Alyn mentally coordinated with the psi-moths, helped the Duke pack up as much meat that they were able to cook and store as he could after they had ate their fill, and otherwise got the group back on track and heading toward the military facility.

For your question, GM, I'll choose 3 things like Ajak did in the ooc thread. The ones I'm choosing that he also chose represents these things having more "suggestive away" over your choice of choosing to add them to the next scene or not.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS NEW AREA AT WHICH THE PCs HAVE ARRIVED?

--There's a building (or other structure)

--There's a group of new lifeforms or robots or other beings (ideally ones who can help feed the moths)

--There's what looks like an unusual object d'art

(I really just wanted someone/y'all to choose ONE thing. Oh well, I'll know better next time...)

Eventually, after resting, everyone gathers their stuff together, and moves on...

Soon, the adventurers must stop walking, or else they'll crush a bunch of little robot guys wandering around.

The little robots-- most of whom have two legs, although some have 4, or 6, or wheels-- are slowly moving around, picking up anything they find (which is pretty much small rocks and pebbles, every time), and muttering to themselves as they do it.

There is a strange... well, statue? Objet d'art? It's like a mobile, but it's anchored to the ground, not moving. There's a big arrow that points in the direction you're headed, but there are other arrows, too, pointing in other directions. There are also many antennae sticking off of the arrows, and sometimes convex/concave things that might be satellite dishes. The whole thing looks like very weathered bronze, but looks can be deceiving.

The whole... sculpture...? is maybe seven feet tall at its highest point if you don't count antennae, maybe 8 or 8.5 feet high if you do count them.

Behind the sculpture by about 45 feet, there's a building... about the size of a gas station, Alyn would say... It seems like it's stucco or adobe, with an open doorway (no door) and some crude squarish windows.

"Finally!" Ajakstu hoots. "A merchant in the business of selling these mechanized toys...or gardeners...or appraisers of detritus. Do you suppose they all join together to make a megarobot worthy of The Duke?"

Without waiting for an answer he dismounts and heads for the building. "I will go inquire of the proprietor as to the availability of wine and women."

The little robots all run out of the path of the giant that walks amongst them. They're not very fast, though, so Ajakstu will have to walk slightly slowly to make sure he doesn't crush anyone.

Alyn nods as Ajak heads off to check the building out. He, in turn, wants to check the outside out first.

He closes his eyes a moment, and then opens them. His eyes flicker for a moment before returning to normal as he basically does a "mental radar sweep" of all sentience in the area. INCLUDING from the little robots but also from - potentially - the weird artwork thing and from within the adobe looking building. By now, he has a psychic connection to his traveling companions and his moths so is more focused on things NOT from Team Alyn.

17:19, Today: Alyn Reed rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,4.  Charming.

He's doing a psychic sweep of the area, to try and identify any sentience intelligences. His powers work on non-biological things too FYI, and this is simply to identify them not to like control or influence quite yet.

As a secondary note though he is looking for non-team psyches that can make a good meal for his moths too.

The Duke on the other hand who had made a small dent in their food supplies already, maybe the Duke eats when he is bored? Looks at his driver run off and slowly closes the cooler straps it on his back and climbs out to follow Ajakstu any of the small robots to slow to clear from underfoot wil perish under the massive boots of the 'friendly' giant.

"Don't forget food!!"

The little robots are sentient, but they don't seem very smart. But they also seem capable of more-- maybe they're wirelessly hooked up to a bigger computer brain somewhere? Or maybe they're capable of thinking more complex thoughts in unison under the right circumstances?

There's also something-- or more than one something-- off to the east. Too far to see, apparently, but barely on the edge of Alyn's psychic senses. Something or things very smart, but very alien. Something kind of... dangerous.

Alyn sent a mental message up to the moth swarm that was somewhere in the air above.

"Hey psi-moths? What do you think about these little robots here, as well as the weird sculpture thing that probably isn't really a sculpture? Do either seem appetizing to you guys?

Also do you guys also sense something quite intelligent but kind of dangerous-feeling way to the East? Do you guys know anything about it?"

Alyn turned to face the party.

