The Wayfinders - The Wreck of the Archon

[SelcSilverhand]

After Midian completes his spell the air near the edges shimmers and takes on the ghostly shapes of piles of rubbish. Testing the glamour, you step outside and see that it looks like an inedible pile of uninteresting junk. It looks utterly impenetrable from the outside. Satisfied, you make yourself as comfortable as possible inside (and as far from the rank, unwashed body of Henrick as you can).

The evening drags on to the early morning. It is hard to sleep with the unnatural metallic pops and bangs around you but exhaustion helps. A few hours into it the sentinels straighten up as an unnatural sound filters through the environmental noise. It sounds like something slithering in the ceiling above you. Looking upwards you carefully watch the large air circulation tubes that once helped regulate the temperature here. The pipes vibrate erratically as something makes its way through them. You hear a soft “schlupping” sound. Something inside is probing its way along the pipe. It pauses above your air vent but the protective spell Midian put in place must be holding up against whatever senses the creature above is using. It soon continues to slither onward. Whatever it was seems to be very, very long.

Without the sun to guide you, you sleep until everyone feels rested enough. You poke and prod everyone awake and check your supplies. Breakfast is a meal of rations and sparing sips from your water flasks. Your survivor eats heartily of the food offered. Under your questioning he says that he knows only a bit of the layout of the fortress. The officers knew more of course, he says, but they’re all gone now. He knows that this level is largely administrative and logistics. His group was ambushed another level down towards the stern. They there making for a larger storage chamber that was supposed to lead deeper in the structure but were overrun in the dark by unspeakable terrors. He knows that area well enough to guide you back, but is terrified of the prospect. He thinks he remembers seeing another stairwell leading down but he doesn't know where that will take you.



OOC

[SBLOCK]

First off, sorry for dropping off so abruptly. I got a bit stuck on where to go next and let work overwhelm me. I’ve sat down and outlined some more notes to get you guys moving again so we should be good again!

Henrick can either take you back to where his group was ambushed where his officers knew of a way downward, or he can take you to the stairway he noticed while running and hiding.

Kraken is down 11 points of health, but can heal 8 points by eating 8 berries.

[/SBLOCK]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Doral says, "We shall continue, my good sir. I am most interested in your description of that larger storage area and the possibility of it leading further down. On the other hand, we should not force you to face these creatures again. You can always try to return to the outside of the structure. If your own people were killed, you should still be able to find some sort of sanctuary with the gnomish expedition."

 

[SelcSilverhand]

Henrick thinks for a bit. "Our spear leader said on the other side was supposed to be a shaft that would take us down where we needed to go. I think it was a warehouse, it was huge. There were carts, war carts, with armor and big wheels that an animal could pull. Lots of boxes, some of them had machines in them. Like people-shaped machines. The boxes and shelves made it a bit like a maze, stacked all the way to the ceiling. Dark too, those things like the dark. We formed up into double columns and started in. About halfway through some boxes collapsed behind us. While we were milling around looking for the gnomes or something else they started picking us off. Things like ropes grabbed people and dragged them away from the light. Some others were grabbed and pulled into the ceiling. We heard... voices. They said.. they said... join us, join us, and other things. It was horrible." He shudders uncontrollably and takes a few moments to regain his mental balance. "We all broke ranks and scattered. I don't know who made it out. I couldn't get out the way we came in, but I found an office and there was a back door, so I ran and ran."

 

[Shayuri]

"The pipes," Whisper says, looking up. "Tendrils or tentacles or something sometimes extend through them. I think there's something...massive...at the heart of this thing. Wherever we go, we either have to evade its notice, or avoid these pipes it uses to reach through the rooms of the ship. While, of course, fighting off these creatures it seems to have corrupted and controlled."

 

[jkason]

Midian Rightson, human druid

Midian looks to the pipes at Whisper's mention of them.

"I've asked a few favors from the green today which will help mask us, though not make us invisible," he says. "Depending on what those things use to sense, they may still be able to tell we're coming, but they won't be able to track us by debris or by scent," he says. "Best I can do.

"If we do manage to find the core, I may have a way to beef up enough to fly us all out of here with the thing, depending on how heavy it is."

[sblock=ooc]Okay, updates stats below, with my attempt at more applicable spell choices. Midian has both Pass without Trace and Negate Aroma, which can each affect up to 8 folks for 8 hours, which at least, as he says, makes it harder for things to follow us about, though they may still hear us coming or, of course, see us. He'll cast those just before the group sets out.

Also prepped Ant Haul. If we can find a way to get to an open roof, Midian can wildshape to a Huge flying dino. The STR boost there plus triple carrying capacity should hopefully make flying out manageable, though best laid plans and all that.[/sblock]

[sblock=mini-stats]

[b]HP:[/b] 66/66       
[b]AC:[/b] 21        [b]AC(T):[/b] 14    [b]AC(FF):[/b] 18 
Wildshape base AC: 15
Medium/Huge Animal AC: 17
Medium Magical Beast AC: 19
Medium Air Elemental AC: 20, Reflex save: +8

Conditions: 

[b]Init:[/b] +02
[b]BAB:[/b] +6/+1     [b]CMB/CMD:[/b] +8/22     [b]ACP:[/b] -3     
[b]Perception:[/b] +17

