Mahb scowls at the scythe-shaped pods. "'fraid of that. This is called 'Death Shadow' or somesuch. It grows like a weed, feedin' on flesh. If the seed pods burst near ya, the spores will burrow into you and take root. Best, we avoid that." Mahb makes her way slowly and carefully towards the door.
Lineera decides that a couple of hits off the ol' Cure wand is in order for herself as well before proceeding.
As the party reaches into the second floor, Lineera with her new found comrade in tow, gasps slightly at the sight of the two coffins. "If I remember right, the coffins the children were in were pink and blue last time too, right?" Why haven't we seen anyone in here? Lineera grips her weapon nervously as she peers about the room cautiously looking for some new sign of danger.
Both the doors in the area by the stairs are grown over with vines. To open them will require cutting through the vines.
Mahb sweeps the area for magic other than the necromantic background and carefully makes her way to the door across from the stairs, hoping nothing nasty hides among the plants. She pulls her dagger and carefully starts clearing away the plants from the door.
Mahb gets the door cleared away, although it takes several minutes. By the end of the effort, her hands are stained green from sap from the vines, and there are stains up and down her clothes.
Mahb tests the door to see if it is locked.
The door is not locked, although it will be difficult to open due to the vines on the floor.
Mahb's hair had returned to normal some time before. She didn't want to unfurl that trick again unless it was absolutely necessary. She pulls on the door with her considerably lessened arm strength. The door doesn't budge.
Riley watches as the witch struggles with the door.
Eva, a little singed, was mildly distracted by Maggie. Thinking about several different things, she had followed the others upstairs. Making sure to stay well away from the scythe-pods after Mahb's warning, she took a good look at their surroundings.
"Perhaps... if we move, or remove, the vines on the floor, the door might be easier to open?"
Eva goes to check on the plants, but before she can, Aurora comes rushing up the stairs. "Wait! I had a vision!" She pants. "Cathran! You and I have to go, now! I don't know why, but we have to be in Perdition's Point by the next full moon!" She looks at the others. "It's vital Cathran and I are there, I don't know why, but it's vital. But you have to keep investigating, I saw that too. I..." She trails off, looking through everyone for a second. "I think.. I think you'll get more help, but I can't be sure... But Cathran and I have to go now, or there will be more death in Perdition's Point."
Seeing the guard rush in, Kjel wonders if a new threat was spotted and looks around.
Then the rather lingering farewells removes that concern.
Ok, that's rather odd. Wonder why they are splitting up like that? A new lead. Well I better keep watching.
Lineera sets herself down on the steps, gently and sighs as she watches Cathran and Aurora go. "Well, there goes that plan. I'll do my best to back you up, Riley, but I'm no replacement for Cathran. Anyone got any ideas of how we should proceed?"
Riley watches them leave. We just need to sit down and get our ducks in a row.
Mahb snorts, "We're duck-less, so this should be quick."
Kjell will walk up now that there is a discussion and they seem to be not busy.
"Uh, ahem. Excuse me folks. I'm Kjel. I'm sort of a local, and I understand you're looking for the scum that's been killing all the kids. I'm of the same mind, so I was wondering if we could perhaps pool resources. They took away someone I was fond of, and I would just as soon they pay. "
Riley looks to the others. Another sword would be nice...
I am Riley. He holds his hand out to the newcomer.
Lineera snickers "Oh be nice, Mahb! We can still come up with some kind of a plan. I thi-" Lineera tapers off with Kjel's approach. "Oh, uh... well nice to meet you then. I suppose we could use more help. I'm Lineera, priestess of Pharasma."
Taking the hand and trying not to crush it too much "Yah sure, nice ta meetcha. You folks make any progress? I'm completely at sea on who did this. "
Mahb turns her cataracted eye on the warrior, trying to evaluate him down to the bone. After a moment, she prods his chest with a gnarled old claw of a finger. "Have ya ever seen a creature what was dead, come back to gnaw on yer flesh? Did ya have the spleen to bury that axe in its skull?"
"Crone, I've been a bodyguard in Ustalav for a few years now. In this realm, living things are not all you have to guard against. "
The hag raises an eyebrow at the man's challenging and surly tone, then she chuckles. "You'll do. Glad to see you've got spine - yur gonna need it with what we're fighting. As it speaks to yur questions... if things are happenin' as they may be, those kids might be breathin' still. We're looking to find them in this fort."
As an afterthought, she adds, "They call me Mahb."
"Ok, if you think there's still some to be rescued, let get a move on. In we go. I don't notice any of you folks being particularly, umm, protected. You need me to take point?"
