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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 5254599" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>The clockwork horrors act for all the world like leafcutter ants harvesting slivers of vegetation- but it isn't vegetation at all. It is metal- sliced from the great underground roadway that our heroes have been traversing.</p><p></p><p>“Why?” wonders Sepia aloud.</p><p></p><p>“To make more,” Shifty opines grimly. “To reproduce.”</p><p></p><p>The party stares at the horrors for a while, observing them. Each small insectoid construct has a jewel set in its head- a gem of a by-now familiar violet hue. “More of those damn things!” exclaims the gnome governor. “Those are nothing but trouble!”</p><p></p><p>An underground waterway, about 30' across, separates the horrors from our heroes. “Whatever they are after can't be good,” Karl says. “With that water between them and us, we might be able to pick them off, at least the ones near it.”</p><p></p><p>“You don't think they can cross the water?” inquires Lithieln.</p><p></p><p>“Well, it's moving reasonably quickly and they're pretty small. I wouldn't doubt that they can cross- but I would be really surprised if they can do it quickly.”</p><p></p><p>“All right, we'll try it,” decides Shifty.</p><p></p><p>The party hangs back and Karl, who has a considerably greater range than the others, begins picking horrors off with <em>magic missiles.</em> Each time one of his spells finds its target, the horror is blown to smithereens, and better yet, at first the others don't respond. However, the situation changes quickly once the mage has destroyed three of the metal bugs. The others hurry to the edge of the waterway and start to build a bridge across it with their own bodies!</p><p></p><p>“Crap,” Lithieln mutters.</p><p></p><p>But Karl's superior intellect easily pinpoints the weakness in this stratagem, and he <em>magic missiles</em> the horrors trying to form the “base” of the bridge, sending the rest toppling into the water. Unfortunately, although he is correct- they cannot move too fast in the current- they start crawling steadily along the bottom towards the far side. </p><p></p><p>So our heroes beat a retreat, moving back until the horrors give up their pursuit.</p><p></p><p>“At least they don't seem too smart,” Karl remarks. “Perhaps they are limited to simple basic programs.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe,” replies Lithieln. “Do you suppose there is someone in charge of them?”</p><p></p><p>Shifty frowns at the suggestion. “Let's hope not,” he says fervently.</p><p></p><p>The group moves forward again, and this time when they approach the horrors they refrain from any kind of attack, limiting themselves to observation only. After a few minutes, they pinpoint a large side tunnel that seems to have a great number of the copper horrors moving in and out of it, those heading in bearing scraps of metal shorn from the collapsed roadway while those emerging are empty-mandibled. A little bold experimentation proves that they can approach without attracting the attention of the horrors, at least if they don't attack.</p><p></p><p>With a collective deep breath, they head down the passage. </p><p></p><p>Like the roadway, the passage is lined with metal. However, there are no signs of the hieroglyphic characters that adorned the road. Seams and rivets are haphazard, and the reason is clear: this hall was paneled by fragments of the roadway. </p><p></p><p>After perhaps a thousand feet, the hall splits into four passages. The clockwork horrors split, too, seemingly heading in- and coming from- all directions. Each passage looks about as good as the next; before proceeding, Shifty scratches a mark in their chosen direction with a dagger. </p><p></p><p>They continue along, with the passage periodically branching and our heroes marking their way most carefully. The number of horrors thins, but then our heroes begin to pass silent, immobile specimens with no 'glow' coming from within their crystal. Spooky- and even spookier, they grow in number the deeper the party goes.</p><p></p><p>“I wonder if we can just destroy these inactive ones,” muses Lithieln. “Get them while they won't fight back.” She draws her blade and approaches one.</p><p></p><p>“Careful!” Karl warns sharply. </p><p></p><p>But the copper horror doesn't respond, even when she smashes its crystal with the hilt of her dagger. With a shrug, she turns to the next one and smashes its crystal as well.</p><p></p><p>“No problem,” she says.</p><p></p><p>And then all the other immobile horrors flicker to life and start to move in a huge, inexorable tide towards our heroes.</p><p></p><p>“Whoops!” she cries.