Spasi agrees with Clem, liking the energy and thought that the man was bringing to the table.
"Yeah, just need to think about what I should be bringing in. I got me the invisiblity, the dimension bamf, fly if I need it. Got me a few tricks against them golems, too," Spasi says.
"I'm not going to buy nothing right now. I think I'm good to go. Tomorrow after lunch, maybe?" Spasi suggests, looking at the team. "I have some plans tonight, with the Calistrians, I'm sure you understand. Anyone want to join me?" Spasi looks at the team, leering lustfully. Then he corrects himself. "No, not *with* me, but with me...I'm sure they have women for all your types. All of them," Spasi nods at Clem, as if understanding exactly what the man wants.
"So...tomorrow then?"
"I'd like to help guys but I got my hammer and this shiney new bow, I'm flat broke."
He thinks about Spasi's offer and his deflated purse.
"Uh...thanks Spasi but I think I'll just sit here tonight."
Clement claps Rhesus on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. I've got your share covered."
Clement considers Spasi's offer, knowing that while he has paid service to many of the empyreal lords, he has yet to pay any kind of service to Arshea.
Bibic, having poured much of his remaining cash into the endeavor none the less spends the bulk of his last coins on celebration that night with Spasi, and uh, without him.
He'll blow 50gp on the night's revelry.
The morning finds him sore and semi-conscious, but he rallies well and by noon is more or less ready for breakfast. I don't need to be ready before noon, just before Spasi. he grins though the thin stew his stomach can handle.
When the party is ready, and after someone has cast the air walk, Spasi will get the team huddled together for the Invisibility Sphere. We aim for A6.
To get ready, Bibic casts Heroism on himself and Rhesus. He takes out his bow and tests the air walk by climbing a foot or two in the air.
"Ready!"
Clement struggles a bit with the words and gestures he's never seen before, but nonetheless manages to get the spell off.
He then takes a couple steps up, testing his airwalk as well as he puts a hand on Rhesus's shoulder.
"You first..."
You manage to successfully get up on to the terrace. The are is still and silent.
Still invisible, Spasi guides the party to the A4/A5 courtyard area, looking for trouble or guards. If he finds none, he'll shrug and try to gain entry into A16.
Spasi avoids talking while he walks invisibily, if possible.
Bibic, bow at the ready, follows Spasi, careful to stay in the invisible bubble. He sticks close and stays quiet - aside from a brief cough in there, he does OK...
Clement follows along as quietly as possible.
This large balcony has been sculpted and landscaped into a wide garden that runs all the way to the unfenced edge, where short vines trail off into empty space. The plant life that clusters in low mounds is a mixture ofshade-loving forest undergrowth and brilliantly colored mushrooms and other fungi. The entire garden is lit to a soft twilight by eight-foot-high lampposts with glowing yellow-orange globes at their tops, and neat stone footpaths carve winding trails around and between them.
This gazebo is built of unpainted wood lattice with a rounded roof that's covered in growing vines. The southern wall is open, revealing an interior that's been used to store an impressive number of levers, bars, gears, cogs, glass containers, rope, pulleys, and other mechanical parts and strange tools.
Seeing no obvious guards, you press on.
The ceiling in this room rises to fifteen feet, and a single enormous picture window takes up most of the northeastern wall. A long, elegant wooden dining table and eight high-backed chairs stand in the center of the room. The only decorations are two life-sized clay statues of soldiers in exotic armor, one standing at attention to either side ofthe doors leading in from the garden.
Before getting too close (say 40' away from the door to A16), Bibic grabs his Golembane Scarab and checks the so-called clay statues by the door. He's looking to see if they, or anything else in the room, might be golems of some kind (detect golem 60' range).
Spasi smiles as Bibic does what he's been waiting for.
"Nice work. No need to get our brains bashed in when we can avoid it. Seeing as we're still invisible, they may not react to us. The only question is that if they are golems, do we want to activate them now or when we're fleeing with the troll?"
Spasi pauses, thinking about something.
"Exactly how much of the troll do you think we need to bring back, anyway? Can't they regenerate pretty good? Maybe we just need to bring back a foot, then watch him grow back? That'd be much easier, huh?"
Clement waits patiently for Bibic, knowing that the elf will also be their point person to quietly enter from the garden into the room with the clay soldiers.
He responds to Spasi with a brief reply... "Shhhhh..."
Rhesus waits uncomfortably while the others do things he can't see. He's desperate to scratch an itch but can't see where it is.
Bibic lets everyone know what he discovered. He enters the room and gives it a quick search.
"Where to next?" he whispers to the group.
Spasi enters the room and closes the doors behind them.
"Let's go that way," Spasi says, pointing to A14. He allows Clem or Rhese to do the honors.
"Keep an eye out for other golems, Bibs. We'll want to know before they get us." Spasi mentions.
Rhesus leads the way.
"I ain't afraid of no golems."
When you speak, the statues' heads swivel towards your general direction, but that is all. For now.
Clement delivers the same reply he delivered earlier to his companions.
"Shhhhh..."
He then moves ahead with a hand on Rhesus's shoulder as they make their way to the next room .
Bibic follows the others, only checking for golems when they stop to open/listen at a door.
Spasi waits to see what's what in A14, unwilling to speak too much and give away their stealth.