"There is that chance. The culprit likes to change corpses to fake deaths... or undeaths as the case may be..." Eva trailed off remembering what they saw back in the kobold garrison. Snapping back at the offer for him to take point, she gave him a smile. "Oh! Yes, that would be much appreciated. Just be careful of 'Death Shadow' plants. Well... any strange and deadly looking plant in there. Oh, and fire traps. So be careful where you step. I'll patch you up though if you get too bad ^^ I wonder if I managed to get a sample of that 'Death Shadow' if it has any nice alchemical properties. What do you think Mahb? Think I should try to get a sample of it? Or is it too risky. I wonder if the risk is worth the gain. You never know what properties a plant could have. I should have grabbed a sample of that Vampire's Coat. I wonder how many other necromantic plants are here! Think of the things we could learn from them!" As she had been talking, her speech increased in speed and she had even started to bounce in excitement. It seemed to have escaped her thoughts that she had yet to introduce herself.
Quickly Looking losing track of the babbling gnomes point he responds "Right then, I'll take point. We ready now?"
"Yes, we-" Eva's eyes grow huge and round as she comes to the realization. "Coffins! And an Alter! They were on the third floor. I got so distracted about the vines. They were blue and pink! What if that's them?!" With that, Eva begins rushing up the stairs.
To Eva, Mahb replies. "Leave the gatherin' off til we're done with this place. With a bell jar, we can prob'ly capture a pod safely and any other samples ya want."
To Kjel, she adds. "We'll be heading up the stairs. There are several rooms, most ankle-deep in deadly vines. Go slow and careful. Anythin' in this place might try to kill you." Mahb leads the revised team back in and up the stairs to the next level. She follows the safe path she used before to the door she was trying to open. "Kjel, wanna help? Follow in my steps and don't get closer to that wall." She steps away from the door to the right, ready to throw what little strength she has into the effort.
"Is it stuck or locked? You want me to break it down?"
if given the affirmative
"Didn't get my footing right." I look like an oaf.
tries again
Mahb lends a hand, grunting. "Not locked, just stuck."
Lineera snickers as Kjel calls Mahb a "crone." "I think you'll do just fine with us, Kjel. And yes, someone to take point would be excellent. Riley, let's fall in behind him like we planned before, you'll just be more in Cathran's spot."
Once the party returns upstairs, Lineera stays put near the top of the stairwell, "So I was thinking," she begins as she watches the newcomer and Mahb yank at the door. "Maybe I could use Maggie to clear out those pods? Probably take forever mind, but could be a safer way for us to deal with it. Maggie isn't exactly alive after all."
Kjel is likely startled as there's a sudden loud "CAAAAWWWWW" from Lineera's backpack. "Maggie's on Strike, CAAAAAWWWWW!" The muffled response comes from Lineera's pack.
The third floor of the tower has several doors off of it, all the doors are overgrown with vines. The back wall is also overgrown with vines, these have scythe shaped seed pods.
The altar/dais on the west end of the room has vines growing over it, and there are two small coffins, about 4 ft long, one made out of a red marble that has white veins in it, giving the coffin a pink complexion. The other is a rich deep blue with white veins, that lightens the color.
Both Kjel and Mahb try to force the door open, but the vines have it stuck solidly. It did give a bit, so both think it could be forced with enough time, but doing so would make a horrible amount of noise.
"Ok, are we thinking we can surprise someone or is it OK if I make a huge racket trying to break down this door?"
Mahb snorts at the metal bird, "So much for that idea."
Tired of wrestling with the door in a mundane fashion, Mahb mutters to Kjel, "Get ready to lend a hand." The witch's hair lengthens and snakes towards the problematic door, latching onto it and yanking hard... far harder than any human arms.
Kjel will attempt to lend a hand.
"Well you're no help!" Lineera chastises the construct, snorting in near unison with Mahb. "Guess I know you're afraid of some things though, or just lazier than I thought." Replying to Kjel, Lineera chuckles rather scornfully at herself. "I think it's a little late for us to be worrying about whether or not anyone will hear us. Pretty sure all the 'booms' and the 'fwooshes' and the screams of 'ow, fire!' probably have tipped that hand already. But the door gave a little, and chance we can just peek in and see what's there? ...Or that works too." Lineera ends her train of thought as Mahb's hair goes all crazy again.
"CAAAAWWWWW!!! Bird Rights Violations! Solidarity! Wake me up tomorrow! CAAAAWWWW!!!" The noise from Lineera's backpack is slightly less than the sudden sound of metal breaking and wood popping as Mahb's hair rips the door off it's hinges.
The room looks like, at one time, it might have been an alchemists lab. The work tables are all overgrown with several inches of the vampire moss from the first floor. A skeleton lays spread out on the second workbench. It looks as if the original owner collapsed over the table while working at it. It's hard to tell what is under all the rust covered moss, as it grows thick and leaves everything looking lumpen.
"A lab! Oh! Do you think everything here is ruined?" Eva asked while peering in the door.
"There might be some good trinkets in there. Watch out for the vampire moss." Since nothing lunged from the darkness at them. Mahb moves back along the safe path and steps off it just far enough to have her hair reach out to the door on the left wall. Her hair again latches onto the door and yanks... this time the door doesn't budge.