A Secret in Merkabah pt 10

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A black-tech bioconversion bay, somewhere in the inner reaches of Merkabah.

The party continued their struggle with the relentless Assimilation Engines of black artifice, somehow still powered decades after Merkabah was brought low, still seeking new bodies to bring into the fold. The struggle, though brief, was harrowing, and of the captive group they chanced upon, only the Jotun Stjepan had survived.

Undaunted, mission as yet incomplete, the adventurers sally further into the halls of the ruined fortress-city....


-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Merek A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.

Seldan Ginger-blonde human in armor wearing Eluna's symbol.

Serene Glacier meets granite meets strawberries.

Stirling Powerfully built Arvek with enormous chrome gauntlets

Stjepan Big, blonde jotun.

Toha A woman shaped contrivance of leather and steel, with oruch weaponry.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Seldan hasn't bothered to sheathe Reunion yet, nor does he do so now, keeping the blade drawn and preparing to follow the others. Whatever lies behind those doors is unlikely to be good.

Reunion is a good deal more talkative, though. "That was different," pipes up a younger, deeper female voice.

"I'll say." The crotchety old man again. "Good thing we were there to clean it up."


Merek looks to the place, and nods a bit. "Alright," he will begin to relax from the fight, while he takes a moment to shift forward while he thinks about it all.


Toha shoulders Piriona again and starts to move amongst the other captives, checking to see who is still breathing, "Fieu of the Tears...."


Stirling follows along with his deathray craddled in the crook of his arm. "It would explain what is powering all this, all these systems cannot operate without a powersource of consequence. Doubly so if there is an intelligence guiding everything. Shame we havn't come across much usable artifice though." he adds the last bit in a softer tone, half to himself.


Serene's sword is no longer drawn, though she keeps her shield in place as she approaches the door with the others. "I am disinclined to share your opinion on that, Stirling," she notes, her expression faintly sour after she looks away from the remains of the 'machine' they just finished terminating. "Shard or no, whatever is reanimating these relics must be removed."


"The same thing that powers all Black Tech, souls along with mana crystals. Artificial magic," Merek mentions then to Stirling, and then adds, "I wouldn't want to use any artifice that is necromantic. There are a few pieces I found which look to be clean, though they'll need to be rebuilt."


"In this do I stand with Serene," Seldan puts in, with a glance at the chattering blade. "Reunion, you have my thanks, as always. Whatever is animating these terrible things, enslaving people to dire fates indeed, must be destroyed for good. Not idly was Kulthus cast down by the gods."


GAME: Stirling rolls perception: (16)+19: 35
GAME: Toha rolls perception: (17)+13: 30
GAME: Seldan rolls perception: (10)+6: 16
GAME: Merek rolls perception: (10)+25: 35
GAME: Serene rolls perception: (7)+25: 32


"What a remarkable set of blades you all have," muses Griva, her eyes flashing a brief azure hue as she studies their immediate area. Un'eth is too eyeballed because, the things she can do are also incredible, and that's not a knock oin Stirlign's amazing artifiery. 

"Seems we're in luck that we were able to save you." She glances towards Stjepan, "Can you tell us waht happened?" 

On the way, that is. The adventurers now moved through the door that Griva opened for the party and she quickly shuts it behind them, indicating to go down the passage. "Do the rest of you see it?" she asks, nodding towards the ceiling. She's not sure which of you might have magical senses open to such things at the moment. 

All of you, however, can see the odd webbing of thin wiring and a black substance across the ceiling, spread haphazardly from one end of the hallway to another. The ground here is dusty and gritty and you can feel it underneath your boots.


Toha shakes her head. She wearily moves to follow her fellows, though her eyeslit only affords her so many scanning functions. She's wanted to enhance it, but time and inspiration haven't been in cahoots on that front. She does give the tech on display a lookover, though.


GAME: Merek casts Arcane Sight. Caster Level: 12 DC: 18

Merek looks to that ceiling, and nods a bit. "Wow, it's amazing and magical. I wonder if we can eat it," he muses while he takes a look along the place.


"It is also evil." Seldan, who had narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Holy Eluna, show me the truth of this place," flinches, already pale features going ashen briefly as the flood of _wrong_ washes over him. "Most thoroughly evil." It really does leave a mammoth headache behind, and a bad taste in his mouth. "I advise against consuming it, although it is not Salina's plague, that was not evil."


