Episode 11 - Down the Barrel

Intro
Matt: Hello and welcome to Celestial Expanse, a real play um D&D podcast set in the celestial expanse universe, my name is Matthew, I'll be your DM for the night, playing with me today is Ben as Rell... Ben: Hello. Matt: Jason as Theran... Jason: You can call me hot hands. Matt: Rebecca as Martle... Rebecca: Hello. I am legally allowed to drink now! Various: Yayyyy! Rebecca: I have yet to have a drink now! Natalia: I will take you for a drink, Rebecca. Rebecca: Nah I'm good. Jason: Do it live on - do it live. Rebecca: No. Jason: Go get one right now. Rebecca: No! Jason: Oh my - Matt: Boston as Juniper... Boston: Some spicy tatas. Matt: And, uh, Natalia as Z. Natalia: Ewo, I'm not clever enough to think up something this fast. Matt: Boston, don't you need to have em first, before you can say that? Various: Ooohhhhhh. Natalia: DM burn. Not nice. Jason: Better use burn heal. Boston: I'm gonna go cry in a corner now. Matt: So, how's everybody except for Boston, because apparently I just emotionally scarred her. Boston: *sob* I'm gonna take 3 psychic damage. Matt: I didn't realize my burn hurt that bad. Boston: *sobbing* Jason: Well, I'm doing well Matt, other than that I'm a little sad that I probably am not the one with the smallest breasts in the... Natalia: Martle just rejected me, so I'm gonna go and cry.
 * laughter*
 * laughter*
 * laughter*
 * laughter*

Episode Description
The crew finally reach the lighthouse like building and soon find what is causing the massive power drain of this ancient city.

Summary
The group investigates the room with the disk. Rell and Theran try unsuccessfully to open the cylinder. Juniper finds the interface to the device, which uses the same writing they've been finding. Arula translates what she can, seeing something about infinite construction, forge, and printing. Juniper presses a button on her instruction, and there's a noise like an old school fax machine coming from a large, box-like device. Through a gap in the bottom they can see something being constructed in thin air. It appears to be a long, bright green pistol with glowing red runes. The interface says "Forging complete: Death's Cradle." Z claims it immediately. Her hand stings when she takes it, and when she lets go, one of the red runes is on her hand. When she pulls the trigger, nothing happens, but the runes fade. It does appear to have a slot for a battery pack. The printer gives a start like it blew out, presumably unable to print anything else. Arula says the printer should have been impossible: it didn't have the power or the materials. Everything, including the design for the gun, came from the disk, which seems to be older than the civilization that built this place.

Martle uses divine sense and senses something coming from Z's pack, where Z put the gun. Arula finds schematics for modern devices and buildings, which should be impossible. She tells Juniper they need to get the disk out of here. As Juniper struggles to open the cylinder, Z begs for a battery pack. Juniper succeeds and takes the disk, and Theran throws a battery pack to Martle over Z's head. Martle demands that Z pull out the gun, which she presumes is the evil she's sensing. Z pulls out underwear and a mushroom and tries to convince Martle that they're what she was sensing. Z pulls out the crystal next, and Martle snatches it, but accidentally throws it in the process. It hits the ground and starts glowing and growing. Unlike the others, it is bright red. Z snatches the battery pack and loads Death's Cradle. She shoots with it and misses, taking damage. She tries again and hits, regaining health. Juniper uses Shatter and destroys several computers. Z and Juniper become encased in crystal, but Rell breaks them out. After they kill the creature, Theran returns Z's underwear and tells her to stop carrying things that could kill them in her pack. Z takes the underwear and hangs it on her antlers. Arula proposes going back to the hospital.

Martle holds Theran back in the room while everyone else leaves. Z hides to eavesdrop, but they talk in Infernal, which she doesn't understand. Martle confirms that Theran recognizes her; she's secretly a tiefling, they were raised together, and there was an incident that caused Theran and Martle to separate, and Martle to disguise herself and hunt down the people she now knows are the Inquisition. Theran asks if they're who took her tribe, and Martle says no, that wasn't a natural phenomenon. They agree to kill the Inquisition if they run into them, and to keep pretending Martle is an elf for now.

They go outside and meet the cab driver. He asks if Arula is single, and Z attacks him for Martle, who catches her in midair to stop her. After another harrowing ride, they reach the hospital. Z and Martle snipe at each other a bit, and then the hospital explodes, with lots of fire coming from the section Ashley was in.

Memorable Quotes
Jason: Who runs at things called "Death's Cradle?" Rebecca: Me.

Natalia: But I got my a 17 on my charisma check! Jason: Yeah, and Martle doesn't even need to roll for Theran.

Jason: Think it through in Theran's mind, if I give you what you want, then Martle's mad at me, and that's really not gonna happen. Natalia: Well - Jason: I - I wanna sleep, at some point? So, you know, and not die.

Rebecca: I am ripping it out of her hands, like prying her fingers apart like she is a tiny child holding onto something that she should not be.

Juniper: Why are we putting Rell in charge?!

Trivia

 * The party leveled up before this episode.
 * Death's cradle does 1d4 damage to its wielder on a miss, and heals its wielder on a hit.