Session 101

Session 101

9:39am, 3rd Jourilden

After over two days of exploration of the hidden Ancient Dwarven facilities, the party has gathered in Power and Engineering, preparing to finally enter Area X. Thorfus takes a moment to view the surface with his mask, noticing several key differences. The dwarven encampment looks to be almost deserted, but for the usual guards at the entrance.

In the adventurer’s encampment however, a large number of dwarves are camped out in front of the Sleeping Colossus, looking to be mostly militiamen from Xenilum’Khel and Xurnost’Khel. A number of militiamen are gathered on the path down the mountain, constructing a new gatehouse that would block free-entry to the adventurer’s encampment. Of note, is that amongst a number of wagons gathered near the militia is a single wagon emblazoned with the Rhom’khul family name, and a dwarf Axel would’ve recognised as his older brother, Drexam.

We gather the group and prepare to march through the portal, deciding to leave Laurent and Owyn, along with Socrates, within Engineering to guard our escape and cart. We decide to give them a codeword for when we return, so that they can utilise the defence mechanism should we return subverted in some way. The phrase ‘Monkey Business’ is decided upon as an ‘all clear’ signal.

Instructions are passed to Finkleworm via Owl-Telepathy to dig east for a while then surface, giving us a potential means of escape. The old wizard is becoming very strange, enough that Socrates wasn’t even sure that Finklemur knew who he was, confused by other voices he can hear. We decide to have Socrates keep talking to his master every so often in an effort to save his sanity.

Chuq is given all the keys in order to open the gate, ready to shadowstep at a moment’s notice. The portal opens without issue to an empty room, and with no danger obvious, Thorfus commands a monkey to step through.

The monkey exits the portal in the centre of a large square platform within a huge chamber. The walls are beyond its vision, and the ceiling is 40ft up. A blue shimmer glows from beneath the platform, accompanied by loud winds. Walking over to the edge, the monkey inspects the chasm, now being able to see the walls. The room is octagonal, with doors on the cardinal points and a pair of arrow slits in each of the remaining walls. There are no panels on the doors, and what windows are open reveal the barrels of what would be large cannon. There is no sign of any bridges either. Looking down, the blue haze emanates from way below, with several shapes built into the pillar beneath the platform of a statue-esque design, some 60-70ft below. More shapes seem to be floating further down, within the light. Above the doors are placards with Ancient Dwarven, East – Residences, South – Research, West – Administration, and North – Prison.

Back in Engineering, Edan asks Kalgunn who the Administrator would be. The sword-Dwarf said there wasn’t a sole Administrator, rather that the four administrators of the other facilities would rotate the responsibility. Through process of elimination, we surmise that it would be the Chief Botanist who was the last. Additionally, the smallest group of researchers were present here, maybe only twenty, some permanent, some rotated.

Seeing no clear way to get across the chasm to the doors, we begin planning, figuring we can use the monkeys or shadowstep and rope to create our own bridge, if we can get the doors open. Although with the shutters closed, we would likely only have access to Research and Residential. We also realise there may be another platinum key specifically for Area X, since the four were needed on the other side to open it in the first place.

We begin to step through the portal to inspect thing with our own eyes, instantly noticing the wind and coldness of the area. Thorfus’ mask gives the message ‘No Signal’, but directing it south returns a view of Xen’Khel, meaning we have travelled a fair distance from the city. His circlet also reveals that the statues below are not automatons.

Deciding to get a better view of what’s beneath, we tie the Starchy badge to some rope and lower it down. The statues appear to ornamental, fashioned like devils with wings and horns, and they look very similar to the Gargoyle we fought previously. The floating figures appear to be dwarves in research robes, obviously caught mid-flight by a desynchronisation field. It seems our actions are enough to awaken the Gargoyles, and all sixteen take flight.

Retrieving the badge, the party prepares for combat, retreating to the centre. Thorfus even lashes himself to the pedestal, whilst Chuq simply retreats through the portal. After a moment, the rest of the party follows, Derich waiting only to complete his spell. As the first two to the west appear, he casts Hold Person, freezing them both and causing them to fall towards the Desynchronisation Field. Before any of the others can appear, he retreats, and the party calls out Monkey Business and closing the portal behind them.

Giving some time for the Gargoyles to return to their perches, we reopen the portal and Chuq steps through, and we close the portal behind them. The monk meditates in the dark, listening and thinking for activity, but doesn’t learn anything new, even with the Silver Key.

