Tella spends most of the trip ranting about the "unimaginative, mealy-brained, overfed imbecile" they'd dealt with, finally petering out into a fuming, sullen silence when they came upon the docks. She doesn't bother disguising herself, almost as if she's waiting for someone to take issue with her heritage.
It's not until they close with great mill that she speaks again.
"I'm afraid I don't know what monsters dwell in these waters. Do you know what those are," she asks as she points out the shapes swimming about.
"Oh, you have to be kidding. . . ." says the Stirge as he sees the dark swimming shapes. "How much more cliche can we get? Come on, let's get ourselves onto that jetty, and quick!"
The boatsman, grunting between pulls on the oars, tells Tella that there are many beasts in the deep here, "Sough Eels, Slop Sharks... an' if'n we're really unlucky, Wallow Whales"... laughing unpleasantly, "Don't fall in 'n you'll be fine".
Finally pulling the boat under the shadows of the great windmill... the boat surges on waves towards a low timber jetty with a single moored jolly boat. The half-ruined pier extends out from the foot of a vast towering edifice of great timber beams, which squats like a cuckoo in an inadequate nest. This great windmill almost appears to be dipping its toes into the waters and, by the look of the salt scars around its base, the place is frequently inundated by storms.
The rocks, like many forming isles hereabouts, are indeed razor sharp... and when the boat grinds against the jetty, the boatsman curses the damage to the hull, "If this where you're getting off, you'd better be jumping out... 's no way I can moor here. The waves will smash Ol' Betty to pieces". The foaming waves rise the boat up towards the jetty... and moments later, as they subside, the boat falls away again...
"This is a bad idea," Tella mumbles to herself before trying the jump. She does manage to safely land on the jetty, however.
Elsie judges the risk is too great to jump here, so she takes out her trusted Rope of Climbing extending it out to wrap around the outward pole of the jetty. "I can hold it steady for you Stirge then I can make my way across."
The Stirge grabs on to the rope. "Thank you - that rope is quite handy." With hep of the rope, the Stirge makes his way onto the windmill.
Clambering onto the jetty, the stability of the platform being a marked contrast to the surging waves, the group have to shout over the noise of the sea to get the boatsman to wait for them. It takes some negotiation, in fact double the money they paid to get out to the windmill in the first place, to secure the ride home, "An' I ain't waiting for no more than an hour... once the tide turns the Lyme fights too hard".
Turning towards the windmill, the group notice a heavy metal flue emerging from the roof and rising 30 feet above the mill. This flue vents off smoke and is easily visible during daylight hours. The wind sails of the mill are each 70 feet long and 25 feet wide at their distal ends, and they move with almost imperceptible slowness... and just below the tip of the sail as it creeps through the lowest portion of its journey, a heavy door leads into the windmill itself.
The Stirge is glad that the ferryman is willing to stay at all. "Pretty clear that flue and that balcony up there are new construction; doesn't look weatherbeaten or match the style of the windmill. Someone's up to a project here."
Not trusting this place in the slightest, the Stirge draws his sword and advances toward the windmill entrance.
"You're right about the flue, but I can't see what balcony you're talking about," Tella says before taking a deep breath and sighing.
"Well let's see what grime-covered horrors await us," she grumbles before gesturing for the Stirge to take the lead.
Elsie hops onto the jetty and stows her rope back into her pack. "No one would bother with building anything out here unless they did not want to be discovered. Be careful Stirge." She adds under her breath while drawing her own rapier.
The interior of the great windmill has been stripped of furnishings and floors to accommodate a singular construction — a cyst of iron, a vast metal cocoon that gives off a nimbus of heat and the smell of hot iron — which dominates the space. This cyclopean object is suspended from great timber beams high above by a single iron chain and has heavy doors sealed at its base, where it hangs just above the floor. Several large scars and dents mar the iron plating of the construction as if something powerful within had tried to escape in the past. Piles of coal and several wheelbarrows lie nearby, ready to feed the inferno within. What were once the upper floors of the mill are now little more than a single balcony connected by a rickety ladder.
Most disturbing of all though is the noise — the steady hateful roar of something within the object itself.
