Making their way through the fearsome lightning tower, they return to Medusa’s lair, but first spend a few minutes firing arrows at the forest of tentacles that appear to still be guarding the area. Once defeated, they locate a dwarven coat rack and smear jelly on it.
Minutes passed and nothing happened. The stars of paranoia swirl. Was this a trick? A ploy to lure everyone here and then dispose of them underground in the city? Whoa!
My more level-headed side prevailed and I decided to sit back for a while and see if it just took too long. What if I took too long and the tentacles grabbed me again? Should I drive the stone tentacles out into the hallway and wait there? What if they attacked me? And so on and so forth.
Luckily, the time spent hesitating allowed the magical slime to do its work, and the dazed dwarf returned to a fleshier state. They stepped into the area guarded by the axe-wielding demon and decided to go down the stairs. They came across a long corridor through which they passed, eventually coming across another scene in the conflict between the cults. A minotaur with an ebony hand facial tattoo was fighting three Venom cultists. One was down, and the other two were about to succumb to the enraged minotaur. The party waited until all were weakened, then attacked and annihilated them all.
Continue to the end of the tunnel and you’ll come to an iron door behind which leads to a silo with scaffolding and a strange contraption with interlocking gears and moving parts. The contraption stretches for over 100 feet and is guarded by one of the transformed apartment complex’s inhabitants. The guard is quickly killed, and the noise of battle seems to go unnoticed, as the spewing of steam and roaring of machinery continues.
Scouting revealed a hatch in the side of the device, and after several terrifying close calls where party members were nearly thrown over the edge, they reached the inside of the machine. They wandered through narrow maintenance tunnels and descended into the bowels of the machine, and were amazed to discover countless strange tubes, devices, dials, wires, and more. It was hot, damp, and noisy inside, but they descended.
As they descend, the temperature visibly drops and the world they inhabit becomes a strange mix of realities, with endless swamps and strange reptilian creatures lurking at the edges of their vision. They encounter undead creatures, but they seem confused rather than aggressive, and don’t kill them as they normally do.
Finally, they stand at the top of a long ladder that leads to the base of the machine, where a strange, cone-shaped demon(?) with visible organs and a wide-open mouth is conversing with a skinny humanoid in a leather hat and goggles. Veiga declares that this is the chief gadgeteer, and they debate for a moment before beginning negotiations. The demon spews a cone of acid and maggots and worse, erupting like a geyser. The damage nearly kills Veiga and Zaar, and retreat seems an option. Some kind of alarm has been sounded, and a hasty retreat might save life and limb.
Larger people can move faster than shorter party members, so the shorter ones try to use that to their advantage by causing as much sabotage as they can: pulling levers, disconnecting wires, breaking boxes, turning dials. This seems to work to some extent, as the spinning cylinder begins to screech and shake, becoming more and more eccentric and violent as they continue their acts of destruction. At one point during the climb, another hatch to the outside opens, and the gnome witnesses several transformed people clambering up the scaffolding, clearly attempting to thwart the party.
Upon reaching the top, the shaking had damaged the inner circle of the scaffolding, so desperate measures were taken to try to escape before it exploded or collapsed, which resulted in Kegdrain falling under the scaffolding and nearly losing his life. After a period of panic, the group set off, running at full speed (for now) down the long tunnel, when a tremendous roar and earthquake tremors signaled that the machine had likely disintegrated and collapsed into a hole. What about a side route? No, not today. Not today, as the strength of some of the party is dangerously low. There seems to be a camping session in the long hall, and no pursuit. The next morning, the group became invisible and crept back to the surface.
The Old Town district is buzzing with activity: the quake had destroyed several buildings above ground, workers are digging through the rubble, builders are arriving to shore up damaged buildings next door, etc. The group makes their escape across the bridge with relative ease, and taxi drivers are happy to collect an extra fare from unseen passengers.
From the Rivergate to the house south of town… they found no Watchers, but what does that mean? They think that since the Red Mage was able to find them, there’s a good chance they’ll be able to find the others too. Maybe it’s the Surgeon, or maybe it’s the Cultist who stole the Cult Goods a few months ago. Maybe it’s a new enemy they’ve made! Exciting!
After a night at home, they head out to the port to find a seedier, less guarded lodging… but that might not be a good idea, as they’re identified as potential recruits/rednecks the moment they set foot on the port. They eventually return to Delver’s Square and the room they’re still renting at Flohouse, where they try to keep a low profile while gathering intel on the current situation.
