126. Cauldron DELTA-3
TODO
This cauldron runs like a corkscrew around a hexagonal columnar shaft, from an opening on the mesa above, spiraling hundreds of feet straight down. There are no patrolling Watchers or other guards, but there is a near-constant traffic of another half-dozen Glinthawks up and down the central column, which is approximately 160ft/50m wide. The opening on the ceiling is not quite as wide, less than a quarter of that, but through it you can see the sky above. Characters with exceptional vision might be able to make out the vague shapes of Shell-Walkers at the bottom of the column, moving back and forth across the space.
The paths along each side of the hexagon are each 100ft/30m along the face adjoining the column, and 12ft/4m wide. Paths alternate between descending ramps, walled off from the column and descending 6ft/2m along its length, and flat storage areas with one side open for access by the Glinthawks. Storage areas are each filled with shelves and cubicles of various heights and shapes. The Glinthawks land on a level, grab an object from its storage with their beaks, sometimes shifting it to their claws, and drop back down to whatever is at the bottom. Not many objects seem to come back up.
There aren’t many opportunities for cover in the storage areas — a few areas have large objects that could potentially hide smaller people, but certainly no more than one person at a time. Ramps offer cover from the column, but they are empty and offer no cover from anyone or anything entering either end of the ramp.
Ascending to the Roof
With each ramp changing elevation by 6ft/2m, and three ramps per loop, each loop gains or loses 19ft/6m. From the entrance, the roof opening is 980ft/300m above, or 50 times around the loop, each of which is 600ft/180m to complete a loop. This is the equivalent of a 5.6mi/9km walk along the path to get to the top.
The topmost levels of the column tighten in to the 40ft/12m hexagonal opening, which is slightly wider than the floor beneath it. There’s no storage on this level, and all sides are open to the column and the roof. Regular support pylons dot the area. Nothing else interesting is found at the upper levels. Climbing outside involves some effort, and some method of avoiding the irregular Glinthawk traffic, but is not particularly difficult.
If you climb outside through the roof, go to entry 127.
Storage Areas
Investigation of the storage shelves and cubicles reveals a wide mix of items, which do not seem to be segregated by any kind of organization system other than the size of the container. None of the objects or containers have written labels, but each has a Focus overlay label. Recycled metal blocks are common, alongside broken or spare machine components, and all the assorted items it would take to build them.
Track how many items characters take or move from their place on the shelves. Each time a Glinthawk goes to fetch an item, once every 2 minutes, roll a d100. On a result equal to or less than the number of taken or moved items, the Glinthawk notices and goes into an alert mode, searching for intruders for the next 2 minutes. It won’t notify other Glinthawks unless it finds intruders, at which point all machines in the area will go on alert for the next 5 minutes: 6 Glinthawks and 3 Shell-Walkers.
In addition to machine parts, more than half of the containers are labeled as containing industrial chemicals — phosphorus, chlorine, sulfuric acid, and so on. Oseram characters with proficiency in chemistry would recognize some chemicals used in processing ores. Utaru who’d been through training at The Evergreen Fields would recognize the ones related to fertilizers and industrial food processing.
Many containers are Focus-labeled with the word “Seed” and text the Old Ones would recognize as Latin taxonomic names: Juniperus ashei, Sequoiadendron giganteum, etc. The names won’t mean anything to characters, but Focus devices will overlay representations of each plant as the container is scanned. Opening a container would reveal exactly what the label says — piles of dormant seeds of varying shapes and sizes. The selection of plants is broad: grasses, fruit trees, vegetables, vines, hardwoods, seagrasses, flowers, and more. Many of the plants are unknown to any characters, regardless of how well-traveled they may be.
Some seed containers are not labeled with Latin names, but instead have the word “Hybrid” followed by a 6-character alphanumeric code.
Focus overlays sometimes show graphical representations of the plants for these seeds, but often do not, showing Insufficient Data in its place.
One of the seed containers, labeled Hybrid R77YU9, has a graphical representation which most will recognize as Medicinal Hintergold.
Each seed container is also Focus-labeled with a dated disposition, which the Focus can translate into a relative number of days, hours, etc.
The Hintergold container lists Scheduled for Dispersal: 5d 17h 23m, as well as an indicator which can be used to bring up a map, showing an oblong area highlighted in yellow.
Other dispositions include Transport, Testing, Recycling, Stasis, and more.
Some dates indicate years and decades in the future, while others are scheduled for use within the hour.
Descending
From the entrance, the floor of the central column is another 690ft/210m below, or 35 loops for a 4mi/6.3km distance along the path to get to the bottom. As you get closer, you can see the three Shell-Walkers working on the bottom. They seem to be processing and repackaging the items brought by the Glinthawks, combining them with items from a cart hovering to one side of the room, not much more than the skeleton of a box hanging from lightning-shrouded glowing discs. Bulky and heavy-looking items get moved into a recognizable hexagonal Shell-Walker container, while smaller and lighter items get moved into a bucket with handles clearly intended for Glinthawk claws.
The floating cart disappears every few minutes, and is replaced almost immediately by another. A single large hallway leads off into the area supplying the carts, protected by an energy grid along its bottom third.
If the Shell-Walkers are disabled quickly and quietly, they will not alert each other or the Glinthawks. Otherwise, all 3 Shell-Walkers and 6 Glinthawks will alert each other and will stay aggressive for 5 minutes.
Riding the Cart
Using the cart to get past the energy grid, the hallway is featureless, and the same length as any of the sides of the loops. The chamber which opens up at the end is another 330ft/100m across, with a ceiling that bows from 15ft/5m at the edges to twice that in the middle, littered with piles of containers, parts, and other objects. In that center stands a trio of Stalkers (not in stealth), back-to-back around a pylon, alert and watching the room. Another half-dozen Shell-Walkers scurry about the room, doing various tasks.
The walls of the room are lined with the same boxy units, over and over.
Inspecting them with a Focus reveals overlay labels: Sequencer, Recycler, Incubator, Refrigerator.
Shell-Walkers ferry items to and from each of these, in a chaotic dance which would be unpredictable to the naked eye.
With a Focus, however, the path of each Shell-Walker for the next 60 seconds is highlighted with blue arrows.
On the far (south) wall, a large door sits below a familiar energy grid for hover carts. This grid completely covers its access point.
Clearing the Cauldron
Alerting any machine in this room will alert all of them, as will attempting to open the south door.
The Stalkers will remain visible until alerted, at which time they will stealth and attack. They will not use their proximity mines in this room, and will try to avoid damaging any equipment or containers. Similarly, the Shell-Walkers will not use their Shock attacks in this room, but will use them if led into the hallway and away from any items.
After clearing the room, overriding the pylon in the center will provide override codes for Glinthawks and Stalkers to anyone who does not already have them. It also starts to open a door on the south wall, which slams shut again after opening barely a hand-width.
Investigating the room, the room is a seemingly-random combination of machine parts, chemicals, and seed stock. Each machine group along the walls has a Focus overlay which explains which hybrids are currently being processed. Most are recognizable as crosses of known plants, or one known plant and a hybrid with just a number. A few are completely unknown, listing only a wall of scientific jargon about the process used to create the contents.
TODO: Flavor datapoint for log entry?
Your Focus devices say Establishing Communication, before a disembodied voice begins to speak to you.