Session One Hundred and Sixty Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 160, November 14 2023

Introduction

We continue at 4:10AM on the 16th of Anurilden (00.000.08.14 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party having explored their immediate surroundings within the upper reaches of the dwarven ruin of Gharaz'Khel. With some partial information from Glompus's conversation with more of the twisted rat creatures like those from the barn and the various devices in the Reservoir Overseers office, the group hypothesizes that the generator somewhere beneath them went haywire in the last days of the Ancient Dwarven Empire and that there may be some environmental hazards if they continue to explore. Will they do so anyway and attempt to the emergency shutdown that obviously never happened? Who is the Master of Revels and his Enemy with Keys that No Longer Work? Is the party trapped? Find out next time; or not.

We debate how to proceed. Thorfus argues for investigating and finding a way out.

Thorfus suggest the hallway to the North.

Kauri suggest the door to the West.

Druul grows some strange spiky things from the desk of the overseer and picks them.

Velkin hears nothing and opens it with a gold key. 20 x 20 room with lockers and another door to the West. The lockers are like in the other room.

4 dwarven sized suits with breathing apparatus and two devices that makes a beeping noise. The suits are not moving and do not look full.

Velkin looks into one and it looks empty. He pulls it out and shakes it.

Glompus could wear his armor inside a suit, but Thorfus could not. Armor could be worn over the suit. There is an indicator on the tank and all 4 in this locker have full tanks.

The helmet and breathing apparatus will work for anyone.

Thorfus grabs a suit and one of the devices and goes into the overseer's office to change. He straps the helmet to his belt.

Grab a suit for Glompus and encourage him to put it on. Glompus puts it on and carries the helmet.

16 Suits in all and none of them poke back and 8 devices. No stun sticks in here.

We can use the helmets and tanks separate from the suit.

Kauri looks and the suit does still appear to block transpatial energy like a body normally would.

Kauri asks if Prixithalma could take the shape of a smaller creature. Yes, she can.

Velkin makes a big deal of her avoiding dwarf shape.

Prix asks Kauri if he was thinking of a different shape that would be more helpful here.

Kauri suggested she might need a suit to protect her from transpatial energy.

She isn't sure she is affected, but just in case.

Prix grabs a suit and carries the helmet for now.

Kauri puts on a helmet and looks around and he can still see the glow everywhere.

We head down the hallway to the North.

40 feet down is a door with a viewport - it is locked, and another door 20 feet past it.

Velkin uses the gold key to unlock the door. Velkin asks if a platinum key will lock it such that lower level keys can't open it, but if not a particular secure area, any key of the minimum level would work, as explained by Prix.

Velkin listens and doesn't hear anything, nor do we see anything. The other door is also locked.

Velkin hits the button to open it and there is a delay and the window is darkened. Some sort of mist has dissipated. The mist did not glow for Kauri.

The other door has a portal, with ten feet of hallway that opens into a very large room with a small building with a door on it in the middle of the room. There is a higher ceiling than the hallway. And some sort of stalagmite on top of the hut in the room. Kauri sees that the whole place is glowing like the rest of the place, and can't tell if it's a higher concentration of energy.

Thorfus has a bad feeling about the cone on top of the hut.

Prixithalma takes a look as well and says, I don't know.... It looks like a smaller room inside a bigger room. That thing on top looks more organic.

There are little bumps on it, and Thorfus uses his spyglass to get a closer look. Velkin tries to.

It is 50/50 if it is fleshy or actually stone. Some of the lumps seem to be some kind of growth or tentacles maybe. Whatever they are, they seem to be lying inert. We can make out a couple of them, but there may be more on the other side.

Next to the door of the small room is a button next to it. It isn't like the door buttons, it is glowing with a neutral white not the green or the red.

Velkin tests the device by pointing at himself and Kauri where it beeps faster than pointed at anyone or anything else.

Velkin unlocks the inner door.

Kauri uses a spyglass to watch the thing on the hut while Velkin shadowsteps with the device to test the other side.

Velkin shadow steps into a shadow next to the door in the ten foot hallway leading to the big room. Stays still trying to be stealthy and listens. There are no klaxons or other noises and nothing from the hut or the thing above it. Just a background hum.

Hallway to the West with sign above in ancient dwarven, "Reservoir Number 2." There is a lot of empty space in this room, it is about 50x50 with 10 foot square structure in the middle, and there is a 30 foot ceiling.

