Someshot 2

synopsis
== Summary ==
After taking out the lizard-bears that form when the approach the barrier to the shard, the group prepares to enter. Rixy connects herself to her allies psychically, allowing them to communicate with each other telepathically in the event that they become separated. Drosera collects some preliminary samples of the flora in the area. Their preparations complete, the hired adventurers enter, beginning their task of ensuring the safety of the researches who will follow once they have returned. 
Inside is a humid jungle, bright spiders and large lizards in the trees around them. Drosera begins collecting more samples, checking along the way for any plants that are naturally magical but finding none. Mira forages somewhat, finding nothing that looks to be immediately poisonous. Ward casts Speak with Animals, finding a six-legged sloth which warns him about large lizards, capable of jumping fast but not flying, which will likely attack them. They used to live in the upper canopy, but the sky changed at some point back, causing a lot of problems for the birds and such. It tells Ward about the Hole, a hole in the middle of this section of the jungle that was dug up by green humanoids. They had been there for some time, arriving before the sky changed. 
They move off in search of the described hole. They find it without much difficulty, hearing the sound of mining equipment as they draw near, the jungle simply stopping as they reach its borders. Drosera casts Speak with Plants in an attempt to find out more about what has been going on. Apparently they arrived some time ago and had been taking the bounty of the earth. The trees explain that they had been there for ten rings and that they were only aware of the one group and the one hole. Rixy, during this conversation, sneaked forward to look at the mining. The hole is a quarry being mined by green metallic insectoid robots, their pieces held together with arcs of plasma. After a brief debate about what they should do, they decide to attempt to speak to the miners before consulting with the researchers. Rixy moves her psychic links around so she can speak with the robot she thinks is in charge; Ward casts Comprehend Languages. They approach, and the workers are immediately hostile. The guy Rixy speaks with accuses them of being enslavers of Memnark and calls the workers to engage in combat. 
The party flees, returning to the researchers' encampment at the edge of the shard. They explain the situation to Elliard, explaining that not all of the robots seemed immediately hostile, but some were. Elliard spends the night contemplating whether to attempt to once again approach the robots diplomatically, or whether they should do something else. They set double watches and settle down for the night. It is not long after sunset that they are alerted to the sound of buzzing. Bright golden, mechanical wasps approach the camp. They attack, attempting to injure and kidnap the researchers. The researchers are mostly protected, though one is killed over the course of the fight. Afterwards, as they are picking up the camp, the realize that Salasse is missing, having disappeared at some point during the fight, presumably taken by one of the wasps when they weren't looking. They decide to send the researches back toward the path in hopes of hiding them from a second wave of wasps. Elliard joins the group and reenters the shard. Unknown to the party, Elliard shoots off a flare before following along. 
== NPCs ==
=== Returning ===
* Elliard Methuss
=== Mentioned ===
* Salassae