Legacy of Death Part V: Dead-eye of the storm

Buckthorn will use his second wind and try to save against the radiation poisoning. He will also take a move action to move as far away from the moths as possible. Can he determine the approximate range of the dire light burst?

Buckthorn hides in the corner.

More moths come out of the nooks and crannies, still agitated. Those near the middle of the room flash again...

The irradiating continues.

Buckthorn: -20hp; ongoing 15, -6 penalty to checks and saves.; SW, bot heal
Forge: -20hp; ongoing 10, -1 penalty to checks and saves.
Nar: -30hp; ongoing 11, -2 penalty to checks and saves.

http://app.roll20.net/campaigns/details/40732/legacy-of-death

Keep going

Realizing it's a bad idea to be too close when one of these moths is hit, Forge pulls his handaxe out and hurles it at the moth 20 feet away from him (to the "north").

The one just north of the dwarf bursts...and if Forge wasn't so hardy, he could have been affected by the radiation. (Nar was just out of the blast).

On the other hand, the dwarf's axe is thrown so hard that it goes through the first moth then drops one behind it!

ALSO: Forge should save.

save

Faced with a seemingly endless supply of gamma moths, Nar thinks that the generator in the room needs to be shut down, and with Robot1s help, succeeds! Robot1 also realizes that others have been accessing the computers here…recently. One lasting gift of the moths is more mutation for Buckthorn and Nar: venomous spines for the elf, and the ability to redirect incoming missiles for the Halfling.

They continue to explore the ruin. A room of pools is avoided. A chamber with a man, a “knight” working one of the terminals, is found. In spite of Buckthorn’s threats, the man is soon joined by another knight, and by some kind of lizard men!



The other knight were powerful armor that gives him both a deadly needler and puts a hard punch on a ceramic sword he wields (and has some other features not seen in battle). The lizard folk turn out to be “sleeths” an intelligent and normally peaceful raise with mental powers. In this case, the sleeth “shaman” wears a skull around his neck, and is really not peaceful at all. On top of these three, the first knight figures out how to use the bases security system to shoot lasers at the party.



The shaman mentions some sort of sleeth death prophet named “Tak Ha’Sssth”.

They inflict a great deal of damage (Buckthorn actually runs out of healing surges) but are stopped, in no small part to Robot1 also learning to use the security system to shoot them. The room is searched after words, and among the item discovered include a small computer on which a little man appears. There is some issue with Robot1’s security clearance…but eventually the little man is able to tell the party things.

They also note that the sleeths were gathering various hardware (bits of computers, cables, etc) inside the base.

Lucian shows up and warns them of more sleeths. They leave to camp out. But decide they wish to learn more from the ancient base. They succeed, probably more than they (or the DM) could have imagined.

The little man on the computer gives them a map of the base. They in turn do some exploring and then decide to lay an ambush in case the sleeths return.



Returning to where they fought the sleeths and humans, they carefully watch the main exit to the outside…and barricade another door. The sleeths try that one…then open a third (exactly the way the party came in the previous day).
They respond…with Nar setting Forge on fire and putting him to sleep, Robot1 making a devastating hit on this other sleeth shaman (no skull) with the security system and, after bragging of being unhurt, Nar withstanding a devastating hit of his own.

Nonetheless, they are defeated quickly enough, and this other shaman actually starts to talk to the party.

Mostly about Tak Ha’Sssth. And how the sleeths were once a peaceful people, but decided that wasn’t the thing to be.

They return to Burlin, with this other shaman tide up and gagged, carried by Forge. They have set their mind on meeting Lord Dillard, and through Dar Tenibor are able to arrange a meeting, where they describe their findings at the ancient base, including their captive.

From this and other talks:

*It is confirmed many times that the knights, who are members of a cryptic alliance called the Knights of Genetic Purity, seem to be strange allies for the normally knowledgeable and peaceful sleeths;

*The sleeths are also pre-cognates (can see the future to varying degrees) and have other mental abilities;

*They were probably gathering stuff from the base to build or repair or augment an artifact of great power, this is probably a bad thing;

*They think that the captive shaman may not have been all bad, but has some kind of mental control or block thanks to Tak Ha’Sssth;

* Tak Ha’Sssth’s deathly visions may have common from contact with a strange entity. This sets off immediate speculation that this involves the demi-lich.

*The “third base” deep in the deadliest part of the deadlands, is again noted.

* Dar Tenibor and his associates are also members of a cryptic alliance known as the Brotherhood of Thought;

The Lord takes the captive and contemplates the situation.

Meanwhile, the party gets a message to meet with Wald, the other sage and bookseller.

They are led to a backroom in his shop. Wald steps out. Some knights and sleeths step in.

The party makes pretty short work of them, dropping the two sleeths. As the one knight seeks to flee, dragging the other knight with him, he makes a parting shot with a “micro missile” built into his armor. Its blasts the shop…fortunately everyone survives (and Forge had been healed by Robot1).

They do everything they can to hang about and inspect the shop. A ledger is found that links Wald to Sir Dept (the brother of Lord Dillard) and the Halfling filches a powerful mecha-gauntlet for this third arm.

They meet the Lord again. He has an offer, given their seeming interest to follow up on the plotting of the Knights and Tak Ha’Sssth: They try to infiltrate the homeland of the sleeths. With the shaman, his mental control now lifted, as their guide.

