Realising that his chanting has saved his life, Ari continues mumbling, before Hiding and Moving Silentlyish through the door the construct came through. After trying to remove its armoured groin plate for himself.
It takes a bit of yanking, but Ari does manage to eventually recover the groin plate. It's too large for him, but it'll make a nice trophy regardless.
Osirio was actually sort of glad he didn't have to enact "Plan B".
That Chef made a pretty good casserole.
"Well! Nice shot, Mr. Culpa. I'm sure he felt the full force of your argument...can I examine that cylinder a moment? And, let's see...well, that's a lot of scrap. Might be useful, after we're done."
Osirio frowned at his dented shield. He supposed it was better than a dent in his head...
Action: Examine the cylinder with my arcane knowledge, if possible. (+5)
Follow Ari if he signals or all clear, or we hear a terrible crunching noise from his general direction
13/13 HP
[1] Let's see...This marking means it's lower class. Or higher. You can't remember. And that symbol there-- was it fire? Wait, no, air. Or maybe astral energy. Arrgh, this is getting you nowhere! At least you know it can be used as a sort of magic battery, but you don't really have the materials nor skills to make use of it that way.
"Indeed. We don't have the time to torture him, though...I am thinking that we should hand off the other staff to the Lords once they arrive to taken our prisoner into custody, assuming we do. They will be out of the way then-no matter what they choose to do with them. The chef will likely die in any case, as the situation permits, but I can hopefully convince him it is more likely everyone else will live if he helps us capture this man...of course, if he refuses, you can kill him. And if we do not catch the man alive, it's likely the rest of them must be killed as well." Osirio says, a bit bitterly, if quietly enough the hostages could not hear.
As a rule, he found such things distasteful...which was he had people like Ava do it for him.
Second Action! Slap the chef awake and try to convince him to help lead us to his master with my diplomacy (+9)
Tell him catching this *evil* man will likely spare the rest of the people in the household a grisly fate.
[17+5]Frustrated with the cylinder, Osirio instead wakes the chef. He assures him that he has no intention of hurting him (Technically true), and in fact, he's working for the chef's good (Well, he is a citizen of Aretrian, and Osirio is working for the city's leader...). Having calmed him and convincing him you mean no harm (You have to wonder if that blow to his head messed with his memory), you begin spinning a story [18+3], telling him that Arias is a dangerous rebel, working to slay the people of Aretrian. The fact that you have no proof for the second part, and the first may actually be a moral thing, is carefully stepped around. Once you've finished, the chef is all too ready to aid you. Noticing the scrap pile, he tells you it probably woke Sentim (Arias's first name, apparently), but he could help you bypass the other clockwork warriors.
Arias won't be in his room; he'll be heading underground, into his spacious basement. He doesn't know where he intends to go from there, but apparently you aren't the first assassins to come here, and he hid down there the previous times. He'll be with some elite bodyguards, taking a simple rope elevator from the second floor. You might be able to intercept them, taking the stairs. You probably won't be able to take on the bodyguards in a straight fight, according to him. Few can. Finally, he agrees to lead the way.
While Osirio roused the cook, Avalanche routed through the machine. She lifted the dented helm, shaking it to let the components tumble out before placing it on her head and looking out the glass eyes. She made a sound a tossed the helm aside.
Zhere is nothing like zhis up North. Ztill, it vas veak.
She picked up the hammer it used and compared it to her own.[/b]
Comparing the hammer to Ava's maul, it shapes up poorly. The weapon, though infinitely lighter and easier to carry, would only be about half as powerful. It would seem the clockwork's power comes primarily from sheer strength.
((In other words, it's a standard medium-sized warhammer, assuming it has no magic properties.))
Ari also remembers to Listen (+6) as he scouts ahead. As much as Mumbling permits.
[10+6] Nothing. Well, a few rats, but nothing of note.
Realising that his chanting has saved his life, Ari continues mumbling, before Hiding and Moving Silentlyish through the door the construct came through. After trying to remove its armoured groin plate for himself.
Finally, Ari gently opens the door and peak through. It would seem his hiding and silent movement was for nothing, because there isn't anything to see nor hear him.
The chef begins walking ahead of you, beckoning for you to follow. You go through several rooms of the house; lobbies, lounges, libraries, and an awful lot of spacious pantries. The chef explains frankly that the master is fond of food and drink, perhaps overly. And, he often has guests, who seem to be often ravenous. Not that he's ever seen them, but he hears of their visit often. Finally, you come to a nondescript wooden door.
"Hear we are. I must say, I'm anxious. The master said to never enter here. I wonder what secrets he's been keeping."
With that, he pushes it open. At once, he shortly gasps, and seems struck by what he sees, and mutters a small invocation to Estanna.
Looking over his shoulder, you see a vast set of switchback stairs, alongside a massive pit, leading far below sight. There's a large alcove going along the edge of the pit, with a rope in it, likely to the mentioned elevator. The rope is still moving over the pully. It would appear the elevator is still in motion. The chef has taken a few steps back, evidently none too fond of the large drop.