OOM: Arkngthand, 8 First Seed, 3E 428

[moonandstar]

They emerge from the bar onto an ancient bridge, made of a metal that Ibani won't be able to identify - but clearly the work of an advanced and accomplished civilization. It bridges the foyada, high and deep on each side.

They won't have time to admire it, however. Because there's a bald Imperial in an iron cuirass standing at the other side of the bridge. He conjures a skeleton warrior, who charges toward them as its master launches bolts of lightning at them.

Comments

[moonandstar]

"Assuming they even use eyes to see."

A dark thought, but it couldn't hurt.

The heat of the room increases as they round a corner. The unmistakable sound of metal footfalls grows closer, along with a less identifiable sound...rolling?

[last_kallig]

"I've covered the spectra I know of," she admits. "Hopefully they don't perceive any spectra I DON'T know about, but there's always a more direct solution."

"Rolling, you see that with some droids, but not many."

[moonandstar]

Garyn holds his hand up, walking silently as they approach. And then, they come upon them - two of them.

One of them rolls along the hallway, an angular humanoid torso gyroscopically balanced on a sphere. In front of it is extended a sharp rod, looking as though it were intended to cast spells rather than thrust. The other is a hulking brute, at least eight feet tall, with a massive spiked mace on its right hand.

They don't seem to see them initially...but there is soot and ash on the floor, and the sphere centurion is quick to spot their footprints...

[last_kallig]

Ibani throws one of her lightsabers at the rolling specimen, more to test its resistance to the plasma than anything else as she's ALSO opening up with Force lighting.

[moonandstar]

The sphere centurion keeps rolling forward, even as the shield in its left hand is hacked off by the spinning saber. Interestingly, it takes multiple spins to do the job.

Meanwhile, Garyn rolls forward and charges toward the massive steam centurion.

[last_kallig]

Ibani grunts in annoyance at its resilience. Oh well. She calls the other saber back, dives in with both blades to hack the stupid thing to pieces. Garyn can handle the big brute for a little while, she's sure.

[moonandstar]

Garyn is aggressive in his approach - indeed, perhaps a little too much so. Rather than swinging downward as he expects, the great brutish contraption's mace instead extends forward like a spring-loaded boxing glove.

It barely misses Garyn's head. He snarls and parries its next blow.

[last_kallig]

The near miss of Garyn's head prompts a SNARL from Ibani as she hastens in her attempt to cut her current target into useless chunks. DIE already, damn it!

[moonandstar]

At last, as the last of its connective metal melts off, the sphere construct collapses, its top half nearly entirely severed from the sphere as it falls limp.

Garyn, meanwhile, manages a mighty crushing blow that severs the brute's weapon.

[last_kallig]

Ibani doesn't try lightning on the big brute, but Force Push. She can SEE some of the joint mechanisms, so she just exerts pressure trying to make them NOT move correctly, to give Garyn an opening.

[moonandstar]

It does enough. The precise leverage combined with the slash from a Daedric ebony blade snaps its arm clean off. The head comes next, with a plume of steam escaping through the hole in its neck before it falls over and goes silent.

"Rather resilient things, aren't they?"

[last_kallig]

"Irritatingly so, yes." She kicks the downed thing that tried to kill Garyn just out of spite.

"I had thought lightsaber resistant materials to be rarer in your universe than in mine."

[moonandstar]

"They surely didn't build with that in mind," Garyn says. "But they certainly built them to last."

[last_kallig]

"And yet they themselves have vanished. Ironic."

"We just need to haul some of these pieces back, yes? We've got the puzzle box already."

[moonandstar]

"Yes, this head should do."

He tosses it into his pack.

"Oh, and by the way...I grabbed this from the same shelf the cube was on."

He tosses her an immaculately cut ruby.

[last_kallig]

She catches it on reflex, then grins. "And my knight brings me pretty gems as proof of his devotion and his valor." She's only teasing a little.

[moonandstar]

Garyn chuckles."I'm told I'll be a knight for real when I return with this. A perk of my new command."

[last_kallig]

Ibani blinks. "New command? When did that happen?"

[moonandstar]

A frustrated sigh escapes Garyn's lips before he can think to stop himself.

"Well...call it a poisoned chalice, from the hands of one Caius Cosades. Apparently serving the Emperor in Gnisis was too much to hope for, so he pulled strings. I'm transferred to the fort near Balmora, where a friend of his in the garrison casually reminded me that Caius wanted to see me. Who was I to refuse?"

[last_kallig]

"Not the worst way he could have tightened the leash, but I don't like it," Ibani growls. Is she idly plotting a murder? Maybe. Okay, definitely. It's not like she's going to ACTUALLY do it without asking Garyn first.

[moonandstar]

"Nor I," Garyn says. "Though at the moment, all I'm having to do is fetch this cube for a friend of his in exchange for information...with the convenient cover story of finding our fort a trophy for a contest with the Buoyant Armigers."

[last_kallig]

"Seems relatively safe. I wonder where the catch is." Paranoid, Ibani? Probably.

[moonandstar]

"I don't know, but the information I'm getting is about a cult," Garyn says. "So I'm sure there are nothing but good times ahead."

Dry as the Alik'r.

[last_kallig]

"I have some experience with regards to cults." She has one of her very own! "If you should somehow wind up dealing with them." Her tone is also desert dry.

"Though I don't really have time to manage ANOTHER one."

[moonandstar]

Garyn sighs. "I hope I don't have to call you in for anything too troubling."