Privateers of Lssthp II [IC]

[Dirty]

Fork sneaked up to the balustrade and put his crossbow sniper style on the railing. He tookadvantage of the confusion down him by loosing two bolts after another and downed two technicians, while Rumble sank his teeth into the last one. Fork scans the area they came from for more orks.

[TriciaOso]

The orcs are all dead. The plasmoids take the opportunity to fish their friend(?) out of the water and re-merge, then ooze up the ramp.

Fork, you don't see any other orcs coming, but you do make out the dim shape of another plasmoid coming around the main ring to meet this one. It is of a similar size, a little smaller than Rumble.

Cocytus loosens the rope and rows you over to the tender and the foot of the ramp.

Spoiler: Loot

Show

Each of the technicians has one of the weird little prods and an All Purpose Tool +1. Their overalls don't appear to be magical.

The supervisor has a +1 crossbow that looks different from but not any more effective than Fork's; his quiver also looks magical, but will need to be identified (Efficient Quiver, possibly with some added effects). He has a +1 mace as well. His light-weight armor is no stronger than Nibum's scale mail, but it looks much quieter (mithral scale mail). He also has a ring of keys that look useful.

Each orc has one of the little speaking-ear jewelry. You also find single-use tokens of Water Walk on three of them.

[J-H]

Servius
Why can I read this? I didn't study Quaalith back in school, did I? Servius thinks to himself. Then he mentally checks, doing some math and memory exercises to make sure nothing is beaming anything into his head or otherwise affecting him.

[TriciaOso]

Spoiler: Servius

Show

As you turn your thoughts inward you remember the disdainful words of a god; a mere printer's son. Yet it appears there are some benefits of being the son of a scribe, as your power waxes.

At the same time, searching your mind for any external influence, you become aware of the tendrils of a powerful mind in the higher floors of the complex. It is not in your head currently, but you can feel its presence, like feeling the sun through closed eyelids.

[J-H]

Servius

"Whatever is in charge of these orcs is up above. We should move quickly." If anyone else doesn't, he will pick up the tokens and the All Purpose Tools. They may be useful. The ear-communicators perhaps not, if they broadcast freely.

[The Commander]

Ttharg Krixkrux

"Well done mates." Ttharg says quietly. "Seems like the plasmoids can get a little rowdy, and even though I couldn't understand 'em, the orc lads seem to be satisfied that it's just a rebel plasmoid on the loose. Lucky for us, that should help distract the crew whilst we get on with our mission."

Ttharg helps secure the jollyboat to the base of the ramp with some rope and also returns the grapnel and line to Fork.

"If ye want to keep up the scouting, ye can go on ahead a little, and the rest of us noisy lot will hang back a little and follow at a pace."

Ttharg took a quick look around the tender, but didn't see much.

He picks up one of the strange cattle prods and stows it away.

[Dirty]

"You got it." Fork nodded once and moved upwards the ramp from where the orcs had come from. He kept himself half crouched, and Rumble was at his feet similarly trying not to make sound but still moving at a brisk pace.
He peeked around the corner.

***If he gets to the next sort of intersection without being spotted or noticing anyone, he'll message back to the group to move up to his position.***

[TriciaOso]

Spoiler: Fork, Perception 20+

Show

Fork, as you ascend the ramp, you can see three other docks similar to the one where you hid; rings of metal, each supported by a central pylon that blazes with stored energy. They are connected to a central ring by ramps like this one, and from the center of the central ring a structure rises. Two of the docks are mostly obscured by the structure, and the fourth connects to the central close to where this ramp does the same. About three stories up you can see the lights of the roof -- arcane artillery emplacements and communication masts.

As you move closer to the structure, you immediately feel a strange tingle you haven't felt since Baratano. Your training and experience allows you to sense when a dragon is close; now you pick up a very faint sense of one. It's very, very weak -- perhaps a wyrmling, or an egg? Or one that is dying or held unconscious? It's definitely not the full-blown magnificence of a dragon, which even untrained people can often sense. But it's here, inside these walls.

Scooting ahead of you up the ramp is the plasmoid with its odd little modular tool belt. You realize it's converging with two other plasmoids up here on the central ring; one the same size, and one about twice as big. They seem eager to recombine; when you drive them apart with one of the orc prods they flinch away and mill around you.

