Recently Rose Softtrigger returns to Sub-Level 16 and seeks help from the other G4 members to find the mana siphoning device draining all magic within Gnomeregan, and Triksi Sparkbarrel answers. Will they be enough to shut it down? Catch up on previous exciting entries or continue on to enjoy the tale:
Sub-Level 16
(Part 3)
Mana Siphon
Written by Rose Softtrigger
It has been a few weeks, but it felt like mere hours since the little magistrix apprentice was down this deep into Gnomeregan. She wore her magistrix uniform, an enchanted purple leotard inspired by Darkmoon acrobatics, along with a utility belt and the facemask Lilyanabell Bladebreaker designed to combat against anything toxic in the air. Rose Softtrigger’s experience before being rescued was filled with hardship. Ever thankful for the lepers that took her in, she wanted to return the favor and help them the moment she recovered. Taking Kas’s mole machine back down to Sub-Level 16, she began her investigation.
Thanks to the information shared by the non-fanatic lepers, there is a device nearby that is siphoning mana preventing the most complex spells from being cast. Worse, any users of magic are slowly being drained. Eventually feeling so fatigued they become critical. The “Believers” are always on the hunt for more mages and the like, but for what reason? The elder leper mentioned strange lights coming from this part of Sub-Level 16. Following their only lead, Rose Softtrigger takes anyone willing to go to investigate.
Much like the “Wondrous Mechanical Zoo”, there is moisture in the air. The floors are covered in a spongy moss and fungi. Vines clung to the walls and ceiling. However, there were pylons leading toward a large metal opening clear of moss and plant life. A deep ominous hum pulsates from all around.
Rose could hear another approaching. Another gnome, of course, but one she did not know. The mage expected one of the other members to come and try to convince her to return to the surface.
“H-hello. You’re the ‘new face’ right? I’m Rose, nice to meet you properly.”
“Yes ma’am. Triksi Sparkbarrel, I was part of the expedition to come get you.”
Rose smiles, she remembers.
“I am incredibly thankful. I deeply appreciate it… But I must ask if you could please help me help the lepers. You’ve heard about the mana siphon?”
Triksi nods, “I understand that there is something draining mana from everyone and everything in these halls. I’m surprised you even came back down.”
Rose’s eyes glance down before she tucks a stray hair behind her ear, “Well, I feel rested enough, I couldn’t just sit around topside and do nothing. Especially if everyone is doing what they can. Although, I can feel the draining effects. I’ll keep my casting to a minimum.”
“Was there no one else to draw from to help destroy this siphon?”
There it was Rose thought. Triksi was no fool and Rose knew that. She is a gnome after all.
“I-I um, may have also snuck away from the others to do this…” She tugs at her fingers, “So please don’t tell them? They have enough to worry about. I figured with one or two, we would be quiet enough. Do you have explosives to spare?”
Triksi gave an extended pause. It was making Rose a little nervous. What if she refuses? Triksi has every right to walk away, or worse, drag Rose back and inform the others of her activities.
“Yes, I have several ready, including EMP.” The operative answers.
Rose smiles from under her protective mask and sighs internally, “Good. If you feel uncomfortable with this, we could head back…”
“Everyone would know you’re down here, and if they haven’t seen you for a while, they’ll come looking. If you want to do this, you have to use your magic sometime.”
“I’ll do my best to keep myself concealed. Last time I used magic to help the Lepers and it drained me faster. The Elder mentioned seeing strange activities this way, I’m hoping we won’t be gone too long for anyone to notice.” Rose says with confidence and taking a closer look at Triksi’s rifle, “I’m also a good shot, if you have a spare firearm.” She adds.
Triksi shook her head, “I didn’t bring any sidearms, I only have a flare gun otherwise.” she points her weapon to the ground, “How do you know where this siphon is? Does its drain effect become stronger the closer you get to it?”
The mage glances behind her before speaking with Triksi, “See those things? I think they’re connected to the Siphon. Come see this.” She waves her over to follow.
As the apprentice toddles toward one of the few pylons in the area, it begins to glow. Responding with an increasing intensity of white-blue light. The little woman places her hand on the cool metal surface. There is a connection, magic is contained within these pillars. A slight tugging of her mana was trickling away, but it was minimal.
“I think they’re drawing magic from this area. I can sense a funneling effect leading… That way.” Rose nods toward the dark metal opening.
