Drums in the Deep
Enroute to Hodgkinson Mine, Alexandros
In the wake of the wight invasion, the Hodgkinson mines were reopened to start supplying ore for rebuilding. Iron, mostly. Little smelting was done on site -- there was plenty of work to be done striking the earth. With khazadi experience and human ingenuity, soon the mines were back in operation.
Until now. A panicked message from the mine supervisors was sent to the Adventurer's Guild, speaking of a 'monster' that had been discovered when the miners had broken into what they thought was a new cavern. An initial team set out from Alexandria... and was savagely repulsed. The dazed, injured novices claimed it was a fiend.
At least, that's the briefing you're getting as you ride the airship out to the mines. Guild factor Gavroon Thisletoes seems very perturbed by what he's reading. "The Copper Clutchers, despite their name, are not a pack of incompetents. They actually picked up this job as one of their members had friends near the mine." Gavroon squints at the notes he's reading. "All of the adventurers were sorely injured, and were transported back to the Soldier's Defense, but we were able to get interviews with two of them. One stated it had to be a fiend, it was huge with smoky wings and blazing eyes, flinging fire and roaring." He pauses. "The other said something about... 'drums'? That was the bard and he may have been concussed, too."
Gavroon looks up from the notes. "So on one hand, the task is simple: determine the nature of this 'fiend' and extirpate it posthaste. On the other... well, no one's sure what it is."
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Knowledge/The Planes: (3)+8: 11 GAME: Zeke rolls Knowledge/The Planes: (3)+2: 5 GAME: Alba rolls knowledge/the planes: (1)+13: 14 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Lysos rolls knowledge/the planes: (9)+4: 13
While Alba doesn't often come off her ranch in the winter, the prospect of something new and exciting that needs murdering *does* catch her interest. Something that needs murdering lairing far underground, away from the *unconscionably cold weather* sounds like an absolute treat, since currently she is wrapped in the massive, shaggy pelt of some beast or other, leaving only the monster-skull mask visible, sitting atop.
Honestly, she looks like *she* might be the objective in the mines.
"Hhhhhhhehhhhh," the Witch breathes, a long, drawn-out sound of amusement and anticipation. "Interesting this will be. Possibly, entertaining also. Tell to your men to worry not; a way shall be found to murder this thing properly."
Aurala has been looking for another chance to get her claws into something. The massive Giantborn has answered the call for assistance to trudge along with the others heading to investigate. SHe humms softly to herself.
Rhar has her head over the railing and in the breeze, enjoying the wind in her hair, tongue out. Beside her, the very large wolf Gurr does the same. It's the only way to travel! It takes a bit for her to hear the dicussion, or realize what's going on. "Find it! Stop it!" she calls over reassuringly. Then she goes right back to tongue hanging out in the breeze.
Amongst the adventuerers is a figure not much seen amongst their kind in truth. More seen in the aftermath of their heroic deeds, than actually taking part in them is the blue-scaled sith-makar. Not so today. Zeke stands amongst the group with a small pack on his back full of gear that he has thoughtfully packed in advance. He flashes his teeth at the man before him, it's an expression of his determination. "Thisss one will do what thissss one can to sssee the fiend gone."
A respectful nod to Alba and to those others whom he recognizes amongst those gathered here. A more welcoming nod to those that are unfamiliar. "Peasssce on your nessstsss."
"Really rather unfortunate that people got hurt," Cor'lana says with a frown, "but at least we know a /bit/ about what we're dealing with here." She's dressed in her adventuring outfit, which consists of a cloak, a silver circlet on her head, and somewhat low-cut robes which cut off at the knees to reveal her adventuring boots and the curuchuil mark on her chest.
Pothy is here, too. He's on Cor'lana's shoulder, keeping watch. Cor'lana pauses for a moment as she pats him on his fluffy little head. "You have any idea what this creature could be, Pothy?" she asks him.
