Seekers

The Seekers are elite agents of the Mechanist Guild in Yuria, sent out on difficult, specialist missions for the Guild.

Their appearance is uniform - they have golden geometric faces made of plates of metal, without any breaches for their eyes, mouth or nose.

The metal appears to cover their entire body, suggesting that they are some form of Warforged or other mechanical construct created by the Guild.

Involvement with The Rat Pack
The Rat Pack first encountered a Seeker when Ranaan was arrested for drunkenly stealing Coda's gun and blowing a hole in the roof of a tavern. The firearm was put into evidence, but news reached the Mechanists and a Seeker was sent to investigate.

The party managed to retrieve the gun and Ranaan from the prison before they could be apprehended by the Seeker, but the Guild was alerted to the firearm, and its inventor, being present in the city.

A Seeker was seen in Dagdum some weeks later, while the Rat Pack were dealing with an Oni stalking the town's streets. Though the party were not spotted by the Seeker, they were apprehended outside the city by three of them, who used a strange implement to paralyze the entire party.

The Journal From The Dirt
While investigating an old house in Yuria, Coda discovered a journal half buried in the cellar. It was the diary of a Mechanist who lived some two hundred years ago, and appeared to have been involved in the creation of the very first Seekers.

In the journal, it was revealed that several hundred volunteers, mostly from poor families who needed the money, were experimented on and killed as the process was too much for their bodies to handle.

The journal made reference to the original Seekers as being people with machine parts grafted into their bodies.

The writer of the journal was driven mad slowly by the deaths weighing on his conscience, and fled Yuria to a remote cave in order to continue his research and experiments.

K9
While the party were quarantined in Ishellan during an outbreak of plague, they encountered a Seeker aiding survivors. It acted strangely towards the party, appearing helpful one moment and threatening the next.

After destroying the first altar in Ishellan, Coda suggested that the party investigate the local Mechanist Guild building, hoping to find some information to gain the upper hand over the Guild and its Seekers. Inside, despite the entire town being abandoned and empty, the party heard an orchestra playing somewhere in the building. When they investigated further they discovered a Seeker. It held a small wax cylinder which was playing recorded music. The party confronted the Seeker, whose behavior became increasingly erratic.

It told the party that it was rogue, no longer following the orders of the Mechanists, and that it was acting of its own free will to aid the survivors of the Ishellan plague. This went against everything the party had assumed about Seekers, and they were shocked by the revelation.

The Seeker told them his name was K9. He answered the party's questions, but his behavior swung dramatically and he would often forget what he was talking about, or revert to a brainwashed state where he appeared to be nothing but a tool of the Mechanists.

K9 departed, instilling hope in Esme that the Seekers could be freed from the yolk of the Mechanists, their free will restored to them.