A Spire Amongst The Thorns - 6 Report

Entering the Teal-Webbed Room

Webs of teal webbing cover every conceivable surface of the space visible to the party: walls, floors, ceilings, and even structures that look like pillars or floor-to-ceiling dividers. The webs seem to be constructed in very organic shapes and patterns but irregular (unlike the conventional regularity of classic spider webs) however their material is very unlike the spider webs found in the living quarters as this webbing seems to have an almost metallic sheen to it. Bright, pale blue patterns (fractals) can be seen moving along the strands of webbing, splitting apart or rejoining other patterns in an alien dance.   Forgin tests the webs with a boot. They do bend but require some force to do so and then, once Forgin releases the pressure, the webs return to their initial shape. While pressed inwards, the webs take on that pale blue light which extends further and further out from the location they are pressing as they press in deeper (up to a couple feet out). The pale light disappears as Forgin stops pressing.   Fulgur investigates the room trying to understand what its purpose is. He recognizes mathematical patterns and sequences in the pale blue fractals and begins to feel his awareness diminish as he begins to synchronize with the room, also taking some psychic damage as a severe migraine begins.   Dosa wants to learn more about the room and tries to climb the webbing, not so successfully, and is then knocked off by one of the scampering creatures; bizarre in appearance with its opal, almost glass-like body where pulsing charges of electricity can be seen within (almost like a nervous system). The creature has an oblong, diamond shaped head with no discernable face and seven limbs that branch off from its torso. The creature's limbs seem to be able to direct the pattern of pale blue light which follows it, splitting/rejoining based on the limbs' gestures. Dosa alerts the group to the creature and Forgin begins to sweep around the room with their light. They glimpse the creature disappearing around a webbed wall but also spot another one on the opposite side of the room a few seconds later, also leading a pattern of light.  

Digging Deeper

Fulgur begins to query the room about information about the tower while using his small robot companion to assist by prodding away errant signals in the webbing.   As the group looks around the room further, they find large 5 foot diameter openings in the webbing at points along the walls. Periodically a similarly large (almost 5 foot diameter, approximately 15 foot long) eel-like creature bristling with static electricity will emerge from one of the holes, slither along the ground (indifferent to other creatures), and disappear into another hole elsewhere in the room.   Forgin decides to try zapping the webbing with their stun baton to see what happens. The electrical discharge creates an erratic pulse of pale blue light that shoots off in a frenzied pattern in multiple directions. Immediately, one of the opal creatures changes course and begins trying to "scoop up" and redirect the errant pulses into a single point of light, scurrying back and forth and gesturing wildly with its limbs. Two other creatures of this sort also stop leading their respective light patterns and begin to actively observe the party for the first time, keeping a watch on these new creatures in their domain.   Dosa tries to reach out to one of the opal creatures telepathically but gets nothing but static in return.   Fulgur gains some additional knowledge from the room.  

The Eel

Dosa decides to explore one of the tunnels in the wall, following after one of the eels. The tunnel has many ribbed sections and with navigating those and patches of webbing, Dosa has to slow down and loses the eel. Eventually the tube opens up into a wider, 10 foot diameter tube with walls entirely covered by small, hexagons: many glowing blue with with different intensities while others dark and illuminated. Dosa can't decipher any patter in the image and is bowled over by another eel that is coming through the tunnel, taking significant electrical damage as they are knocked aside. Struggling to maintain awareness, Dosa throws out a symbiotic plea of friendship towards the creature that seems to take hold although it continues on its path back out the tube. At the squeaks of pain, Forgin sends their robotic dog into the tube and it helps bring a wounded Dosa back out. Gladwyn, who had been waiting for Dosa near the perceived exit of the tunnel was also bowled over by the eel but took less damage as it had discharged most of its electricity within the widened tube, altering the patterns of lit hexagonal pixels along the walls.   Fulgur downloads even more information, struggling to maintain his synchronicity with the room, and then satisfied that he has what he wants manages to disconnect and regain an admittedly groggy awareness of his immediate surroundings.   Dosa manages to track down their new eel friend as is able to communicate with it in an animal tongue. The eel seems pleased to have made a friend, a new experience for it, and offers to give Dosa a ride around the room. Dosa tries to convince the eel to join the party on their journey of discovery but the eel does not want to leave the room. It tries poking its snout out of the doorway into the stairwell, as a startled Fulgur jumps out of the way, but immediately retracts itself citing that it does not like "how neutral it is out there" and prefers to stay in the teal room where it knows there is food. The eel and the conglomerate of rats part on good terms with wishes to visit one another again in the future.  

The Party Moves On

Fulgur shares with the party that he has discovered the scientists are alive and in the second tower that they had seen appear, although he doesn't fully explain how he knows. He also expresses a deep desire to bring the white skinned automatons with them back to Synoro. Lastly, he asks if the Trians are aware of someone named Vysk'Ka but they do not.   Forgin and some of the rest of the party are a little suspicious of this new information and the group decides to finish exploring the final two floors of this first tower before moving on, which seems amenable to Fulgur. As they step back into the stairwell and continue upwards, mulling over the new developments, Fulgur feels the piercing migraine vanish and along with it, all of the information he had learned. With a nagging sensation that he's just lost something important but unsure exactly what, he follows the party upwards.