Emerald Spire 30.0 - Gratitude

Everyone spent time resting, looking over the magic items they had claimed from the drakes' treasure and, in Amara's case, getting a massage and a few tasty meals. The recliners had been enchanted so that they allowed people to rest deeply, getting a night's rest in a portion of the time, so it wasn't too long before everyone was feeling refreshed. Partway through the night, Vibol asked the staff to turn down the temperature of the pool and to make the water clear so that he could move Jaquarl there to finish his rest. 
After everyone woke, excepting Amara and Jaquarl, Marin and Kormon discussed with Host what they would need to do to fix the problems at the spa. According to him, this floor served two purposes: in the front, it was a relaxation room for guests of the Magelord while in the back, it was a processing facility where waste was converted into new machines. Unfortunately, somewhere over the years, the less-than-sentient robots in control of the processing facility decided that the spa itself was no longer pertinent and needed to be dismantled for spare resources. The spa staff understandably did not wish to be reconstituted and had sealed themselves off from the other side. Host warned of a deadly-hot furnace, an armoury, a room designed for the deconstruction of organic materials, and rogue robots called reclaimers that would attempt to dismantle whatever they came across. He promised, however, that if he was brought to the fabrication facility and plugged into the main terminal, he could rewrite the faulty programming and ensure the safety of his spa and the visitors there. Kormon and Marin agreed: if nothing else, they needed to get to the next set of stairs back there and it would only benefit everybody if the crazed robots were turned off. Tying the disembodied Host up in a backpack-like sling, Marin shouldered the head before the pair of them went to wake up Amara so they could go.
When they stepped back into the spa, they could see Ismail once more playing cards with his insects, along with the masseuse and aesthetician. Amara was still asleep but Vibol was standing next to Jaquarl who had apparently just sat up. His back was turned to them so he had not seen them enter. Marin, as a joke, snuck up behind the angel and whispered loudly that he was owed; Jaquarl started badly at the shock but turned and bowed his head, gravely agreeing with the man. Neither Kormon nor Marin expected this sort of reaction and fuddled at their response when Jaquarl asked how he could possibly repay them. There was nothing that they could think of that they wanted from him and eventually Marin mumbled that perhaps he could tag along until something came up. When asked what he knew about the spire, he explained that it was a relic that overpowered enchantment and conjuration spells, allowing for extremely stable portals and constructs to be built; his mistress wanted it to build a permanent portal from her domain to Materia, though he quietly opposed the idea. Unfortunately, it seemed that his hands were tied. He agreed to follow them until his debt was repaid and he slunk back under the water's surface to prepare spells. Kormon woke Amara up suddenly and urged her to prepare to go. 
With everyone rested and prepared, they were led into the kitchens by the waiter, who pointed them towards a barricaded door. Pulling away the furniture and debris that held back the door, the robots declared that they would replace it after the adventurers had left until they returned. 
Standing in the hallway beyond, Host couldn't quite remember which way to go. Picking a door, they found themselves in a small room with a large pool filled with a clear, thick liquid; at the bottom, a silvery substance churned softly. The host explained that this was where inorganic material was salvaged, melted down by the pool. Marin spotted something solid in the liquid and Host added that sometimes powerful magic resisted the process. Finding that the pool had no effect on bare skin, Marin stripped naked and jumped in, finding a ring, a bead and a greatsword. Climbing out, he dried himself the best he could before wiping down with a sacrificial towel that melted slightly after contacting the strange liquid and getting dressed.
Carrying along down the hall, they stepped into a large, open room. When they crossed the threshold, automatic lights activated revealing a huge pool surrounded by metallic tentacles and a floor covered with scattered, green debris. Suddenly, the tentacles began to writhe, searching for something, and the debris began to move, resolving into hundreds of small, beetle-like robots that amassed themselves into humanoid figures. This was the organic deconstruction room and the reclaimers were here.
Category:Emerald Spire