Session 19: The Dwemer Ruins of Aldunz

General Summary

Our party found themselves in the immediate aftermath of the assault on the Birdhouse by the Khulari Vampires. Members of the party like Peen-Ja were seriously hurt during the attack, while others spent a few moments to catch their breath and assess the situation. As townsfolk were filtering out of the Birdhouse, the party caught sight of two of their travelling companions, Aethrondil, and Knight Sister Solaine, who had finally arrived in Skaven after splitting ways after the events in Morose.   Aethrondil and Solaine would offer some intel to the party. They had been conducting research throughout the day and had learned that the Kindman Family Farm was more than just a Skav Bat Farm. They had learned that the Dwemer ruin found within the caves of the Kindman Farm was no ordinary settlement. This particular ruin was the remains of a powerful geothermal power plant that the Rourken Dwemer had constructed to power main of their settlements during their glory days. In wake of the Redgaurd Conquests of Hammerfell, the ruin was used as a prison by the Ash'abah to seal away a large majority of a clan of powerful vampires, the Khulari, utilizing the immense power generated by the geothermal energies to power the enchantment.
With this knowledge, and knowledge of the events at the Birdhouse that evening, the party came to the conclusion that the Vampires who attacked the Birdhouse, were attempting to use the Bloodstone Diadem to release their kin. Havem and Steve would lead the way to the Kindman Farm, following their Primal Marks and the mark placed upon the lead Vampiress by Steve's Marked for Death Dragon Shout. The party was joined by their friend Tobogo, who was still strong and healthy enough to continue to assist the party. Aethrondil also shared that it was Cleetus' ancestors who had led the mission to seal the Khulari away, potentially explaining why there was potentially so much invested interest in the seizure of his lands by the Commander. The scenes of the city were that of chaos and anarchy. Vampires could be seen engaged with Knights of the Hawk and Gentleman in the streets, doing whatever they could to protect the civilian population from becoming vampire food.
The party arrived at the Kindman Farm to a scene of destruction. The large gates that blocked the main road in had been completely blown apart. Farm and excavation equipment lay in disarray, with workers and labourers lying dead in the open. A single vampire was spotted by the party feeding on a worker near the entrance to the cave. The party attempted to sneak up on the beast, however as they got close, Jonus stepped on a twig and alerted the vampire of their pressence, who would snarl at them from afar before dashing back into the darkness of the caves.
Upon entering the caves themself, the party found themselves in a dank, and bat shit infested cave. On the far side of the cave itself, they would notice a large slab of rock had been cut out of the wall, revealing an illuminated pathway deeper into the ruin. As the party traversed through the winding caves, Havem would scout out a Spider Nest that the party would skillfully avoid. Further into the cave, they came upon another Spider Nest, only to find that they had all been slain by something quite recently.
Passing through this nest, the party came into a small storage room. On the far side of this room was a long hallway that opened into a massive circular shaped chamber with various bronze and metal piping extending throughout the gigantic room. In the room itself was a couple Dwemer Spheres engaged with two vampires. Solaine, Tobogo, and Jonus would attempt to sneak up behind the Vampires and engage them from the rear, while Aethrondil came upon a friendly small orb shaped construct, a Dwemer Sentry, who appeared to implore them for help in clearing out their home. Aethrondil noticed that the Sentry appeared to understand Altmeri, and thus tried to communicate their intentions as best as they could.
A fight would break out between the two vampires, the sphere and the party. The fight was not very long, and ended with the Vampires and Spheres destroyed. Jonus would take some time to inspect the large control panel on the far side of the room, banging away at some of the contraptions after Aethrondil was able to deduce that the panel appears to control not just some of the plants mechanical functions, but also many of the constructs as well. Jonus attempted to disarm a number of the constructs, only to release 5 of them from their chambers in a hallway to the south. Banging away some more, Jonus believed he had disarmed the balls in the hallway. The party would nervously attempt to pass by them and after a bunch of quick maneuvers of pipes, much of the party would get to the other side of the disarmed constructs. However. On the opposite side of that hallway, a massive room filled with large tanks could be seen on the far side. Gigantic turbines could be seen spinning the boiling hot water on all sides of the party. Even more concerning was the Dwemer Centurion that had begun to disconnect itself from its stand in the centre of the pathway between the turbine tanks.
Jonus would attempt to get to the other side of the Centurion and draw its fire. Abley sneaking behind it, he was able to dash through its legs and focus fire on the construct. The Centurion would try to give chase, and Jonus would barrel around the corner to see a massive Generator covered in magical runes. The Vampiress along with 2 vampires and 2 gargoyles would see him immediatly and Gargoyles would give chase from the other direction. Jonus would find himself caught between 2 Rocks (Gargoyles) and a Hard Place (1 Dwemer Centurion). Luckily, he was able to evade the Centurion by dashing under its legs once more, and the Centurion would recieve the bulk of the Gargoyle attacks. A great battle would ensue, with Peen-Ja and Jonus taking a steam blast from the Centurion. After the Gargoyles were slain, Steve would utilize his Whirlwind Sprint Dragon Shout and his Step of the Wind to clear the massive distance between himself and the Vampiress who appeared to be getting close to finishing her ritual to attune to the crown. On her turn, she would activate the power of the Bloodstone Diadem with gleeful laughter and attempt to shift into a swarm of bats to escape. Steve would say "Fuck that" and in a valiant move on his turn, would stun her before she could shift and after having been hasted by Aethrondil, unleashed a massive barrage of attacks that would ultimately slay the Vampire who had caused so much trouble is such little time.
The fight would end with a large rumble deep below them. The enchantments that were attached to the massive geothermal generator had been destoyed and the party had only a moment to catch their breath before traversing deeper still into the ruin to determine the outcome of the climactic battle.

Report Date

17 Nov 2022

Primary Location

Skaven

Related Characters

• Knight Sister Solaine Duraria
• Tobogo Akunda