That's what they're discussing now. But they decided not to cut us in. Cut us loose, more like."

He looked again at the gathered intruders. "I was going to offer to fight alongside you, if you were here to raid us. Them. But if this is all the people you've brought... I'll take my chances swimming, thank you very much."

"'Someone' found a lead?  Did you hear any more before they cut you out by cutting you up?"  Crajeon seemed to admire his own muscles and that admiration got him talking, so Verajeon made a show of popping illusory pecs for his enjoyment.  It wasn't the worst she'd done in service to a role!

The doppelgänger scoffed at Crajeon's preference to swim rather than fight with these odds.  "Raid?  Nah.  We're the catering.  How many are we serving, anyhow?"  Verajeon then went on, "There any other ways in or out of where the Dragonfather and his party are?  The more we know about this heap of an island, the better to even the odds."

Verajeon glanced up, then added with a wry grin, "Speaking of evening the odds... How do we get her running?"  The firbolg imposter pointed a blue sausage-finger up at the inert clockwork dragon looming large overhead.

Vecaal's perusal of the mechanical drake was rudely interrupted.  "You are no brother of mine," he spat out with disdain.  "And this is no dragon at all.  You don't have the faintest idea."

He nodded to Verajeon.  "Doesn't mean it can't be a useful tool though," he agreed, then looking the firbolg in anticipation of some operating instructions.

Frack looked back and forth between the two firbolgs as they talked, still confused by there being two of them. He walked over to Procz in hopes of an explanation because the constable was very smart about confusing matters like this. "Are those two twins? If they are, they sure don't seem to like each other. That must be disappointing for their mother."

As for the conversation itself, the prospect of the skies full of mechanical dragons like the one parked before them wasn't particularly appealing to the goblin Shield. While impressive, the idea of more than one gave him a shiver. He didn't know much about the age of dragons, but he knew enough to know it wouldn't be all silver, gold, and springberry pancakes for him if those days returned.

"That many of them, then?" Baern said, arms folded across his chest. "Maybe we drill some holes in their boats and let them all take their chances swimming," he mused. "We just need to figure out what this lead might be, and leave before they're done talking."

Crajeon looked Baern up and down, taking the measure of this gnome whose strength had proved a match for his own back at Owl's End. Lily-livered scheme notwithstanding, he liked what he saw. Then again, he himself had been the one to suggest swimming over confronting his former allies.

He preferred the thinking of the svirfneblin's taller and even more muscle-bound companion, however, and flashed a row of strong white teeth to express as much. "The dragon was Syntus's department. The controls are in its head. There's a compartment at the base of its skull. Can't say I know how to activate it. One of you might have better luck. There's also some... what did he call them? Sssssigilssss. Magical traps, like. To prevent, well, just such a situation as this. So we'd need to disable those as well."

Mechanically, this will require:

• DC 15 Arcana check to disable the warding sigils. Failure will trigger them.
• DC 12 Climb check or some other means of accessing the panel on the dragon's skull. Failure will result in falling damage.
• Tinkerer's tools check to activate the dragon. The roll will determine how well you can control it:
         1-10 you activate it but have no control over it.
         11-14 you fail to activate it
         15 you activate it with minimal control over it
         and then it will scale up from there.

As the need for Stealth in this particular area had lessened, Procz rode up on Zúm. He remained quiet, both listening to the conversation with Crajeon and studying the mechanical dragon. The kobobld constable was as interested in permanently disabling it, as wrestling it under their control. If he had to destroy the contraption to keep it out of criminal hands, then that was what he would do.

When Frack came up, he gave the goblin knight a nod. "The two are only twins in our perception, Mr. Frack; illusionary magic. Our associate Miss Veracity is a master of arcane disguises, and currently displaying the skin of the firbolg Crajeon. Paired with exceptional acting and humanoid psychological insight; she passes almost perfectly."

He spoke up, but not too loud, knowing there were many more of these people around, including this Dragonfather. "I can probably disable the warding sigils, but I do not have the tools to rewire the activation mechanism." Procz shook his head. "Maybe we should destroy it."

He turned to the firbolg. "What can you tell us about this Dragonfather? Who is he? What is he?"

Frack's eyes glazed over at the word perception and he missed most of what the constable said after that. The phrase humanoid psychological insight was nearly too much for the poor goblin. He staggered a half step backward at that point. Never one to offend, however, he nodded encouragingly to Procz, hoping to relay a message something like that makes sense. In fact, the open-jawed look on his face could better be described as saying something more along the lines of I have absolutely no idea what you just said!

