It was still the 31st of Chaos, 3468. Fortune's Vanguard finds itself deep in the Crystal Caverns, in the back of a Sanctum Beta. Around us, large compartments made of metal filled the north of our concrete chamber extending 20' tall. A doorway to our east was still open, moments ago, numerous explosions causing flesh-scarring steam to pour out. J'ack Rameur ran through the cloud to disable the alarm the other side. Milu Soma followed, his mantras lost to alarm and fog as we began to feel tired and exhausted. We regrouped and began to moving west, retreating to the "crushers".
To our south, the main doorway began to open to reveal numerous clockwork machinations. We formed a fighting retreat to the west, using the corners to delay numerous clockwork machinations. A small mighty army of metal, enough to destroy all of Tulsa-aria piece by piece.
Numerous spellcasting constructs, crossbow firing ones, and wall-formers too. Just outside in the hallway, one seemed to stalk and watch our group from afar. Wave by wave would the army arrive in the tight conditions, til we were all but pincered. Ripley's Original Sin sundered the clockwork beasts joint by joint. Cleis Frostclaw would assail them with acidic blasts and courageously baited openings for his allies to move through the enemy's advantageous formation. Xael formed our western advance, cutting down and stepping through machination after creature. Woodsworth Moure would chant and hum a thrum of protection, removing opportunities for lethal blows. J'ack Rameur, left alone in steam, defended himself from entire eastern front despite the heat exhaustion. Milu Soma tried to turn off yet another alarm, and pulled away clockwork hounds from overwhelming the western front. Our members have grazed death many times, warded away by the idol's graces.
Through clever spacing and illusions by a scholarly kitsune, the evil-rending blasts of our grand engineer, the bravery of the best mercenary one could ever find, the artillery and cover from our world's largest arcane font of power, and the vigilance of this world's champion, we had a sliver of a chance. Caduceus's blessings would buy us time, and the resilience of many soldiers; enough to survive with everyone scrape by. The Idol can give only what is necessary.
Deep in the steam, a lone clockwork laborer dutifully repaired the devices pouring out steam.
We made it to the crusher hallway, having fended off everything that came towards us. J'ack made sure the Clockwork Overseer did not escape with a final rapier thrust piercing through its exposed underside.
The onslaught was over.
We spent several hours tending to people's wounds, deciding to use the crusher hallway as our temporary camp. Ripley discovered how to work the various machinations leading to the metal storage room we escaped from. J'ack and Xael held down any Laborers that came our way, using the kitsune's tools to unwind them. We prevented any Laborers from returning the downed beings to the Crusher.
We would rest for the night, with J'ack and Xael awake to handle the creatures as we slept. Over night, the area would become crowded with the numerous machinations.
31st of Chaos, 3468 Damage Reduced, totals:
| 174pts of damage reduced by | Stoneskin |
| 100pts of damage reduced by | Protection from Arrows |
| 260pts of damage reduced by | Resist Energy (Fire) |
| 16pts of damage reduced by | Resist Energy (Electric) |
| 96pts of damage reduced by | Protection from Energy (Fire) |
We awake on the 32nd of Chaos, 3468, some of us exhausted and still hurt. Fortune's Vanguard would prepare for the day ahead: Tend to our wounds, Disable the alarms in this place, decide a path forward, and ward ourselves with blessings of the idol. Sanctum BETA must be cleansed.
Xael and J'ack are exhausted from having stand guard through the night, responding to 22 separate Clockwork Servants who appeared hourly, rendering them inactive, but unharmed.