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Sakitu flinches and jumps back from the edge of the stairs as Maka's fire explodes. So much for any subtlety. The creatures are still hidden under the stairs so she doesn't have a clear line of sight to them and she certainly doesn't want to walk down into the grossness either. She spots Fin holding his bow at the ready and the races towards him. "Fin, I'll put some frost on your arrows." It takes her a few seconds to make her way to him.
As Quasit moves stone from the makeshift wall, a small bundle is tossed from behind about ten feet above the level of where she and the others stand on the grate. The bundle explodes in a ball of thick smoke. Although it does little to impede those at the grate level from seeing, it blocks sight from the stairway, including Findurel's .
One of the fey charge from the behind the wall, attacking Quasit with , and a
Round 2: Party up
"Let us do try and be careful again this time again shall we?"
Tezuzu cautions as he moves with the rest of the group down to the grate level. He attempts to recall what knowledge he might know about the type of fey they are facing as he approaches.
Once he reaches the end of the stairwell Yang leaps out of his carrier and transforms to his monstrously large size as he stands at Tezuzu's side ready to defend his master.
Clutching his abdomen for a moment he curses under his breath. As he focuses on one of the shadowy figures in the smoke willing a jinx to hamper its assault on his comrades an eerie caw escaping his beak to add potency to the jinx.
"Whatever the type of pointed steel those demented fey wield do please try not to be struck by it again if you could. Try using your nimble monkey reflexes and move out of its way next time."
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Fin curses as he hears Quasit get hit. He turns to Sakitu, saying, ”Q’s hurt, Saki,I gotta get down there...watch Izzy for me...”
Murmuring, ”Who wants to live forever any way?” as he grasps the railing, Fin launches over it, to the southeast to avoid landing on Quasit, and down to the bottom he speeds, now yelling, ”INCOMING!”
...he lands with an audible ”OOMPF!” tumbling upon impact, to minimize the hurt as much as possible, he comes to a prone position...he rises and stands ready for the next round...
The strange fey cheer as more join the fray.
Round two: Maka, Bulvi, & Selena are up.
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...he lands with an audible ”OOMPF!” tumbling upon impact, to minimize the hurt as much as possible, he comes to a prone position...he rises and stands ready for the next round...
"It's raining elves!" exclaims Quasit as she sidesteps to her right out of an abundance of caution.
Maka wiped the gore from her eyes with annoyance. "How many times do I have to say to fight me and not my friends!?" Maka yelled as fire began to swirl around her.
Selena aims at the spot she last saw one of the creatures and shoots a ray of frost.
Then she moves down the stairs.
A ray of frost cuts through the smoke, all can hear one of the fey hollar in surprise. Those on the floor level can see that the ray hit the stone pile right next to the creature.
Round 2 Bulvi is up.
"Agh! Maka why?" Bulvi grumbled as he wiped the gore from his eyes. Taking stock of the situation, the fighter placed himself in front of Quasit to block the creatures from flanking.
The exposed fey charges Maka while the one from behind the wall emerges and does the same. , and a (miss) , and a (miss)
Round 3 Party up.
As the fey swung its scythe, Maka positioned her arm where the haft met the blade. The blade bit into her arm, but her positioning prevented it from digging too deep and, more importantly, locked her foe's weapon. As the small creature kicked at her legs, Maka jumped to avoid the blows, bringing her foe into the air with her.
Maka's fist erupted in flames as she slammed it into her opponent. With nowhere to go, the blow struck the fey full in the face, sending him smashing into the ground with a sickening thud. "That's better!" Maka growled as a toothy grin spread across her face.
One of the fey fall beneath the hail of arrows. The banging from above increases and suddenly stops. A blur of debris fall from above crushing the remaining fey in a pile of debris. Several small spiders scurry about the pile.
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Quasit had been leaning forward, getting ready to lunge into a really devastating attack on a creepy little axe murderer when suddenly her target gets pulverized by a falling hunk of metal and spiders. The loud bang-clatter-cum-squish makes her squeak out a shriek of surprise and backpedal clumsily instead. She looks up and around for a moment of wild adrenaline-fueled confusion, then focuses again on the smashed fey and his spidery grave.
And bursts out laughing.