"Hold on, I'll see what's up there," Tella says before closing her eyes and falling into a trance-like state.
"I think we are getting close..." Elsie murmurs as she keeps a sharp lookout for any guards while Tella does her spell-casting.
The ambient temperature in the windmill, with hot air steaming from the surfaces of the metal object, is unpleasantly high... it would surely be at the limits of a person's endurance to actually work here.
At first, it isn't obvious whether anything is actually hiding in here - until Tella reaches out with her mind. There, watching from the platform halfway up the windmill, are three gargoyles... perched at the edge, and somehow hidden from Eliseera as she looks around, they are intently observing the group.
The Stirge starts tugging at his collar. "The heat of this place is unbearable . . . we should work quickly. Tella, what do you see?"
"Gargoyles watching us, and I must say that being fiend-blooded does have some perks. I could stay here all day," Tella says with a smirk as she focuses on the Gargoyles to see if they do anything other than watch.
Elsie quickly glances upwards on hearing gargoyles were spying on the group. "Gargoyles? Why would they lurk here? They must be guarding this place, but for whom?" She tries to recall what she knew of the mysterious race.
Tella gives a shrug.
"I can try to eavesdrop on them too, but I'll have to cast another spell, and that'll drain me enough that I'll only be able to make us fly for a little bit," she replies.
Eliseera knows a little about gargoyles... they are, after all not uncommon within the monumented regions of Castorhage - naturally resistant to magic they naturally prefer to be solitary creatures although they sometimes form fearsome groups called "wings" for protection and sport. In certain conditions, a tribe of gargoyles might even ally with other creatures, but even the most stable alliances with a gargoyle tribe can collapse for the smallest of reasons—gargoyles are nothing if not treacherous, petty, and vindictive.
Whatever it is that brought them together here, it seems that the arrival of the investigators has caused them some excitement... even before Tella can make a decision as to whether listening in on the gargoyles will give the group some insight, they dive from the platform... wings tucked back they plummet towards the ground, only spreading their wings to brake their fall at the very last moment... savage claws and bared teeth tell the group that this is no time for diplomacy!!!
...worse still, as the asthmatic sound of bellow pumping air ceases, a much larger gargoyle pads its way into view from the far side of the vast metal vessel.
"Eliseera - get behind this gargoyle and we'll take it down! And keep the windmill between yourself and that big one!" The Stirge moves, ready to attack the gargoyle to the south once Eliseera gets in position.
;
Elsie nods in reply to the Stirge and immediately weaves her way behind the gargoyle, stabbing hard once behind it...
Moving to surround the first of the gargoyles to land, both Eliseera and the Stirge land hefty blows on the stone-fleshed creature... indeed, so harsh is the Stirge's attack, it clean severs the gargoyle's head from its shoulders.
Tella, wanting nothing to do with the wicked claws on these things, does her best to put some distance between her and the stone beasts. She decides to save her stronger magics and sends a spell to rip the mind of the one closest to her apart.
Resisting Tella's mental assault, the gargoyle turns and opens a huge brass tap at the base of the vessel... there is a sudden explosion of heat as liquid flame pours into a hollowed out basin of sand beneath the vast tank...
...a woman's voice, barely audible over the roaring of flame, screams in anger as the gargoyle screeches with laughter at the opening of the vessel. Looking around though, there seems to be no one else here... there is little time to ponder this as the large gargoyle - drenched in sweat and filth - takes flight and comes crashing down between Tella and the Stirge.
The other gargoyle, teeth bared and trying to force the woman back out of the door to the Windmill, bites at Tella...
Elsie does not let Tella face the hulking gargoyle by her own, dashes under the guard of the large beast, somersaulting into an upright position in the doorway and stabbing again at the beast.
Tella looks around, and seeing little other option, tries her best to get away from the big, brutish gargoyle.
The Stirge recoils as the gargoyle's claw digs into him. "Big mistake for a big statue. Time for you to pay!"
Swinging his sword furiously around him on all sides, the Stirge tries to leave his intentions murky before suddenly lashing out.
;
If the target is flat-footed, gains Bleed 6.