Not far from here is a door to the central structure; a strange folded-up flower of gold metal. You could try the keys you took off the orc supervisor, but you would have to leave the plasmoids unattended.

Spoiler: Servius & Nibum, Investigation 50+

Show

The two arcanists of the group move onto the tender to investigate it while Fork scouts ahead. It's a weird mix of the organic, the arcane, and the unfamiliar technology the illithid have created or stolen from other worlds. The main cabin is a huge nautilus shell, and tentacles depend from the other end, but the deck is solid underfoot and the shell has a door. There are furled gossamer wings to either side, which you are able to recognize as astral sails; this thing can move on invisible arcane winds.

The door is unlocked, but strange and tricky to open; Ttharg, of all people, points out where the switch is. The cabin looks big enough to accommodate one person comfortably or four in a slightly cramped fashion; if you piled people onto the deck it could maybe take eight total at a pinch. At a table with greasy boot prints you see the remains of some kind of card game the orc was playing; there are five other hands. Was he playing with his plasmoids?

You find a maintenance log that is incomprehensible to Nibum and perfectly clear to Servius; perfectly clear and fairly dull. Leafing through it and counting names, you can see that the orcs use a rotational schedule. From the doodles you can tell that tender maintenance is one of the more boring jobs on the rig. All in all, it looks like about 24 technicians and 6 supervisors rotate through, night and day, which means some of that thirty are likely asleep right now. Weekly, the log is countersigned by an overseer, and you see three different names. 33 orcs? Plus maybe more who aren't part of the maintenance rotation?

Mounted in the center of the cabin is a simple chair, bolted to the ground. When you gingerly sit in it, illusions spring to life in front of you. You are able to intuit fairly easily that these are controls for the tender. In addition to the astral sails, there is a water jet that can propel it through the water. The boat moves shell first, which is opposite what you might have imagined. You find controls for large tools that can operated by the tentacles; welders, saws, scrapers, buffers. It does not look like the tender is designed to leave the rig; you find a display for the battery level, which shows it is fully charged and indeed still charging while docked.

It looks like the tender can levitate above the surface of the water, but not far; no higher perhaps than the rings of the docks. There are definitively, no weapons.

Moving beyond the displays to look at the technology, it seems like power is stored in the spiral of the shell. You think between the two of you you could figure out how to charge it if you took it away from the refuelling station. You also find a bad-smelling hopper that seems to be composting organic material, perhaps for the living parts of the ship.

Tucked into a narrow gap you find a few vials of the drug ink; orcs are dependent on it, and it is dealt out to them in very limited quantities by their masters. Some orc has squirreled away a few vials here. Two of them are empty but two are full of murky evil fluid.

Spoiler: Ttharg, Insight 10+

Show

As everyone else splits off to investigate, you are left alone with the First Mate. The fury and impatience he has shown since the illithid structure appeared is still banked, but he paces back and forth on the ramp with suppressed energy. This is obviously a deeply personal mission for him.

"They can infect dragons, you know," he tells you in a bitter, fast monologue. "Not with one of their vile tadpoles, no, it takes a full elder brain to do it. But they can do it. They could do it to our dragons, all of the Malaki. They could turn us into troglodytes or worse; degrade us like they did these orcs. They're an existential threat. Tenebrous saw that and set out to stop it and he paid the ultimate price. And then the Malaki add insult to injury and disown him!"

(The Malaki is the ruling body of Lssthp, the council of all the noble Dragon Houses. Recent centuries have added a lower chamber, the Council of Admirals, made up of dragonborn of high birth or wealth. But everyone knows the Malaki rule Lssthp... under the Emperor, at least. But the Emperor doesn't do a lot of day to day governing.)

"This should've been our whole mission," Cocytus continues to rant. "Scouring this threat from our waters. You know the islanders use ink freely. The metallic dragons don't like it but they love freedom too much to do what needs to be done. The metallics whining about freedom and the Malaki quaking in their lairs about the Mother of Us All, and all the time the squids are eating away at us..."

Spoiler: Insight 15+

Show

This is a deep and infected wound in the man's soul, and you realize it's hard to predict what he may do out here.