This kitchen appears partially automated, with several spindly mechanical arms extruding from counters and holding rolling pins or chef's knives. To the northwest, a window looks out over the scrap heap and the edge of the balcony. A pair of other doors stand along the southern wall. By far the largest feature in the room is a potbellied iron stove along the western wall, its several extruded arms holding pots and skillets.
When you open the door, the arms spring to life, coming to rest at attention, awaiting further instructions.
"Scones. Lots of scones. Or muffins. Blueberry," Spasi says to the arms, not expecting much, but hopeful.
Depending on the likelihood of scones or muffins appearing, Spasi will push the party to A15, then A12.
Clement, invisibly presses his palm to his forehead as Spasi requests scones or muffins of the blueberry variety.
He goes for his new favorite response to all party antics.
"Shhhhhhhh...!!!"
He does look warily at the chef knives while he grits his teeth.
Bibic laughs behind his hand as quietly as he can. He holds his bow in one hand and checks again for golems with his amulet.
The metallic automatons buzz at the complex request, but that is all. As Spasi moves through the kitchen, the stove pulls in a gust of air before expelling jets of flame that fill the room.
The room is now scorched and smouldering, a few small fires still burn here and there.
Reflex
"GAH!! WHAT DID I DO!?!" Spasi is burned to s!+$. Spasi rolls on the ground, trying to extinguish himself.
"I didn't want scones that badly!"
Clement groans but bites his lip as the fires engulf him. He considers asking who's okay - he's certain that Rhesus could live through the horrible burn, but Spasi... Bibic?
As he opens his mouth to ask about the two, he's quickly answered by Spasi's gripes.
"Shhhhhhh!!!!"
He fumbles around until his hands find a waifish male human.
Rhesus ignores the worst of the flame, shielding his eyes as the heat washes over him.
"Whew. Smells like burnt bacon in here."
Bibic cooks…
(heroism) vs DC 17
...and is healed by Clement. He doesn't thank him though, as he seems to prefer silence. He invisibly glares at Spasi though. A piercing angry glare... ultimately meaningless in the sphere.
Not wanting the place to burn to the ground, he puts out the small fires with a towel or water or something while the party heals. He moves quickly as they don't want to delay their hunt for the troll.
A small room off the kitchen is proves to be a well stocked pantry packed tight with sacks jars and crates of foodstuffs. Most of the jars hold little more than grains, vegitables and salted meant, though Spasi notices an odd box that contains an assortment of exotic spices.
The other exit from the smouldering kitchen open into a hallway. One wall is covered in an elaborate mural of a pastoral landscape in which every object, trees, animals and even people is a its own clockwork mechanism of exposed gears and belts.
Rhesus stands cautiously in the entrance to the hallway.
"Reckon that's a trap or just some odd artwork? Anyway, let's keep going."
He will move ahead, slowly checking the hallway for any surprise.
Bibic checks it for golem-hood and follows Rhesus, bow at the ready.
Annoyed at being burned, Spasi follows Rhesus.
Clement keeps his hand on Rhesus's shoulder and works to stay close.
Opening the door, you find a room lined with bookshelves, each packed to bursting with tomes, folios and scroll tubes. A stuffed chair upholstered with a bear peld sits in a the corner, the bear's head rising from the top of the high back and holding a glowing glass orm in its jaws.
The room represents a fortune in book, but it's hardly practical to clean it out. Poking about, Rhesus finds a small cache of books that stand out from the crowd. Among it is a book of pornographic poetry, along with a flip book in which several animated clay golems couple with their creator - a handwritten note on the back reads "Copied from a student at the Arcanamirium, quite diverting." Behind the cache is tucked a small, unassuming tome, which Spasi greedily grabs, looking for more titillation, but to his dismay, the book merely outlines the process of creating a clay golem
"Oh yeah, I'll need to study these more. In private."
Spasi grabs the titillating manual and more than a few of the pornographic and erotic works, citing need for 'research'. He is pleased by the find, indeed.
Spasi is ready to move to the next section, following Rhese or Clem.
Clement hesitates briefly in the room, his eyes pausing for a moment at the orb in the bear's jaw.
Magic?
Clement invisibly facepalms as the erotic texts and manual find their way into Spasi's pack.
As Spasi's comments seem to have not drawn attention, Clement ventures to speak a little.
"Let's keep moving and find this troll..."
Rhesus will wait for the silent tittering to stop then moves to the next room.
Bibic heads toward A10.
"Should we be looting? I thought we were after the troll and out."
"Might unduly piss off the locals." he grins, seemingly happy to do so. "Of course we can always return stuff later to the family to avoid entanglements with the larger group if we have to."
This large room has a staircase in the corner and several overstuffed armchairs facing each other on a large and ornate rug. Along with walls stand various cases or hangers displaying an assortment of strange trophies, such as a spear with a glass reservoir at the end, a small mannequin elaborately carved from bone or ivory, a marble lion head and a number of framed schematic drawings.
Going to look over the displays you can't help but notice that the spot where you could have sworn there was small scrimshaw mannequin, is now empty.
"Hey, where'd that scrimshaw crawl off to?" Bibic takes out his amulet and does a golem search in the immediate area.
Spasi looks around at Bibic who he really can't see.
"Scrimwhat? What?" Spasi says, looking around as well for anything of interest. He casts Detect Magic, ignoring the auras from his own magics and spells, and looks about A10.
Clement pauses, looking about for where the mannequin may have moved off to.
"What's a scrimshaw?"
Rhesus prepares for attack.
Both Clement and Rhesus hear the soft clatter of bones in the room.