</p><p></p><p>The party begins to fight. These copper horrors seem to be almost fragile; they are easily destroyed, and after a few moments it appears that things will be just fine as our heroes whittle the numbers around them to nothing. </p><p></p><p>“That wasn't so bad,” Lithieln remarks.</p><p></p><p>“Not yet,” replies Shifty. “But there are a whole lot more of these things. Be careful- try not to get any of us killed.”</p><p></p><p>“Right.”</p><p></p><p>The party continues, and shortly they come to more inactive horrors. <em>Many</em> more. They practically litter the metal-lined hall; there are hardly any active ones in sight. </p><p></p><p>But this time things are different. When they get close, all the inactive horrors come to life. At first things look to go the same as before; the copper horrors aren't sturdy enough to take a blow, and one by one our heroes cut them to bits.</p><p></p><p>But more are coming from the depths of the halls, and two of them are silver, not copper. More formidable than their copper brethren, these two prove to be armed not merely with the vicious cutting mandibles of their lesser kin, but also with steam-powered, spring-loaded dart throwing weapons! They are significantly more formidable, but once again Lithieln uses her adversary's shadow like a noose while Shifty hacks and stabs. This time, they are pressed much harder, and after cutting the silver horrors down they beat a hasty retreat, following their marks back to the entrance and then retreating to the metal roadway to recuperate.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe we should just move on,” Karl suggests. “You don't think they have any loot in there, do you?”</p><p></p><p>“Loot?” exclaims Shifty. “They <em>are</em> loot! Loot on legs! How many pounds of silver do you think are in one of those silver bugs?”</p><p></p><p>“I see your point.”</p><p></p><p>“And what if there are even more valuable types?”</p><p></p><p>“Well,” Karl admits, “the stories do tell of clockwork horrors made of gold, electrum- even platinum.”</p><p></p><p>“That settles it. After we rest, we're going back in.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>The party creeps back in towards where they fought the silver horrors, but this time the constructs attack them first. Waves of copper bugs 3' long pour out at the party, who fight with aplomb and verve.</p><p></p><p>Then two silver horrors, followed by an electrum one, pour in. The electrum horror proves to be armed with a weapon even more dangerous than the steam darts of the silver ones: a rod that shoots a bolt of lightning!</p><p></p><p>Things fall apart very quickly. “There are too many of them!” cries Karl, falling back and trying to keep the mass of horrors from reaching him. Shifty and Lithieln have both sprung ahead and cleared a path forward- but there are more coming from side passages that threaten to cut them off from their retreat. “Watch out!” the wizard shouts.</p><p></p><p>Trying to cut their way back, the governor and the assassin work desperately. Lithieln springs from shadow to shadow, but a bolt of lightning transfixes her in a screaming ball of blue electricity. She falls to the ground, unconscious, and the horrors near her seize her!</p><p></p><p>“Lithium!”* cries Shifty.</p><p></p><p>“We've got to fall back,” Karl moans, hurling <em>scorching bursts</em> down the hall. At last the number of copper horrors is thinning, but the others- </p><p></p><p>Shifty hesitates for a moment. <em>She's not worth it,</em> he groans silently, and springs forward to engage the electrum horror, which is between him and his fallen companion. </p><p></p><p>Things do not go so well with that. Almost immediately, Shifty finds himself bleeding and nearly electrocuted. He can barely stand, but in turn he has badly damaged the electrum horror. A strange smell, like something very weird burning**, is now coming from the thing; foul, odoriferous liquids are draining from it. Its movements have become jerky, hesitant. </p><p></p><p>Karl, meanwhile, focuses desperately on picking off the horrors dragging his unconscious ally away, entering a <em>wizard's fury</em> and blasting horror after horror. </p><p></p><p>But more are coming out- many more; another whole wave. </p><p></p><p>Shifty thrusts again, and his dagger skitters from the electrum horror's armor. Then it blasts him with another stroke of lightning, and Governor Shifty collapses.</p><p></p><p>“NOOOO!!” cries Karl.</p><p></p><p>The silver horrors fire their steam darts at him, wounding him. More copper horrors are pouring out all over; some seize Lithieln again and drag her away. Others take hold of Shifty's unmoving form and pull it away.