Session 8.0 Marduk Report

General Summary

The party flees into the jungle to hide from the dragon after it's unceremonious polymorphing into a dog then being shoved into a well. The build a camouflaged camp and sleep rough to hide from the dragon. It arrives in the middle of the night and nearly stumbles across them.   The party decides to tell C'hinzza why they are journeying into the jungle. She had determined they are not hunters, as most of the aristocrats that she had guided would have fled back to civilization rather than hide in the jungle with a dragon on the loose. This reminds her of a ancient metal tower she knows of in the general direction they were going before they visited the village.   The party decides to investigate the tower and find no useful information. but it is tall enough that Fassae can spot a clearing far in the distance in a valley far off. It coincides with a description of the valley in Mollie's book. A book she almost looses in a gust of wind at the top of the tower.   They camp for the night and set out the next day toward the valley. They find the turned up ground and hacked bushes that might have been the path their enemy numeriamancer Claus Von Staubbs must have took to bring the artifact back from Marduk. They follow the path to a clearing that has two caves in the side of a hill. One with huge synth doors the other a smaller cave. Exploring the smaller cave they find that there was a second entrance filled in. The doors were attempted to be opened but looks abandoned.   The party splits up and searches for other entry points and finds a set of vents pipes on top of the hill. They decide to set up camp here and set ropes to enter the complex here. Mollie enters first and finds herself stuck in small chamber. Khamen follows down next and busts open a locked door. Fassea follows down next. Udo leaves last and tells Nadir and 3 Knot to come look for them in 48 hours, and Udo will level chalk marks by the doors they have gone through and the paths they take.   Entering the first chamber is come kind of environmental control room they can't figure out but the air is clean and clear. It is dark and dry. the next room is some kind of maintenance room with small automatons in wall mounted cradles. They seem inactive. Then from one of the empty cradles comes a strange mechanical orb that beeps and boops and blinks lights. It immediately is fascinated with Fassae, and follows her around. It seems to respond in some ways to questions, in other ways it does not seem to be communicating. The enter a large chamber with several doors and find the area already picked over. Claus must have been here. The chamber connects to an even bigger cavern like area they can't see the ends of. They believe it leads back to the doors they saw outside.   They find a double door that is locked. Khamen using his strength is able to open the doors by pushing them apart. Upon entering the corridor beyond the doors they are set upon by two mechanical constructs, that attack them. Their weapons seem to be designed to incapacitate. They are rapidly dispatched by Khamen and Udo. Udo using a blanket to blind one and Mollie blasting another with a fire bolt. They notice a door that leads to stairs leading down.   The party explores following the (Cuddit) to a control room. An ancient message is still playing on a huge screen. Mollie finds a few working stations and is able to get it working. all of the messages on the screens are in the Lizardfolk tongue. They also refer to themselves as the SOKI Corporation. They are able to get the emergency lighting back on and that gives a dim light around the complex.   They continue to follow the (Cuddit) to an office where they find a skeleton that is missing it's head and holding a cypher. They find other evidence that this must have been the director of this facility. and for some reason he killed himself.   They continue around the corridor leading back to the double doors there are other doors they choose to pass. They decide to explore further and pick the lock on the stair doors. They prepare to descend further into the Marduk Complex.