The raven considers this for a moment. Then his blue eyes brighten. He knows! "Snacks!" he says. And technically he's right... if you're adventurous enough.
Cor'lana rolls her eyes. "Thank you for your contribution, Pothy." But she turns her gaze to Zeke and smiles. "I am happy to see you again, Zeke, although in quite strange circumstances compared to normal. Let's make quick work of this, shall we?"
Gavroon harumphs. "Well, the Guild will be helping defray the Clutchers' medical bills, since they were injured on a Guild job. The miners deserve to work in peace, and the Guild doesn't need any more hits to its reputation."
The fussy little gnome calms down, as the airship descends. "Sorry about that. Things have been a little tense of late in the guildhalls. Look, just... be careful, and kill whatever this is. There's enough problems in the world as is."
The airship alights on the landing area set up just outside the 'company town', letting the party disembark and prepare for whatever lies ahead.
Dressed in a thick winter parka with the hood drawn up to, unsuccessfully by the looks of it, ward away winter and the high altitude low temperatures, Lysos rubbs her mittenned hands together in a futile attempt to find warmth. Her breath comes out in puffs, and she constantly stamps her thick boots on the deck to keep circulation going.
Which may make one wonder why she's not hiding away in a cabin. Or a barrel.
She doesn't complain, though, as she listens to the briefing and the others' responses to it. Definitely too cold for questions, though, and it seems she might be more than a little intimidated by present company... which probably explains her relative silence as the airship settles down and it becomes time to disembark. "Maybe it will be a fire fiend," she muses. "I think I'd welcome that." Well, relative silence.
"And peace upon your nest, shaman," Alba replies to Zeke, with *vastly* more respect than is normally heard in her voice. The column of fur even boends in the middle, as the Witch gives to Zeke a bow, or the approximation of one.
The skull rises, then orients on the gnome. Silence reigns for a moment, and there's just the *feeling* of a raised eyebrow. "...And worrying about its reputation... The Guild allows *me* to rescue miners? .....Huh. New, this."
A soft, hissing noise can be heard from within the depths of her mask, and the head of a tiny, red-banded viper pops out of the mask's eye socket, flicks its tongue a bit, then retreats to darkness and warmth.
"...Yes, Sarathrazz," Alba says peevishly, "I *know* you have not needed to bite my face in moons upon moons, I see not what thi-- hrnnngrg. Fine. Accept, I shall."
At Lysos' statement, the skull tuuuuurns to regard the sorceress. "Hehhhh. Yessss, I know *many* ways to murder fire."
Worst of all is, this is probably Alba trying to be friendly.
Zeke nods one last time politely to Gavroon, and as they disembark he steps close to Cor'lana. Lowering his voice signifigantly he speaks to the much smaller woman. "Thisss one wantsss to offer some-thing to you. You are a ssshaman yesss?" He looks at her curiously, having already noted her lack of defensive weapons. Even he carries a quarterstaff though he seems to use it more as a walking stick than a weapon. He offers her a small ring and glances to the side. "Sssshould you find your-sself in trouble, put it on and let thisss one know."
Aurala smiles, "I remember when flying drove me crazy," she mutters and then smiles a little. She looks at the others, "Any idea what it might be?" she asks and then turns and glances towards where they are heading to.
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Spellcraft: (20)+15: 35
As much as they enjoyed the ride, they're anxious to get back on the ground, too. Rhar hops onto Gurr and he lumbers towards the barking ramp. She adds to the gnome's instructions, "Also, don't die!" That's a pretty important part of beating evil things.
Cor'lana looks... a little discomfitted by Alba, but her focus is drawn away from the witch by Zeke's words. She smiles a little. "Yes, I'm a sorceress," she responds, although her gaze and tone of voice turn to curiosity as he presents her with the ring. "A ring...?"
Then a look of realization crosses her face. "Oh! Right, there are protective spells that use rings. I'll wear it anyway and let you know if I need shielding, but I tend to stay in the back, anyway."