Serene glances at the wiring and gunk as part of her scan of what she can see of the room. Her lips curve into a slight scowl as she takes a second look at the wiring before she closes her eyes. She, too, winces, opening them again to eventually settle upon the wiring and gunk. She eyes Seldan for about a second when he warns against consuming it, transfers her gaze back at the good... then shakes her head. "I would not even touch it. In fact I very strongly wish to put it to fire, would I not be concerned about how it would likely corrupt the air we are breathing. "


GAME: Merek casts Overland Flight. Caster Level: 12 DC: 20

"Of course it is," Merek muses, while he sighs a moment. The man takes a look all about the place, "Well, it's not doing anything. Do we need to deal with it at the moment? I wonder," he then takes a moment to walk up with a little shift, maneuvering in air. He takes the medical kit with him, then takes a moment to try and take a sample.


Stirling looks at Serene and Merek and back to the way they are going. "So I take it its intensely magic. No surprise. he adds as he continues to saunter along.


"I'd managed ta ferget about that fer a while." The construct sighs wearily, "I'm... a little depleted. Combat boost an Whitefire takes a lot outta me'n tandem." She considers the silver rivulets and spatters along her frame dribbling from the breaches in her shell, and, in the wake of the other's musing, "Glad I'm not hungry."


GAME: Merek rolls dexterity: (20)+4: 24
As Merek reaches for the goo with his scalpel, a long, thin tendril tethers itself to it from the goo itself and he's forced to let go of it. More questing strands reach out from it to grab him, but he's able to poull back. They lose interest thereqafter. 

Seems they're not THAT hungry.
The scalpel smokes and dissolves into the goo.


Merek walks away through the skies from the tendrils while watching the goo, "Well, it ate the medical equipment," he mentions then to the party, while he begins a landing next to people. He then takes a notebook tome which he keeps with him to write in it, "Right, let's travel forward."


"...well that's not good. What *is* that?" asks Griva as the metal of the scalpel is absorbed into the goo.

"... I am going to suggest we don't touch it and especially keept it away from the golem." She pats Toha on the arm.


GAME: Seldan rolls knowledge/history: (15)+9: 24
GAME: Toha rolls craft/artifice: (12)+17: 29
GAME: Stirling rolls craft/artifice+4: (11)+25+4: 40
GAME: Merek rolls craft/artifice+2: (6)+13+2: 21
GAME: Merek rolls knowledge/history: (2)+8: 10

Stirling squints at the goo, pondering what it could be or at least his one real eye does "Can't be entirely sure but don't think you should touch it, in fact I recommend us picking up the pace. This looks like something that would match stories I have seen of a weaponized mist that strips flesh from bone." he says "Can't replace an entire body with artifice." he says picking up the pace away from the thing. "Would help if someone has a barrier prepared to lock it behind." he adds.


"Right, let's not try to deal with that, we need to be back on task," Merek muses, nodding while he walks along forward with a little shift of that magical rod which he wields.


Toha is a collections of ideas, held together by well wishing, wings and prayers. She hmm's softly and shrugs, "Yeah.. we need ta get along before this stuff gets ambitious."


"I may be able to assist, although I must confess that I have not attempted quite this before." Seldan frowns up at the tendrils as they consume metal without a trace." With that, he begins to draw a swift series of interlocked sigils in a white-blue-silver glow, to which he speaks an arcane phrase. The glow strengthens, and he gestures with both hands as if pushing a wall to the ceiling above them, then speaks a final phrase. All of the sigils disappear, and a blue-white-silver wall of force forms just below the level of the goo, anchored to the walls near the ceiling. "Come. Swiftly."

GAME: Seldan rolls 1d100: (93): 93
"Good thinking," agrees Griva. 

AS the wall springs to life down the hallway, the black tendrils reach out and touch it, exploring. Probingh. 

The ooze starts to detach from the ceiling in spots and apply itself to the wall. 

Thankfully, it may be there a while. 

You move down the tunnel thereafter, passing by chambers on the left and right that appear to be battered open, the doors little more than shattered remnants. 

In each chamber, you see the shattered remnants of the final days of the Illuminated Order and its master, Saluven, the last Kulthian to have walked the world, half-constructed work-benches and dead constructs, spider-like things turned over on their backs, half-made humanoid machines. 

Finally, you reach the other end of the hallway and those of you with magical sight can concur with Griva; there's something quite magical bey ond the door. Magical enough that the light of it is seeping out from around the gap. The door is mostly shut, but bent and damaged. It's going to take some doing to open by hand.


"Good idea," Serene tells Seldan, watching the magic come into place... then her eyes narrow as the good seems to be willing to take up the challenge. When the party resumes its trek, she is shaking her head slowly, her expression growing darker with each step.


Merek walks up while he places a hand upon the door.


Toha growls a low rumbling chant in Yrch-speak and tap-taps her right temple with two fingers before giving the place another studious lookover.


GAME: Stirling rolls perception: (15)+19: 34

Stirling steps up to examine the door, his artificial eye whirring at it zooms in on details. "I don't recommend touching these doors. "he says to Merek "This one had a security system but its knocked out best as I can tell. My scans failed to pick up on any other dangers either."