“Precisely what I was thinking. These things are probably a network of siphons. We do not have enough material to create enough explosives to destroy all of these nodes. Seems like we are on a tighter timetable than I thought. We need to find the source where these nodes are routing mana to.”
“My thoughts exactly! Let’s see what we can find and quickly. Blightgadget and his forces must be planning something horrible with it.”
Triksi nods and brandishes her rifle as she walks forward, “Stealth is a requirement, if we end up using all of our explosives we won’t be able to destroy the source.” She looks around and sees multiple nodes in a roundabout fashion, “I think the rule of thumb is to follow the nodes wherever they go.”
Softtrigger follows Triksi closely, her silk slippers already soaked. The metal flooring was a nice change. Both agents would remain as quiet as possible. Stealth, as Triksi encouraged, was paramount. Who knows who or what could be lurking in these rusted halls. They would stop at each pylon to better their heading, it was clear they must continue to follow the large passage. A large gaping cave-like entrance led to a still body of water, Rose was curious if they should investigate but thought against it. Voices echo down the rusted metal hallways. They are hard to decipher from here, but it is clear there are more than one.
As they approach a new opening, the operative advises Rose to stay close to the wall and stay put as she investigates. Triksi quickly sprints to the wall by the doorway, takes off her goggles to make her peeking more subtle then slowly peeks around the corner to see into the next room.
She would see two lepers dragging an unconscious gnome. Both are wearing standard bright orange and yellow soldier jumpsuits with large sealed metal helms with thick green tinted glass covering their faces. Trademark uniforms of Thermaplugg’s army during Operation: Gnomeregan. They were bickering at each other in Gnomish. Ahead of them were more leper soldiers standing near an opening, armed with rifles of questionable quality. The pair would meet with two more armed soldiers who seemed to be guarding an entrance.
Triksi would return to Rose without alerting the lepers. Both agreed to backtrack to inspect a few crates spotted on the way in. It seems this area was being used by the soldiers as they left supplies within sealed containers. After some careful retrieval, they discovered a few hand drilling tools, a few necklaces with a strange insignia, and a lightning rod. After a close encounter with a radiated box, the women decided it was too risky to continue.
Rose eyes the items with curiosity, “What do you plan with those?”
Triksi slides the lightning rod into a small loop strap on her backpack, it was a snug fit. She then sat the drill in her backpack on top of her various kits along with two of the necklaces, “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”
Returning to the opening before the leper guards, the pair would discuss quietly what their next move would be. Rose considered the lightning rod and using it on the pylon nearest them. However, it could also alert everyone from the possible explosion and fluctuating mana flow. It was possible for Rose to cast an invisibility spell, but it would not last long. Finally, Triksi suggested they wait and collect some reconnaissance before taking any action. It would not be long before they could hear new voices. Triksi risks moving closer to better listen and tells Rose to remain behind.
Triksi backs up and goes back to the first corner they peeked from. She waits until the split second the guard closest to them turns away from looking in their direction before shimmying along the wall into the dark corner of the next room. No matter if the guards caught a glimpse of movement, Triksi kept running to hide behind containers and crates. The guard pauses, noticing a shadow. He would stare in her direction for a while before facing forward again. Triksi readied her rifle by bracing it onto a derelict item in front of her ready to shoot the guards if they came to investigate.
The operative lets out a relieved sigh as she maneuvered around the other containers and crates to stay out of sight. With this position, she can easily hear the conversation.
A sinister voice says, “Rustscrew, I want this project of yours complete sooner rather than later.”
The other voice responds, “Yessir, you can count on me. It would be a LOT easier if I had more assistance and protection…”
“Are you saying you cannot handle it?”
“N-no…”
“Good. I would hate for you to disappoint me. There is a commotion in the nearby sector. It seems one of them is causing issues.”
Upon eavesdropping a critical piece of information, takes her rifle again and scans ahead in the room where the voices are coming from. She is attempting to pick up the heat signatures of other lepers. The operative would see four more signatures come out from the opening. The guards stand attention and salute. One of the figures wore dark robes and carried a mechanical staff. A portal would open, tinted with fel magic.
The dark robed leper says, “I’m taking your defensive detail to better deal with the issue. See to the project.”
Rustscrew nods before saying, “Of course, Blightgadget. Hail Thermaplugg.”