</p><p></p><p><em>Scorching bursts</em> and <em>magic missiles;</em> the wizard knows it will not be enough. But still, he keeps fighting beyond any sense, far past the moment when a lesser man would flee.</p><p></p><p>But in the end, flee he does.</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> Will Lithieln or Shifty survive? </p><p></p><p></p><p>*Lithieln got the nickname 'Lithium' possibly even before introducing the character in game.</p><p></p><p>**Think electrical fire.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 5254599, member: 1210"] The clockwork horrors act for all the world like leafcutter ants harvesting slivers of vegetation- but it isn't vegetation at all. It is metal- sliced from the great underground roadway that our heroes have been traversing. “Why?” wonders Sepia aloud. “To make more,” Shifty opines grimly. “To reproduce.” The party stares at the horrors for a while, observing them. Each small insectoid construct has a jewel set in its head- a gem of a by-now familiar violet hue. “More of those damn things!” exclaims the gnome governor. “Those are nothing but trouble!” An underground waterway, about 30' across, separates the horrors from our heroes. “Whatever they are after can't be good,” Karl says. “With that water between them and us, we might be able to pick them off, at least the ones near it.” “You don't think they can cross the water?” inquires Lithieln. “Well, it's moving reasonably quickly and they're pretty small. I wouldn't doubt that they can cross- but I would be really surprised if they can do it quickly.” “All right, we'll try it,” decides Shifty. The party hangs back and Karl, who has a considerably greater range than the others, begins picking horrors off with [i]magic missiles.[/i] Each time one of his spells finds its target, the horror is blown to smithereens, and better yet, at first the others don't respond. However, the situation changes quickly once the mage has destroyed three of the metal bugs. The others hurry to the edge of the waterway and start to build a bridge across it with their own bodies! “Crap,” Lithieln mutters. But Karl's superior intellect easily pinpoints the weakness in this stratagem, and he [i]magic missiles[/i] the horrors trying to form the “base” of the bridge, sending the rest toppling into the water. Unfortunately, although he is correct- they cannot move too fast in the current- they start crawling steadily along the bottom towards the far side. So our heroes beat a retreat, moving back until the horrors give up their pursuit. “At least they don't seem too smart,” Karl remarks. “Perhaps they are limited to simple basic programs.” “Maybe,” replies Lithieln. “Do you suppose there is someone in charge of them?” Shifty frowns at the suggestion. “Let's hope not,” he says fervently. The group moves forward again, and this time when they approach the horrors they refrain from any kind of attack, limiting themselves to observation only. After a few minutes, they pinpoint a large side tunnel that seems to have a great number of the copper horrors moving in and out of it, those heading in bearing scraps of metal shorn from the collapsed roadway while those emerging are empty-mandibled. A little bold experimentation proves that they can approach without attracting the attention of the horrors, at least if they don't attack. With a collective deep breath, they head down the passage. Like the roadway, the passage is lined with metal. However, there are no signs of the hieroglyphic characters that adorned the road. Seams and rivets are haphazard, and the reason is clear: this hall was paneled by fragments of the roadway. After perhaps a thousand feet, the hall splits into four passages. The clockwork horrors split, too, seemingly heading in- and coming from- all directions. Each passage looks about as good as the next; before proceeding, Shifty scratches a mark in their chosen direction with a dagger. They continue along, with the passage periodically branching and our heroes marking their way most carefully. The number of horrors thins, but then our heroes begin to pass silent, immobile specimens with no 'glow' coming from within their crystal. Spooky- and even spookier, they grow in number the deeper the party goes. “I wonder if we can just destroy these inactive ones,” muses Lithieln. “Get them while they won't fight back.” She draws her blade and approaches one. “Careful!” Karl warns sharply. But the copper horror doesn't respond, even when she smashes its crystal with the hilt of her dagger. With a shrug, she turns to the next one and smashes its crystal as well. “No problem,” she says. And then all the other immobile horrors flicker to life and start to move in a huge, inexorable tide towards our heroes. “Whoops!” she cries. The party begins