Following their encounter with the greater fire elemental in the forge, the Coopers decide to head back to the reception room and continue their exploration there. Thorne opens the west door and enters what appears to be a kitchen. Exotic fish and plants fill in an aquaponics area, with mechanical devices that harvest, process and deliver fresh food to the reception area. Gerald admires the machinery while the steward explains how the system works. Each water tank has a summoning device that connects it to the plane of water and when fish deplete or die new fish are summoned to replace them.
The party explores the kitchen and Daryle notices a door behind a deep layer of barricade.Why would someone have barricaded the door on this side? As the Coopers ponder the answer to this question, Rowen searched the pantry and discovers an ancient Azlanti cutlery set for 12 made of platinum. Omok asks the steward what's behind the door. The steward tells the group about the Reclaimers, a swarm of small automatons who disassemble other automatons and reclaim their parts to build newer sets.
While the party remains in the kitchen to discuss what to do about the barricaded door, Thorne returns to the reception area and searches for a secret door, but he doesn't find one. He examines the painting of the Prince, which seems to simmer and switch to a different glorious pose every few minutes. He takes it off the wall before placing by the door so he doesn't forget to take it with him on his way out. Daryle, tired of the arguments in the kitchen, joins Thorne. They decide to proceed through the forge's secret path and explore the rest of the level.
At some point, Gerald decides to return to the reception area and notices that the painting has been moved. He notices that Thorne and Daryle are missing, so he searches for them.
Meanwhile, the remaining Coopers dismantle the barricade and reach the door. Omok seizes the initiative and kicks in the door. He is immediately set upon by a swarm of reclaimers. Roscoe comes to the rescue and enters the fray. Darelle and Rowen are soon involved in this battle. While fighting they come up with a clever plan. Rowen will draw the swarm away, while the others rush through the door. Then he will become invisible and the swarm will be left in this room. They quickly execute the plan. Roscoe, Omok and Darelle find themselves in a room with a small pool of liquid metal in the middle. Rowen, meanwhile, is left invisible in the kitchen.
Omok uses his trident and measures the depth of the pool. He discovers that it is about 2 feet deep. The trident is not affected by the liquid metal, but the Coopers are wary of what may dwell in there.
On the other side of the dungeon, Thorne and Daryle open their door. They are attacked by metallic tentacles that surround a large pool of acid, and they are also set upon by a swarm of reclaimers. Gerald joins the fray and uses fireball. Swarm attacks, but eventually the three siblings are triumphant.
With the swarm defeated, the Coopers are reunited. Gerald suggests a great plan. The Coopers will lead the remaining swarm up the tunnel to invade and clear off the upper levels. They discuss the pros and cons of Gerald's plan. After a short discussion, they agree that this is the best course of action. Thorne uses his scepter to command the swarm of reclaimers into one of the storage room. For now, the swam problem has been solved.
Entering the room next to the Rendering pool, they come upon the armory. Many automatons are lined against the walls. Six automatons activate and attack. The battle goes poorly at first, but then Omok uses his ring of ram and pushes the emerald guardian into the pool of acid. The automaton sinks and disappears from view. But the battle continues ...
Thanks for doing this, as always.
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