Abishai's Dragons of Icespire Peak

Having nearly ransacked the room with crates, Meira is glad when they head back out.  She is a little intrigued by the odd contraptions they came across.  At first, perhaps given their crab-like appearance, she thought they perhaps must be a pair of those creatures.  When they proved not to be she looked at them a bit closer. "What do you suppose these are for?" she asks. (INT Check to see if she can figure anything out: 18)

"An excellent idea." Alisande replies to Rasziel, watching as he and Zephyros do their best to lure the mimics out of hiding, albeit with less subtlety. "We can also use these to repeat our little trick with the arachnids back in Axeholm. They're quite flammable."

The noblewoman offers the vials of crimson liquid to Gareth, or else distributes them to anyone willing to take one. "Perhaps you can apply this mushroom accelerant to your ammunition and construct flaming arrows?"

Her interest is piqued, however, when Meira begins inspecting the strange, clawed contraption, peering into the enclosure of levers and pedals. "I should have been born a gnome." The wizard chuckles delightedly, already attempting to decipher how the ingenious little vehicle works.

Investigation: 19

The young purple-robed dark-haired man with the sinister-looking scar too is intrigued by the crab contraptions. "I'd venture to guess they are some sort of vehicles, perhaps it can go submerged too, or perhaps even dig and excavate with those claws." He ponders aloud. "I'm sure our hosts are willing to tell us though when we report back." He adds, seeming ready to move on and return once the eastern caves are fully cleared, although both he and his accountant ponders the use of the contraptions, and if they were safe to put into production and sell.

Gareth accepts the crimson vials from Alisande with thanks and then turns his attention to the little crab contraptions. The ranger is utterly delighted by them. 

"They do look like vehicles," he agrees. "I wonder what they use them for. Alas, I would never fit inside one of those." Gareth seems disappointed by the fact he would not be able to squeeze his half-elven frame into one of the crab contraptions and take it for a spin.

Meira wonders briefly if she could fit inside one of those things. But now is not the time to try. "We should probably keep moving. But good idea to ask the gnomes later what these are."

Zephyros admits they destroyed the pantry, "No monsters lurk here, but we may have been a bit zealous in our efforts." Holding his trident like a walking stick, the armored warrior back tracks and leads the group into the room with the gnomish contraptions. As the group inspects the inventions, Ironheart runs his trident along the walls and ceiling, making certain no monster lies in wait. When the group decides to move on, the veteran agrees, "Yes, let's continue with the mission."

The group continues moving south in the Gnomengarde cave system while hunting for these mysterious monsters. Along the main corridor the group sees another gnomish contraption attached to a railway that runs the length of the corridor. The contraption looks like a ballista, similar to the one Rasziel saw pointed at him from across the stream when they first arrived at Gnomengarde, only this one has four ballista pointed in all four directions with a central seat for an operator who has two foot pedals and a series of levers that are used to control the device.

Past this, the group continues into a large room with several barrels lined up along the north, east, and southern walls. One of the barrels is overturned and broken. A purple mushroom wine looks like it spilled out a long time ago and has since dried up across the floor, leaving it sticky and dirty. Curiously, the place where the barrel would have been had it still been upright, has a barrel in its location.

 Meira,

You do believe you could fit inside one of the barrel crab devices, just barely. It would be a tight squeeze and uncomfortable, but you'd be able to sit inside the device without closing the top hatch. You suspect these devices are used to transport heavy barrels or crates around Gnomengarde. Playing with the controls for a moment, you are confident you could pilot this contraption without much difficulty.

Alisande,

You watch as Meira inspects the barrel crab and quickly understand how the controls work on the machine. By manipulating the pedals the user can move the crab around, the levers control the arms and two gears are spun to open and close the clawed pincers.

 Map:

Meira continues following along after Zephyros but thinks that maybe after she ought to ask the gnomes about trying out one of their contraptions.  When they enter the room with the barrels, she points to the one that had fallen and broken. "Something's not quite right there. I'd presume the unbroken one must be one of those creatures."  She looks at Zephyros. "Should I try to hit it with an arrow from a bit of distance?" she asks. "Though just because we know of one that doesn't mean there aren't others." 

"Yes, I would venture to guess that the barrel that stands in the fallen one's place is another one of these annoying aberrations." Rasziel says quietly as he comes up behind the stylish bard, ready to incinerate it the moment it reveals itself.

The temptation of the barrel crab proves too irresistible for Lady Alisande. The wizard stows her broom among her belongings and cracks her knuckles. Summoning her inner gnome, she hops into the padded leather seat. At her considerable height, it's an unseemly fit but she seems determined to get the contraption up and running. She hums happily under her breath as levers and pedals are tested. "Wh-ho-hoaa..." Alisande breathes nervously as the crab lists to one side, but breaks into a broad grin as the articulated legs synchronise and begin clambering forward. "Well, I never! What a truly remarkable invention."

After a few moments of enthusiastic, frantic fiddling, she more or less becomes accustomed to the controls, and sends the metallic crab clicking and clacking after the rest of the party. Far too enamoured by the new vehicle under her command, the mage entirely misses the discussion about the conspicuous anomaly in the new chamber. 