Saving Throw    Base   Mod   Misc*  Total
Fort:            06     1     +2    +9      
Ref:             02     2     +2    +6       
Will:            06     6     +2    +14

* Cloak +2
Conditional: +4 vs. spell-like fey & plant effects (Resist Nature's Lure)
Resist Cold 10
 
[b]Weapon                  Attack   Damage     Critical[/b]
Shortspear................+8.....1d6+2.........x2
Shortspear, full attack...+8/+3..1d6+2/1d6+2...x2
Shortspear, thrown........+8.....1d6+1.........x2, range 20'
Sling.....................+8.....1d4+2.........x2, range 50'
Sling, full attack........+8/+3..1d4+2/1d4+2...x2, range 50'

[b]Surge:[/b] 9/9 remaining (CMB +14)

Magical Feats: Spell Focus (Conj), Augment Summoning, Natural Spell

[b]Spells:[/b]
0st Level / DC16/17 6 Day : Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Mending, Stabilize, Spark
1st Level / DC17/18 4+2+D Day : Detect Aberration, Liberating Command, Negate Aroma, Pass Without Trace, Ray of Sickening, Ant Haul, Obscuring Mist (D)
2nd Level / DC18/19 3+2+D Day : Delay Poison, Soften Earth and Stone, Stone Call, **Frigid Touch, Resist Energy, Slipstream (D)
3rd Level / DC19/20 3+1+D Day : Hide Campsite, Aqueous Orb, Spider Climb (Communal), **Call Lightning*, Water Walk (D)
4th Level / DC20/21 2+1+D Day : Freedom of Movement, Dispel Magic, **Ball Lightning, Control Water (D)

* attuned to empowered spell shard
** Eberron shard can recall evocation spells up to 4th level: 2/2 remaining

[b]Wand charges:[/b] 27/28 remaining.
[b]Wild Shape:[/b] 3/3 remaining

[/sblock]

 

[SelcSilverhand]

OOC - Is there a preference on direction from here? Either the larger storage room to the shaft that the Brellish expedition went through (a more direct route), or the staircase your survivor found while running (more circuitous)?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

OOC: Staircase

 

[jkason]

[sblock=ooc]My inclination is the more direct route, but since that resulted in the previous expedition being essentially decimated, the less-direct one is probably the better choice[/sblock]

 

[Dr Simon]

Kraken rubs at his chin and his regrowing beard.

"I reckon we take the long route," he says. "Too much space around us gives hostiles a chance to come at us from all sides, eh? And if a previous group has already met resistance there..." he leaves the sentence hanging and hefts his falchion. "So, what're we waiting for?"

 

[SelcSilverhand]

Henrick cautiously pokes his head out of the cooler you have been sleeping in and looks around. Seeing nothing has changed during the night he leads you back into the corridors. His pathway leads you back towards where you first met him. He slows to a stop and points shakily at the ground. Barely above a whisper he says, "Look! I told you. I told you I told you I told you. They take the dead. But why?". Looking down you can see the smears of gore where the creatures lay. The area has been disturbed with a number of footprints and drag marks but it is nearly impossible to tell which way they were moving. Henrick makes a sign to ward off evil, draws his sparking wand, and hurries off again. The lighting is poor in this section of corridor. You slow down while lights are lit and passed around to help find your way. To slow to a crawl as Henrick pauses frequently to listen whenever a steam pop hisses or rattles. The state of constant alert is difficult on your nerves in this strange place.
Finally you stop at a windowless door marked with a letter and two numbers. It creaks louder than you'd like when it opens. Peering inside you see a narrow staircase and a landing that winds its way downward into darkness. The walls inside are marked with dark stains. Looking closer you can see that some are words. "A thousand eyes look". On the landing below is a larger stain where some poor soul breathed their last. The path leads downward and with some trepidation at what might await you continue forward.
The stairs end at another door. Through it you find yourself in another corridor. No mage lights illuminate this section and your only source of light is what you carry. Three large pipes take up most of the corridor marked with arrows going in opposite directions. There are some dark vents in the ceiling above the pipes. You pause to listen for signs of something noticing your presence but all seems quiet. Henrick holds up his hands to indicate he doesn't know where to go from here. Picking a direction you move forward once more. Here and there you see signs of the former life here. Wrenches and other tools lie scattered across the hallway. An open crate containing pipe fittings sits in a cubby. A (thankfully) empty workers boot stuck where its owner abandoned it.
You turn a corner and you lights illuminate a series of small office doors. They stand open save for the last where something blocks the opening. Moving closer your light illuminates a fat man's body lying half in and out of the room. He wears a Brelish uniform similar to Henrick's. As your light plays over him he feebly raises a hand to shield his eyes. "Helllppp... please...". The man looks to be pinned by a collapsed shelf inside the office space. "Orlef? Is that you? What happened?" Henrick says, looking at the fat man in confusion.

Midian
[SBLOCK]
The man looks quite ill, and it may be the poor light and the way the shadow plays over him, but you thought something moved under his overshirt. (Perception result was 33 vs DC27).
[/SBLOCK]

Know. Arcana or Use Magic Device DC25
[SBLOCK]
You've seen Henrick's wand enough times now to recognize that it may be dangerous. There is a chance that should he use it the charges may go off all at once rather than one at a time. He will likely not part with his only weapon, but it may be best to tell him to stay back in battle.
[/SBLOCK]