Janos inspects each of the rooms, ensuring there are no further surprises in them before allowing the others to rest for the evening. He examines the chest and books as well as looking into the wardrobes for anything interesting. "You think one of these was Aaron's room?"
After searching the rooms, Janos returns back downstairs while the others prepare for the evening. He checks on his cloak hanging over the fireplace, finding it steaming, but not yet dry. He rests for a moment, enjoying the crackle of the fire and peacefulness. Not too many moments like this lately.
While the others retire, Janos moves to the smoking room. The ranger lights a pipe again and sits in the plush chair. Minutes turn to hours as the half-elf loses himself in combination of the heady pipe smoke and the soft cushions. Feeling himself dropping off, he extinguishes the pipe carefully and then closes his eyes.
After Dantrian's ministrations, Drosil finds sleep hard to come by. After an hour or so, he checks the locks on the window, then grabs his daggers and sits on the floor, back against the door. I almost died three times today; the troll...gods, that troll..., he shakes his head at the memory and shudders, ...then the elemental, the Erinyes... He sighs. Each time, these friends were there to save me, help me, but will they always be there? Will they always be enough? Is this quest worth my life? Eventually, these thoughts run together and intersperse themselves in his dreams...he wakes up in a cold sweat, screaming, and lashes out with his daggers before he realizes that day has broken, cold and hard. He stands up and stretches before he remembers his wounds, nearly collapsing from the pain. Eventually, though, he recovers enough to compose himself, and leaves the bedroom to rejoin the others.
Before he and B'yelka have a slumber party in the master suite, Tibideau makes his way back to the wine cellar and tobacco jars and helps himself to a few bottles of dry Chardonnay and his great uncle's favorite tobacco. He drinks quite a few glasses and puffs away, and commiserates with B'yelka about Dantrian. "He wants to seem so complicated but it's really quite simple. He just hates fun, I'm afraid. And he hates that he hates fun so he has to frown at fun all the time. Because a really bad thing happened to him. Join the club!" Tibideau rants. "And Drosil, the poor thing! We've got to stop sending him out to get torn up all the time."
Despite all the drinking, Tibideau goes to sleep on his side of the queen-sized bed at a decent hour and wakes up relatively refreshed. The most amazing property of Chardonnay that they never write about in Stefan Sporley's Wine Quarterly is that it kills dreams! He sits quietly with Bonbon on a comfortable desk chair for about an hour, sipping water and snacking on some exquisitely spiced deer jerky he found in the storage room. When B'yelka wakes up, he greets her warmly. "Morning!"
Level 0: Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Guidance, Message
Level 1: Enlarge Person x2, Infernal Healing x2, Cure Light Wounds, Mage Armors
Level 2: Cure Moderate Wounds x2, Glitterdust, Lipstitch
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Summon Monster III x2
Level 4: Dimension Door, Summon Monster IV
The previous night
Dantrian nods at Anton's words, the simple gesture showing he disagrees with the paladin's suspicions but he understands why Anton might hold them. He rises, "Thank you for listening and for watching over the group, Anton." He departs then and spends the rest of the night in troubled sleep.
In the morning
"Have any of you means to see if the magic that summoned the erinyes over the bridge is still in place? If the spell remains intact and can be unwoven, that's certainly something we should attempt before attempting to cross once more."
"Defeating wards is not someting that I would say is in my repertoire. However, if you insist, I can see what I can do." B'yelka whistles a bar, casting Detect Magic With that she asks Drosil, "If you would be so kind as to lead the way, we will see what we can see."
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When B'yelka requests that he lead once more, he tries to appear braver than he feels. "Of course, B'yelka; it's worked well so far..." He takes several deep breaths and tries - and fails - to halt the shaking of his limbs as he steps back out onto the bridge.
As Drosil steps on to the bridge, Dantrian reachs out and puts a clawed hand on the fetchling's shoulder. "Let me lead, Drosil."
Oh, no... B'yelka chews her lip as she debates how to respond to Drosil's reticence. "Mister Almaeus is right, this can be your day off, dear friend." She gives Drosil a heartfelt hug, hoping that he understands she meant well.
"Lead on, Mister Almaeus."
Anton readies his bow once again and though he has no confidence that his innate ability to see the darkness in men's hearts will help in this situation, he focuses his attention anyway, hoping he can pick up any trace of evil in the area.
Janos steps up near the bridge, readying his own bow as well. "Tread carefully, but we shall have your backs."
