Astvanor Session 149 (8/23)

[cinaed]

Session 149: Day 19 of Saeden (8/23)

Az returns to the tavern and rejoins the group as they step outside the Little Cog. He asks them what they discovered.

Hava tells him that it wasn’t good and Galowen adds that it was terrible. He says that they’re building some kind of metal with people’s faces on it.

Hava thinks on what she saw and it clicks slowly that there has to be something that fuels the necromantic ritual, something to keep these things going. It’s not necessarily that something has to serve as a reagent of the necromancy within the prosthetics, but that the necromantic framework is dormant. It’s not an active spell on these artificer limbs, so something has to be fueling them and keeping them moving.

She has the horrible realization that it’s the souls within the metal acting like batteries. The level of sheer abhorrent horror that this perversion of the way to handle souls would take a lot for someone to willfully work and do this. It would take a lot for someone to stay here and do this. That older half-orc woman in the metal looked a lot like that half-orc man. It’s requite possible that the souls of the people fueling them are relatives of the people working there.

Hava miserably communicates this.

Galowen remembers seeing the younger woman in the metal looking like the older gnomish person and how the tabaxi flinched and apologized when he dropped it.

Yolov says that he’s worried for the people working there and asks about how Tally could Send to Arlin when she was in the warded space, but the party suggests simulacrum.

The Hooligans ultimately prioritize getting the prosthetic from Levity at the tram and going straight to the Senate Hall to pass that over and explain the situation. Then they’ll go back to the Little Cog and get the workers out.

Yolov is worried about the workers and evidence being destroyed, but goes along to the tram. Levity is seated there, brightening at the sight of them and asks how they are doing. They tell her bad before she hands over a bag, not of a prosthetic finger but a prosthetic spider leg.

Levity says she tried to make sure that the person wanted to give up the leg and offers them discounts for drugs and cocktails the next time they’re at the Hollow Dagger, though she admits she usually overcharges for out of towners and rich kids like Mixie and Az.

Yolov ignores all of this, focused on waiting for the tram. They all pile into it and arrive at the less bustling tip of the Senate Hall. The morning rush is over, and most people passing through are bakers and other people whose shops are closing for the day.

They hurry down the steps and can hear a ruckus on the second floor where the senate offices are. There is a hushed back and forth broken up by a soft but slightly stern voice that Az recognizes immediately as Urzog the Scribe.

Xie is saying, “I am saying with the utmost respect, Grand Matron, that Kingston would not set up an emergency appointment if it wasn’t an actual emergency.” The Grand Matron says that she is dealing with multiple meetings of teachers who are very busy and they are her priority.

The Hooligans turn the corner as the Grand Matron looks at her wrist as eight watch-faces pop up tickling down to various meetings. She says she has an hour before her meeting where she’s teleporting teachers from Valnore and Previdian, which took her ages to organize.

Xie says that xie understands but it seems rather important. They have to wait for Axemight. The Grand Matron whirls and sees the Hooligans. Everyone feels the same weight and impression of an older person is about to scold them.

Az hastily greets them both. The Grand Matron snaps her fingers for him to bend down and he accepts her fussing over him, adjusting his hair and tweaking his collar, before Az tells her that they are here with evidence for Senator Togworth.

From the Grand Matron and Urzog’s expressions, it’s clear that Togworth hasn’t told them anything at all other than that he’s calling an emergency meeting, Yolov summarizes in a rush that they are helping prove corruption within the Sons of Kane and that people within Cantor are in current danger and time is of the essence.

The Grand Matron sends them down to Togworth’s workshop, with a warning that they need to fill out paperwork in triplicate for their evidence. Yolov fills out the eighteen question paperwork as the Hooligans descend to the workshop, which is full of interesting clockwork machines. There are clockwork camels and giraffes and half-finished projects scattered around.

Togworth is puttering around, everything gnome-sized for him, though the door is six feet tall. He tells Galowen to put the prosthetic limb down as Yolov starts to explain about what they’ve discovered and how worried he is for the workers.

