S2 Week 3 - "The Hive"

Our heroes had just breached the inner halls of the hive, having vanquished a small pack of Deepforged Drones and Reavers, when suddenly a loud knocking came from the chamber behind them. Erwise and Fernal, cautiously investigating, found a hulking figure, soaked in muck and seaweed, clutching shattered debris from the breach in the hive. It was none other than Book (played by Rolith), the Warforged barbarian, with AI fully installed and ready for action! No one knew if Book was followed, but one thing was for sure: an extra bit of muscle would certainly be useful in this environment.

The exterior of the dreaded Reaver Hive (illustration by H.R. Giger)

The party, now four strong, ventured deeper into the tunnels and happened across a locked oculus leading to the deepest recesses of the hive. Erwise, perhaps overconfident from his previous success in unlocking mysterious doors, recieved a nasty shock from the portal when he tried to lockpick it (critical fail!). Trying again, he caused the door to explode (yet another critical fail!), injurying everyone nearby! Book didn't fare much better when he tried to interface with a nearby Deepforged data console, and broke the device beyond repair (yes, yet another critical fail!). It seemed that the party wouldn't be getting through this door, and everyone had a sinking feeling that they had just alerted the entire hive to thier presence...

Further down the hallway, a bloodcurdling scream echoed into the ears of the wary adventurers, who rushed to find its source. What they found was indeed shocking: a macabre conveyor belt and horrific set of whirling blades, designed to extract human brains! To make matters worse, a bewildered young woman was trapped in the nefarious contraption, just inches away from a grisly end! The party didn't have time to discern the purpose of this device; they sprung into action! Acting selflessly, Fernal used his dominian over dimensional magic to switch positions with the helpless woman, but now he was the one in grave danger! Book tried interfacing with nearby data consoles, but was not able to deactivate the conveyor belt. Rushing to the aid of his comrade, Erwise was able to pry the restraints open with his thieve's tools just in time, sparing Fernal a ghastly demise!

Untold horrors awaited our heroes at the end of the mechanical tunnel

The party regrouped, and soon discovered the identity of the woman they had just saved. It was none other than Lia (played by Alina), who had been seperated from Erwise and the rest of the original Chivilian party over a month ago! However, the celebration was short lived, as two of the accompanying members of the Thalassian platoon informed the rest of the party that a swarm of Reavers was closing in fast from the lower hive! They bravely volunteered to hold them off while the party advanced.

Our heroes didn't make it far though, as they were cut off from their destination by another skittering pack of Reavers and Drones! The machines sprung upon them relentlessly; Mootan tried to rally the party in an advantageous position, but he was struck down almost instantly by the deadly contraptions! Hope was waning for the group, but they pressed on for long enough for Mootan's Spirit of Vengeance to revive him and ensure that our heroes would have enough healing energy to pull through the fight. Lia was knocked unconcious, and two of the three Thalassian soldiers were slain, but the party somehow lasted long enough to repel the surge of deadly Reavers.

Battered and bleeding, the party pressed onwards to their primary objective. The chamber that contained the Eldritch Field Generator lay just a few feet ahead...