The trap was a one time only affair, thankfully for the Six.
The far end of the demolished stone bridge clings to the cliff beneath a large building. A statue of a beautiful nymph stands next to a pair of double doors. Above the doors is a stained glass window depicting a unicorn. The rope bridge on this side is very secure.
Tibideau follows along behind Anton, taking in the magnificent structure in front of them. "Yes, let's all be a bit more careful this time around."
Dantrian falls off the bridge.
He fails to grab ahold of anything, and plummets 150' into the raging waters of the falls below.
"No!!!" B'yelka snaps her fingers and suddenly Dantrian's free fall becomes a gentle descent. "How did we not see this coming?"
Seeing Dantrian tumble off the bridge (and luckily floating to a safe splash) and the others making it safely to the other side, Janos carefully removes his armor. He straps it to his pack and carefully tries to make his way across the bridge.
Once he's crossed the rickety bridge, he breathes a sigh of relief as he puts his armor back on.
After returning to the manse wet and soggy once more, Dantrian spends a brief minute to brew an extract. After quaffing it, he floats a few inches in the air above the traitorous bridge and pulls himself across its span.
HP: 52/52 +17 temp
AC: 22 [11 T/ 21 FF] (+6 armor, +1 dex, +5 natural)
CMD: 19
F/R/W: +6/+6/+4
Spontaneous Healing used: 0/35hp
Hero Points used: 3/7
Prepared Mutagen: Strength (darkvision, scent) [X]
Prepared 1st Level Extracts (3+1): cure light wounds [ ], shield [ ] [ ], open [ ] [ ]
Prepared 2nd Level Extracts (3+1): ablative barrier [X], barkskin [X], false life [X], levitate [X]
Prepared 3rd Level Extracts (1+1): thorn body [ ] [ ]
-Ongoing Effects-
mutagen: 35/70 minutes remaining
barkskin: 35/70 minutes remaining
ablative barrier: 0/35 damage converted, 7 hours
Anton shakes his head as he sees Dantrian float helplessly down the gorge.
If Dantrian can't make it, there's no way I can. Anton says grimly to Janos before he sets off. Listen can you take a rope across with you, I'll hold on to it this side and then if you tie it off over there at least if I do fall, you guys can haul me up the other side.
He sees the ranger make it and, following suit, removes his armor. He also packs away his hat, just in case, before he sets off.
The first few steps are nervous but before long he finds his stride and counters the swaying bridge by alternately bracing and gauging the movement. With a sigh of relief he reaches the other side.
After seeing Dantrian fall, however slowly, Drosil once again pulls out his rope of climbing, anchoring it on the far end of the bridge. "Let's not let anyone else fall, hmm?" He makes his way easily across the bridge, scanning the way ahead for traps.
Once he arrives at the far ledge, he checks the door for more traps.
Janos struggles back into his chainmail armor, feeling the weight settle back around his shoulders. He holds the rope for Anton, helping the Paladin across. When Dantrian makes it back up to them, he will help him across with the rope as well.
"Not again! You just can't stay out of the water, can you?" Tibideau remarks upon Dantrian's return. He stands on the far side of the bridge and watches the others make their way across. The witch then casts a spell on himself, chastising himself for almost forgetting it again.
B'yelka steps close to Drosil, "You don't have to do this alone. Let me help."
The door does not appear to be locked or trapped in any way. Drosil opens the doors.
This room is crammed with cabinets full of weird, alchemically preserved creatures, including a pair of ice mephit wings, several large spiders, parts of a dissected giant slug, and the digestive tracts and proboscises of three stirges. There are doors leading further North, West and South.
Dantrian's dampened mood improves somewhat as he realizes the nature of the objects on display. He lingers in front of the stirge proboscises for a long minute, memories of Harrowstone and their struggle against the piper playing through his mind.
After examining each of the organs closely, he simply mutters, "Fascinating," to himself. There's an obvious tone of admiration in his voice, even though the remark is hardly more than a whisper.
It means nothing to me. Anton says, wandering around the room. [b]But I can recognize passion and learning when I see it.
Janos looks around at the specimens in bewilderment. He had seen some hunters take trophies from kills, even mount them. But this seemed completely different, somehow alien, even if he had seen the same creatures in the swamp.
"This is...unnatural."
Let's not dwell on it for now. When we find the man, we can ask him himself.
Anton waits for Drosil to check the north door for traps before slowly pushing it open.
Seeing Anton lingering near the northern door, Drosil checks it for traps and attempts to open it.