Zephyros continues to lead the group through Gnomengarde, uninterested in the barrel crab contraptions. However, he does show great interest in the four-way ballista. "Could you imagine such a device installed on the back of a wagon? Marvelous!" he says as he takes a moment to admire the design. The veteran stops long enough for the group to catch up, including Alisande in her new whip. This causes Zephyros to raise an eyebrow as the vehicle clinks and clatters along the stone flooring. He laughs under his breath at the sight of the witch piloting the craft designed for someone much smaller than her.

Moving into the barrel storage room, Zephyros notes the overturned barrel and the logical place it had been before. "Hhm... yes, fire an arrow at that one there." He responds to Meira's question, then begins scanning the rest of the room for additional monsters at the rogue's mention of more.

Perception: 22

"Bit of a tight squeeze in there?" Gareth says as Alisande comes clanking up behind them in her crabmobile.

Still smiling with amusement, he turns his attention back to the room full of barrels. That one barrel standing in the place where the broken barrel originated is definitely suspicious. If it was one of the monsters, then more than one arrow would be necessary to slay the thing so the ranger raises his own bow and shoots the barrel too.

Longbow - 16 to hit for 9 piercing damage

Meira checks to see that the rest of the group is ready.  She then knock an arrow, takes careful aim, and fires at the suspicious barrel in the spot where the fallen one had come from.

(Shortbow Attack: 24, Damage: 8 piercing + 7 sneak attack)

Alisande leans lazily out of the hatch, one elbow draped against the rim, giving Zephyros and Gareth a look full of playful swagger. "Tight? Come on now. We were made for each other." She grins roguishly, the low-riding suspension on the crabmobile's articulated legs cause her to bob up and down in the driver's seat.

Despite her denials, the vehicle is clearly far too small for someone of her height, yet Alisande seems blissfully content to remain in the six-legged clanker as it totters into the chamber with the multi-directional ballista and unusual barrel. The mage blinks in surprise at the outbreak of hostilities, but with her new ride picking up steam, she charges forward with pincers snapping. 

Gareth and Meira fire their arrows in quick succession. Both arrows hit the barrel that immediately begins to flail pseudopods in all directions. However, not just one barrel, but two begin to move along with some of the floor, walls, and ceiling, which coalesce into one huge monster that begins to advance on the party.

Surprise Round:

Gareth and Meira fired arrows. Zephyros, Alisande, and Rasziel, what would you like to do?

Alisande,

Round one initiative:

• 19 Barrel Monster
• 17 Meira
• 15 Alisande
• 14 Zephyros
• 9 Gareth
• 6 Rasziel

Perhaps it's the spirit of creation that suffuses Gnomengarde, or the unstable energy radiating from the powerful, cast-off dweomer in her possession, but Alisande feels somehow fluid, somehow unshackled from her usual self. There is, of course, the logical, optimal choice... but also the nagging question that begs to be answered: What would happen if... ?

Her wand peeks over the lip of the cockpit, targeting not the imposter container but the row of barrels beyond. Fire blooms on the tip of her wand and, in the next moment, begins searing towards its mark...

ACTION: Fire Bolt. To hit: 13. Damage: 6.
MOVEMENT: 15ft directly towards the false barrel.

Zephyros throws his trident as the monster's location is confirmed. Then recalls the weapon to his hand and readies himself for the fight and suggests his allies back out of the room. "Get back! Lure the monster into the hallway!" A thought of the nearby ballista enters his mind and an idea forms in the warriors mind. 'If we can lure the monster into the hallway, we can use the ballista to our advantage.' 

• Attack: 12
• Damage: 9
• Stays close to the entrance, to be the last out of the room.

As the barrel monster barrels down towards them, Rasziel swiftly places his infernal hex on the aberration before unleashing a purplish beam of hellish crackling force towards it.

Eldritch Blast: 18 Force: 6 Necrotic: 1

He then follows the orders of the bearded veteran and backs down the hallway.
Meanwhile the invisible Azazel prudently stays in the safety of his masters purple robes.

Alisande's fire bolt flies past the monster, striking a barrel next to it, causing the barrel to break apart and spill out its contents of purple liquid all over the room. Zephyros throws his trident at the monster and just as quickly recalls it after it hits, causing some damage. Rasziel places a hex on the monster, and an interesting side effect happens. The back of Rasziel's robes breaks apart, and the sinister-looking man sprouts butterfly wings. [[OOC: Rasziel now has a flying speed of 30' for one hour.]] He sends a blast of energy at the monster, it hits like a wave and ripples through the creature. However, the monster presses forward.

The barrel monster lashes out at the barrel crab contraption that Alisande is piloting. Three pseudopod tendrals lash out, one targeting Alisande narrowly misses as the other two cause significant damage to the crab. One pincer is obliterated, and two legs on the opposite side break off under the assault.

That brings us to Meira and everyone else.

Map:

The bearded veteran throws his trident once more before backing out of the room, moving towards the ballista nearby. "Someone, jump on that ballista and get ready to fire it!" He calls out to his allies at the same time he recalls his trident to his hand.

Attack: 25 Damage: 9