All's well until an unexpected strike.

With trying to conceal exactly how I operated, I was **** to take a midline posture-using directed Smites and heals whenever one of the others manages to slip up and get hit by those things. Something that proved necessary because, even with their relative slowness, these creatures proved annoyingly tenacious-only to be expected, given their metal construction. And the longer things went on, the more chance there was for a slip-up that sees someone nursing a gash from an integrated blade or sent flying from a powerful fist.

The more room-like structure gave the harpy slightly more wiggle room than the half-letting her practically launch herself to tear at them with talons. Going for the eyes might not be as effective as if it were the real thing, but its's sure beats nothing. Which is about the effect the deer had at first, peppering with arrows that bounced off uselessly. Until she seemed to get some inspiration, and pulled something out of her saddlebags, and tossed it-whatever it was turning to a mass of vines in flight-soon wrapping around the golem and binding it up. That left it immobilized enough for the dragon to get a clean hit that took its head right off. While its head may not have had a brain, it was still necessary-so its body hit the floor like sack of bricks.

A bit surprised at this, I take a closer look at the ones involved in that fight rearrange-and see some kind of symbol in its mouth. Ah, going with the real classics for this one. I quickly communicate this to the rest-while distracting one of the automatons. Outnumbering them, Arete works with the dragon -giving them a faceful of fire hot enough to mar it's mark and deanimate it-leaving the significantly more agile constructs and their blades against the six of us. Sadly, that fight was a lot less eventful-while they may have not actually had things like tendons, they had analogous wires running through their frame that meant they could be cut-a big weakness consider how many of use used some variant of sharp thing for damage. They were practically dismantled in the fight-wines and wires vulnerably spots that they fell apart with after a few well aimed strikes.

Though the fight was short, it was intense-and so we took a few minutes to catch our breaths before moving on-as well as wonder why doors were still barred. I thought they'd open once the enemies were dealt with. A few companions busy themselves with checking the closet for some kind of switch or similar, while I looked over the scrap to sate some curiosity about how it worked-after all, if it reacted while being wholly clockwork, that'd imply it was made by a psychic, so there must have been something more going on. After a few moments, I noticed something odd-the body giving a small twitch before I saw some cut strands begin to move and join back together. "Um, guys, I don't think-"

My attempt at a warning is covered up by a much louder one in the form of a scream from our green-skinned ally-the other automata apparently having reformed enough to lift up it's arm on the relaxing creature and get off a clean stab-in through the back, and out through the chest.