Tibideau shudders at the sight of the preserved critter remains. He is mildly amused by Dantrian's interest in the bugs but manages to stop himself from making a comment out loud. See? The man loves bugs.
This room is filled with weird-looking preserved creatures. Two elaborately carved and painted sarcophagi stand against the east and west walls. A pile of chains lies in the center of the floor.
Among the more unsavory creatures on display in this room are the tentacle of a froghemoth, a pickled intellect devourer, and a desiccated darkmantle.
There is a door in the northern wall, and an open trapdoor revealing a set of stairs that leads down in the north east corner.
Janos looks at the preserved bodies. "I don't even know what these are. Some magical creatures, possibly?" He moves over to the pile of chains to inspect them, lifting one and then dropping it back to the floor. He looks to see if they are connected to anything.
"Not only are these specimins rare, but the skill with which they've been treated is quite impressive. Whomever is responsible for preparing, dissecting, and preserving all of these has a keen mind and considerable talent."
He turns to Tibideau, "Tibideau, from what you've read on various matters concerning golemcraft, do you think these preserved organs might be used for such a purpose? We've seen the Beast and can recognize it as an amalgam of parts harvested from similar humanoid creatures; do you suppose parts from dissimilar creatures could be used as well?"
You are the experts in this kind of thing. But just by the look of Aaron even I can see he appears to be a mish-mash of other creatures. Even if these aren't used to make other creatures perhaps this is where they refined the craft. And over there.. he points to the ruined room they just came from. ...well perhaps it wasn't refined as well as they thought.
Who knows? More riddles.
"Aaron's 'father' can explain. If he is still here." B'yelka vaguely peruses the potpourri of unpalatable parts. Her thoughts are obviously elsewhere as she doesn't even flinch or frown in distaste when she sees the four-legged brain in its brine. Were we in a hurry? This place is so strange. Alas, here we are, looking at a mad-doctor's laboratory kit. "Could be worse. At least there is no summoning circle and talk of contracts and binding." She smirks as she imagines her father's head in one of these jars, sullen or angry, but pickled all the same. Funny. Aaron's father. My father. So much comes back to the same idea.
"Are we done in here?"
As the Six discuss the contents of the chamber, the coffin on the east end of the room suddenly begins melting. It changes color to a pale milky beige. It takes on the shape of a gloopy liquid-rubber monster with a gaping maw full of huge, sharp teeth.
At the same time the sarcophagus on the other end of the room creaks open, and a shambling corpse wrapped in funerary linens emerges, heading for Janos.
Anton:
Drosil:
B'Yelka:
Dantrian:
Tibideau:
Janos:
Mummy:
Mimic:
Mimic 12
Party 11
Mummy 7
The gooey beast surges forward and tries to crash into Drosil. It hits him hard, and the rogue can feel himself instantly stuck fast to the thing as it wraps around him and envelops him. The rogue cries out in pain as the creature tightens down on him and cracks several of his ribs, and dislocates one of his shoulders.
_______________________________
Janos stares at the linen wrapped corpse shambling towards him. An eerie calm is in his voice. "Help Dros. I'll take care of this walking corpse." The ranger strides forward, drawing his sword and strikes, trying to cut at the sinuous tendons he knows holds the creature together.
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Hearing the commotion behind him, Anton spins on his heel and instantly starts firing at the slobbering horror attacking Drosil
Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, Fail, Fail
Drosil, daggers always ready after the events yesterday, stabs at the creature enveloping him.
* * * * Before the combat * * * *
Tibideau shrugs at Dantrian. "I do remember reading the harrowing tale of a monstrous critter with a froghemoth tentacle for a right arm. He walked around smacking anyone who dared mock his appearance. Quite a romantic tragedy." The witch scratches his head. "But now I'm thinking that was actually a novel..."
* * * * Then suddenly... * * * *
Tibideau tries to babble on, but suddenly finds that he can't move his mouth. He strains, his brain bursting with information about the Mummy that he just can't share.
HP 44/44
AC 18 but probably bad because of being paralyzed
Ongoing Effects:
Mage Armor, about 6.5 hours remaining
Paralyzed, two rounds remaining
Level 0: Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Guidance, Message
Level 1: Enlarge Person x2, Infernal Healing x2, Cure Light Wounds, Mage Armors
Level 2: Cure Moderate Wounds x2, Glitterdust, Lipstitch
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Summon Monster III x2
Level 4: Dimension Door, Summon Monster IV