[The Commander]

Ttharg Krixkrux

Ttharg notices the First Mate's agitation, but more than that, he notices how personal this situation is for him. Something happened to this man, or to people close to him, that rooted a deep and unshakeable hatred in him.

Ttharg was a religious man by chance, and had made no effort to study religion or the practises of men and women of the cloth, but he realised in this moment that he should be acting somewhat as a confessor. He had no idea exactly how to start such a process, and wasn't naturally charismatic either.

He made a quick, quiet prayer to Bahamut for Guidance, and then turned to the First Mate. "Beggin' ye pardon sir, but it sounds like this be personal to ye. I understand the disgust at the betrayal of Tenebrous ye feel, but, if I may be so bold sir, there's something more to this that be weighin' ye down. The crew needs ye to keep a level head here, and in the weeks to come. If it'd make ye feel better to get it off ye chest to a priest, even one as unorthodox as I, then I'll listen."

(Guidance for 1, Persuasion Roll 10, for 11)

[TriciaOso]

Ttharg Krixkrux

Ttharg notices the First Mate's agitation, but more than that, he notices how personal this situation is for him. Something happened to this man, or to people close to him, that rooted a deep and unshakeable hatred in him.

Ttharg was a religious man by chance, and had made no effort to study religion or the practises of men and women of the cloth, but he realised in this moment that he should be acting somewhat as a confessor. He had no idea exactly how to start such a process, and wasn't naturally charismatic either.

He made a quick, quiet prayer to Bahamut for Guidance, and then turned to the First Mate. "Beggin' ye pardon sir, but it sounds like this be personal to ye. I understand the disgust at the betrayal of Tenebrous ye feel, but, if I may be so bold sir, there's something more to this that be weighin' ye down. The crew needs ye to keep a level head here, and in the weeks to come. If it'd make ye feel better to get it off ye chest to a priest, even one as unorthodox as I, then I'll listen."

(Guidance for 1, Persuasion Roll 10, for 11)

Coctyus Achelous stops and looks at you, with an expression compounded of surprise and disgust. "Mr. Krixkrux. The loss of Tenebrous has been the downfall of several noble families, mine included. Three seats in the Council of Admirals struck down, our lands forfeit to the University, and my own naval commission -- all gone into the Abyss with him. And I find myself lowered to this extremity -- to serve as a privateer --and on a ship of considerable irregularities and disgraces. Not the least of which is the absence of any orthodox priest of the Chromatic faith. You have distinguished yourself in combat and as the ship's medic I must needs depend upon you -- but your faith in the Platinum Mendicant is nothing but repugnant to me. Pray remember that."

"This is the only task I have been given in three months that is not a waste of my time and my blood, Mr. Krixkrux. No one will find me wanting in its execution."

[The Commander]

Ttharg Krixkrux

Ttharg actually found the First Mate's response to be rather measured. This was good and bad. Good that the First Mate was, at least for now, capable of reason and focusing on the mission. Bad that the hatred and anger had been incorporated into the First Mate's psyche rather than simply manifesting as emotional outbursts (and thus, perhaps easier to deal with in the long-term).

"Understood, sir." Ttharg replies. There is no bitterness or sarcasm in his voice.

In many ways, the two Dragonborn were the opposite sides of chaos. Whereas Ttharg's life had been spared and given a second chance due to random fate, Cocytus's life had been shattered and doomed to mediocracy by events outside of his control. Idly, Ttharg wondered if Bahamut made a point of trying to balance the chaos he delivered upon the world: exacting one good fate for every bad fate that was set into motion, and vice versa. For a brief, dark moment, he wondered if his own fate had been 'paid for' by the decline of the First Mate's fate and felt ashamed that, indirectly, he was responsible for Cocytus's situation. The moment was quickly dispelled however: Ttharg was attempting to find logic in a God of change, and he realised the folly and insanity such a route would take those who truly tried to make sense of such cosmic things. His mind shifted to Trionyx, and the madness that had overcame him. Perhaps ignorance truly was bliss?

"We should move up to Mr Fork, sir; he says the way is clear up to the next section." Ttharg says, beginning to make his way up to Fork.

