Quest #44 "The Ethereal Job"

[jemmus]

Theo accepts the two flasks of oil from Andron, as well as the beneficial spell. Thank you, Mr. Andronichishche. He takes a test swing with bastard sword that suddenly feels lighter and more nimble.

[jemmus]

Theo remembers something. Friend Torbath, I never did thank you for binding my wounds and saving my life. Thank you.

[gurusql]

Torbath

Torbath being unconscious does not react to Theo's thank you.

[jemmus]

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job
Astronomy Domine
The Dark Rock

The remaining egg host bodies inside this chamber are burned until fully destroyed. No valuables or worldly possessions are found on any of them.

When the group prepares and eventually moves into the next chamber, they find it completely empty now, void of both egg host bodies and their dangerous 4-armed guards.

The next chamber is identical, completely void of dead bodies or any danger. It becomes apparent that the hosts who weren't too far along in their development have been removed and taken away to a safer environment by their Ethereal guardians.

Checking out the final chamber again before returning to Grimble and the unconscious, the group is deflated to see what has remained behind near the strange doorway they found.

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The monster is all alone, and the dark star pattern that once made up the portal has since been altered to something completely unforeseen. The beast appears to be standing at a bank of some kind of controls with its back currently facing the party. By the looks of its arms, the creature seems to be trying different settings on the many controls in front of it, so far to no ill effects. It does not turn around or acknowledge your presence in any way, instead randomly plunking away at the switches and dials in front of it.

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Actions?

Alordan AC3 2/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 -3/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 0/1 (top of backpack/inside helmet) Comet AC:7 4/4 Unconscious
Aliendron AC10 8/17 (CL4) 1st 0/5 2nd 4/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 1/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 -7/14 RM, CL, DM 0/4 1st 0/2 2nd Unconscious
Amun (F3) AC:2 16/33
Maag AC4 4/20
Theo AC:5 8/13 (Sword)

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche


He gives Maag a nudge and nods to the red monster, pantomiming stabbing the thing with an invisible knife.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche


He pauses for the fighters to engage if they so choose, then casts Hold Person on the monster.

[jemmus]

Theo almost feels bad about attacking the busy, unaware thing from behind. But then he remembers the horrible shrieks of the poor woman echoing in the distance along the corridors, the festering host bodies, and the horrible fights with these strong things. They're predators, and humans are the prey. Like wasps grabbing spiders, paralyzing them with stings, laying eggs on them, and stuffing them into hexagonal tubes for larvae to feed on when they hatch out of eggs. Interspecies warfare and survival. He takes a look at the portal's pattern of dots the red thing is arranging, and glances to Andron. Then quietly lopes forward with glowing bastard sword and swings to cleave the thing stem to stern in twain.

[1d20]=1

[ravenn4544]

Alordan has had quite enough and looks to put this latest trial behind them.

Long Sword Attack [1d20+1]=12+1=13 (THACO=18)

Long Sword Damage(+1 str/+1 weapon) = S/M: [1d8+2]=5+2=7 / L: [1d12+2]=9+2=11

Dagger Attack (off-hand) [1d20-1]=19-1=18

Dagger Damage = S/M: [1d4+1]=3+1=4 / L: [1d3+1]=1+1=2

No bonus is included in the rolls above if any due to rear attack.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sorry about the week long delay here. Not sure what's happening.

The Ethereal Job
Astronomy Domine
The Dark Rock

Theo, Alordan, Amun, and Maag charge at the unwitting monster while its back is turned to them. Aliendron uses his magic to try to hold the beast in place, but once again that fails to affect these weird creatures.

Theo and Maag reach the monster simultaneously, with the half-orc able to inflict some damage. Unfortunately, the rangers swing goes so terribly wide, careening off the hard red carapace and hitting Maag instead. That damage combined with a successful attack from the beast is enough to bring the thug down. 7 combined dam

Alordan and Amun have better luck, neither of them hitting each other and both able to injure the beast a bit more. The remainder of its attacks fall short, causing the outnumbered creature to lose interest in the fight. It drops its arms to its side and starts to fade away like the others did earlier.

Actions?

Alordan AC3 2/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 -3/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 0/1 (top of backpack/inside helmet) Comet AC:7 4/4 Unconscious
Aliendron AC10 8/17 (CL4) 1st 0/5 2nd 3/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 1/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 -7/14 RM, CL, DM 0/4 1st 0/2 2nd Unconscious
Amun (F3) AC:2 16/33
Maag AC4 -3/20 Unconscious
Theo AC:5 8/13 (Sword)

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche


Narrows his eyes in frustration and opts to ignore the fading monster to examine the strange console, instead.

