Post by hubertbartels on Jul 14, 2019 14:30:14 GMT -5
Following Paeytr back to his garden, the party discovered a hidden place, screened by a grove of aspens and cottonwoods, watered by a small stream flowing from the rim and covered in lush green grazing. Paetyr had taken the time to grow several beds of plants and fruit trees along one side of the area. In the back, several caves provided shelter for horses and the party.
Istovar noticed something strange about the plants in the bed. He dismounted and examined the pepper plants more closely. The peppers were strange, having a set of pustules with hairs growing out of them. Every second plant was a native plant from the canyon below. All were covered in a fine, hair-like mold.
Paeytr apologized for the poor fare that he set out. He had been trying to immunize the garden against the corruption coming down the canyon. The crop of apples, mushrooms, peppers, and carrots had particular properties but, now cured of his Wisdom loss, he realized his error and the plants had to be destroyed.
When Paeytr went out with a shovel and a torch, the garden reacted. With a loud telepathic scream, the plants and trees launched themselves at Paeytr and the party. Through fire spells and strong attacks, the party put down the mutant plants.
After a quiet night, the party started out. Paeytr had given them hints that they might be able to recruit the four-armed woman against the ‘Butchers’ in the canyon. Heading down the path towards the creek running in the bottom of the canyon, they discovered 7 robed and hooded figures carrying backpacks of metal and technological items ripped from the wreck of the annihilator robot. Stopping them with a greeting, the leader opened up her hood. Her name was Harab and if the party were willing to part with all of their technological items, they would not fight them. The robed figures were on a mission to return the world to a natural state where everyone would live in Unity with nature.
Obin muttered, “Screw this,” and attacked. It was a brief fight which ended with Harab dead and most of the other cultists running down the canyon.
Standing at the edge of the slope up to the ‘Machine Caves’ where Paeytr mentioned that they might find the four-armed woman, Istovar found tracks in the mud. Some were similar to the tracks they found near the wreckage of the annihilator robot while others were human but deeper than usual.
Going up the slope, they stopped at the 15’ high entrance to the caves. The party soon found the hidden tunnel leading from the entrance and followed it. In a chamber, they found a high technology rifle discarded. Amelina didn’t find any traps so Astrovel entered to retrieve the weapon. He snapped a trip wire and set off a pair of arc grenades. The rifle turned out to be a decoy.
Further on, they turned a corner and were stopped by a woman shouting in Androffan. Amelina and the others answered back in the same tongue and calmed her down. From behind a pillar of rock stepped a four-armed alien with skin of ivory. Her name was Isuma and she had long sought allies.
Isuma had been on the Divinity when it was attacked by the Dominion of the Black. She and her fellow kasathans had entered stasis pods when the ship crashed onto Numeria. When they woke, they were prisoners of the Dominion, years later. Isuma escaped her captors and now she was hunting Dominion agents wherever she could. Her regret was that she could not save her kasathans, now being ridden as flesh puppets by the Dominion. She would gladly help the party if the party helped her. At first, she suggested exploring the rest of these caves. She had been unable to because killer robots stopped her. In response to a question, she had heard the name ‘Casandralee’ while in Dominion hands.
Agreeing, the party went back out into the caves. Down the main series of caves, they discovered a doorway guarded by three torturer robots. Hovering on anti-gravity rays, they fired lasers and attacked with saws on extensions. The party cut them down.
Behind the door, they stood in finished rooms, lit from above and covered in fragments of Androffan writing. Four humanoid robots tried to stop them but the party pressed on. They proceeded past humming thermo-generators and broke into the control chamber. From the generator control room, the party continued to a workshop. Here, they found Binox, the reclamation robot, fixing stuff. It turned on them and demanded to disassemble one of them for damaging his robots.
That’s as far as it got. The party unleashed their fury on the robot and soon reduced it to scrap. Then they decided to take a long break and study what is in this workshop.
Istovar noticed something strange about the plants in the bed. He dismounted and examined the pepper plants more closely. The peppers were strange, having a set of pustules with hairs growing out of them. Every second plant was a native plant from the canyon below. All were covered in a fine, hair-like mold.
Paeytr apologized for the poor fare that he set out. He had been trying to immunize the garden against the corruption coming down the canyon. The crop of apples, mushrooms, peppers, and carrots had particular properties but, now cured of his Wisdom loss, he realized his error and the plants had to be destroyed.
When Paeytr went out with a shovel and a torch, the garden reacted. With a loud telepathic scream, the plants and trees launched themselves at Paeytr and the party. Through fire spells and strong attacks, the party put down the mutant plants.
After a quiet night, the party started out. Paeytr had given them hints that they might be able to recruit the four-armed woman against the ‘Butchers’ in the canyon. Heading down the path towards the creek running in the bottom of the canyon, they discovered 7 robed and hooded figures carrying backpacks of metal and technological items ripped from the wreck of the annihilator robot. Stopping them with a greeting, the leader opened up her hood. Her name was Harab and if the party were willing to part with all of their technological items, they would not fight them. The robed figures were on a mission to return the world to a natural state where everyone would live in Unity with nature.
Obin muttered, “Screw this,” and attacked. It was a brief fight which ended with Harab dead and most of the other cultists running down the canyon.
Standing at the edge of the slope up to the ‘Machine Caves’ where Paeytr mentioned that they might find the four-armed woman, Istovar found tracks in the mud. Some were similar to the tracks they found near the wreckage of the annihilator robot while others were human but deeper than usual.
Going up the slope, they stopped at the 15’ high entrance to the caves. The party soon found the hidden tunnel leading from the entrance and followed it. In a chamber, they found a high technology rifle discarded. Amelina didn’t find any traps so Astrovel entered to retrieve the weapon. He snapped a trip wire and set off a pair of arc grenades. The rifle turned out to be a decoy.
Further on, they turned a corner and were stopped by a woman shouting in Androffan. Amelina and the others answered back in the same tongue and calmed her down. From behind a pillar of rock stepped a four-armed alien with skin of ivory. Her name was Isuma and she had long sought allies.
Isuma had been on the Divinity when it was attacked by the Dominion of the Black. She and her fellow kasathans had entered stasis pods when the ship crashed onto Numeria. When they woke, they were prisoners of the Dominion, years later. Isuma escaped her captors and now she was hunting Dominion agents wherever she could. Her regret was that she could not save her kasathans, now being ridden as flesh puppets by the Dominion. She would gladly help the party if the party helped her. At first, she suggested exploring the rest of these caves. She had been unable to because killer robots stopped her. In response to a question, she had heard the name ‘Casandralee’ while in Dominion hands.
Agreeing, the party went back out into the caves. Down the main series of caves, they discovered a doorway guarded by three torturer robots. Hovering on anti-gravity rays, they fired lasers and attacked with saws on extensions. The party cut them down.
Behind the door, they stood in finished rooms, lit from above and covered in fragments of Androffan writing. Four humanoid robots tried to stop them but the party pressed on. They proceeded past humming thermo-generators and broke into the control chamber. From the generator control room, the party continued to a workshop. Here, they found Binox, the reclamation robot, fixing stuff. It turned on them and demanded to disassemble one of them for damaging his robots.
That’s as far as it got. The party unleashed their fury on the robot and soon reduced it to scrap. Then they decided to take a long break and study what is in this workshop.