As the group departs the airship, she murmurs a protective spell, the magic washing over her in a pale blue glow before fading.
GAME: Ravenstongue casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 12 DC: 18
Lysos looks at Alba a bit askance... one of those staring while trying not to stare and realizing you're staring but unable to look away kind of stares... and shudders.
Because it's cold. It's definitely a cold shudder. "I think.." she starts weakly, then coughs and clears her throat. "I think I will stick to the back too, with her," she says, jerking a thickly mittened thumb in Ravenstongue's direction. "Murdering fire sounds like it migth have a lot of collateral damage."
The miners look absolutely overjoyed to see you, even Alba. Evidently they are scared, and deservedly so, of whatever's lurking in that cavern. Thankfully, there's none of the sour mentality that's been making the rounds about adventurers, either -- the miners have even chipped in some of their wages to help the Copper Clutchers get healed up as well. "They bled in the mines," one burly khazadi says with finality. "That makes 'em miners."
The party is directed towards the newest mine tunnel, driven into a relatively untouched hill. The mouth of it is dark, foreboding, and singularly uninviting. It's notable that there are signs in Tradespeak and khazadi posted all around that say 'DANGER: DO NOT ENTER'.
Rhar readies her sticks: checking that the shiny sharp one is still sharp and strapping the big round stick to her other arm. She waves to the miners. "We find! Make safe!" She then points to the sign. "Say Evil Demon Thing In Here!" After informing the others of that, she adds, "Stay close. Rhar protect!"
"Ah," Alba says sagely, upon encountering the first of the signs. "These marks I know well. 'Hello Welcome,' it is writ, 'You are not a food and there shall be cake.'"
Did... Alba just make a *joke?*
But her pace doesn't slow for an instant, leaving Rhar's cheerfulness to do the job of shoring up the moners' confidence in them. And while it's hard to tell *anything* between the mask and closed fur cloak, there's not a single sign of fear as she approaches the marked tunnel.
The blue-scaled sith shakes his head at Rhar and Alba, faint amusement in his scent though... there's no other sith-makar present to note it. He walks along at a slow but steady pace that pushes him back toward the back of the group. Each step is accompanied by a step-click of his prostetic foot clinking against the stone. It's actually more of a click-click with his quarterstaff making a more wooden sound.
He steps around the 'Danger' sign without comment, but certainly with notice. He is glad that Cor'lana accepted his suggestion, and with that taken care of he seems fairly relaxed in spite of the fact that they're walking toward a fiend of some variation.
"Snacks?!" Pothy says in response to Alba's mention of cake. His tail is already wagging excitedly, the white raven so happy to possibly receive a cake right here... in the middle of a mine. Miner's cakes are such a delicacy!
"Shh," Cor'lana says, dashing all of Pothy's hopes. "Lysos, you, me, and Pothy can go in the back. Unless Zeke wants to trail behind us so we're not so exposed in the back?"
Then Cor'lana blanches. "Phrasing," she mutters to herself. And off she goes with the group, although she keeps a keen eye out as they go.
Aurala nods her head and glances around a bit. She shrugs and just follows along, at least she doesn't have to worry about being armed. She is always got her weapons with her.
GAME: Lysos used a Wand of Mage Armor. GAME: Lysos casts Light. Caster Level: 12 DC: 19
You make your way into the cavern where the Copper Clutchers fought their way out. Give them credit: no one was left behind, and hopefully they'll recover and learn from the experience. Rubble litters the cavern floor, and the light from outside barely penetrates. Hanging here and there are mage-light lanterns, presumably abandoned by the miners or by the Clutchers.
As you step further inside, you hear a grinding sound, and then a roar like a furnace opening. Four blazing eyes in the darkness at the far end of the cavern, and a dull, fiery glow. For a moment, the 'fiend' appellation seems very accurate.
