35 - Assault on the Breathforge
Previous session: 34 - Robots & Capitalism
As we wake up, we notice that the rebels are finishing to prepare to walk to the town. We confirm that we will target the Breathforge first.
They confirm they will start with the Shipyard, then the Scrapwork zone, and then the Breathforge, meaning we should reconvene at the Scrapwork if it goes to plan.
Once the production elements are seized, the Pinnacle will be the last part, and it will force the Area Director to discuss and give what they want.
We start to travel to the town, and because we came with the horses, we will arrive a couple of hours before the main forces.
During the travel, Nesvalyn mentions he noticed that casting without paying makes you a priority target, and we could use that at our advantage.
Along that, Azzy starts to talk about our right to intervene in other people business, and especially the giants, due the morality about killing people, as it seems to vary easily and is aimed mostly towards Nesvalyn and Persy. It is cut down as the duo deems it's not the proper moment to talk about it, but proposes to talk about it next time we're on the SpellJammer.
Gunfight at the Ombar Springs...
After a few hours, we arrive back in town and give back the mech horses, and we start to apply the plan by heading to the Breathforge.
[Perception - Pass ✔] Balnorin notices there's nobody out compared to yesterday. Senri notices a purplish dot on Balnorin's forehead.
Senri shouts "Move!"
[DEX Save] We were all targeted and got shot (Balnorin takes 20 dmg, Senri takes 30 dmg), the rest of us managed to get out of the way before getting hit, but we are pinned down to our location.
We hear an automated message broadcasting in the area:
You have been infracted with [UNAUTHORIZED SPELLCASTING].
Please, be prepared to die.
Thank you for choosing Astracom.
As we're sure the ambush is done, we quickly ask why the guns explode, and Azzy shares what they recalled during the combat, aka their gun will self destruct in a big boom.
Azzy oozes their way to Persy, mentions that the guns explode to Persy, and gets back to share his location to the group.
Balnorin morphs out of the wall, rejoin and casts [Enhance Ability (STR)] to help dig up.
While we're extracting Persy, we hear a raid alarm, then an explosion coming from the ship yard, meaning that the Rebels started the assault.
We manage to get Persy out of the building after half an hour, relatively safe, and we take a while to rest a bit and discuss about what we just encountered.
Persy mentions that they were like Azzy, revealing a bit more about their past, and a suggestion that their purpose is to kill people. Azzy shares more about themselves and their resistances for the future encounters, but refuses to fight other Plasmoids in the future.
While we recover, Balnorin casts [Prayer of Healing] to help with the injuries.
Once it's done, we resume our march towards the Breathforge.
The Breathforge...
We notice that many of the off-worlders are fleeing to the docks, and we don't see many workers on the way.
We finally reach the lift, descending into this dark pit, yet within a dim area.
The Breathforge is a giant dome, displaying some complicated gearwork, with four towers around. It's like they open to this wide disc.
It takes 10 minutes to reach the door, which is seal shut.
We can see the progress of the rebels from a mile away.
[Investigation - Pass ✔] Nesvalyn finds an exhaust vent which can be an entry point.
Persy analyses the smoke and smells really chemically, which makes him tingles a lot.
Persy open the grid with the tools, and suggests to go in as a scout.
Nesvalyn forms a mental link ([Psychic Whispers]) within the whole group for 6 hours, which makes the group react to this new ability.
Persy gets inside then proceeds into a dark catwalk, leading to a drop. Once at the other side, it takes around 20 minutes to cross.
Senri inhales some of this gaz, and it gives her a small euphoria bump. Same for Balnorin, which is considered safe enough to all go in.[1]
Inside the forge...
Azzy sneaks down until they reach the floor of the forge, and they hear the following voice
The neon blue smoke starts swirling and swirling, until a figure raises and screams:
Which makes Azzy unafraid, starts to mention how cool it is, and how the Magic Man worked on it for a while. He then dismisses the smoke, revealing it's a regular looking person, ghostly blue looking humanoid, looking like some kind of genie.
All the lights of the catwalk lit up towards the position of Azzy and the Magic Man, making it easier to regroup the party.
We all make our way to the figure and regroup.
The Magic Man snaps his fingers, and all the lights becomes green. The floor is a bunch of different stations, revealing some kind of an assembly line. Far away from us, stands a blue glowing crystal. And behind that is a giant Warforged, matching the size of the Giants outside.
He goes closer to Persy, then licks his forehead.
We notice that Balnorin is getting closer to the crystal. We try to call him but he doesn't react. Azzy and Nesvalyn goes to stop him.
Then the Magic Man teleports near Balnorin.
He raises protections around the Soul crystal.
He grows and all the lights turn into a bright red. He then possess the giant Warforged, which takes life and starts to attack us.
After Senri gives the final hit, the Magic Man starts to fade away, letting go an agonising "you... bitch...".
Next session: 36 - New revolutions, old acquittances
- And the players did definitively not had a gun in their face to progress after this cool fluff detail, which is easy to make the players paranoid. ↩︎