"Hmmm...those little robots are individually fairly harmless-feeling and don't seem super intelligent, but I can tell they are networked to something bigger that might be  like a computer or something bigger. Maybe the sculpture thing even but I'm not sure yet." he said.

"And also...it's out of visual range, but somewhere way to the East out of our immediate area bit within travel distance there's something very intelligent and dangerous-feeling, and it's not often a mind feels dangerous. It feels alien too. I don't know  much more as I'm purposefully avoiding making mental contact with it so we don't get its attention, but I wanted you guys to be aware something is out there, farther East."

The Duke stopping his stride after Alyn another of the too slow poor things crushed under his heavy boots turns to look into the far distance as he cracks his knuckles.

"I am the danger! If it comes for us it will be sorry."

The little machines are not appetizing... but they could be dangerous as a group... grumble the mind-moths...

(Hmmm... Make a Charming roll, Alyn, to see if you can get them to try to stretch their senses over there to the east...)



The little robots whisper to themselves... some (not all!) of them start grabbing on to each other... Forming a little robot acrobat pyramid-- no, more like a tower--

--Soon, there's a robot that's almost as tall as The Duke, made of the little guys clamped onto one another, with two legs and four arms and a head in shape. "You-- are-- destructive," says a voice from the head. "What-- is-- your-- purpose?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:58, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

"Walking away!" Ajakstu loudly declares as the robots assemble. He makes for the safety of the building. "Rake! Attend!"

Alyn raised a curious brow at the little robots forming a larger Duke-scrutinizing mass, but decided to stand back and see how this played out. Partially out of amusement at the situation, and partially due to the fact the psion was convinced the Duke sometimes (in ways even the psychic Alyn didn't fully understand) had a strange insight or narrative effect on his surroundings. Alyn wasn't quite sure how to put it, really.

Instead, he attempted to send a thought up to the moths.

01:03, Today: Alyn Reed rolled 6 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,2.  Charming.

Well there's something fairly dangerous, but quite intelligent over to the East on the edge of my senses. It's up to you guys, but if you're hungry you could go check it out and see if it could provide a psychic meal for you guys.

The Duke chuckles at the things and stretches his arm to give the thing a poke to determine how sturdy the thing is making a head gesture at his companions as if saying look at this. When it acknowledges his destructiveness he bursts into a laugh.

"I am destructive. That is my purpose. I must make sure my friends reach the choir. Do you know where it is?"

He eyes the things and his voice changes a few octaves as he pokes again.

"And you are my slaves piece for piece each bit and byte each screw and circuit board. Smart and skilled in the art of welding and soldering polishing and grinding making what is broken whole and dismembering that what is whole to its component parts."

And in the Dukes voice as if nothing happened he points at the building.

"Got any good food in there? Our supplies are a little low."

The mind-moths just give Alyn a little scorn. They apparently do not feel motivated by his suggestion.

The little robots close in around Alyn and Ajakstu's feet, surrounding them. They don't do anything hostile (so far), but one can't take a step without stepping on them (and doing that has already caused problems for The Duke)...

Kalsk turns to Vult. "I think I can walk on these guys without hurting them, maybe... my feet don't work like the humans' do... but I don't want them getting up in my toes..."

"I can fly over them right now... but I'm not sure what to do... I guess I'll see what the humans do," responds Vult. "Maybe they can negotiate out of this...?"






"The-- choir?" says the amalgam robot, replying to The DUKE. "Give-- more-- information."

And then: "There-- is-- no-- food-- for-- biologicals-- there."

OOC: Alyn fails the roll and gains 1xp. Xp goes from 8->9.

Alyn was going to follow up with the moths, but decided they could look for food on their own a bit while he focused on the present situation. Especially since the little robots started to swarm around them.

"Little robots...I do ask that you do not violate my personal space any more than you are. I will only give this warning to you all once." Alyn said to them, suddenly firm and with an icy tone of voice that was a shift from his usual demeanor. He was kinda getting sick of the pushy machines that seemed to fill the future. However, he quickly re-asserted his usual mask of being mostly-friendly once again as the cracks in his composure recovered swiftly.

He turned to Duke and smiled.

"Silly Dukie...we have a ton of cooked crab meat right now. Although then again, I know you're always on the lookout for new food source opportunities." the psion said with a pleasant chuckle.