And then it stalks forward and suddenly you might realize those novices made a mistake. An understandable one, considering they were fighting for their lives, but a serious one all the same. It's a massive armored form, twice the height of a man. Its head, sculpted to look like a demonic countenance. Jutting from its shoulders are pipes, spewing smoke that as it expands, looks vaguely like wings. One arm ending in a fluted, elaborate maw, the muzzle pitted from use, while the other ends in a brutal looking spiked flail. How long had this Kulthian war machine lay buried, until the miners dug it up, and it roused itself to activity? It has to be old -- there are streaks of rust in places, and it shows a million scratches and dents on its greenish-black metal hide.
It stares at you, and raises its muzzle arm, and suddenly the realization: the bard didn't say 'drums'. He must've said 'guns'.
Guns. Guns in the deep.
Aurala cocks her head to the side and then smiles, "I think it isn't quite what we were expecting." she says, but there is a grin to her face, like she is going to enjoy the challenge. She starts with magic before she really gets into things and quickens everyone with her magic before she moves forward, though she is moving with caution, not clearing the whole cavern like she could if she pushed it.
GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+28: (4)+28: 32 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+23: (15)+23: 38 GAME: Telamon rolls 6d6+9: (25)+9: 34
The monstrous construct -- the golem -- glares at the intruders, before zeroing in on Aurala as she charges forward. The cannon arm swings to bear on the giantborn, and another bellow erupts from the faceplate, before the arm fires in a cacophony of smoke and flame. The first shot zips wide, punching a hole into the wall, but the second strikes Aurala, drawing first blood.
GAME: Lysos casts Telekinetic Charge. Caster Level: 12 DC: 23 GAME: Lysos casts Contagious Flame. Caster Level: 12 DC: 25
"Oh. Oooooh. Ooooohohohoho, yesssss..." For some reason, the idea of fighting a Kulthian juggernaut is *even more attractive* than fighting a fiend, to Alba. As Aurala's spell settles over her, the Witch hurls the fur wrap off her shoulders, revealing a hand that ends in nine-inch razors of polished adamantine. Cackling under her breath, she sweeps her bare hand in a circle, conjuring a ring of twisty runes, and leaps through... and rockets through the air, settling behind a pile of rubble on the far end of the cavern. "Hehehehe, yessss, this *will* be fun..."
GAME: Telamon rolls +31: (20)++31: 51 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+31: (2)+31: 33 GAME: Telamon rolls 2d10+12: (13)+12: 25 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite: aliased to companionmelee: (13)+15: 28 GAME: Rhar rolls melee+1: (2)+19+1: 22 GAME: Rhar rolls melee+1: (19)+19+1: 39 GAME: Rhar rolls melee+1-5: (14)+19+1+-5: 29 GAME: Rhar rolls melee+1-15: (5)+19+1+-15: 10
"Stars and silence.." Lysos says, gaping a little bit... staring at the thing... briefly frozen as Aurala stomps off, only to get slammed by something fired from the creature's arm. And then Alba is flying off, as witches do, moving almost too swiftly for the eyes to follow. "I don't know.." She puts the heel of a hand to the side of her head for a second, then takes a deep breath and starts moving.. aided by Aurala's magic. "Rhar!" she calls out, over her shoulder as she moves in the giantborn's wake, "I'm going to get you and your pup up front!" She skids to a stop beside Aurala, behind the rubble, then spends one more moment gathering power before she reaches towards the diminutive warrior and her mount. "Allioopay!" She closes her hand, then arcs her arm up and over, as if throwing a ball at the steaming.. construct? As she does, the wolf and his rider are sent hurtling through the cavern.
Lysos then promptly vanishes from sight as she utters, "Obscurio."
GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5: aliased to companionmelee+5: (12)+15+5: 32 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5: aliased to companionmelee+5: (17)+15+5: 37 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5-5: aliased to companionmelee+5-5: (13)+15+5+-5: 28 GAME: Rhar rolls 1d8+10: (7)+10: 17 GAME: Rhar rolls 1d20+18: (15)+18: 33 GAME: Rhar rolls damage6: aliased to 1d4+5: (1)+5: 6 GAME: Rhar rolls 1d6: (3): 3 GAME: Ravenstongue casts Black Tentacles. Caster Level: 12 DC: 21
"Wolf! Not pu----up!" Rhar starts to correct Lysos, and then Gurr (and herself) are WHOOSH!ing through the air. Right up to the fiendly fire monster. Who slaps Gurr in the face. "Hey!"
"Rhar!" she introduces herself while pointing her sharp stick at it. "No him! Me!" A threat. A promise. Followed a breath later with "Go!"
Both of them lunge in, but even rusty metal is stronk. On the other paw, Gurr chews up metal for a living, and manages to get a good nip in. Rhar's sharp stick mostly slides off. But that's Ok! It just means she needs to jab it MORE.
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+17: (8)+17: 25 GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+17: (13)+17: 30
Cor'lana darts forward as things kick off, pressing up against the rubble. "Alright, let's try to do something... productive, because I don't think my usual charms will work here," she mutters.
She concentrates as she recites an incantation, magic welling up in her hands as the verses fall from her lips, and she lets go of the magic with an arm up into the air, mimicking the rubbery, dark tentacles that surge up from the ground around the strange construct and try to grab onto it. Sadly, they don't find purchase on the construct's frame.
Seeing that her spell didn't work, Cor'lana takes the ring that Zeke gave her out, but that's as far as she gets.
GAME: Zeke rolls 8d6: (24): 24 GAME: Aurala rolls 14d6: (51): 51 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+15: (1)+15: 16 (EPIC FAIL)
Seeing the construct Zeke's eyes widen signifigantly. Such a creature... He follows in Cor'lana's wake, wishing to keep the woman safe, but doesn't stay with her. That would only serve to draw attention to her location. Since he is quite a lot larger than she is. He keeps moving, huddling a little to keep from drawing the things attention and using one of the piles of rubble as... well okay he can't move fast enough to really use it as cover, but he does his best to amble that way whilst motioning for Cor'lana to put the ring on.
"It isss a sshaman-sslayer!" He urges her on, seeing that she's fumbling with the ring. His heart beats faster than it ought to. Already he's wondering how Seldan handles this kind of stress.
Aurala shakes her head as she got smacked pretty good. She glances around at the others and then summons her inner rage. Her hands shift and form into wicked looking golden claws, wreathed with flames. Her face extends just a little and her fangs grow as well, and flames linger around her teeth. Golden leathery wings rip from her back and flex and extend as she leaps through the air and flies around, landing a few paces from the golem. She makes sure that she isn't lined up right, no wanting to hit friendly and then breathes in deeply and then exhales and with it a massive 30' cone of flame rips from her mouth as she blasts it with her flames.
GAME: Aurala RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 28 temporary HP GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+31: (15)+31: 46 GAME: Telamon rolls 1d20+31: (7)+31: 38 GAME: Telamon rolls 4d10+24: (23)+24: 47
The Cannonbalor rears back as it is suddenly assaulted from several sides. Tentacles clutching at its feet, a strange little person stabbing at it with a sword, and someone spewing fire on it! Then the pipes on its back gout fire and smoke in turn, the stink of sulfur and goblin pepper filling the air as there's a dull CLUNK from its cannon arm. Meanwhile, the flail arm starts to swing in metronomic strikes, slamming into Rhar savagely. Another metallic roar echoes throughout the cavern.
As the roaring sheet of flame washes over the cunstruct, an idea seems to come into Alba's mind. One she must find amusing, because her next set of incantations *almost* fail to have their effect, as she has to cast around purely *delighted* laughter. Her arcane gestures finish, and she claps her hand over her own mouth.