[jemmus]

Theo is aghast at his gaffe. Maag! He'd forgotten to buy any bandages or handkerchiefs back at the marketplace, so he uses his hunting knife to cut and rip strips from the cleanest part of his cloak. He kneels and ties the fighter's wound, then drags him across the floor and sits him up against a wall. "Twenty-three attacks, 23 failures," he thinks. "And this last one the worst of all." He considers giving up on rangering. He considers his alternatives for earning a livelihood. He knows that work shoveling stables can be found in almost any good-sized town.

[ravenn4544]

Alordan tries to finish the thing so it can’t come back again…

Long Sword Attack [1d20+1]=1+1=2 (THACO=18)

Dagger Attack (off-hand) [1d20-1]=5-1=4

[Jernau35]

Maag

Blood loss gradually slows.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job
Astronomy Domine
The Dark Rock

The downtrodden Theo rushes to help the fallen Maag, using his own clothing as bandage to help prevent his friend from dying.

Alordan and Amun continue to chop away at the fading monster, the female fighter eventually running the beast through with her wicked sword. It flickers as its own lights slowly go dark, finally fading out of existence in a strange wavy pattern in the air.

Andron looks over the control panel, finding a small placard affixed above a set of 6 movable dials. Below these dials is a second set of controls that are switches. All of them are currently in the off position.

The placard has writing in the common tongue the reads simply: DO NOT ADJUST THESE CONTROLS UNLESS YOU KNOW THE CORRECT SETTINGS

The six dials are all in the off position, and each are marked in order, just like the switches below them are set up.

The dials are labeled as follows: Mind / Body / Heart / Spirit / Soul / Consciousness

The switches are labeled as follows: Space / Moon / Planet / Star/ Sun / Infinity

Etched around the entire panel are tiny cuneiform arcane glyphs. These appear to be magical in nature.

Actions?

IMG_3704.jpeg (38.52 KiB) Viewed 90 times

Alordan AC3 2/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 -3/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 0/1 (top of backpack/inside helmet) Comet AC:7 4/4 Unconscious
Aliendron AC10 8/17 (CL4) 1st 0/5 2nd 3/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 1/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 -7/14 RM, CL, DM 0/4 1st 0/2 2nd Unconscious
Amun (F3) AC:2 16/33
Maag AC4 -3/20 Unconscious
Theo AC:5 8/13 (Sword)

[OGRE MAGE]

Amun

"Hmmmmph. No idea."

"Feanol knows a lot about the stars. Maybe we need her help here."

[jemmus]

Theo wonders if Grumble or Grimble (whichever one is conscious, he can never keep track of the names) has any theories about the switches.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche


"I can try to decipher these glyphs, but I agree with Amun. We should regain our strength before experimenting with strange contraptions."

He casts Read Magic and Comprehend Languages in an attempt to decipher the glyphs.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job
Astronomy Domine
The Dark Rock

Looking over the sigils with magical detection gives the groups wise leader even more fits, as the complexity of the symbols and phrasing is well beyond his comprehension. Picking up hints of several different schools of magical ability, Andron wonders if more than one caster was involved in sealing off this portal.

Whatever they might find beyond the doorway seems to have been important enough to protect with extremely powerful magicks of different variations. Getting hints of Transmutation, Creation, Evocation, and even Alteration magic being represented here, the true gist of the symbols cannot be made out entirely.

Amun keeps her distance if anyone reaches for the controls, suspecting terrible things at play here after reading the clear warning on the panel. "No offense, but it would be good to have another pair of eyes looking over such strange things before we experiment. We are no good fighting without our full crew."

Actions?

Alordan AC3 2/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 -3/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 0/1 (top of backpack/inside helmet) Comet AC:7 4/4 Unconscious
Aliendron AC10 8/17 (CL4) 1st 0/5 2nd 3/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 1/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 -7/14 RM, CL, DM 0/4 1st 0/2 2nd Unconscious
Amun (F3) AC:2 16/33
Maag AC4 -3/20 Unconscious
Theo AC:5 8/13 (Sword)

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche


"No offense taken, Miss Amun. I agree completely with your assessment. I am also quite certain I still have no idea how this thing works, and if we had not interrupted that monster's random manipulation of these controls ... well, there could have been many different kinds of ill fortune inflicted upon it."

"We should return and report back to Grimble."