When Procz eventually turned to question one of the Crajeons, Frack heaved a sigh. Pretending like you knew something was exhausting!

"Let's not be too hasty," Vecaal gently chided Procz, when the constable suggested they might need to destroy the clockwork dragon.  "You can handle the sigils, you say.  I don't know a better tinkerer than our friend right here," the Dragonborn gestured with a clawed hand to Baern.  "And I can get up there and lay a line down to you, if need be."

"Sure would be a pretty sight turning this beastie on our enemies," Vecaal mused, his vacant grin full of sharp teeth.

Procz's probing followup with Crajeon snapped Vecaal from his pleasant dreams though.  The constable had a good head on his shoulders, narrow though they were.  He listened expectantly for the answer, knowing the information could prove invaluable even beyond today.

Baern nodded. It was a funny thing, really. It wasn't very long ago that Baern had scarcely spared a thought for the many mechanical wonders of Coglington. They were ornaments. Tools. Conveniences. Rock gnomes concerned themselves with cogs and springs. Deep gnomes mined the fruits of the earth.

But Ilga had lit a spark in him. Now - now he couldn't help but wonder how it all worked. And he was eager to put his newfound skills to the test.

"Put me in that brain box and I'll get it cranking," he assured.

Kreo trailed behind Zum and Procz, approaching Baern right as the gnome was deciding to try

"A moment. Perhaps a little inspiration would not be spurned? May I?"

Moving his hand in a sign and then touching Baern (assuming he consented) as he spoke the divine words of forge and kiln and gear and worker, a small warmth passed from Kreo to Baern that settled in his hands

OOC: guidance
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Thu 05 Oct 2023.

Verajeon gazed up at the clockwork dragon as Crajeon helpfully explained how to hijack it, pushing out the firbolg's blue belly in an unflattering way.  It wasn't easy though, because she had to admit that the dragon-lover had some spectacular abs.  She nodded his big head appreciatively.  "Much obliged, me.  Does she have any other tricks besides flight and the fire breath?  Those two are great, don't get me wrong, but if there's more we'll want to know."

Insight to see if Craj is trying to mislead us or leave anything out of his directions for working the dragon:

• 00:40, Today: Veracity rolled 16 using 1d20.  Insight.

Overhearing Procz giving Frack a clinical explanation of her Cunning illusory impersonations rankled Vera, although the compliment to her acting prowess helped.  Turning to look at the two, Verajeon remarked, "Come now, Constable.  Theater is best when room is left for mystery and suspense of disbelief!"  That was definitely out of character, because Crajeon would never say something so wise.

Verajeon shared Vecaal's shock at the suggestion the dragon be destroyed, and the doppelgänger's objection came out, "How could we let such a beauty go to waste?  Destroying it would likely be harder than it looks, and it doesn't look easy."  Giving a nod to Crajeon the original, Verajeon joined the others in considering the practical challenges to claiming a new mechanical pet.  Looking between Procz and Baern, Verajeon rumbled, "Constable tackles the sigils first, then Baern gets up there to get her running.  Sounds like a plan.  You both can do it."  Something in those simple words of encouragement made them realize that they could indeed do it!

Granting a d6 Bardic Inspiration for both Procz and Baern: "Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes."

If Procz should manage to disable the sigils guarding the dragon, Verajeon would assist the tinkering effort by bringing out a hempen rope.  "Here, this oughtta make it easy to get up there."  The firbolg doppelgänger unfurled the rope and raised one end overhead... but the rope kept rising!  A closer inspection revealed that the rising end was held by a spectral violet woman's hand.  The hand drew the rope high enough to loop it over the dragon's metallic neck, then secure it with a simple but effective knot.

Mage Hand to bring the rope up, and Sleight of Hand to tie a knot suitable for climbing:

• 01:22, Today: Veracity rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  Sleight of Hand.

Baern nodded, but it was up to Procz to clear the sigil first. After that it would be a simple matter of scampering up the rope Veracity had conveniently provided...

14:53, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 15 using 2d20+6, dropping the lowest dice only.  Athletics (Climb).

Tinkering check for when appropriate: 15, 18 with guidance. I don't think I can hold onto this the way I can with Bardic inspiration. @DM is there any incremental advantage to pushing my score higher still?

14:54, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 15 using 2d20+1, dropping the lowest dice only.  Tinkering .

