Moving off after Avendryl behind the bar and around the great tree, Tolias moves in following his lead in checking in the doorways for any stairs down to a basement below "Heya Saiga, Doc, any chance that we can get some sort of spell of light once we find this basement? These elven eyes o'mine are keen but they still won't cut through a pitch darkness."
Saiga shakes his head.
"It's a wonder how you function with such poor eyes. Here you go."
He snaps his fingers, balls of golden light appear.
The door to the north proves to be a set of stairs heading down into the gloom, while the door to the south opens upon a large kitchen made up of polished granite work surfaces and several heavy ovens. A door appears to outside in the kitchen's east wall.
"Down the stairs it is I suppose. Saiga if you would be as so kind as to direct your Dancing Lights down the stairwell ahead of us." the magus says moving toward the stairwell.
Rock grunts, "You want me to go first?" She wonders, raising her eyebrows. Her arms are still folded over her chest, and she's wandering behind the scouters.
The basement of the Thirsty Dryad is what you have come to expect - dominated by the trunk and roots of Azerna's tree. To the south several heavy racks hold metal casks - almost certainly wines that served the inn. The heavy flagstones across the floor are heavily caked in dirt and dust, and obviously haven't been trodden on for several years. A single door in the west wall can be seen past the tree's huge trunk, standing ajar, darkness beyond.
.
Saiga looks around as he directs his lights from behind the others. As he scans the place he notices a few things.
"There are old footprints there, an old blood stain there, and the magical aura is coming from over there."
He points as he says.
"Footprints did you say Saiga? I'll have a closer look into these to see if I can find out anything else from them while the rest of you check into that magical aura you're sensing."
Moving over to the tracks that Saiga has pointed out, Tolias kneels down closer to the ground from where they start to get a better look at them, deliberately and slowly following their path in towards the base of the tree as he attempts to discern some further details than from what is immediately visible.
Saiga keeps some bodies between him and the unknown sections, an open route of escape at his back. Then points again.
"There."
Rock marches towards the magical auras with Drake, a frown of concentration on her face.
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Drake picks up the weapon and sighs slightly, both at the show of disgrace to the gore still upon the weapon and that the Dawnflower was still changing his fate. He grabs out his waterskin and a strip of cloth from inside his bag and cleans off the gore before showing it to the group.
"Scimitar dedicated to Sarenrae... going to continue to clean this, make sure it gets the respect it deserves."
Stretching up from his position crouched near the base of the tree, Tolias starts absentmindedly brushing off the dust of the floor from one of his knees with his free hand as continues to look down at the prints he has been examining with a questioning gaze. These must be what...something near two decades old if I'm reading them correctly. Did she mention that the hauntings started that long ago?
Moving over towards the others standing around near the wine casks just in time to catch Arcturus as he pulls a gore covered scimitar out from a hollow in the ground and begins cleaning up the sword. "A fine looking blade you've found there, any counting themselves among the Dawnflower's faithful would be proud to own it." Waving a hand back towards the tree and the tracks he has been examining he continues on "Those tracks there are old, some twenty years old if I'm reading them correctly, and they lead in and out of that other room to the east before heading back up the stairs. Not sure how the blood might be connected to them though."
Saiga thought about it a second.
"No one says the person killed had to be the ghost. Could be they provoked a spirit or someone already dead around here. Not unheard of to stir up the long dead by desecration."
Being a reptile he sensed the cold.
"No..no!" A shadowy figure forms near the base of the tree, hands raised as though trying to protect itself. As it cowers the sword in Drake's hand twitches towards the figure, and starts pulling the good Doctor over.
As Drake lets go the blade shoots towards the figure. For a moment a second shadow is visible, raising the blade, before lashing out. The second figure shrinks back, shrieking in fear - too loud, and too high.
The yowl cuts off suddenly, both figures vanishing and the sword dropping to the ground with a metallic clang.
"Arcturus, Do you think your abilities to harm the undead would work on these apparitions should we try and claim the scimitar again?"
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Drake is unable to cover his ears fast enough as his ear drum is hit with a shattering sound. He hears a muffled voice from Avendryl and looks at him slightly confused. "WHAT?"
Reading his lips, he nods slightly "I THINK SO, NOT SURE UNLESS WE TRY!" he practically yells being unable to hear the volume of his voice.
Saiga's nature again serves him well as he simple uses the muscles around his ear holes to shut them. Yet he still feels the vibrations in his body.
"May I suggest we deal with the source of the problem rather then expend time and energy on a symptom of it. If the ghost is dealt with then this should go with it."
Avendryl easily shakes off the majority of the unearthly scream.
As the scream ends Tolias shakes his head violently once as if trying to dislodge something from his ear, despite this he seems to have weathered through the harsh sound with little trouble.
A loud crashing noise erupts from the room next door.
Saiga directs one of his lights over but does not move any closer. Preparing a spell just in case.
The light reveals only the door to the western room, slightly ajar.
Watching closely as one of Saiga's lights heads off towards the doorway over on the western side of the room, as the door becomes better lit and outlines that it is slightly open Tolias squints at it vainly trying to see further into the room beyond. Steeling himself with thoughts of how he has been trained to combat foes exactly such as these, he carefully moves forward and gives the doorway a firm push to fully open it up before raising and readying his bow against any threats that may be revealed.
The light from the Dancing Lights spell reveals a large room with huge racks of shelves, each containing large barrels - most likely containing beer. To the north there is and odd looking device of brass and bronze tubing, with several dust covered barrels sitting inside it. Some of the pipe seems to have given in to age, and a barrel sits smashed on the floor, dust still settling back down upon it.
Rock clapped her hands over her ears and grumbled to herself. She also slapped Arcturus on the back, though he probably didn't hear her mutter, "Keep it down..."
Avendryl carefully approaches the western door, his blade at the ready, and opens the door to reveal what lies behind it.
The room beyond is dark and gloomy, covered in dust. The stacks of barrels and machinery is being re-coated from the fallen barrel you heard earlier.
A grinding noise from behind causes you to turn. A slab of flagstone slowly rises, apparently pushed up by a root, and a skeletal creature drags itself up. It takes up the scimitar, which starts to ooze blood again, and looks around.
The dirt caked skull turned and scanned the area, spotting Drake, and moving towards the Oracle. The creature's tattered clothes hung around it's limp frame, and it's ragged armour shifted around with a clank. The creature raised the sword and swung at Drake.
Saiga was not going to waste anything on a mere skeleton, he points his finger at the undead letting off a shot.
But the close confines make for a bad shot and his spell goes wide by far, a near by patch of wall taking the unseen impact.
Avendryl charges his blade and moves into a flanking position with Arcturus and slashes at the bloody skeleton...
(flank) - Potential Crit
(flank)
A strange sound cause Tolias to remain at the the door to the pump room for now.
Acendryl's blow simply chips the creatures bone. The solid crunch of the Aasimar's mace smashed the creatures rib cage, causing it to hiss in what could be taken as pain. It took another swipe at the Aasimar.
Saiga fires again at the skeleton.
The second blow severs the creature in half, it's remaining ribs splintering and it's spine flying apart from the force of the blow. With a hiss and the sound of bones chips scattering the Skeleton collapses to the ground, once again lifeless.
"Well anyone besides me think we should lock that blade in a room. Or is it just me?"
Rock grunts, "What does that have to do with anything." Clearly, not the quickest on the uptake.