His given time up, the portal reopens and we all return through to Area X. Noticing that the windows are too small for a person to pass through, we enlist Socrates to fly through and explore for us. He heads for the south-western window, entering a small room with cannon and a single door. He is able to open the door with his beak, which opens with a screech and pass through to the next room.

A slightly larger room, with four doors is beyond. An automaton stands in the centre of the room, similar to the Warriors, but with a domed head. It doesn’t react to Socrates, allowing the owl to hit a panel near the northern door, which opens and a bridge is extended over to the platform where the party is.

The Owl repeats the process with the north-eastern window, getting a mirror-image, the dwarven propensity for symmetrical design continuing. Again, the door is opened and a bridge extended. For completion’s sake, he flies through the south-eastern window, which merely also opens into Residential.

Chuq and Edan decide to venture down to Research, checking the final cannon room before heading to the south door. The room beyond is an elongated octagon, with narrow ledges to the north and south. A thin bridge crosses the chasm between, complete with a blue glow below, and aside from the door to the south, large double doors adorn the east and west walls.

Socrates is used to scout again, heading across the room without issue, so Edan follows, communicating back to the party with the broochy-talky. He opens the door, showing a largish chamber. The southern portion has walls made of meshed glass, the room beyond filled with greenish gas. In the centre of this room is a dais with four pedestals. Doors to the east and west presumably allow entrance to the room beyond, within which appears to be a spherical object.

The party heads down to join him, and try the pedestals, but get no reaction from thier keys. Chuq probes mentally, getting a strong presence to the south, but no coherent thoughts. He points it out, and a closer look reveals a sphere being held in place by four arms. We mess around with keys and pedestals for a little while, trying out a few theories to no avail, confirming that we need Area X’s administrative key.

Returning to the centre platform, Thorfus has the monkeys pry open one set of double doors, revealing a room frozen by a Desynchronisation Field. Within the field is a pair of creatures with lion’s bodies, dwarven heads and a tail of spikes. Seeing the ‘dwarficores’, we quickly decide to close the doors and spike them shut. The opposite door has the same and so is similarly spiked. Derich recognises the creatures of course, abominations created by the dwarves for use in battle. They were used as attack dogs of a sort, pointed at the rebels and released.

Unsure how to proceed, we decide to explore the Residential area, hoping there may be a way around. The residential area begins with a hallway filled with doors, dark and dusty with no signs of life. A monkey is sent to open the first door to the left, revealing a very familiar dormitory layout. At the end of the corridor is an electrical hoist, with two more floors accessible by it. More rooms fill both corridors. The only thing of note is that the usual uniform robes bear a different design to the ones we’ve seen previously. Several rooms also hold skeletons, one in particular having what appears to be a couple hugging.

On the way back to the platform, we inspect the cannon more closely. They appear to shoot energy, as there is no ammunition present, and they are also potentially portable, though currently fixed to a stand.

Without another option, Thorfus sends monkeys to begin simply yanking open the shutters on the closed arrow slits. They succeed in gaining access to the cannon room joining onto the Administration area. The outer rooms hold to the pattern of cannon rooms and sleeping automaton, so the bridge is extended and we head over to the far door.

The room beyond is a large office. A desk sits upon a raised area at the far end, with a large green dragon painting behind it. Several terminals with screens flank the desk. Activating the desk gives us several options:

– Review analysis of prisoner code.

– Display code at analyst’s station.

– Authorise transfer of prisoner code to anti-virus lab.

– Review progress in anti-virus lab.

– Administrative Safe

The code itself is the same unintelligble jumble of characters we’ve seen before that scrolls past.

The safe options give and inventory and the option to open:

– Administrative Key

– Experimental Flight Suit

– Guardian Device

Thorfus thumbs it open, and the picture moves aside, revealing a small chamber. The key lies on a shelf with a backpack. In the centre of the room is a floating shard. As Derich crosses the threshold of the safe, the shard points towards him, so he steps back hurriedly. Nobody detects any thought from what we presume is the Guardian, so Thorfus simply runs in and grabs the key, then hits the desk to close the safe. Following his lead, Derich runs in and grabs the flight suit.

The door closes, and the shard simply burst through the painting, growing larger before splitting in two. Not knowing what else to do, Derich simply yells to the other Ancients to attack whilst inspecting the suit. Finding a PEP with two points of power, he pulls it out and tosses it to Thorfus.

Sturloc, in a moment of extreme luck, simply shoots one of the shards out of the air. Kottar is unable to replicate the feat, so the Ancients rush in, swinging wildly but unable to hit the shard. In response, the surviving shard simply shoots through Blaise, growing and splitting again.