"Cayden's codpiece! That's perfect!" she chortles in delight. Then she bounces forward and begins a flamenco dance on the bugs. "I think my heart's about to bust out of my chest though! Hahaha!"
Bulvi squashes a spider with a thrust from his blade. "I don't like them. I could spend half a day trying to cut them up and given out track record here I suspect they're almost certainly malicious in some twisted way."
Selena picks up the glowing pebble and starts examining the area, avoiding the spiders.
Maka's disappointment at the fight being suddenly ended was quickly replaced with laughter, Quasit's proving infectious. "Well that serves those stupid demon fey witches right! How are your knees Finn? That was an impressive jump."
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Fin gives a playful wink at Maka as he dusts off his legs and butt. "Thanks, Maka...they ache, but no worse than after one of our training sessions...not too bad for 115 year old knees..."
Once dusted off, he looks around the area, to include checking out the door...
"We better keep an eye on that armor though...could be it might be trying to form up and have another go at us..."
Findurel can see the armor shift one way as the pile shifts the other way while Selena is examining the area.
The door is indeed locked, bit not otherwise ensnared as far as you can tell l.
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Sakitu continues down the spiral stairs to the landing. "Ew. This is just gross. And weird. Every time I think it can't get worse, it does." The gore, the dead fey, and the squirming pile of armor pieces all make her shiver. "I can't wait till we're out of this place."
"Did those nasty little trolls have any loot on them, or just sick body part garbage?"
"Do you mean these things that we just killed? I don't want to go near them. Bulvi? Maybe you can check." Sakitu forces a smile at Bulvi.
Bulvi takes on Fin's suggestion and begins to flatten the armour into a metallic pancake. "Just a moment. One advantage to the layers of my fullplate is I can be less worried about things like that."
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"Do you mean these things that we just killed? I don't want to go near them. Bulvi? Maybe you can check." Sakitu forces a smile at Bulvi.
Quasit looks up at Fin, smirking, then glances back around at Sakitu. "Oh, that's a dirty trick. Now he's *gotta* do it, or chivalry is dead." she says.
Then she turns back to her work at the door, talking slowly and distractedly as she eases a pick into position and begins slowly rotating her wrist. "You know Bull... if you ask Selena nicely she might help you... anybody that wants a keep a jar of dead dry earwigs and some filthy hag robes probably isn't too picky about fey goo."
"Chivalry? What is that?" Selena asks with mild curiosity.
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Quasit glances back at Selena to see if she's just being snarky, but then sees that she's serious.
"It's something they have a lot of in Taldor. It's this silly old romantic code of honor where men slavishly protect helpless ladies by doing dangerous violent things on their behalf. You know, so the nice ladies can keep up with their needlepoint or whatever and swoon over men they aren't allowed to kiss. The nobility love it. But they love pointless melodrama in general. It's a soft southerner thing I guess."
She goes back to working. "The a%+#$~* my mother shacked up with used to barf out a lot of epic poetry about gallant knights murdering each other on behalf of sweet damsels. He fancied himself a bard. 'Alert the kings of far Brevoy, fair maiden has been wrong'd!' The Sczarni gypsies love that stuff too, but mostly because they're shiftless and bored."
"Bull, do they have chivalry in Ulfen country?"
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Fin nods as Quasit deftly explains chivalry to Selena. "It's an Elven thing as well, I s'pose. I was raised to be courteous to my elders but to the ladies and maidens most of all; Elvish society tends to put the fairer sex on a pedestal...and I can't say that's a bad thing...
"But, aye, Q has the gist of it methinks...while the nobility, as well as most of my kind, revel in it, they apply not the same principle towards commoners..."
He steps towards Sakitu, making a playful bow, exclaiming, "As Bulvi is presently occupied m'Lady, allow this poor Elf to fulfill your request..."
Fin will warily scrounge around the Fey's remains, looking for anything useful...
The door unlocks with work, Quasit again aware that these locks seem to at the edge of her ability to puzzle apart. Beyond is a dark corridor, that with a bit of light can be seen turning a short distance forward.
Though the pile of rubble seems to settle, Tezuzu and Findurel notice the bag of holding move slightly and then likewise settle.
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Noticing something odd, Fin murmurs to Quasit, ”Your bag of holding moved...I fear it’s that damned head...I know you feel led to do whatever you’re doing with that thing, but it’s giving me the willies...”