The Stirge decides this is a good time to unleash the magics of his sword. If he strikes, his enemy risks Blindness!
The Stirge and Eliseera, realising that this huge gargoyle presents the largest threat to the group... especially as one of its brood lies dead at the Stirge's feet, weave and tumble past the statuesque monster. The Stirge's strike is accurate yet it is easily deflected by the beast's tough hide... Eliseera has more luck though, finding a weak spot and stabbing upwards - the blade sinks deep sending the gargoyle screeching around in anger.
Suddenly the target of two gargoyles, Eliseera is struck several times...
The remaining gargoyle stands at the tap, snarling furiously when the Stirge moves close to the pouring flames... and bubbling around within the pool of fire, there are signs of what appears to be life.
Elsie cries out in pain as the gargoyles tear large chunks of flesh from her, but she does not relent...
Tella stares at the big gargoyle with unsettlingly glowing eyes. Her mind reaches out and rips at the beast's.
"Come and get me!" insists the Stirge as he sees the gargoyles mauling Eliseera. He tries to learn from his earlier mistakes and deliver a more precise blow.
;
Assuming he strikes home this time, he unleashes the power of the sword to try and blind the creature.
Tella feels the fragilities of the gargoyle's mind... and sinking mental claws, drags and rends. Surrounded, and badly injured by a flurry of blows from Eliseera and the Stirge, the huge beast tries to take to the wing. Blinded by a wound weeping into its eyes - it staggers backwards away from the Stirge... the other gargoyles, move to defend the matriarch.
The pool beneath the vessel is bubbling ferociously now... and, out of the corner of her eye, Tella sees the pool of fire take form. Two small flames flitting out from from beneath the searing metal vessel... and skittering towards her. Leaping at Tella, the first of the flames takes an impish form and grapples at Tella.
"Ack! I think we found where the living flames come from," Tella shouts to the others as the tiny flame sprite latches on.
"We need to close that tap!" cries the Stirge, fearing what might happen if they did not act soon. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a gargoyle in his way. He engages it, wanting to quickly end the creature to get at the tap.
;
Elsie nods in agreement, knowing the presence of the fire-creatures would prove their downfall, and immediately tries to weave her way around the other side of the gargoyle, closer to the bellows.
With the matriarch gargoyle blinded, Eliseera and the Stirge turn their attentions towards the brood... blades humming and cutting at their targets...
"Get off! Get off! I can't afford to replace clothes everyday," Tella says while trying to shake the little fire sprite off as she steps closer to the Stirge, but doesn't really do much before she turns to take out her frustration on the gargoyles.
As Tella's mental assault upon the gargoyle sends it reeling, there is a tremendous banging and crashing of metal coming from the vessel hung within the centre of the windmill. It builds to a crescendo as the flames continue to pour into the boiling mass of liquid fire below the vessel... and then, suddenly the noise stops - the flow of fire slows to a trickle whilst the pool, dragging moisture from the air, hisses and spits.
It seems that this is the cue for the gargoyles to take to the air - their huge wings lifting them up and out of reach as they ascend towards the platform in the centre of the building. The gargoyle struck by Tella's mind rend flies no more than ten feet before its wings collapse under its weight and it crashes back to earth... A shape then starts to form within the liquid fire... a clawed hand at the end of an arm - that grabs at the stricken gargoyle and pulls it into the roiling flames...
It is now that the source of the female voice that shouted out in protest at the opening of the tap becomes apparent. Suddenly illuminated by the radiant amber glow of the flame, a woman phases out of her invisibility arcana... she is almost shocking in her near nakedness. She’s lithe and oily and dirty, and apparently accustomed to working in the intense heat of the windmill. She wears hefty boots and a cloak that barely covers her body - a leather belt from which dangle a few pouches and tools hangs at her waist. She screams in anger at the group, "You... you did this... if you hadn't come here then my creation would still be incubating... I won't go back", she is vitriolic, "I won't go back to what I was before... this is my time... this is my chance!!!"
Tella begins to curse before stopping herself short them pointing at the sprite that had already ruined her pants.