Merek takes a moment to adjust a gauntlet which he found, placing that along the wrist. Then he will lift up that hand to the door. "You all give the word and I'll take care of the door. The security systems are deactivated. I should be able to disintegrate it. It's too damaged to work anymore likely, from the best that these gloves can assume."


Serene looks at the door, as if running through her head scenarious of what may lay behind. As she considers those scenarios she reaches over, her gauntleted hand briefly resting upon Toha's shoulder. "Perhaps it is pessimism, but I do not think we will be welcome on the other side of this door." She calls to Eluna then, channeling revigorating and healing energies into the war-golem.

GAME: Serene spends ONE use of LAY ON HANDS.
GAME: Serene Healed Toha for 72 points. 90 HP remaining.


Toha straightens with a shudder as something approaching main power is restored. Her bellows draws in, lets out slowly, then she turns her faceplate toward Selene and gives a warm sounding, "Thank you! That's much better." She turns back toward Merek and Stirling as they examine the door and she nods, "Piriona, Shemzu." The Earthbreaker in her hand peels, twists and unfolds into a greatsword, which the reinvigorated War-Golem then slides back into the chain mounted scabbard on her back. That done, she withdraws the octagonal Steel and glass thunderbelcher from it's seperate mounting and checks the chamber, "In case we got fliers on the other side. Ready when you all are."


GAME: Merek casts Blessing of Fervor. Caster Level: 13 DC: 18

Stirling takes a step back. "Have at it, take it down." he notes with a thumbs up to either Toha or Merek.


Merek nods a bit, charging up the gauntlet with his magic, which circles runes from the scroll. He then blasts the door with a green ray of disintegration.


The door is blasted! 

It disintegrates neatly into a pile of ash, leaving the way open. 

Griva nods, of course, seemingly approving. Doors are the worst. 

She waits for the others to take the lead while bringing up the rear. 

Here, you find a chamber full of metal cylinders in rows. Some kind of storage system? Each cylinder has see-through viewing panel of some kind of darkened and tinted glass. A black mist roils in each one. 

Several cylinders are toppled over, the mist visibly escaped from each of them. Streaks of black veins crawl up the walls and around you,. More of that goo from outside. 

This is a *very* large storage chamber, that's for sure, and it's obviopus that there's more here. Great metal crates are packed all to one side. The black goo seems to have expanded its reach to the exteriors of some of the other cylinders, which are showing signs of corrosion.


GAME: Serene spends TWO uses of LAY ON HANDS.

Serene nods once to Toha, then pulls her hand back.. a second thought has her once more calling for healing, though this time in a burst for everyone near her. Then as Merek deals with the door, she draws her sword in preparation. That there isn't an immediate monster doesn't seem to disappoint her; in fact, the sight of the goo creeping about upon who knows what might be in those canisters is perhaps more alarming.


Toha moves forward sighting down the barrel of Reason; sweeping the high points and corners for any potential threats that may be lurking along, or embedded in, the walls and ceiling. Seeing the goop doesn't fill her with joy, but, "How we gonna do this? anyone wonder if mebber this crud burns?"


GAME: Merek casts Greater Dispel Magic. Caster Level: 13 DC: 20
GAME: Merek rolls 1d20+13: (17)+13: 30

Merek looks to people, "I have an idea, if any of you wouldn't mind. We saw what it does to magic and matter, I wonder what it will do with the opposite of that," he mentions, then he takes a moment to begin weaving the Dispel along a cylinder within twenty feet.


There are plenty of cylinders. For a moment, the grey mist stops moving. 

Seems, indeed, that it is magical in nature. Something Griva confirms with a nod. "It's stopped, but just that cylidner," she adds, eyeing the rest. "Don't much like this. Now, we know the Kulthians fueled their technologies from central repositories, using crystals placed in their bodies or armors or more to funnel the spare energy into advanced artifice." She lets out a breath. "I'm not familiar with anything like *this* though. This... cloud." She eyes the particles in the other cylinders. 

"Merkabah was huge, and a repostiory of thier lore. I wonder if something is powering these similarly from a central source?" She looks at Stirling to see if he might think its possible. Toha too.


As Merek makes some of the mist stop being, Toha relaxes on her rifle just a smidge. She glances about at her companions though the eyeslit makes it unreadable, and she straightens some as Griva speaks.

"Yer... more or less right. Little more to it than'at, but the formulae're a little involved." There's a roll of her shoulder and she steps a little closer, "Kinda like how my Aetheric dynamoes feed into special jars ta store excess energy. It's part of what I use fer my combat boosts." The construct gives a little cant of her head and a natural looking shrug, "Power transmission'n that scale'd probably require special channels. Like roots in the ground."


