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As Argor and Rutai work their mundane and magical skill, Mattera complies and assists as best he can. "Thanks for that." He spoke to them. "I'm sure I would have gotten it eventually, but sooner is better when you're losing blood."
Once he was sure the wound was closed up, he patted the area gingerly, and then a little harder and judged himself ready to proceed. "Hrim, if you'd like to scout ahead again, I will be ready when you give the go ahead."
Cladissa watched in irritation as Argor and his devil destroy their clothing as they awkwardly patched up Mettera -- and only just barely. She folds her arms and fumes as she considers the clean bandages in her healer's kit and her own knowhow. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
Whatever remains in this chamber is tattered, rotting,old, broken, or rusted and of very little value. There is another portcullis blocking further penetration into the vault.
Three corners of the room have levers all canted downward right now, the fourth corner is filled with a pile dusty rags.
Cladissa observes the room and the closed portcullis. "Cole, can you slip through those bars and see if there's another lever on the other side?" she asks, wondering if there may be a way to bypass the mystery of the three levers altogether.
She also looks around for writing or other clues.
Hrim tries to scout ahead but hits the portcullis. He returns in time to see that he had forgotten about Mr. Black's bloody wounds. He was happy the team could heal him quickly.
Hrim flies down and specifically investigates the corner without a lever while not touching anything. He still detects for Evil.
Cladissa observes the room and the closed portcullis. "Cole, can you slip through those bars and see if there's another lever on the other side?" she asks, wondering if there may be a way to bypass the mystery of the three levers altogether.
She also looks around for writing or other clues. [Dice=Perception, good hope]1d20+14+2
Cladissa considers, then speaks up. "Without clues as to which lever will correctly open the grate, I suggest a couple of courses of action. One, we attempt to simultaneously throw each lever to see if that works. Or, we allow Mr. Black to test his new strength to see if raw force can open the portcullis."
"It seems odd that moving levers down here would open the portcullis up there. But, it's worth a shot."
"Perhaps there is another way..." Argor says as he floats about the chamber, studying the levers.
Cladissa's mouth twists. She folds her arms impatiently and taps her foot as she watches Argor.
"If I suggest one action, he will opt for another," she mutters under her breath. Cole mrowrs in agreement.
"Not necessarily," Argor calmly replies, "but there is no sense in risking our companion to a possible trap if there is a means to open this portcullis without risk."
After a brief examination of the levers, Argor says casually, "I am in agreement with Cladissa, try the levers."
Cladissa arches an eyebrow, then nods. "Perhaps we fliers should be the ones to throw the levers, while Mettera stands at the portcullis to ensure it doesn't come crashing down. Also, in case some threat arises, we would be best able to remove ourselves from danger."
Nyugusk flaps his insectoid wings in anticipation.
Extending his accordion-arm, he says, "Mettera, why don't I just hold onto you while we pull them?"
Mattera stands by the portcullis, and four others pull the levers. With a creak, the portcullis slowly rises revealing another spiral staircase down.
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"Well done," Argor offers up as a compliment to Cladissa's perception, though secretly he is less than impressed at the "ingenuity" of the plan of "pull them all at once and see what happens."
He hovers over towards the new stairwell and gestures the group to advance, "After you, gentlemen."
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Mattera looked to the shadowy gnome with a hint of a grin. "Two minutes?" Routine was just fine, and he had to admit getting more comfortable in the group because of it.
As the scouting commenced, the tian took a look at his bindings. The blood had stopped, due to the first aid and the magic, but it looked an ugly sight. He took out the infernal garment used for the bandage and took it out of the wound, dropping it onto the floor with an unsightly and ungraceful plop. Taking out a handkerchief, he began doing a bit of polishing of the old plate armor as he waited.
Cladissa slinks up to Mettera when she sees his wound still remains. "Would you like me to take a look at that?"
She produces her healer's kit and begins to carefully and proficiently tend the wound.
"Yes, two minutes." Hrim says. He gives Mr. Black a blessing of Count Ranalc. Then, he casts Detect Magic before stealthily flies down the new spiral staircase.