"Is this your handiwork," She asks in clipped tone that Eliseera recognizes as her rapidly losing her patience.
Elsie's heart is gladdened briefly as the gargoyles are driven off...only to sink again as the newcomer shows herself.
Is she the one behind all this...Who is she?
When she sees Tella get the familiar glint in her eyes, she knows time is shorty. Deciding to attempt to forestall disaster here she calls out ion what is hopefully a friendly tone, "We have no quarrel with you lady! We came here investigating the source of these Burning Flames. We have no wish to destroy your...Creation! What were you before? A slave? A whore?"
"You idiot gargoyles, that -- that thing is eating your own kind!" The Stirge tries to understand what he's seeing in this pool. Was the fire alive? If so, how could they defeat it?
.
"It's time to get out of this building! If it can follow us, we'll be better off standing close to the water against this thing!" He backs up to the doorway, prepared to cover his allies' escape with a blast of ice!
;
"I was nothing before... scraping a living in the dirt - you, with your fine clothes and graces, would know nothing of such things... I won't go back!!! I won't!!!" the woman nervously eyes the pool of fire, "The ragefire is my creation... my child... my ticket to a new life!!!"
Almost on cue, the fire beneath the vessel forms into an imposing humanoid presence - standing some twelve feet tall, a vicious claw swipes at, and grabs, Tella!!!
Reacting to the sudden threat, the Stirge blasts torrents of ice towards the huge creature - catching it fully and seemingly dousing some of its intensity... roaring in anger, it turns to face the shadowy figure at the door...
Tella rolls her eyes.
"Of course, I wear fancy clothes, so I can know nothing of hardship," Tella says mockingly, "Oh wait! My surname is StreeeEEEEEEE!"
She lets out a squeal of surprise and pain as she's picked up and claws rake at her back.
Tella's eyes widen as she tries to focus on a spell to rip and tear at the creature's mind, only to have it fizzle.
"Oh no."
Fear and panic grip Tella's heart as she realizes how much trouble she's in.
Fear and panic grip Tella's heart as she realizes how much troubleshe'sthe whole group is in.
Elsie vision grows hazy with rage as she sees her friend mortally threatened. Gripping the hilt of her rapier tightly she dashes back into the Windmill, fury in her eyes.
The Stirge was not liking the current situation. He knew that both he and Eliseera were far better fighting against human enemies than a living fire without obvious weaknesses. Wanting desperately to help Tella break free, he lets out a high pitched scream, focused directly at the elemental before him.
He then moves directly between the elemental and Tella.
As the liquid fire splashes with the movement of the elemental, flames start to catch on the floorboards, coal dust and other detritus beneath the metal vessel... burning aggressively, there is a huge possibility that this fire could take hold very quickly...
Seeing Tella struggle within the grip of the fiery beast, the Stirge shrieks... a horrific noise, ear-rending even over the noise of the roaring flames, it is enough to cause the elemental to drop Tella...
Ducking beneath the elemental's reach , Eliseera decides to take on a foe that is mere flesh and blood - stabbing at the grime-smeared woman, her blade seems to strike home and yet... sparking electric blue, her steel is deflected by some type of supernatural barrier
"No-one... I said NO-ONE!!! will stop me now!!! The woman, shrieking maniacally at Eliseera, weaves an arcane symbol with her fingers and seems to catch aflame.
Elsie feels the flames start to engulf her, and reflexively twists her body out of the aura's radius. Giving the woman a murderous glare, she points the tip of her rapier at the fiery woman. "I will remember you and I WILL be back!" She then whirls around and moves back outside the Windmill structure.
"I'll hold them off, fall back!" The Stirge begins to fight defensively against the fire elemental, hoping to buy a little bit of time.
;
Tella only pauses long enough to give the Stirge the power of flight before running after Eliseera.
As Tella and Eliseera rush for the door, the Stirge stands firm... and, as his world turns to pain and fire, he feels the floor disappear from beneath him...
The fire in the windmill has taken hold now, embers soaring upwards in the hot air as smoke starts to impinge visibility. And, from somewhere in the smoke, the female voice calls out in triumph, "You should never have come here!!!"