[zylodrizzt]

This is exactly the sort of thing nibum was good at which is why he made little complaint about going this time plus the ship wasn't damaged too badly. He poured over the controls of the tender. Went over the earpieces turning them off and making plans to do something with them later. He strapped on the new armor feeling much more free to move. He wasnt sure what he'd do with the cattle prod yet but he took some of them too. After all that was done he joined up with the group So take out the guns and then signal the ship?

[TriciaOso]

As you ascend the ramp, you can see three other docks similar to the one where Fork and Ttharg hid; rings of metal, each supported by a central pylon that blazes with stored energy. They are connected to a central ring by ramps like this one, and from the center of the central ring the main structure rises. Two of the docks are mostly obscured by the structure, while the fourth connects to the central close to where this ramp does the same. About three stories up you can see the lights of the roof -- arcane artillery emplacements and communication masts.

Not far from here is a door to the central structure; a strange folded-up flower of gold metal. Fork is standing a few feet from these doors, jabbing one of the prods at three plasmoids. You can see the one from the tender, another one about the same size, and a third about twice the size of it. They seem intent on merging, and Fork seems just as intent on not letting them.

[J-H]

Servius
"What's going on?"

[zylodrizzt]

woah hatchilng they just helped us... or is it just one? Anyways... can you speak? he says trying the languages he knows

[TriciaOso]

The two smaller ones stretch into a vague homunculus shape in order to shake their heads. The larger one, however, burbles, "Yes."

"Split," it says, and stretches pseudopod arms out to the other two plasmoids. "Forget." Then:

"Merge." They suddenly lunge to reunite with each other.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Roll DEX saves (DC 16) to try and prevent them from merging, or an attack roll (AC 11) with the prod to zap them back apart. Or -- allow it.

[Dirty]

Fork looked behind him as the team caught up. He shrugged. "Alright." He whispered. These globs were getting on his nerves but he didn't want to admit it.

He quickly darted past them as they started merging and rounded the corner into the interior (Where it says 'to level 1')

[TriciaOso]

The three plasmoids collide immediately as soon as nothing is stopping them and merge into a single entity, with a drain-rattling cry of "Goronglix!" It wobbles itself into its homunculus shape; at first at the size of a kobold, but then lurching taller. It forms a basic stick-figure of a shape, tall but stretched very thin. It looks emaciated, but mutters, "Yes, yes, goronglix" to itself, in what seems like (mostly) Draconic. Then it rushes after Fork into the structure.

---

Unfortunately, the first thing Fork sees as he unlocks and opens the metallic door, is another tiny plasmoid, scooting urgently towards the larger one. The first thing you hear is someone screaming out an orcish battlecry.

Beyond the plasmoid, at the end of a long gantryway, is another supervisor orc. Behind this orc is a blazing ball of light about sixty feet across. Fork is standing on a sort of balcony that continues to the left and right, circling all around the interior of the structure; it is connected to the center by gantries like the one in front of you, like spokes on a wheel.

In between the radiating spokes are complex arcano-tech, capturing the light generated in the center and channeling it downward, to a space below the station that glows too bright to look down into.

Spoiler: Perception 12+, disadvantage on first entry because of the light

Show

In addition to the orc supervisor (teal box) at the end of the gantry, there are four orc technicians (orange) ranged along the back balcony and two other orcs; one on the central ring, beyond the supervisor, and one just entering the room at the end of a different gantry. They are both equipped better than any orcs you have seen so far; one dressed for combat with a whip of starlight in his hand (white), and one dressed in the lighter bracers-and-staff of a battlemage (gold).

Spoiler: Insight 12+

Show

The technicians look frightened; the supervisor looks grim, and the overseer with the whip looks furious. The mage looks extremely stoic.

Spoiler: Insight 15+

Show

But deep down, you think he's excited to finally see a little action.

The orc supervisor at the end of the gantry looks down the barrel of his crossbow as if he's been ready for someone hostile to walk through this door, although maybe not this short. He adjusts his aim and fires, landing a bolt in Fork's shoulder.

Spoiler: Summary

Show

ACTIONS:
Fork enters the room.
Readied action: battlecry from orc overseer.
Reading action: Crossbow bolt from orc supervisor (with advantage). Hits Fork for 9 damage.
Goronglix follows Fork into the room.

