Session 10: The Clockwork Castle Pt 2
General Summary
Descending the spiral stairs leading down from the high chamber where the Thieves fought clockwork watchmen, Dolan debates whether or not to tap into the unseen forces of nature in order to sense any traps that might be present. But Ruhst takes the lead and gives a wink, "Not a problem," he says and begins examining the stonework for triggers. Unfortunately, he misses one. Thin, serrated wheels of death spin out from the wall and cut Ruhst and Percy deeply. But Ruhst holds his position and keeps the trigger depressed after the wheels recede back into the walls, allowing time for his companions to make it past the dangerous section and on down to the landing below. Three archways in the stonework open into a large, steaming workroom off of that landing. The workroom clatters with the sound of hammers, drills, powered screwdrivers, and other arcane devices, and is lit by the hellish light of an infernal sun captured between two metal balls on rods -- one depending from the ceiling, the other jutting up from the floor -- that spark with electricity. The hellsun is similar to the fiery hearts the Thieves have seen in other of the clockwork beings, but on a much larger scale. A chain runs across the center of the room and is attached to a winch, allowing an iron cauldron filled with molten metal to be moved in or out of the hellsun. Working at the tables in the chamber are eight large, muscular, tatooed gnomes wearing only loincloths. They are also heavily modified, sporting inset gears, bolts, and even fully-operational arms and legs ... and eyes. The Gearlock gnomes confront the adventurers, but their accent is so thick that even Kelpip -- also a gnome -- has to cast Comprehend Languages in order to understand them. But once he does, negotiations begin, and the Thieves discover that the gnomes are just as keen to rid themselves of their new vampire queen as the adventurers are to slay her. To seal the deal, Kelpip asks for and recieves a tattooing from Ferris, one of the Gearlocks. That tattoo takes an hour to complete, but is, in the end, quite complex, with moving gears set beneath folds of scar tissue. The process is quite painful, but results in a gear work tree tattoo that also provides Kelpip with some incidental 'natural' armor (+1 bonus). A couple of the others clamor for these tattoos, but they are only for gnomes, the Gearlock's say, and, besides, now time is running out. For an hour, the adventurers have chatted with and drunk (a very potent hellfire brew) with the Gearlock gnomes, listening as Fallenbridge plays soothing music over the sound of clanging metal, and, once, watching in horror as Little Sister puts her hand into the hellsun, burning her flesh off down to the bone, which she looks at contemplatively. But toward the end of that hour, the fires of the hellsun flicker. Then bulge outward. The leader of the gnome clan, a gnome called only Sir, demands to know if anything has happened to one of the containment transformers in the outer ruins of the castle ... if, perhaps, a clockwork watchman or some other might have 'slipped' on the bridges above and struck one of the important devices. After some hemming and hawing, the Thieves admit that, yes, perhaps one (in actuality six) of the watchmen might have 'accidentally' tumbled over the side of the bridge. Before there is time to address that, the hellsun bubbles out again and a flock of five magma mephits -- creatures like giant mosquito-bats made from mud and lava -- erupt from its surface. One immediately attacks Sir, clawing deep into the gnome's back and causing his metal parts to begin to glow with terrible heat. The others attack the party. Fallenbridge immediately screeches out his signature move, the hideous sound of Shatter. But, although this injures most of the mephitis, it also cracks the containment globes keeping the hellsun in place ... and from incinerating everyone. It also ruptures Little Sister's eardrums, and so her frustrated what-the-hell eye rolling at Fallenbridge is not unexpected. The goddess, however, turns back to the foes at hand and draws her wing swords -- the long, curved scimitars that her wings become when she is in more fully-human form. She slices one of the creatures in half. It erupts in a spray of magma that splashes her and does even more damage to the containment balls. But the others are not complacently standing about. Dolan dispatches another, and Percy hurries to help the fallen Sir, but has to fight through another one along the way, all while Ruhst darts in and out, swords flashing. Soon enough, the mephits are dead, leaving behind sizzling, scarred flesh and a weakened containment for the hellsun. A Gearlock gnome hurries through a secret door to try and correct the problem with the transformer outside, but Sir, badly wounded, says that there is no guarantee that they will have success in reining in the hellsun ... unfortunately, no one understands him because Kelpip's Comprehend Languages spell has worn off. Still, the urgency of the situation is conveyed and the Gearlock's open the metal slab protecting access to the lower levels ... where the new Vampire Queen, Falling Petal, slumbers in her coffin. A veeeeerrrrry steep staircase descends into the darkness, and Dolan calls upon his nature spirits to guide them, discovering three traps in the process: a section of collapsing steps that would have slid the adventurers into another section of guillotining blades followed by a bath in fire jets. The Thieves, breathing sighs of relief, circumvent these obstacles. The chamber the stairs let onto is not large, but the clockwork gladiator guard within is (no, not giant or huge ... LARGE!). It says, "NONE SHALL PASS!" but the Thieves are already springing into action. Little Sister leaps down the remainder of the steps, her wings blooming into ethereal presence behind her, and she sidesteps once within the chamber, slashing at the creature with her wing swords. Dolan and Fenris also dart into position in the room, taking up stances in the corner, where Fenris immediately attacks and, astonishingly, manages to trip, the myrmidon! With the thing prone, Percy and Ruhst add their swords to the mix, Rusht taking up a spot in the corner opposite Dolan. All of them slash and stab as the creature struggles to its feet. Meanwhile, Trajinous and Kelpip move further down the stairs in order to get line of sight on the myrmidon, but it's up by that point and sprays grease from nozzles on its chest up the stairs. Kelpip manages to maintain his footing, as does Trajinous. The myrmidon swings his pick at Fenris, nearly killing the wolf outright. A massive punch follows at Dolan, smashing the dwarf into the wall. But Fenris, even wounded as he is, managed to pull the myrmidon down again, and the others leap to take advantage of the situation, including Kelpip and Trajinous, who move out of the grease patch to cast more spells from within the room. Fallenbridge, though slips on the grease and tumbles painfully the rest of the way down the staircase. The clockwork warrior isn't out of tricks yet, though. It turns its mangled torso toward Fenris and Dolan and unleashes a burst of hellfire from its infernal heart. Fenris falls and Dolan suffers beneath the onslaught of devilish heat. At that moment, Ruhst launches himself into the air and comes down atop the clockwork monster, swords pointed down, plunging the blades into the myrmidon's heart. It explodes! The Thieves are all knocked backward as fire and parts rain around them. But they are victorious! Trajinous summons forth the most powerful of her unknown deity's healing spells and manages to save Fenris, and then the team investigates the rest of the complex of chambers around the guard room, finding a lounge area, a dining room, a weapons storage locker, and a scroll room. The Thieves do what they do best ... and loot it all. But the Vampire Queen still sleeps below ... waiting...
Rewards Granted
+1 natural armor bonus to Kelpip via a very painful tattoo; a repeating (3 shot) heavy crossbow; 5 +1 arrows; a scroll of invisibility; a heavy pike (2d8), very large; as many normal weapons as you'd like to carry; 2300 gp, 300 pp, 4 x 500 gp gems.
Character(s) interacted with
Sir, Gearlock gnome clan leader; Ferris, tattooist.