"There," she says as she pats the skillfully applied bandages upon Mettera's chest. "I'm sure that's preferable to an imp's tunic." Cladissa gives the warrior a heart-melting smile, then looks expectantly at the portal for Hrim's return.
"Hey!" Rutai calls out in protest at the lack of respect his shirt was receiving. He swoops down and picks it up off the floor, straightening it out once it is in his hands again. "Do you know how much this thing cost!?". He looks at it with disdain at the silver blood and dirt that now caked it.
With a wave of his hand, Argor sends a pulse of magic over the minuscule tunic, returning it to its prior, pristine state. "Now that that is settled..." Argor says with a chiding look at Rutai, who is busying himself getting dressed once again. He then floats over to the bodies of the devils on the floor, and removes a few vials from his pack. He takes his dagger and opens up one of the major veins of the deceased planar warrior, and begins collecting the blood that drains from the wound, using his magic to hold the vials in place.
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The tian watched as her skillful fingers flitted across his chest. Although he had cool metal in his blood, he wasn't made of stone. "Damn thing didn't even fit." he quipped with a bit of a smirk.
As she turned away, he also addressed the imp. "And I wouldn't expect it cost as much as it would to have a man of Argor's stature to do your laundry. Just be glad he didn't charge you for it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the imp rambles as he fastens the golden buttons.
Hrim flies down the stairs to take a look. He finds a long five foot wide hallway which stretches sixty feet east to west between two spiral staircases (one of them is the one he just came down). The walls of this hall contain deep notches and cuts at five-foot intervals, and a lever lies in the down position beside the far end staircase. Skeletal remains litter the floor, and among them rests the recently slain corpse of an elf, his arms torn off and several feet from the body. A man stands partway down the hall, holding a crossbow. He stares intently towards the doorway Hrimnagel is hiding in.
He doesn't seem to notice the deep gnome, but is clearly standing guard.
Hrim returns and silently briefs the crew.
"I could slip down and see if I can hex him," Cladissa offers after being given a description of the room below.
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"If he's staring and waiting for us, you might be able to get off a hex. Whether it works or not, I'll be right behind you to offer you an escape." It's clear Mattera doesn't like the idea, but he can't deny the effectiveness of the tactic from before. Too much could go wrong with it, he was aware, but he figured he could at least charge in past her and take the brunt of the punishment.
"She should be safe enough, so long as she is able to maintain the element of surprise. To that end," Argor approaches her and begins to weave some magic, retrieving some gum arabic from his component pouch. As he works the spell, the material begins to float before him before glowing with a bright crimson light.
Suddenly, the reagent dissipates into a cloud of dust that encircles and envelopes the voluptuous woman, who just as quickly fades from sight.
"Now, unless his employers or he himself have deigned it worth the expense to enhance his vision to see the unseen, she should be more than capable at tending to him before he can react," the mage says.
He looks to where Cladissa had been standing but a moment before and adds, "I suggest you leave Cole here as a form of communication. Should your magic fail to incapacitate him, the danger you would suddenly be in should be readily apparent to him, and he would be able to communicate as such to us in his own way. Likewise, should you be successful, then you, theoretically, would be able to return and inform us as such."
__________
BEFORE the team starts moving down the stairs, Hrim clears his throat and offers, "the crossbowman might be an illusion. The corpses were dismembered. The threat might just be traps that are concealed in the stonework."
Never having been invisible before, Cladissa marvels for a moment at the sensation. She slips away from where she had been standing and gauges their reactions.
When Hrim speaks his warnings, Cladissa pauses. Her disembodied voice sounds softly, "That would be clever indeed, if that were true. I will keep that in mind when I confront him."
Her lessons in stealth during her time as a cat creature had not been completely forgotten, even though her form no longer possessed the natural gifts for subtlety. Aided by the spell, Cladissa steals down the stairs and comes upon the guard.
She sends a telepathic greeting to the man, ::Hello. What is your name? then watches to see how he reacts.