Togworth says it will take him some time to discover the necromantic origins and symbols. He points out the sigils to show them all how it connects and how it’s dormant but the potential. He notes that it is strange that they don’t have a power source and yet when he flicks something inside, the limb moves like it’s alive. He says most people would assume that it was powered internally but everything is dormant.

When Yolov explains what Hava discovered and theorized, Togworth is deeply disturbed and says he will have to relay all this in the emergency meeting. He will have to be honest in this meeting, as Audacity pointed out that the Senate has been derelict in their duties.

At the last pointed comment, Hava studies him and knows he takes the Senate responsibilities seriously. He is trying to delicately tell them that the hearing will effectively shut down the Sons of Kane and Zorax will not be gentle about it. They need to get the workers out of the line of fire.

Yolov tells him that all the necromancy work seemed centered in the Little Cog and that’s where he suggests the Senate focuses on first.

Togworth tells him that they will deal with all of it before Togworth offers a watch to Az. He explains that essentially he can cast a Message to Az through this. Once he understands how to stop the necromancy, he will let Az know, and Az can respond. Togworth says that he usually uses it to help with his tools. He snaps off his toolbelt and makes it grow smaller and gives that to Az as well in case it proves useful later, though he will want it returned after all this.

Togworth says he’ll hopefully see them all after all of this, or at least before the Grand Matron kills him.

Yolov offers up the paperwork before they head back to Arlin’s bar, discussing how they want to deal with this. They take the tram, which is a little slower to get back.

When they get back to the bar, the bartender gives them an odd look and says that Arlin isn’t here. He points out that the Hooligans all sort of vanished, and Galowen claims that he lost his glasses. He offers to look through the lost and found.

The bartender gives them all an askance look before he says that they can look in the dining room as he ducks into the back. As he disappears, Yolov says in the Telepathic Bond that he should probably be warned, since he would get hurt too when Zorax comes through.

Az agrees and goes to follow the guy, realizing he’s not in the back and has actually gone off to warn Arlin about them.

Galowen pushes past him and opens up the secret entrance to the staircases. They all descend, with Az getting his first look at the workers and the giant arm being put together. There is a group of people fitting sword blades into the giant prosthetic arm.

The clamor slows to a halt. All the workers stare at each other and then at the Hooligans.

The older gnomish gentleman steps forward and adjusts his grease-stained shirt and says, “Excuse me? Guests are not permitted.”

Az explains that they are here to help get them out. Yolov adds that the Senate has been made aware of what’s going on and will be here to deal with things soon, but the workers need to get out of here before the leadership is dealt with.

The gnome says that he doesn’t know what they’ve heard but they’re all here of their own will.

Yolov asks if their families are being held against their will somewhere and tells them that they can help them too, they’ve done it before.

The tabaxi starts to answer and the gnome shushes him before Az recognizes the tabaxi as Scraps, one of his old schoolmates that everyone calls Scrappy.

Scrappy explains that they’ve been working here for a few months. When the gnome tries to shush him, Scrappy says he’s tired and he doesn’t think their families would wish them to toil like this. He shakes out his fur and explains that months ago, someone came with Tally, a very tall gentleman with lots of knowledge about things like this, alongside a terrible mess of a man. They stayed and they talked and set Tally up with some agreements and mechanisms and then they started using the people that the workers loved in the metal.

Tally told them that if they told the guards they would be next. She has her own private workshop, Scraps explains, pointing towards the door they had seen Tally go through. She’s been meeting with her benefactor, who left fifteen, twenty minutes ago. Not the one who taught her, who hasn’t been back in quite some time, but her benefactor.

The Hooligans ask for a description, but none of them remember the first one’s face, which the party realizes was Marion. The benefactor was an elf with long hair that the Hooligans realize was Elathias.

The benefactor doesn’t like it when they look at him. Scrappy says they don’t speak to him either; if they do they become metal.

Yolov gives them a gold apiece and tells them that they will help their families and talk to the Senate about making a new guild with Sasha, but they should all go to the Senate or somewhere safe and send someone to warn Sasha at the warehouse.