Stjepan leans on Morgan's borrow staff like a walking stick, his muscles still sore from his imprisonment. "If we find them, we could follow them in, then."

Serene feels little need to state how unhappy she is with this state of affairs at this point. Now she draws her sword. "If we believe this to be a permanently disabling effect, I can do what Merek did to the rest.. but we may not have the time and it may only be a temporary effect."

GAME: Serene rolls spellcraft: (16)+13: 29
GAME: Toha rolls spellcraft: (13)+14: 27
GAME: Stjepan rolls spellcraft: (5)+3: 8
GAME: Merek rolls spellcraft: (3)+24: 27

Toha glances to Serene, overtly enough and replies, "Doubt it. Probably just emptied the bucket, the pump's still gonna be pouring in from somewhere else." There's a look amongst them, "Anyone got a way ta see mana flows through the floor, or walls? See a convergence, it may lead us ta the spring."


Stjepan pauses. "I can't do it forever, but I can see the flow of magic -- don't know if I can see it through floors, though."


Griva nods to Toha. 

"I agree. Let me see..." 

She takes a moment to utter a spell, frowning, "No... no, I'm not seeing anything of the sort. I *should* be, though. Perhaps it's being masked somehow?" she asks.


Serene says, "Is it possible that there is a magic... containing this mist in here?" Serene inquires. "A containment that blocks your sight as well?"


Stjepan grunts. "It sounds like something they'd do. This place'd be absolutely glowing without containment."


"Not *impossible*, but we've seen on the walls outside," points out Griva, thoughtfully, "More likely it's designed to mask the source, if it's designed at all." She rubs her eyes tiredly.


Toha nods, "Cuttin' power solves a lotta problems. I's ta design a fortress anything like this an I knew how, I'd make the power impossible ta find, too." She can't frown, but, "Well, we know anything about how they treated lore? Mebbe there's a map or..." She turns her face toward some of the remains, "Maybe they've got something?"

"... What if this place is using the Shard to power its artificial magic, a source like that would be what's needed to use all of this advanced machinery," Merek admits, then he nods a bit, "Artificial magic isn't the same as normal magic, it can't really be... Seen the same way, it's subtle a little."


Stjepan leans on his staff, staring at this. "Maybe we should start searching for another way at this." HEY GUYS LETS JUST WANDER MERKABAH!


GAME: Merek rolls perception: (7)+25: 32

Merek picks up something metal like his scalpel from his pack, then throws that into the deactivated goo, watching.


Toha glances to Merek's appraisal and nods, "It reacts to things a little differently, too. Like, if ya drop an antimagic field on me, it doesn't shut me down, but it cuts down some of my extra functions." As she watches him experiment with the goo, "Can someone mebbe magic one of those bodies out here?"


"Be wary in case our prodding... provokes it." No, Serene's not being superstitious. "It very well may be a part of the city's defences, now no longer dormant." Another glance at the canisters. "Or an experiment which has woken up. "I am still biased towards fire."


The good is in a cylinder. The onmly way to get at the goo would be to open the cylinder. There is more goo on the walls that is active, but it doesn't appear to be paying you any attention. 

There is no response from it on the whole to your presence.


Merek thinks about it a moment. His gloves are for mechanical processes. Not magical, all the same, if magic is powering them though there's a mechanic within. He walks up to the cylinder which is deactivated to put a hand upon it, avoiding that goo.


"Merek, hold. I do not believe there is anything to be gained furthering this examination... and much that could be lost," Serene warns, stepping towards him. "Remember what we are here to find," she adds, this to everyone.


Stjepan nods towards Serene firmly. "If I could remember how I got here. I'm glad you are -- why are you here?"


GAME: Merek casts True Seeing. Caster Level: 13 DC: 19

"Yes, still we must know. This place, that marred all of mankind, now then... Eluna, awaken me to that which is True, above all. Show the path forward," Merek offers, his blue glowing eyes beginning to shimmer with golden within.


"Retrieving a religious artifact, really powerful one.' Toha replies, cants her head, shrugs, and, "I think." The golem moves closer to cover Merek as he delves into the deeper mysteries, once again sweeping the corners with her rifle sight.


"Is it possible that the Shard could be the source of the power that's working on these things? If so, how did it get here? We have reason to believe one *is* here based on our work but.." Griva frowns.


Stjepan pauses a moment, and gives a grunt. "Fuck."


Serene gestures to Toha as the war-golem answers Stjepan's question and Griva's supplimentary. "Perhaps when we return the temple will be able to assist your memory.. or at least divine the events that brought you here. Until then... for your sake I am not happy you are here. But for our sake, I welcome the extra arms."