DAMAGE:
Fork - 9 damage

INITIATIVE:
17 - Orcs
16 - Fork
15 - Plasmoids
11 - Cocytus
8 - Nibum
4 - Ttharg
2 - Servius

[Dirty]

Fork took the impact of the bolt with a curse. "Chumsucking softmeats!" He shouts as he hit the deck on one knee and raised his weapon to return fire. The first bolt hit its mark and the supervisor fell over. He aimed the crossbow at the battlemage but it flew past. Fork indicated to Rumble to go after the same target.

"We've got contact!" He shouted at the others.

[TriciaOso]

Goronglix the plasmoid, continuing to act according to their own mysterious directives, dashes forward to the rail and oozes over into the blazing light of the deck below. All the smaller plasmoids, unattended by their technicians, ooze through the gantry and drop below as well.

Spoiler: Insight 12+

Show

You can't tell if Goronglix is friendly or unfriendly yet; all you can tell is they appear to be hellbent on merging with the tiny plasmoid assistants the technicians have following them around. What you may have initially seen as a familiar or homonculus may have a darker explanation.

Spoiler: Insight 15+

Show

They're all pieces of them, scattered around the ship and forced to help the orcs in their maintenance and repairs.

Spoiler: Insight 20+

Show

It seems like they're getting smarter and remember more as they re-absorb them...

Cocytus charges into the generator room as well, but squints furiously at the artificial sun. "Where are they?!" He hurries down the gantryway, although the supervisor is already down.

[The Commander]

Ttharg Krixkrux

Ttharg charged into the room. He briefly eyed Fork as he passed him, making sure he wasn't in danger of immediately dying, but he seemed relatively ok. He continued to thunder into the room, locking eyes with the orc mage and feeling the excitement in his gaze.

(Double Action Move)

[zylodrizzt]

Nibum not sure what the glob is up to but it hasn't hurt him or the rest of them so he tosses out a quick sanctuary spell to grant it a bit if protection. The device lands on and then into the slime and begins to blur its form. He then spurs triceratool towards a mage while he unleashes a frosty Grenade type thing from a launcher he's attached to delima much in the same way he attached that speaker as well. His familiars follow as close behind as they can but fetcher lags behind about 20ft being a bit slower.

[TriciaOso]

As you get closer, Nibum, you realize a few things about the orc mage.

1) She's a she. Her bare arms and legs are tattooed with the sinuous illithid script.

2) She just walked out a small door that seems to lead to a tiny room. Was she just standing in there waiting? Or does the doorway somehow connect to other parts of the station?

3) She is floating just above the ground.

Your grenade hits her in the face and does enough to damage to kill one of the technicians or bloody a supervisor. She wipes the snow away and says in badly-accented Draconic: "Nice snowball, little vun."

4) She is definitely the most dangerous thing you have encountered on this station so far.

Spoiler: Summary

Show

ACTIONS:
Fork enters the room.
Readied action: battlecry from orc overseer.
Reading action: Crossbow bolt from orc supervisor (with advantage). Hits Fork for 9 damage.
Goronglix follows Fork into the room.

DAMAGE:
Fork - 9 damage
Orc Battlemage - 6 damage

INITIATIVE:
17 - Orcs
16 - Fork
15 - Plasmoids
11 - Cocytus
8 - Nibum
4 - Ttharg
2 - Servius

[J-H]

Servius Calventius Pamphilius Yuan-ti Evoker AC: 13 / 16 (Mage Armor) HP: 38/38 PPer: 11 PInv: 18 PIst: 11 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

Servius enters the room just behind the others. Taking the situation in at a glance, he moves towards the floating figure, firing a burst of magical darts at her.

Spoiler

Show

Move 20' northwest to get closer. Magic Missile (1d4+1)[5] x3

[TriciaOso]

The mage flinches back from Servius' arcane darts, then vanishes, seeming to slip through space and reappear halfway down the gantry. She floats the rest of the way to the central ring.

As your eyes adjust to the glare, you can see that the axle of the turbine below runs up through this room and into the ceiling, with an open revolving cage in the center of it where the artificial star is generated. Both the mage and the overseer have half-cover behind it. The overseer moves in front of her and readies an attack with his whip.