He turned to the robot swarm again.

"Yes the Cloister, actually. It's a quasi-legendary and perhaps quasi-mythical settlement of humans that's out there...somewhere. It's different from the main Ziggurat. Would you happen to know anything about any human settlements or group that are in the area by chance?" he asked.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Mon 03 Oct 2022.

(Roll Charming, please...)

00:09, Today: Alyn Reed rolled 5 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 1,2.  charming.

OOC: Well...that's gonna fail (and be my 10th xp and thus first level up lol), unless one of you wants to do an aid other and try and substitute out my 1 with something else.

The Duke chimes in helpful as ever.

"Yeah tell us or i turn you into scrap metal."

ooc: I'll turn your 1 into a 1 ;-)

09:21, Today: The Duke rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  Aid.

"Your threat is acknowledged. You wish to escalate the situation. Complying..."

The little robots all swarm onto the big one... it gets bigger. Twice as big.

It attacks The Duke:

(GM rolls dice)

It misses, this time, barely, mostly because now that the robots have all teamed up, it's easier for The Duke to dodge. But the big amalgamated robot seems like it's still getting its bearings, adjusting to its new size. I'm sure its aim will get better soon.

"Exit, stage left!" Ajasktu shouts as he beats feet for the building.

The Duke gives the massive construct a dark smile as FOERS highlights the robots as a lethal threat and allows unrestrained violence. And the Duke is more then willing to deliver. His power fist cracle to life and he tears into the small constructs with a force strong enough to topple buildings. Geneva conventions cry and human rights shudder in fear at the ATROCITY done to these poor things.

"You should have told us."

ooc: I am de escalating the Duke way! ;-) 16:21, Today: The Duke rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,4.  Atrosity.

Yikes. There's surely horrible threats on this planet that can withstand such savagery as The Duke unleashes, but this is not one of those. The robot attempts to fight back, but it's no match for an armed The Duke, and might not have been equal to one who was unarmed, either-- we'll possibly never know.

It doesn't so much "break" or even "fall apart" as both at the same time, various individual little guys breaking even though they weren't present at any of the exact spots of violence.

About six little robots manage to cling to each other when The Duke is done. "This system is no longer operating properly," they say in a high-pitched voice that is sometimes a little too fast and sometimes a little too slow. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

The ball of robotics rolls up to Alyn and sort of rolls back and forth in front of him. "We apolo-- we apolo-- we apologi..."


Meanwhile, Ajakstu discovers there's not much in the building... a LOT of dirt and dust on the floor, at least an inch think. There is also a microphone, and a speaker, built into a desk (but if there was ever a chair, it's long gone now). There are other things-- dials and digital readouts, maybe? But they're all covered with dust, kind of grimy...

Most carefully, one might even say the act is done in a finicky manner, Ajakstu searches the building. He is especially wary of dust bunnies, grime slime, dirt nappers, and all such nightmares from childrens' stories.

"Surely Pretty Boy would have warned me of any such threat though," he muses aloud.

18:58, Today: Ajakstu Gul rolled 10 using 2d6+1 ((4,5)).

Alyn looked at the Duke, and held up one of his hands.

"Alright Dukie. I think they learned their lesson. Please don't um...totally pulverize them, okay bud? I think your mostly-pulverizing them got the point across." he said with a smirk.

He turned to the little robots that had rolled up to him and were kissing a  LOT of ass right now.

"Well I did warn you guys to play nice. Serves you right." Alyn said with a shrug.

"Buuuut I suppose we can spare you so you can try to repair yourselves or whatever, but you all had better tell us what you know about the Cloister. And this time without any snark. Otherwise, I let my buddy here take over the diplomacy." the young man said.

"And also...tell us what you know about this old military base? I um...think it used to be a base, anyway. Just tell us what you know about this building behind us, and this weird art piece thing?"

The Duke was revelling in the carnage and was already stomping over to finish the last ball of scrap metal when Alyn stops him with a hand gesture. There is a moment he looks at his traveling companion like he was about to stomp him just as hard as the robots but then massive sparks on his head flare up and he stops in his tracks looking really sad.