Session 21 Dear Automata
“FUCK OFF!”
Gomruss to Dinkum.
Outraged by the interruption of a poignant moment, Gomruss almost bursts Dinkum’s eardrums. Zephan’s steel defender explains there is something wrong with the warforged workers. The party follow Dinkum to the foundry floor and watch the goblin foreman fly across the room and crash into the smelter. Eight warforged detach from their terminals and begin to harass the employees. Two large, fire-resistant warforged working the smelter approach the party brandishing white hot blades. Panicked, Blythe looses an explosive arrow at the nearest large construct, knocking it back ten feet!
Arti makes a break for the warforged terminals, thinking it might be possible to shut down the workers remotely. Firien stands stalwart between the warforged and the fleeing employees. With a burst of radiant magic, tiny golden dragons begin to flit around them, slowing the constructs’ advance and searing their wooden components. With a mote of graviturgy, Gomruss lifts a globule of molten resonite from the smelter and catapults it into the nearest warforged. Though it seems to weather the damage, the resonite begins to cool, slowing the construct.
Eureka peppers the warforged with magic stones, attempting to draw their attention. One warforged takes the opportunity to attack Arti but stays its blade at the last moment. Zephan, Guy and Bantonio protect Arti’s flank as they plug into the first terminal. Thinking fast, Arti commands the nearest warforged to stand down. To their surprise, the warforged complies and its eyes turn from red to blue. Unsure how their command worked, Arti turns to his friends for advice.
“Maybe you can copy and paste the last command?”
“You know how to hack a warforged?”
“Oh no, I just spoke with the unearned confidence of a white man.”
Bantonio flirts with Zephan.
The first fire-resistant warforged launches two white hot javelins that puncture Blythe’s armour. Despite this, Blythe’s poise does not falter. She looses a shocking arrow and pierces the large construct’s neck, stunning it. The second attempts to crush the dazed goblin beneath its foot. Fortunately, Droop rolls out of the way in time. While Firien covers Droop’s escape, Gomruss places a chip of mica on his tongue and bellows! Five warforged are caught in the shattering sphere, splintering their inorganic armour. One clatters to the ground, deactivated. Guy seizes the opportunity to try his new hand cannon, blasting the dazed constructs with shrapnel.
Arti discovers the correct command and shares it with the friendly warforged. The two begin plugging into individual terminals and one by one the connected warforged stand down. The remaining three warforged workers climb onto the smelter and begin attacking the crucible. Molten resonite begins to leak from the cracks. Sensing danger, Eureka takes the brass satchel from her back and casts it to the floor. It begins to assemble itself into a force ballista! The turret buffets the warforged with shock waves but they do not relent.
Firien’s teeth sparkle as they cast shatter, destroying one warforged and severely damaging the other two. Gomruss raises his claw. The shattered warforged components rise and form a hand that restrains and crushes its twin. Sparks fly from the construct’s resonance engine as its eyes turn blue. Bantonio attaches his whip to a pipe in the ceiling and swings his way up to the crucible, kicking the last warforged worker from the platform. Its components explode across the foundry floor. Bantonio fans himself, feeling the heat from the smelter. Zephan jumps up to mend the crucible.
“Phew, it just got very hot in here.”
“You’re telling me.”
Bantonio flirts with Zephan again.
With renewed confidence, Guy attempts to make a sneak attack on the fire-resistant warforged chasing Blythe. Unfortunately, the blast of his weapon only seems to anger the large construct. Spotting Guy in danger, Firien summons all their strength. A golden dragon-shaped bolt erupts from their fingers and pierces the construct through its heart! The crash echoes throughout the foundry floor. Droop delivers a health potion to Blythe before he and Gomruss dash into reception. The goblin snatches the loudspeaker from the receptionist and hands it to Gomruss.
“Put this place on lock-DOOOWWWN!”
Who gave Gomruss a loudspeaker?
When Arti further examines the terminal they are almost overwhelmed. Their eyes flicker red as a malicious command enters their mind; destroy the crucible. Fortunately, Arti’s unique nature allows them to block the sabotage. It seems this command was entered at terminals 1-8 on the fifth floor, and terminals 1 and 2 on the second floor. Bantonio asks Dinkum to corral the employees as one of them might be the saboteur. Dinkum delivers the register to Eureka. According to her, the saboteur would have had to enter the commands within the last four-hour shift, between the warforged’s charging cycle. Arti and Firien question the motive for the sabotage.
“Are you working on any big projects at the moment?”
“We manufacture resonance engines for everything from street lighting to mining equipment.”
Arti to Eureka.
Arti and Firien share a glance. Perhaps the attack had something to do with the miners’ protests? The pair learn that this particular refinery is owned by the Ingenium Inventors Association who in turn buy most of their resonite from the Resonant Mines and the Garnetgrinder Clan. The only rival supplier of resonite Eureka can think of is the Micantrum Mining Consortium. With everyone gathered in reception, Blythe scrutinises her suspects. While Bantonio catches up with Droop, Gomruss requests Zephan create several items using the resonite shard he took from Tenebrae’s Refuge.