Scrappy agrees to go talk to Sasha, and Az tells everyone that if they don’t want to go to the Senate, they can hole up at the Hollow Dagger. They can tell Levity or Reynasha that their bill is on him.

The workers all leave, with Diana sending Adrin to guard them, except for the older gnome who lingers and tells them that his daughter’s soul is still here and trapped. If they somehow make her current afterlife even worse, they will regret it. If they can’t help her, then they need to stay down there until they figure it out.

Yolov promises that they will help her and the gnome leaves.

The Hooligans walk up the ramp and approach the door to Tally’s office, where they can hear rattling and grinding.

Galowen goes to kick the door down. The door is wooden and old-fashioned. It goes flying and lands with a resounding bang on the stone and metal walkway on the interior. There are platforms with tables and cogs and others filled with boxes, and another platform with an enormous golem is finished being built.

All the way across on the other side, standing at a large, pulsating runic-covered altar is Tally. The little gnome with bouncing red hair and her little goggles on her head and oil smudge on her cheek looks over and asks what the fuck they’re doing here.

Galowen says if she didn’t want them there, she should have had a magical door.

She tells them to leave and Hava says they won’t be doing that.

Tally sighs and extends a hand and two lightning bolts strike two scraps of metal to pull themselves up into tremendous arachnid-shaped automatons. One lets out a smokey metallic roar.

The final arc of lightning hits the golem in the center of the room. The golem with riveted plates of iron and metal begins to move. Its head with one central eye grinds itself up and looks towards Galowen. The golem is enormous, looming despite being twenty feet down on the ground floor.

Galowen moves to act first, jumping down onto the golem’s shoulder. His arms wrap around its neck and his feet collide with the metal of its carapace. It tilts and grinds its head towards him as Galowen slashes at it, feeling the metal resist some of the blade’s damage but not the radiant magic.

One of the spider automatoms scuttles forward towards the others. It lashes out with fire from its eyes, injuring everyone as Yolov casts Absorb Elements to protect himself, Diana resists thanks to her draconic connection, and Az goes invisible and teleports away.

The golem raises its fist and takes three swings at Galowen. Two of them hit, the first one sending Galowen flying to the nearest platform. The golem follows up with the second blow, giving out a crackling roar even as Az misses it with his quarterstaff.

Hava casts Channel Divinity and the familiar twilight settles into the space. She also casts Spiritual Weapon, the spectral trident attacking the robot that breathed fire onto the group. She can hear the trident screwing up the insides.

Yolov moves Es forward and then casts Shatter on the arachnid robot and golem closest to Galowen. The robot takes the full damage, but the golem resists it.

Diana climbs onto the arachnid robot and breathes fire right back at it. She quickly realizes that it is resistant to fire damage.

Tally looks up at them all and says she told them to leave. She said they were supposed to set all this off in a few weeks for a party the boss was hosting, but she doesn’t mind kicking it off early. She casts a spell at them that burns the entire group with fire before she begins to type.

Most of the group realizes that she is activating the necromancy runes, though it will take some time to finish whatever she’s started.

Az looks at Tally and casts Compelled Duel at her. He feels the magic take effect as he says that he thinks she’ll want to pay attention to him. He watches her eyes glaze over and she looks at him and says, “Azeldonne Turen, I’ll tell you what. I’ll turn you into paste and steel and see how much of your dad’s lumber we can destroy while you scream in the metal.”

Az tells her that he’s going to kill her for the people she’s done this to.

Tally giggles and tells him he’s cute. She says that Elathias said they’d all come around eventually too. She smiles before she says that it’s funny. She asks him when it was the last time he talked to his oldest brother. Did he tell Az about the accident? Did he tell him how he lost his leg?

Az says that someone would have told him.

She looks amused and says, fiddling with the controls that will activate the runes and do something horrible to everyone wearing the guild’s prosthetics, “Funny, isn’t it, Donnie?”