When she pulls it away, a long, tentacle-like stream of noxious-looking yellow-green fluid follows, lashing like a living thing from the Witch's mouth.
And that's when she flies *toward* the melee, ending up above and just behind the creature, hair writhing in merciless glee.
GAME: Lysos casts Telekinetic Charge. Caster Level: 12 DC: 23 GAME: Lysos casts Break Enchantment. Caster Level: 12 DC: 24 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1: (18)+20+1: 39 (THREAT) GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1: (3)+20+1: 24 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1-5: (15)+20+1+-5: 31 (THREAT) GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1-10: (11)+20+1+-10: 22 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1-15: (19)+20+1+-15: 25 (THREAT)
Lysos winces hard when Gurr gets suckerpunched by the golem thanks to her 'assistance.' "Oops.." comes her quiet, disembodied voice.
Of course, the best way to fix a mistake is to... make the same mistake again! Right? "Sunguard!" she calls out to Zeke. "Rhar needs you!" And then... "Allioopay!" Zeke gets the same free ride to the front line that Gurr and Rhar did. Then Lysos steps around to the other side of her relatively safe rubble... "Krak!" She reappears, having just stomped her foot into the ground... but the power fizzles as it attempts to erupt beneath the gun toting construct. "Oh.. that's not great.."
GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1: (10)+20+1: 31 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1-5: (4)+20+1+-5: 20 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5+1: aliased to companionmelee+5+1: (20)+15+5+1: 41 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5+1: aliased to companionmelee+5+1: (7)+15+5+1: 28 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5+1-5: aliased to companionmelee+5+1-5: (12)+15+5+1+-5: 28 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+5+1: aliased to companionmelee+5+1: (15)+15+5+1: 36 GAME: Rhar rolls damage6+cavalier: aliased to 1d4+5+cavalier: (4)+5+14: 23 GAME: Rhar rolls 1d8+10+1d8+10: (5)+10+(1)+10: 26 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1+4: (6)+20+1+4: 31 GAME: Rhar rolls weapon6+1+4: (6)+20+1+4: 31 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+1+4+5: aliased to companionmelee+1+4+5: (20)+15+1+4+5: 45 GAME: Rhar rolls gurr bite+1+4+5: aliased to companionmelee+1+4+5: (1)+15+1+4+5: 26 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Alba rolls finesse+1+5: (17)+10+1+5: 33 GAME: Alba rolls 5d8: (25): 25 GAME: Rhar rolls 1d8+10: (1)+10: 11
Rhar reels after getting punched in the face. Well, technically it punched her big round stick... which THEN hit her in her face. Her stick is also a bit dented. Maybe its revenge? Karma? Her husband's bodyprint may still be imprinted in Tarien's temple's dome, afterall. Rhar shakes away the little wolfies flying about her vision. "Hit hard! Pack! Hit harder! Faster! Stronger!"
With this encouragement, she and Gurr lunge back in like the family pack they are. Rhar scratches while Gurr actual makes some dents and worries on the things leg something fierce. He doesn't like getting socked in the muzzle. He likes it even less when his adopted daughter gets socked.
Floating like the creepiest clownfish above the tentacles of Cor'lana's spell, Alba watches the melee below with anticipatory intensity. As the construct is jerked to and fro by the dog's brutal attacks, the Witch finds one perfect moment, and the acidic tongue curls, then spears out...
And lands directly between the juggernaut's eyes, conjured acid eating through metal alarmingly fast. Whatever she hit behind the shell seems to have been important, for the construct twitches sharply to one side, undamaged legs curling at odd angles...
And then it falls over, smoke pouring from the rents in its frame.
And suddenly, blessed silence. There's a ticking sound, and one might realize it's metal, cooling from being superheated by Aurala's fiery wrath. The crumpled golem actually really might look like a demon -- a balor, to be precise -- from certain angles. Certainly this one was crafted in an approximate image.