Shaking his head and with his bow still ready, he proceeds warily down the passage in his usual style...
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He steps towards Sakitu, making a playful bow, exclaiming, "As Bulvi is presently occupied m'Lady, allow this poor Elf to fulfill your request..."
Sakitu giggles. "Fin, remember, you're the king. I the one who's supposed to be bowing to you. But if you want to check that stuff, I'd let you."
”Your bag of holding moved...I fear it’s that damned head...I know you feel led to do whatever you’re doing with that thing, but it’s giving me the willies...”
Sakitu's eye open wide and she immediately stares at the bag looking to see if she can see it move too. "Fin? What did you say? It moved?"
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Fin murmurs to Quasit, ”Your bag of holding moved...I fear it’s that damned head...I know you feel led to do whatever you’re doing with that thing, but it’s giving me the willies...”
When Fin looks over and speaks to Quasit, he can see that she is already looking down at the bag rather intently.
"Yeah. Me too." she answers uncertainly. Then she looks off down the new corridor.
"I think something bad happened to him up ahead there. It's like he doesn't want to go back. Too bad for him, I guess." She begins down the new path.
The turn leads to a corridor heading back in the opposite direction, parallel to the hall from the grisly torture room. At the end of the hall another locked door awaits.
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Sakitu giggles. "Fin, remember, you're the king. I the one who's supposed to be bowing to you. But if you want to check that stuff, I'd let you."
Fin smiles warmly at Sakitu. ”Ah, Saki, that was an ancient and now defunct royal line, long since forgotten, a mere honorific now...but if ever I were king, you’d never have to bow to me...”
Sakitu's eye open wide and she immediately stares at the bag looking to see if she can see it move too. "Fin? What did you say? It moved?"
He tries to hide the wariness in his voice but he nods nonetheless. ”I’m afraid so, Saki...but it’s probably nothing...” But the look he gives the bag belies his words...
Coming to the door and finding it locked, Fin gives it a once over...
...if he finds nothing hinkie with the door, he’ll assist Quasit in picking the lock...
Sakitu wrote:
Sakitu's eye open wide and she immediately stares at the bag looking to see if she can see it move too. "Fin? What did you say? It moved?"
He tries to hide the wariness in his voice but he nods nonetheless. ”I’m afraid so, Saki...but it’s probably nothing...” But the look he gives the bag belies his words...
"Well if anything in that bag tries anything I'll BURN THEM UP!" Maka shouted her warning at the bag in case anything got any ideas. "So Marislova, have you thought about what you are going to say when we find Jadrenka?"
The door opens easily. Marislova shakes her head no, but clearly has been thinking.
D5
This grand chamber has the appearance of a dark temple. Intricately woven tapestries hang from the walls, depicting dark forests beneath crescent moons and filled with beasts and capering hags. Along the west wall stands a large stone hearth containing the charred remains of a balefire. On either side of the hearth hangs a large cauldron; one is iron, the other copper. To the left of the hearth, the wall is painted with the giant image of a fanged crone with raven's wings and a donkey tail. A longspear hangs on the south wall of the room, pointing east, while a curved sword hangs on the north wall, pointing west. In the northeast corner stands a plain oaken table holding wooden panpipes, a polished copper bowl, and a silver punching dagger.
Bathed in sickly green flames, an insubstantial specter of a beautiful young woman floats just off the ground in the center of the room flanked by two woman, one is full with child and the other is matronly in appearance. They are all watching the door as it opens.
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Not sure exactly what these three are doing together, his senses tell him the spectral beauty is undead, which he has an intense hostility for. Hackles rising, Fin will bring up his bow as he alerts his friends, ”Beware! Undead!”, he’ll fire at the specter woman only, careful not to harm the pregnant woman nor the motherly looking lady, yelling to them, ”You two women, take cover!”
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"If those women are innocent bystanders, then I'm the Queen of Minkai! Take 'em all down!" says Quasit excitedly. "This place looks like friggin' Witch Central! It's some kind shrine for doing nasty hexes!"
"And Maka, I bet the burning one isn't going to be hurt by your fire, so focus on one of the others! Saki, magic missile that ghost! And let's split up and surround them!"
As she wildly shouts orders, Quasit races into the room, moving toward the far wall.