Blightgadget nods in return before echoing, “Hail Thermaplugg.”
The leper would command the four soldiers into the portal before stepping into it himself. The fel portal winks away leaving Rustscrew behind. The lone leper returns into the opening out of sight. Triksi looks around to see if there are more leper soldiers prancing around. Without spotting any imminent dangers, she gets up from her dropping eaves position to signal Rose to rally to her position. As Rose quietly approached, Triksi whispered in a calm tone, “I have had visual of Blightgadget. He’s the one responsible for that portal.” she points to the bridge, “He took those guards with him, so we’re clear to proceed up to that point.”
Rose’s eyes dilate and widen, “Cogs… H-he was right there…” She nods slightly, “We should proceed.”
Triksi nods, “Let’s go, I’m not certain that the leper in charge of this sector is the only one here, he goes by the name of Rustscrew. We’ll find out though.”
“That sounds familiar, maybe from a report? Either way, let’s go.”
The pair would move toward Rustbolt’s location with caution. Triksi checking and double checking for any signs of an ambush while Rose would check the pylons along the way. Each one humming stronger than before, she knew they were close, and it was leading straight to the leper technician. As they near where the leper worked, they could hear musical humming along with a thrumming vibrating. Triksi’s infrared scope vision would see two heat signatures. A smaller, walking back and forth between two points and one very large one. It was almost blinding.
Triksi grips her rifle tight, “Alright, this is it.” she looks down the hall again for lepers, “This is probably the room with the main siphoning device.”
“With the guards gone, this may be our only chance.” The still recovering mage wipes her face.
The riflewoman nodded, “On my mark we rush along the wall to the door, if I should be struggling, don’t be afraid to use your magic. There is one gnome behind the doorway, I’m going to attempt to capture him alive. If he’s hostile, then we have to neutralize him.”
Rustscrew still seems oblivious as he is hard at work around his machines. The room beyond is filled with them. The hum of electricity is strong. The center of the room is an even large device where all the machines are connected. A sphere of light containing… Something. It is hard to see from here. Triksi realizes they weren’t spotted, she gives Rose two sticks of improvised grenades that she made earlier, “Here. Just in case I take all the heat and can’t do it.”
Rose gingerly handles the explosives with care. “Of course. Okay… I’ll do what I can to help. If they are too much, I’ll try magic on them too.”
“Destroy the siphon in the event the gnome is resisting or surrendered.” Triksi turns around and gets ready to enter. She readies her rifle and prepares to rush the door, “Three… two…” she pauses, “One… Let’s go.” she bolts off while aiming her rifle loosely at the doorway. She blitzes into the room and immediately aims and begins shouting at the only known leper in the area, “Halt! Stop and get down or I’ll shoot!”
Rustscrew pauses and slowly raises his hands. He would turn to face them. He wore basic work overalls and a single goggle lens over his right eye. His bushy beard and mustache rise as he smiles. His skin is a sickly green and his teeth yellow.
“Oh! Visitors! Welcome… How can I help you?”
The little magistrix gave the leper a confused look before feeling incredibly ill. She whimpers as she holds her head in her hand. She struggles to remain upright. Something was horribly wrong and the pain in her head was excruciating. She rushes the siphon to better place the explosives. Triksi barks an order for him to get on the ground, he calmly refuses with a smile. With his arms still up, traces of shadow flicker around his fingers. Triksi switches shoulders with her rifle and she rummages through her side pouch with her left hand on the trigger, she fires a shot at the gnome at the sight of dark energies forming on his hand. With her other hand at the same time she retrieves something from her pouch.
Rustscrew says to Rose, “What are you planning to do? Blow it up?” He chuckles, the shadow around his fingers spreading before he was shot and seethes as they stumble back, but not fall despite the wound. He glares are Triski, their voice dipping lower with malice, “Nothing you do will change anything. My work is nearly done.”
Triksi shouts to her partner, “Rose, fall back, now!” she tosses a dark grenade after priming it with one hand, with the other, she fires at the gnome again, this time it being shoot to kill. The grenade Triksi threw was an EMP grenade, it released its invisible payload. Rose fumbles with the explosives. Her hands trembling and her vision fading.
