Emerald Spire 16.0 - Master of Clockwork

The group went down the hall to the secret entrance they had discovered to the central clockwork room. They entered blithely after Marin mistakenly thought he heard nothing. A stinking cloud filled the air beyond the door, blinding and sickening everyone but Ismail. Through the fog, a robot could be heard approaching them. Marin dashed deeper into the shrouded room while Kormon was hit with a spell that overwhelmed him with fear, causing him to flee the room before he had even entered. Confused, Amara followed his lead. Marin exited the stinking cloud but immediately stepped into a trap of whirling blades. He could see a man that could only be Zdislav, whose face had been partially replaced with metal. Zdislav cursed the meddling thieves and threw another spell, stripping sight from Marin's eyes. Retreating blindly, Marin made his way back into the cloud and towards the door. Ismail covered their escape as another robot attacked them.
Dashing back, the group convened in the throne room around the spire. Ismail promised that he could restore Marin's sight but not without a spell he would have to prepare the next morning. Kormon had overcome his compelled fear but agreed that they needed to flee for the moment. Taking the spire, the group teleported to the third floor only to find it abandoned. Walking north through the door they had never used, they made their way past a statue. Marin had a bad feeling about the hall and a thorough investigation found a series of pressure plates around the statue's base. Standing a ways back, they triggered the plate but it seemed nothing happened. Ismail investigated the statue closer and found what seemed to be a gas dispenser hooked up to it: it likely triggered when they pressed the plate. With nothing else for it, they carried on.
They soon found themselves in a rough-hewn cavern where it seemed several rooms had been carved out of the natural rock, one of which they had just left. Off to the side, they could see a winding passageway and they knew this must be the tunnel that led to the surface. Deciding to forego the rest of the floor, the group headed out of the tunnel. Finding an abandoned guardpost built into the wall, the group piled in and decided to camp for the night. A few minutes after they sat down, everyone but Ismail was overcome with pleasant hallucinations: the effects of the gas they had undoubtedly inhaled earlier. Though a few stragglers ran past them throughout the night, the last of the Splinters to evacuate, they were otherwise unbothered.Category:Emerald Spire