They agree.

The five head out in their centistead pulled wagon, making good time... Cover over 30 miles on the first day. Forge is given the freeze ray.

Buckthorn uses his skill to find a campsite, with defensibility and concealment as the top criteria. Forge takes first watch with Kan'Ka (the sleeth will never be on watch by himself as far as Forge is concerned). Buckthorn takes the second watch and Nar the third.

A few more days pass and a trickle of other travelers pass you on the road. You are slowly becoming accustomed to the strange flora and fauna of this world.

You reach the point were you should leave the main road. Kan'Ka is surprised...at how easy it is to find! What was once a concealed path has become a very clear trail , and you soon realize its from everyone using it.

There are sleeths, plus other mutant animals, (including the rabbit like hoops and some badders!) and what appear to be humans, some in armor. Most are heading the way you are.

As you progress, there seem to be more and more in bands, then a whole camp lies before you.

They recall there plan. Forge is a Knight with his “spiffy” armor. Buckthorn is posing as a squire / cup bearer (hiding his third arm). "Would it please m'lord to fetch him some ale?" Nar reminds them he is the lord and covers his ears.

Nar: "Kan'Ka, where can we expect to find some more information about the Prophet's plan without drawing too much attention to ourselves?"

The shaman gives a dumbfounded look:

"I thought you would know".

They find some kind of quartermaster. Forge inquires about sleeping space, and ale.

QM: "Most of us humans" his eyes narrow a bit as he says that "are over there". "Just look for some open space."

"Drinking tents are over there." Points another way.

Looking for command tents, Buckhtorn finds some that are larger and better guarded and have a fair amount of in and out traffic. Mostly humans and the occasional mutant animal go to and from it.

There are many other mutant animals in the camp. There are also specifically a fair number of sleeths in the camp. Kan'Ka thinks they are from distant communities, and that more, maybe many more, are in the nearby sleeth villages. Again, with Buckthorn's keen skills, he thinks there are (easily) hundreds of mostly armed and seemingly dangerous sentients in the camp.

Buckthorn also tries to talk up some of the locals... "watch out boy" is the main response.

Forge takes a few credits over to the drinking tents to see if there's any conversation to be had. Perhaps challenge some tough guy to a drinking challenge (endurance)….

The 8 foot tall ark (dog man reminiscent of a gnoll) sure can drink...a lot.



And synthehol gets involved at some point (is that what Lucian was mumbling about?).

At first you guzzle it down! (roll, 12, 14), but then as you are about to collapse (roll 4, but make dwarf + save) it goes down! (low roll, low roll, low roll...).

Forge stages about, perhaps wondering "what I am doing here again?".

The crowd does seem more receptive. But little is done about it. At some point you all stumble back to your bit of the camp. Morning comes, its a new day.

Buckthorn suggests they go to some of the bigger tents and ask around introducing ourselves as newcomers hoping to get a glimpse of this prophet we've come to 'serve'.

Buckthorn "Is it possible to seek an audience with the prophet? Does he hold court? Perhaps we could gain an audience with him, coming to pay respects and supplication and offer homage to his cause. Pledge our swords to his service ... That sort of thing."

"Hmm, seek an audience with Tak Ha'Sssth?"

Kan'Ka contemplates...You no one else reflects on the obvious dangers of such a strategy, or how to mitigate them.

Some of you nose around the bigger tents and the quartermaster and some others reappear.

QM: "Prophet? You serve the Grandmaster boy!"

As this happens, one of you highly perceptive characters almost certainly notices Sir Dept walk right past you and into one of the larger tents.

QM: "What you need is a captain and a company to join. We will be marching in days."

Nar: "And where might we find the Grandmaster?"

The knight looks at the "lord".

"And who might you be, exactly?"

Kan'Ka speaks...just so you three hear it...or is he even speaking..."marching, an army marching?"

Nar to the quartermaster: "Who I am is none of your concern! If the army is marching soon, I must speak to the Grandmaster immediately. Send us in the proper direction and be gone!"

QM: "Right there in the tent" (points to the one Dept went into).

"Don't have to get all huffy about it." He leaves.

Nar ; "Either Dept is running this whole thing or is a big part of it. We should probably get back to Lord Dilliard and get him up to speed. Although, I would like to get a look at whatever they've been building first."

Kan'Ka: "Whatever the artifact is, it was not kept here, at least not before. Of course, this large camp full of warriors was not here before."

"It would be deep in my peoples territory, or at least was, in the stronghold of Tak'Ha Sssth. Only a day's journey from here"

He pauses.

"But it seems like we have taken a great deal of time already".

Forge: "Good point. At the end of the day, Lord Dilliard's business is not our own. I would prefer not to be stuck here forever. Let us see if we can find it in this camp and if it is not here, perhaps we should travel on."

Buckthorn: "perhaps we could try something a bit... Sneakier."

To create a distraction, Forge heads back the drinking tent…and finds more Arks. A commotion shortly follows.
Some guards leave and others are distracted. Buckthorn easily enters the tent unseen.

There are people in there talking! Some in the same fancy armor...and Dept is there, and who is in that corner...

Buckthorn is patient. He stays in the shadows and just listen but he'll wait patiently.