Rustscrew is hit directly between the eyes. They would stumble back and fall over. Yet, shadow tendrils would escape their wounds and the “leper” would rise slowly. It was laughing, coldly. Rustscrew ‘s laughter only grows as the EMT detonates. All the machinery would be cut off. Everything would go dark, including the pylons outside. In the center of the room, the large containment sphere is shut down, showing the siphon.
A dark voice reaches into the gnome’s thoughts whispering, “Zshazzz arath SeeZh…”
The magistric was nearly about to ready the pipe bombs before glancing up. Glowing “eyes” would peer back at her. It wasn’t a device at all, but a living thing. The siphon was a creature being fed magic. A tentacle slams against the glass it was kept in. The little gnome stares up at it in horror.
Triksi shuffles towards Rose as she lets out the remaining rounds to keep the void-transforming gnome suppressed as much as she could, “Come on Rose!” She reloads and chambers another clip before snatching Rose by the collar and drags her away from the room, with dynamite in hand or not.
The thing smashes against the thick glass again, cracking it.
Being dragged a few steps snapped her out of her shock before screaming, “RUN!”
‘Rustscrew’ cackles loudly, an otherworldly haunting sound as glass is shattered. An ear-piercing screech blast all around. Triksi yanks one of the sticks out of Rose’s hand, “Light one and go!” she set alight one stick of dynamite and haphazardly throws it in the doorway, Rose would do the same as they quickly made their exit. The bombs would blow, causing some damage to the structure within. Another scream would sound, this time even louder. An echo would reach within their minds, scratching against their thoughts.
Triksi pulls Rose out of the line of sight of the void-twisted monstrosities; she’s fought agents of the Black Empire before. The mage on the other hand has never seen the like before. She was panicking.
“I-I-I….”
Cupping Rose’s face Triksi says, “Stay with me, we’re getting out of here, just stay focused.” she ‘gently’ shoves Rose along the way they came, “Let’s keep going!”
The shadow beast contained would burst through the last of its bonds, giving chase to the gnomes. It was a Faceless One, a minion of N’Zoth. Rose’s tears were streaming but she nodded curtly. Wincing as the giant came closer, fear giving her the speed to run for her life. “Okay. OKAY!” Before following Rose, Triksi pops a smoke capsule in the open hallway from her Capsule Launcher module, creating a smokescreen.
The Faceless One would not slow but would be disoriented by the smoke, buying little precious time. Rose could feel it reaching out. Flooding her mind with images of terror. Rose would cast a wild blast of fire magic out of fear as they ran, causing the ground the smolder. Triksi pops her final smoke capsule out from her Capsule Launcher, creating a second smoke screen, “Let’s go!” she said before taking a few potshots with her rifle. The Shadow monstrosity rumbles around the corner, screeching and slamming its tentacles. The fire spell and smoke capsule, along with the destructive child of N’Zoth, causes the nearby waters to stir. A mechanical crocolisk would leap from the water and snap at the Faceless One. The pair would battle as the gnomes ran for safety.
The ex-soldier of the Alliance notices Rose is running around like a headless chicken and grabs her by the shirt again and wraps her arm around the neck.
“I’m here, don’t panic. And no more spells until we’re long far away from that thing!”
The screams echo from the rusty hallway. Rose would be hyperventilating as she was grabbed. Her eyes dilated in sheer terror. Pushing away Triksi before glomming onto her and sobbing.
“Th-there is an armored door. T-to the other lepers and camp. Let’s go, please? Let’s go. Let’s go.” She would repeat a few more times before sobbing again.
Triksi released Rose from her grip, “Okay, okay, get the gate open, hurry.”
Rose would stare back at the opening, expecting that thing to come. She nods before quickly reaching the heavy door and pulling it open.
“W-well have to tell the others… W-what the Cog is going on down here?”
“Looks like radiation isn’t the only thing we have to worry about down here. Now we know Blightgadget is working with forces of the void. None of the gnomes at the leper camp can fight against that.”
“… Can we? I’ve never seen anything like that…”
“It takes a special soldier to fight one of those agents as powerful as that faceless. Come on, we need to get back to the camp, and you need to get back to the surface.”
“… Okay. But I am staying, to help. I think my magic at least isn’t draining anymore.”
As the two seal themselves within the tunnel back to the leper camp and return to safety, Rose could swear she could hear the Faceless One still screaming. Every slam near her caused her to jump as they traveled the rusted walkways back to camp to inform the others.