The technicians ranged around the balcony hurry towards the other door; they want no part of this.

Spoiler: Perception 15+

Show

From below you hear shouts, gushing noises, and the familiar splash of a man overboard.

Spoiler: Summary

Show

ACTIONS:
Mage uses starlight step to move 30 feet, then flies another 60 to take cover.
Overseer moves up in front of her and readies an attack.

DAMAGE:
Fork - 9 damage
Orc Battlemage - 21 damage

INITIATIVE:
17 - Orcs
16 - Fork
15 - Plasmoids
11 - Cocytus
8 - Nibum
4 - Ttharg
2 - Servius

[zylodrizzt]

Stick around find out what else i can do! as he continues the chase and attempts the same trick which is easily resisted taking out some of the wind from nibums sails so to speak. Minicliff continues to keep up and fetcher catches up by using the gap.

[J-H]

Servius Calventius Pamphilius Yuan-ti Evoker AC: 13 / 16 (Mage Armor) HP: 38/38 PPer: 11 PInv: 18 PIst: 11 Conditions: -- Concentrating: --

Servius moves closer. He's heard tales of orcs and illithid, but this is his first in-person encounter with him. The orcs aren't too bad, but he's also not interested in finding out just how skilled their wizard (or sorcerer? do orcs have sorcerers? he doesn't recall) is... so he unleashes the most powerful spell in his arsenal upon her and her guard, placing it to avoid hitting anything else that might explode.

Fwooosh

Spoiler

Show

(8d6)[38] fire Damage, Dex DC 15 half
Mage (1d20)[7]+??
Whip (1d20)[20]+??
Slither 30' northwest

[TriciaOso]

The fireball detonates, and some of the magic is funneled away down into the distribution nodes, but it doesn't seem to have made it any less hot for the two orcs in the center ring. Coytus continues charging forward, bellowing furiously, but still doesn't reach them.

Spoiler: Insight 19+

Show

The battlemage is overplaying how much the fireball hurt, in fact; but she doesn't have a hair out of place.

Spoiler: Summary

Show

ACTIONS:
Mage uses starlight step to move 30 feet, then flies another 60 to take cover.
Overseer moves up in front of her and readies an attack.

DAMAGE:
Fork - 9 damage
Orc Battlemage - 59 damage
Overseer - 19

INITIATIVE:
17 - Orcs
16 - Fork
15 - Plasmoids
11 - Cocytus
8 - Nibum
4 - Ttharg
2 - Servius

[The Commander]

Ttharg Krixkrux

Ttharg continued to move towards the centre of the room. Sparks and lightning flashed from the mysterious arcane equipment; lightning Ttharg could use.

Using his free hand, he grabbed hold of his Amulet of the Devout and made a prayer to Bahamut for control over the arcane storm raging within this platform.

He then pointed at the Mage and directed a bolt of lightning to strike at her. As the bolt struck, Ttharg directed the wrath of Bahamut into the strike, hoping to deal a significant blow.

Spoiler

Show

Move Action to move 30ft towards the centre.
Main Action to cast Call Lightning at 3rd Level, centred in the middle of the room. As part of the spell, I'm targeting the Mage with a bolt from the storm.
Amulet of the Devout gives me a +1 DC to spell DC, but Half-Cover gives the Mage +2 to Dex saving throws (I'll factor that into the roll). Normal spell DC is 14, so DC is 15. Saves for Half.
Mage Dex Save vs 15: (1d20+2)[16]+dex mod.
Regardless of whether she passes her dex check, Ttharg will use a charge of his Channel Divinity to deal maximum damage, so 40 Lightning Damage or 20 if saved.
Finally, the Mage is pushed 10ft away from me, hitting the deck.

[TriciaOso]

The warmage writhes as the lightning hits her. However, she does not move backwards 10 feet, but stays hovering in place.

Spoiler: Insight 13+, advantage

Show

This is an illusory double. The real mage is invisible somewhere else in the room.

Spoiler: Ttharg, Fork

Show

Ttharg, as you channel magical energy away from the power core, your connection to Bahamut and focus on the core leads you to sense a weak draconic presence hidden inside the flames of the artificial star. Fork, you have been sensing this presence since before you entered the room, but now know it comes from inside the core.