Off to the corners is some sort of furniture, but Velkin can't quite make out what they are. They look like platforms on wheels with handles on them but like minecarts, but no sides just flat pallets with wheels.

Velkin pulls the trigger on the geiger counter and it has normal beeps.

Kauri doesn't see anything out of the ordinary using the spyglass. The thing doesn't react at all.

Kauri encourages Velkin to go check out the hallway to the West and see if there are any doors or passages he can see.

Velkin shadowsteps into the hallway and tries to hide in the shadow.

It is a short 10 foot section of hallway with a door and a panel with a red light, and it has a window. His gold key unlocks the door. 20 foot section with a door also closed and locked. The hallway just continues.

There is a hallway to the North with a sign, Reservoir number 1 and leading back to the party is a sign Reservoir Number 3.

Velkin shadowsteps to the North hallway and finds another 10 foot section with a locked door with a window with a door 20 feet away with another window. More wheeled pallets with a pushbar.

Velkin offers up the blood to power a lightning bolt to zap the roper. Druul and Peronell will fire arrows and Thorfus will operate the door.

The door behind us closes and the door in front of us opens and the stuff that whooshed in settles. The air in this room is fresher than elsewhere.

An enormous eye with a mouth below it opens.

Druul hits with a poisoned bolt and Peronelle hits.

The lightning bolt hits and bounces and the thing explodes.

Thorfus turns to Kauri and smiles and says, "I know I liked you."

Velkin gives blood to heal Thorfus, and to do neutralize poison on Kauri and he feels much better.

Velkin goes across the room and uses the scepter and also feels much better.

We move in to investigate the hut in the room.

Kauri checks for traps and doesn't seem to detect them.

Velkin goes to the roof of the hut to see if there is anything.

He finds 5 platinum pieces. There is what appears to be a panel that can be opened.

Kauri pushes the white button on the door of the hut.

Inside is an empty 10x10 room is a panel with buttons. It is a lift.

• • The Elevator entries are:**

• Reservoir Control
• Main Residences
• Labs and Research
• Maintenance Access
• Reactor Core Control
• Reactor Core Access

We cycle the doors to get all the others into the room with the lift.

Thorfus, Renthark, and Lambertus go down to the Residences to ensure things are safe to bring down everyone.

It takes a couple minutes to go.

There is a room very similar to the room above. 20 x 20 room with a 20 foot hallway. Sign reads "Block C." Thorfus uses the geiger counter and it starts beeping fast. We step back and go back to Reservoir Control.

Thorfus explains the geiger counter was beeping like crazy.

We do Labs and Research next. (GP is a problem, if empty no issue.)

Thorfus says if they don't see anything for ten minutes, press the button.

It goes for about 6 minutes and the door opens, while Thorfus is holding the geiger counter, we see a group of 5 shapes in a 20 x 20 room with a 10 foot hallway with a closed door. 5 dwarf sized hunched creatures with tails and the eyes are glowy. The geiger counter is beeping normally.

They are monkey like in appearance. They claws a tail that appears prehensile, glowy eyes, with whitish gray fur.

Thorfus says in ancient dwarven, "We come in peace."

Three of them that are a bit smaller climb onto the backs of the other two and they go scampering off to the East, our left looking out the door. On all fours with tails held up behind them.

We hear a door open off in that direction.

Above passage to South "Accelerator." It is red.

Thorfus peeks to the left and an open doorway in ten feet with passage beyond. Labeled "Animal Experimentation."

Thorfus peeks to the right, just a wall.

We step out and the North wall also does not have any passages.

Green light and steady clicking off to the East for Animal Experimentation.

There are droppings scattered throughout the room.

Velkin, Kauri, Prix, and Felix come down next, leaving Druul, Peronell, Glompus, and Snuffles.

20 feet past door is a door with a red light and a window like opening to the South between the doors. The creatures would easily have climbed into it. No window in the door.

We hear the ding and the doors open and Velkin, Kauri, Prix, and Felix see the passage to the South and pellets all over the floor. Looking to the East they see Thorfus, Renthark, and Lambertus.

Velkin pushes the button to send the elevator up.

Druul, Peronell, Glompus, and Snuffles come down.

While waiting for the elevator, Thorfus explains in low tones what we have seen.

Velkin listens. In the distance he can hear some sort of hooting and slapping noises that is echoing off to the East.

There is a ding and the others join us.