The Wayfinders - The Wreck of the Archon

SelcSilverhand · Jul 20, 2015

The woman standing in the chest of the huge construct suddenly pops up and cries triumphantly, "I got it!" She holds up a strange amalgamation of tubes, wires, crystal meshed together in a disturbingly organic fashion. She hops out of the chest cavity and stores it in her traveling pouch. The other two soldiers heft the big cannon weapon while the two on the ground finish covering up the geode. Corporal Ardus moves over and helps up the injured soldier. Sergeant Kella calls for the group to move out.

Your group starts carving a path out of the warehouse. As you pass shelves more and more red eyes illuminate as the construct soldiers come to life. They start to shake themselves free of the restraints holding them to the storage slots. It starts to look bad but just as they all start to close in a loud bang from the back of the warehouse causes them to pause...

Turning back towards where you came from you see the large hatches for the prone construct have closed. A low hum building in volume emanates from the machine. With a loud grinding sound its gears begin to turn. Red light starts glowing around the head of the creature. One massive hand rises and clenches into a fist as the machine comes to life once more.

The woman who was working on the chest sputters "But.. but.. it can't! I pulled the..." The Sergeant interrupts her and shouts to run. The group breaks into a sprint for the double doors you entered through. Behind you comes the sound of mayhem as the machines move to engage you. As the last of the group passes the doors you turn about and force them to close. It won't hold the advance but might buy you a few seconds.

OOC
[SBLOCK]
My flash drive failed so I lost a bunch of my recent notes for this encounter. I'll try to fix an inconsistencies as they pop up. I have most of the story on a backup though, so we're still good!
[/SBLOCK]

Deuce Traveler · Jul 27, 2015

"It is time to postulate the reasons why we have killer attack machines doing their utmost to terminate our existences. I am supposing that their reactions are connected to an alarm regarding the device we have just procured. If that is so, is it possible that they may track us no matter where we go on this ship? I dislike the thought that we would be pursued for as long as we carry the subject." Doral asks as he wipes the dirt and dust off of his clothes.

Dr Simon · Jul 28, 2015

"Maybe we could arrange a meeting between the warforged and the tentacles, eh?" says Kraken. "I'd be happy to sit back with a couple of snags and see what happens."

jkason · Jul 29, 2015

Midian's liquid form shrugs.

"I'd love to sic them on each other," Midian agrees, "But I think Doral has the right of it. Whatever this ... thing is, I think that's what the machines are after. Unless we toss that into the middle of the tentacles, and I'm guessing that's not an option?" he asks of the newcomers. He doesn't wait long for an answer, though.

"The door won't hold, though, and I don't have the shaping magic to make into a wall, much as I'd like to, so I think we need to figure this out on the move!"

SelcSilverhand · Aug 12, 2015

The sergeant does a quick head count to make sure everyone is out then pulls a small flask from her pack. She hurls it at the seam of the door and it shatters to leave behind a sticky residue that quickly hardens. Her second in command turns to Doral and says, "They know we're not crewmen and are responding like we're invaders." He points towards the exit. "We need to move fast. We might be able to lose them in the city." The two groups move quickly to the other door. You inform them that the other two defenders have been disabled and that you can exit safely. Outside the hanger you start off in direction you came from while the other group heads at an angle for a different path. After a moments hesitation you change course and follow them. You overhear them mention a rally point which would be in a safe area they had already scouted.

You hurry through the empty streets staying ahead of the mass of constructs leaving the hanger. Once you spot a pair of them passing by side streets but they don't seem to notice you. Finally the Brelish soldiers stop at a non-descript building with wooden double doors and no windows. Two of their men go in first and sweep the entranceway for any signs of activity before waving the rest of you in. The building looks like an office complex with multiple small rooms. The group settles into a meeting room that is barely big enough for both parties. The sergeant sends one of the men who was carrying the geode (not the clumsy one) off to watch the front door while you rest and collect your thoughts.

Deuce Traveler · Aug 15, 2015

Doral asks, "Has anyone successfully counted the killer constructs that we had recently left behind? I do believe they numbered in the dozens, and therefore we may now expect to encounter them in small packs while exploring this vessel. As long as we did not unknowingly wake many more, we may be able to handle them in such small groups. Mayhaps we will also be lucky enough for them to do damage to the alien biological mass that seeks to also terminate our existence. Shall we rest amongst our new 'friends' before continuing onwards?"

jkason · Aug 21, 2015

Midian nods. "It wouldn't hurt to take the time to collect our thoughts and resources, though with as many of us as we are, my camp concealment spell won't be able to cover us all from discovery; we'll need to keep a sharper watch."

SelcSilverhand · Aug 25, 2015

The sergeant relaxes slightly and turns a critical eye towards your party. "You're not with the Zilargo looters. Your accents aren't Brelish either. And you're pretty well geared for scavengers. Let me guess, some kind of hired mercenaries?" She shakes her head. "It's starting to get crowded. Everyone is coming to loot the pride of Breland. The crown was hoping we would find it first and secure what is ours before our enemies could seize it. Our orders are to engage and defeat any other looters we encounter. Given the circumstances though I'll forgo the fight today. Don't think I'm ungrateful, but orders are orders. In the morning we'll go our separate ways and hope we don't encounter each other again." She turns towards Doral and answers his question. "That was a main deployment hanger for internal defense. They could deploy half a hundred general issue warforged along with two dozen standard siege warforged. We didn't take a count headed in. We were after one of the colossi that was down for maintenance when the city fell. They'll spread out through the streets and engage anyone and anything that isn't one of the original city inhabitants. Maybe they'll clear out those mutated crewmen we've seen on occasion."

For the evening watch she suggests that one of her men and one of your own stay up together to stand watch. They seem willing to speak with you given the shared experience. They spread out a bit though they keep to their half of the room. The sergeant's second in command along with the one carrying the geode and the man with the large weapon taken from the colossus gather to check gear and weapons. One of the other men sits with the injured soldier and talk in low tones about the injury. The woman who had been climbing around inside the creatures chest moves off by herself and starts tinkering with parts that she salvaged from the machine.

OOC:
From the uniforms and talk of the Brelish crown, you establish that this squad of soldiers is from the Brelish camp outside the ship. You also remember seeing the Zilargo gnome's camp not far away along with signs there had been fighting between the two groups. Refresher

Deuce Traveler · Aug 26, 2015

Doral asks the sergeant, "Do you know what the Zilargo gnomes are seeking? I understand that we are all ultimately at odds with one another, but all of us have a larger problem which will demand our attention. Those mutated crewmen you have seen may actually be possessed by some entity alien to our world. It uses the dead as appendages and speaks with a sort of hive mind. I have no doubt that it is hunting for more organic material to further itself, and I am concerned for the future of the nearby territories if it somehow is able to leave this location." He describes the party's encounters with it thus far, taking care to avoid giving hints on where the party had entered.

Dr Simon · Aug 29, 2015

Earlier:

"Ya seem fair dinkum Sergeant," says Kraken. "Reckon we can keep out of each other's way, I'd hate to have to kill ya. Your man Hendricks there's a pretty solid fella, eh? If he's typical of you Brelish I'm sure we can all play nice. Besides, your pride of Breland's got a gutful of weird tentacle monster and if we end up havin' a blue we'll only be feeding it more meat to infect, eh"Later:

Kraken listens to what Midian has to say, nodding for emphasis.