14:55, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 3 using 1d4.  Guidance.

Procz wasn't sure about disabling the magical protection. Could he trust these people not to abuse this weapon? Well, even if they wanted to destroy the thing, they needed to safely remove these sigils first.

He moved in a circle around the mechanical dragon; limping as usual now that he wasn't riding Zúm; who was in-fact also a mechanical contraption, albeit fueled by something different. Zúm had a living spirit inside him.

The constable spoke some magical incantations "Aczhtrazhhaz-et-naztrazhkaz" and raised his wand (walking stick) a couple of times.

He finally gave the others a look and a shrug. "Should be ready for the next phase of our intervention."

Arcana 16.

A skilled worker and his tools develop a special, spiritual bond over time. Baern had experienced this during his time in the mines. You could always tell a novice by the way they swung their pick, deliberately, like they were thinking about where exactly they wanted the blow to land and how to swing it to accomplish their intended purpose.

A miner who knew his tools was barely conscious of using them. He thought only of what he wanted to accomplish, not of how he intended to accomplish it. His body and his tools did the rest without his explicit direction. The miners often said that such a man "knew his pick". But it would be just as accurate to say the pick knew him.

Such a bond usually took years to develop. But between Kreo's blessing and Ilga's engineering, Baern felt it immediately as the clockwork dragon roared to life. He felt the whir of the gears grinding away in its belly. He understood intuitively how its neck would unfurl as it woke and shifted his weight so he would not be thrown. He understood as well that it understood him, to the limited degree it could. If he thought about what he wanted to accomplish, the dragon would understand and do its best to achieve that goal.

"He's just the Dragonfather," Crajeon explained in answer to Procz's question while Baern was at work. "Never saw him without the mask and robes, and we weren't exactly encouraged to ask questions. Which I can understand. There's a certain amount of persecution that comes with being merely a member of the Descendants. The leader... well, I'd want to keep a low profile as well.

As for the dragon, it fights and it flies and breaths fire. What more could you want from a dragon?"

The automaton's rumble was not only in its rider's head. The entire factory thrummed, causing the walls to shake and debris to fall from what remained of the ceiling.

Commotion could be heard from downstairs, the cultists no doubt realizing something had happened and running to investigate.

Baern, you can give the dragon a simple instruction like, "Kill those cultists" or "Destroy that wall" and it will do what it can to comply. Once you give it its initial instruction, you can take your turns as usual. If you want to give it a new command, you can use a Bonus Action to do that.

It seems likely the cultists will soon be emerging from the stairs. You've got a few rounds before they do, so if you want to position yourself in any sort of way or cast buffs or anything, you have time to do that. Or if you want to flee, you can get a head start on them.

Everyone please give me an initiative roll along with a general description of where you'd like to be if you choose to stay and fight. Do you want to be near the stairs so you're immediately in melee range or a certain distance from them? If you're looking for cover or something else specific, please include a Survival check. You can take more than one rounds' worth of actions right now during this preliminary period. Let's keep the planning in character though.

"Tears of the hammer!" Frack nearly tripped over his own feet as he backpedaled away from the unfurling clockwork dragon. He ducked behind his shield, peeking over to see if Baern, someone as small as himself, could really control such a behemoth.

The workings of the mechanical beast were mesmerizing to the goblin Shield, but his trance was snapped by sounds coming from the stairs behind him. He realized the descendants were coming up and would probably not take kindly to their presence. "Uhhh, I think we're going to have company." With eyes now fixed on the stairwell, he found that he had turned his back on the dragon and was now backing toward it. For just a moment, he considered how little he knew about Baern, specifically his ability to control clockwork dragons, but he figured the approaching descendants were his immediate concern. With that in mind, he drew his scimitar and uttered a prayer under his breath. The blade began to emit a blue-white glow in response. A quick glance across the room suggested no obvious cover, so he continued to move toward the dragon. Hopefully Procz will still be there. Surely he will know what to do!


23:15, Today: Frack rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  Initiative.
23:18, Today: Frack rolled 4 using 1d20-1.  Survival - find cover.

Channel Divinity: Sacred Weapon - As an action you can imbue a weapon with positive energy. For 1 minute, the weapon is considered magical, you add +3 to attack rolls, it emits bright light for 20 ft. and dim light for 20 ft beyond that. You can end the effect as part of any other action, if you are no longer holding the weapon, or if you fall unconscious.