Cor'lana just barely manages to get Zeke's ring on her right hand when... It all goes silent from Alba and Rhar's strikes on the construct. "Everyone okay?" she asks, poking her head above the rubble she was using as cover. "That looked positively terrifying."
Aurala frowns a little, she looked like she was about to leap at it with teeth and claws, but she lets herself relax a bit as her rage fades. The wings are absorbed back into her back and her face and teeth return to normal as do her claws turn back into hands. The flames fade out as she glances around a bit. She nods her head, "Think that was the only thing around?"
Zeke comes out slowly from behind the pile of rubble that he'd been using as cover after being thrown some distance by magic that had... well his stomach was not in the best condition. He looks down at the construct and shakes his head, keeping his distance from it. "Do you wisssh to be healed?" He asks of the woman who had gotten right into the thick of things. "You and your companion?"
Rhar may still be a bit woozy as she watches Skullface Lady(?) swoop in to... tongue it to death?! She throws her arms up and howls a victory howl... and wobbles over backwards. Luckily, Gurr's back is big enough that she's still on it. Gurr is less convinced of its de-animation, and continues gnawing some. That or he could be trying to salvage some pieces for the workshop. Mines are where good metal is found, right?
Rhar looks to Zeke from her laid-back position, making him upside-down to her. "Gurr hurt! Fix Gurr first." This causes a pause in the gnawing with a snort and the large lupine turns his head to look pointedly at the Sunguard before jerking his muzzle in Rhar's direction.
"Heeeeeh," Alba chuckles -- once, drawn out across what one would consider a 'normal' spate of laughter. Lowering herself down to the creature's shell, she reorients herself in midair to scratch at the thing, her razored fingers gouging the metal shell with the ease of... well, Gurr.
A few moments of tooth-grinding noise later, and she leans back to check her work.
Crude approximatins of the party, gathered around a sphere with a frowny-face drawn on. Above that is what would probably be a shaggy canine of some sort, fangs bared. Below the image, slashed letters spell;
NEXT TIME BRING REAL FIENDS
"Hah! Take that, you steaming, cannon shooting, immune to my magic metal... guy!" Lysos says, having all but whooped when the construct finally falls. It's probably just as well that she didn't actually see Alba's finishing strike upon it.
She has enough nightmares.
Then she quiets down and looks around, suddenly considering that she never really took a look at the rest of the cavern. Surely if there were more they'd have jumped out already, right? "So.. that was the thing, right? And it's done shooting?"
"Seems like that was it, yeah," Cor'lana says, walking forward to join the group. She sighs a little in relief as she looks over at the construct's... heaping pile, and then she wiggles the ring off her finger, holding it out to Zeke. "I imagine you probably didn't want me to keep that," she says with a smile. "I am, after all, sworn only to one man, and while friends can and probably could wear rings from friends... Let's just say my fingers are an exclusive club?" She says it all in good humor, although one gets the impression it might be to help dispel the tension of the battle that just occurred.
Pothy snorts. "Shiny!" he says, and he holds out one of his claws. He'll take the shiny if Cor'lana doesn't want it.
The tunnel the golem came out of shows signs of tool markings -- this must have been where the miners initially unearthed it. There's nothing else there -- except a place, a pocket in the earth, where the golem had whiled away how many years in mindless silence. Before being roused.
Upon returning to the mining camp, the miners insist on hauling out the remains. Why? The foreman explains, as a wagon pulled by six mules comes slowly out of the cavern.
"Even after one o'these things has been burned and beat to hells, you can salvage it! Adamantine and whatnot don't grow on trees, no matter what elves'll tell you. We can use the proceeds to help pay off those lads' hospital bills, and the Guild as well."
The khazad pauses, looking at the scratched portion of the golem where Alba has defaced it, and then he grins. "'Cept this bit." He grabs a crowbar, and a couple of stout lads help lever the crude picture-work loose. "I think you earned this one."
-End