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Keys from the Golden Vault Session 19
Starring
Varrow, level 5 gnome Thief Rogue
Stayzie Diamondz, level 5 orc Champion FighterElowen Fernwhisper, level 5 wood elf Circle of the Moon Druid
Chéri Powder, level 5 human Illusionist Wizard
Taveen, level 5 aasimar Warrior of Mercy Monk
The Turbine Heights district of Little Lockford was dangerous, but for different reasons. Instead of patrolling Clockworks, the entire area was malfunctioning, with steamy fog, flickering lights, and the power station tower spewing bolts of electricity.
Varrow tries to perceive a route that avoids the lighting strikes around the station, toward the infirmary. (he rolls double nat 1’s with disadvantage). The coast is clear!
The party does have the wherewithal to tie a rope around each other, so they stay together in the dense fog, while separating enough to hopefully avoid the lighting blasts.
Mostly, don’t be near the tall orc during a lighting storm!
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As the party takes a long northern route, Stayzie gets struck by an errant blast, though she dodges away from the bulk of the blast. In response, she takes off running, dragging everyone else behind her. They all manage to tuck their legs and even lift up in the air slightly (incredible DEX saves all around!).
Dragging her friends with her, the athletic orc makes it all the way to the infirmary. Except it’s actually the jail — Mayor Broadfoot had screwed up a minor detail on her map.
After getting struck by a lighting blast, Chéri cuts the rope and ducks inside the nearby infirmary, with Abbot Kavoda following. The storage rooms have already been looted, and Chéri casts disguise self to appear as a deep gnome, in case the looter is still here.
The other three check out the fortified jail. Several gnome guards lie dead on the ground, while the open door to the jail’s office areas has been blocked by sturdy wooden and metal debris and furniture. Varrow peers inside and sees a goblin and a bugbear calmly eating, dressed in the same military uniforms. Though they don’t appear to quite fit them.
Stayzie examines the bodies and pockets some gold, but the damaged power station’s lighting blasts still reaches them, and she takes a nasty 21-damage shock.
The blast startles the occupants in the jail and they call out. Varrow tries to convince them to let them in, but it’s Taveen who smooths things over with the promise of booze. Stayzie is literally smoking from the blast, and is about to charge through the barricade when several pieces are removed, and the entire thing slid to the side, making room for the party to enter.
They meet Slonk the goblin, and his bodyguard, Yuzzik the bugbear. They try to play off that they’re the last surviving guards, but Varrow uses Thieves Cant to explain that they know what’s going on here — and they’re simply opportunistic adventurers. With bad timing.
Slonk sees the party as his ticket out of here. They’ve been trapped since escaping the prison. The guards were killed by clockwork soldiers, and shortly after, the power station went haywire, blasting lighting around the district. Neither wants to get fried, and they’ve been living off the food in the kitchen area, barricading themselves in here.
Meanwhile, Chéri finishes the sweep of the infirmary, finding nobody except a trail the looters left. The trail leads right to the jail. After pocketing a healer’s kit, he rushes outside, expertly avoiding the lighting blasts, and tumbles into the jailhouse, startling Slonk and Yuzzik, especially as he’s disguised as a deep gnome (and Kavoda is with him!).
Chéri rolls an insight check to see if the can tell these guys aren’t enemies (but are growing very concerned). He succeeds, and turns off disguise self. Varrow helps play it off further, claiming Kavoda is also magically disguised, and Taveen starts fixing those drinks!
Slonk even hands Stayzie a potion of healing, though Chéri makes no mention of the looted medical supplies.
Kavoda is absolutely not having this, however, and starts chuffing about aiding these criminals. He claims they are dangers raiders who frequently attacked his people until they sent a party out to deal with them, killing most and capturing these two.
Varrow and Stayzie politely tell the priest to shut the F up. They have a point — they’re all in this dangerous situation together, and should work together to make it out alive. Kavoda isn’t happy, but accepts their ruling.
From there, the party devises a plan. They need to make it to the power station, and hopefully not get blasted to hell in the process. After deliberating, the group decides on building a lighting-attracting device (like a paper lantern, but with metal?), and having Kavoda release it from the second story, around the time they rush out. They’ll divide into two groups to diminish any AoE lightning blasts.
Stayzie convinces Slonk and Yuzzik to accompany her, and rush out first, taking the southern route. Chéri, Varrow, and Taveen are next, but the group immediately devolves into chaos, with Taveen not wanting to go with them, and Chéri getting lost and scared halfway.
Varrow steps up and calls to Chéri. Despite the danger, he goes back and helps the wizard. Stayzie rolls back-to-back nat 20’s on Athletics checks to rush all the way to the power station entrance, and then to break the door down, while Taveen struggles and stumbles by himself.
The improvised flying lightning attractor does its job, but gets destroyed, and just as the others reach the power station, Taveen gets struck by a (thankfully tiny) blast.
The inside of the station is blanketed by dense black fog crackling with electricity. Four large turbines are in the center, with a damaged clockwork hound jammed into one of them, causing all the smoke and mayhem.
Stayzie tries to attack it, but misses with both swings. She runs up to the platform and calls out that she found the panel with buttons, but it’s written in gnomish. Just being in the electrical fog causes damage, as well.
Taveen steps in next, and using his monk dexterity (and triple attack!), he’s able to pry the clockwork defender from the turbines and drag it outside.
Immediately the electrical fog begins to dissipate, and the lighting blasts from the tower subside as the turbine turns fully once more.
Though damaged, the clockwork defender is still active, and clamps onto Taveen, though he’s able to deflect its damage. Varrow sinks a dagger into it, while Chéri keeps his distance, remember they explode when destroyed.
Yuzzik tries to grab it and fails, leaving Stayze to rush back outside, rip it off Taveen (ow), then yeet the nearly-destroyed creature into the side of a building, exploding it for good.
With the power station functioning again, the party can easily get Kavoda to translate the panel and operate the bridges, leading the way toward the Security Center in the Overlook district, and a possible confrontation with the Overseer.
Live post-session discussion:
Next session: The Overlook!
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