The man looks startled. He looks around wildly, confusion on his face while he raises his crossbow. He obviously cannot see her. She receives no response.
A sly smile touches her lips as she observes the hapless male. Adding a sultry pout to her telepathic voice, she coos, Aww, don't be like that. I'm not here to hurt you. Please, tell me your name. Whisper it, if you like::
She ventures out into the hallway for a couple steps, stepping lightly.
The man begins backing slowly out of the hallway, his grim face sweaty, eyes darting.
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Under her cloak of transparency, Cladissa feels a surge of power as she looks at the nervous guard. He's completely at my mercy, she observes silently. Putting him to sleep seems so anticlimactic. Why not try something else a little more elaborate?
Excitement swells up in her; her tail coils and writhes in anticipation. She doesn't know where the spell comes from, but it is there at the forefront of her mind.
She materializes in front of the guard as the magic draws his will toward her, making him devoted to her whims.
"Hello," she says softly, a light smile playing upon her lips.
Upstairs, Cole mrowrs worriedly.
"Hello," the man says, with a dopey grin. He lowers his crossbow. "Be careful, friend! The hallway is trapped!" He wards Cladissa back with one hand.
Cladissa freezes in place, looking at the notches in the wall and the dismembered body. Then her smile returns as she turns her attention back to the guard. "Thank you," she says with a nod of her head. "Could you please deactivate it for me? Or tell me where to step safely?"
"Sure!" he says, going over and pulling a lever at his end of the hall. "It's safe now."
"That's so nice of you to do that for me," she says as she steps into the hallway. "Now that it's safe, could you tell me your name? What's got you down here guarding this set of ruins?"
* * *
Upstairs, Cole stands up and shakes his head. He meows softly, and begins to pad softly down the steps.
* * *
In the hallway, Cladissa tilts her head as if listening. Then she quickly moves up to the guard and places her hand gently on his crossbow, pushing it away from the entry. In a low, sultry voice, she whispers, "My friends are coming down. Please don't shoot them? I wouldn't like that."
"It would appear that Cladissa has tended to the problem, otherwise Cole would not be joining her so calmly," Argor says as he begins to float down the stair.
"That's so nice of you to do that for me," she says as she steps into the hallway. "Now that it's safe, could you tell me your name? What's got you down here guarding this set of ruins?"
* * *
Upstairs, Cole stands up and shakes his head. He meows softly, and begins to pad softly down the steps.
* * *
In the hallway, Cladissa tilts her head as if listening. Then she quickly moves up to the guard and places her hand gently on his crossbow, pushing it away from the entry. In a low, sultry voice, she whispers, "My friends are coming down. Please don't shoot them? I wouldn't like that."
"My name is Janks, I'm the leader of the Devil's Claw mercenary team working this job. You didn't kill my people upstairs did you?" he asks. He willingly lowers the crossbow. "I won't hurt your friends as long as they don't hurt me."
"Nice to meet you, Janks." Cladissa shakes her head in answer to his question. "I harmlessly neutralized your people upstairs. They are tied up, and I've promised them that I will see that they receive their agreed-upon payments, provided that they do not try to escape and make further mischief. I hope they're behaving themselves," she says.
When Cole appears at the far end of the hallway, Cladissa turns and smiles at him. He yowls once as he strides down the hall, tail straight in the air.
Cladissa looks puzzled. "What do you mean, 'what have I done?'" She looks back to Janks. Suddenly her mouth drops open and her eyes go wide. "Oh, gods, what have I done?"
"What!?" he asks suddenly worried. "What have you done?"
Her hand flies to her mouth as she looks at the ensorcelled man. "Well, I--" she trails off, mind working, completely thrown off by the concern in his eyes as she knew full well she had put it there.
Flustered and and still worried about what had come over her, she tries to recover. "I-- I had forgotten to... to ask you about who hired you for this job. It's Celeena, right? Does she have more of your team with her? Any more devils?"
"I have two more downstairs, and then Celeena is further down doing whatever it is she came here for. Not sure about the Devils, she's a powerful sorceress so who knows."