Chapter 3.19: The Plane In Between

(Natural 1 versus AC) (21 versus AC) (9 versus AC)
“Guys”, Lyssa shouts nervously, “please take it down before it can attack!”
She doesn’t have to say that twice. The increasingly loud noise and the automaton’s sudden movements startle Bruq. He quickly tries to pull himself together and follows Lyssa’s instruction. He jabs his glaive forward, trying to pierce or damage the metal skin, but the spectator’s irregular pattern of floaty movements makes it hard to hit.
“You disappoint, goatman”, Dargothoth says and he forcefully raises his sceptre into the air. As always, the sapphire changes colour, but something is different this time. The red glow is brighter than usual and seems to encase his whole weapon. He brings it down with a wide swing and smacks the spectator on its flank.
The blow moves their enemy a couple of feet back, right when Oslando tries to chop off one of its eyestalks. The half-elf misses and his flaming blade hits the ground.
Above the battlefield, Oanoa still observes the fight.
“Your turn, my child. Show me that I didn’t waste my time on building you.”
(DC 13 versus constitution 21) (DC 13 versus constitution 7)
It’s almost as if the spectator hears the words of its creator and it goes in for the attack. Two of its crystal eyes keep track of its enemies’ movements, two other eyes turn to its targets of choice.
The eyestalk with the topaz turns to the draconian cleric. Dargothoth can see its increasing glow just in time and evades the yellow ray of light that shoots his way. The sound of the eye ray echoes throughout the entire training grounds.
This scene distracts Lyssa enough to miss how subtly the spectator turns its black eye towards her. The obsidian stone releases a ray of dark energy. As it travels through the air, it’s almost like they can hear people scream and cry somewhere in the background. That harrowing sound disappears when the black beam hits the siren right in the chest. She gasps for air as an unnatural cold gets hold of her body. She falls the her knees, hands on the ground to stop crashing into it.
(Spell save DC 14 versus 14 constitution)
“Lyssa!” Mero shouts and he looks at her with a startled gaze. He turns back to the automaton and walks right up to it.
“I don’t care if my uncle sees you as a replacement for his lost children. I will not let you hurt my friends!”
The sorcerer claps his hands together and a thundering sound accompanies an invisible but forceful push. Just when the spell is about to hit the spectator, its central eye glows with a bright blue light. Mero recognizes it, but can’t act quickly enough. It’s a spellcaster’s worst nightmare: spell reflection. The puppet is pushed back a couple of feet. He holds on to his hat and tries not to fall over.

“His eye is green, his eye is yellow.
I will withstand this metal fellow.
His eye is purple, his eye is black.
I want my strength and vitality back.”

The words escape Lyssa’s mouth quickly, but they sound pained instead of frivolous. Her breathing accelerates. A deep sigh follows. She calms down.
(18 versus AC) (9 versus AC)
Bruq has observed the slow floating patterns long enough to calculate his next attack. He pushes his glaive forward. The sharp blade cuts the metal skin. He feels he has hit something on the inside. His blade is stuck and the sound of metal scratching metal is accompanied by a thick plume of smoke.
“Much better”, the cleric says and he smiles insincerely at the satyr.
Dargothoth swings again, but the spectator falls to the ground. It’s engine can’t hold it up anymore. The draconian misses his target.
“Better than you”, Bruq says with a grin.
“Only because you screwed this up. I will break it.”
But the half-elf beats him to the punch. The flaming longsword cuts right through the metal and creates a large gaping wound across the front. They can see the small cogwheels turning through the smoke and wires hanging loose, sparks flying everywhere. His shortsword finds its way inside. The wheels start to turn slower as a layer of frost spreads across them. The crystal eyes stop glowing and the mechanical noises die away.
They look up to see what Oanoa is going to do. He keeps floating there and shakes his head slowly.
“If that would be all”, he shouts, “my creation would be a disappointment indeed. Don’t worry. There is a part two.”