to fight. These copper horrors seem to be almost fragile; they are easily destroyed, and after a few moments it appears that things will be just fine as our heroes whittle the numbers around them to nothing. “That wasn't so bad,” Lithieln remarks. “Not yet,” replies Shifty. “But there are a whole lot more of these things. Be careful- try not to get any of us killed.” “Right.” The party continues, and shortly they come to more inactive horrors. [i]Many[/i] more. They practically litter the metal-lined hall; there are hardly any active ones in sight. But this time things are different. When they get close, all the inactive horrors come to life. At first things look to go the same as before; the copper horrors aren't sturdy enough to take a blow, and one by one our heroes cut them to bits. But more are coming from the depths of the halls, and two of them are silver, not copper. More formidable than their copper brethren, these two prove to be armed not merely with the vicious cutting mandibles of their lesser kin, but also with steam-powered, spring-loaded dart throwing weapons! They are significantly more formidable, but once again Lithieln uses her adversary's shadow like a noose while Shifty hacks and stabs. This time, they are pressed much harder, and after cutting the silver horrors down they beat a hasty retreat, following their marks back to the entrance and then retreating to the metal roadway to recuperate. “Maybe we should just move on,” Karl suggests. “You don't think they have any loot in there, do you?” “Loot?” exclaims Shifty. “They [i]are[/i] loot! Loot on legs! How many pounds of silver do you think are in one of those silver bugs?” “I see your point.” “And what if there are even more valuable types?” “Well,” Karl admits, “the stories do tell of clockwork horrors made of gold, electrum- even platinum.” “That settles it. After we rest, we're going back in.” *** The party creeps back in towards where they fought the silver horrors, but this time the constructs attack them first. Waves of copper bugs 3' long pour out at the party, who fight with aplomb and verve. Then two silver horrors, followed by an electrum one, pour in. The electrum horror proves to be armed with a weapon even more dangerous than the steam darts of the silver ones: a rod that shoots a bolt of lightning! Things fall apart very quickly. “There are too many of them!” cries Karl, falling back and trying to keep the mass of horrors from reaching him. Shifty and Lithieln have both sprung ahead and cleared a path forward- but there are more coming from side passages that threaten to cut them off from their retreat. “Watch out!” the wizard shouts. Trying to cut their way back, the governor and the assassin work desperately. Lithieln springs from shadow to shadow, but a bolt of lightning transfixes her in a screaming ball of blue electricity. She falls to the ground, unconscious, and the horrors near her seize her! “Lithium!”* cries Shifty. “We've got to fall back,” Karl moans, hurling [i]scorching bursts[/i] down the hall. At last the number of copper horrors is thinning, but the others- Shifty hesitates for a moment. [i]She's not worth it,[/i] he groans silently, and springs forward to engage the electrum horror, which is between him and his fallen companion. Things do not go so well with that. Almost immediately, Shifty finds himself bleeding and nearly electrocuted. He can barely stand, but in turn he has badly damaged the electrum horror. A strange smell, like something very weird burning**, is now coming from the thing; foul, odoriferous liquids are draining from it. Its movements have become jerky, hesitant. Karl, meanwhile, focuses desperately on picking off the horrors dragging his unconscious ally away, entering a [i]wizard's fury[/i] and blasting horror after horror. But more are coming out- many more; another whole wave. Shifty thrusts again, and his dagger skitters from the electrum horror's armor. Then it blasts him with another stroke of lightning, and Governor Shifty collapses. “NOOOO!!” cries Karl. The silver horrors fire their steam darts at him, wounding him. More copper horrors are pouring out all over; some seize Lithieln again and drag her away. Others take hold of Shifty's unmoving form and pull it away. [i]Scorching bursts[/i] and [i]magic missiles;[/i] the wizard knows it will not be enough. But still, he keeps fighting beyond any sense, far past the moment when a lesser man would flee. But in the end, flee he does. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] Will Lithieln or Shifty survive? *Lithieln got the nickname 'Lithium' possibly even before introducing the character in game. **Think electrical fire. [/QUOTE]
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