12.30 - Every Gear In Place: A Clockwork Conspiracy, Finale Part I

General Summary

The Heroes of the Reach race through the streets of the Last Rest towards the town hall and the open Ogre Gate beyond, accompanied by Captain Barksdale and several guardsmen-turned-commandos.
They arrive at the town hall, its ballista motionless on its roof, Domokos and Sand Fury carving a swath of blood and fire through the mechanical forces attempting to defend it. As the Warlord and his steed finish the last of the clockwork abominations, a massive mechanical kraken rises from an inky black pool in the ground, then floats through the air towards the ballista; it is joined by several other krakens, which sink into sconces beneath the archanotech turret, combining together to form some sort of massive mechanical structure that then sinks, ponderously, into the town hall. Above the infernal clockwork machine, rising in place of the ballista, is now a arcane beacon, pulsating in long red waves of power—beating in time to the red glow from the eyes of the mechanical warriors marching towards the town.
The Heroes, understanding that time is of the essence, divide their forces: Elfriede flies off in the direction of the approaching mechanoid army, followed by Eliana and a handful of guards. The rest of the company rushes the doors of the town hall—just in time, as massive metal tentacles erupt from the walls and sink into the earth, and begin to lift the building from its foundation.
Domokos, Eliana, and Barksdale with his team burst through the doors to a chamber made of pipes, gears, and steam. Arrayed before them is a small army of clockwork beings, from spider-like horrors to massive titans of concrete and steel. At the far end of the chamber, her clockwork torso riddled with trailing wires as it hovers over a clock-like control platform, is Anastasia Gildenwerd.
The battle that ensues only lasts a matter of seconds.
The company forms a defensive line as they are swarmed by mechanical spiders. Maggie the guard and her companions unleash a devastating salvo into the fray, Domokos directing them with tactical precision. Riven makes short work of half the swarm, then goes toe-to-toe with a clockwork Titan, Wardenblade scything through steel and gearwork like paper.
For all that, the heroes are nearly overrun. The forces arrayed against them are just too great, and they have been fighting this war for hours, their energy all but spent. They lost Robin, one of the greatest of their number, as he fled the scene of the Library’s destruction. And they lost Sig, who might have known best how to deal with the machinations of Hephaestus…
Suddenly, a dark portal opens in the ceiling of the chamber, and a still-smoldering, very fucked up, and very angry cyborg raccoon falls through.
…
Sig's presence turned the tide of the battle, despite missing significant portions of his body and his skeletal structure barely holding together by a patchwork of jerry-rigged spare parts and eldritch tentacles.
But it wasn't enough to save everyone.
Captain Aldous Barksdale, Knight of the Royal Griffin, gave his life to clear a path for the heroes to get to Gildenwerd before she could unleash whatever archanotech machinations she was bent over. The Heroes and handful of guardsmen threw themselves towards her platform, racing to stop her--just in time. After a brief battle with the now golden power-armor-clad artificer, Gildenwerd gave out a cry of frustrated rage and fled the encounter, wrenching a pulsing power core from the beacon above her as she propelled herself through the ceiling of the town hall-turned mechanical monstrosity--followed closely by a furious mapach with a grudge to settle.
To be continued...
Songs of Glory +4: Domokos, Riven, Sig

Report Date

20 Oct 2024