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Corlan, blearily, lifts his head up and says, "That stuff must have been a lot stronger then we thought."
"You think? I didn't even try out the pipe and whatever was in it." Looking at the scanty, silky, scarf-like bits of clothing that barely cover her lady-parts, she blushes and adds, "Leastwise not that I recall...."
She gathers up her clothes and gear, loses her modesty and dancing girl apparel, and--with her back to the others--girds herself for...whatever comes next.
Frowning, she asks the others, "Do any of you remember something about a troll? And if you do...please tell me we encountered that thing before and not during this...um, incident."
Corlan returns Celeste's garments to her and gathers his weapons and so on.
"Does anyone else remember a unicorn being involved? With the party, I mean, not the troll -- I'm pretty sure those were separate. Or at least I think I'm maybe a little sure."
Lucia opens her mouth to respond to Corlan, her memories so scrambled she's not sure if he's making a joke or not; then she rethinks making any comments. Her father is not a very forgiving person, and thus far she's failed to accomplish anything in the Amberville's strange villa. Time to get serious.
"Weren't we going to visit with some fortuneteller or something?" she asks the others. "Name began with a Z maybe?"
Corlan struggles to pull his scattered wits together. Straightening his helm, he nods, "Yes, I do remember that. Zaxby, or Zadra... Zara? Something like that. In the other wing. And I think we even got directions at one point."
Borden is no stranger to the aftermath of wild parties and strangely enough it is not the first time he has awoken in riding boots wearing a flower pot.
He pauses to stretch and scratch before grinning and gathering his gear.
I'm not sure what happened last night - I havent had something like that since the last time I touched Shiver in Korvosa.
With the group now properly dressed, there is the opportunity to take a look around. There is no sign of their hostess or the white rabbit. The sun somehow still shimes diffusely through the great glass dome of the garden, and it is impossible to tell exactly how much time has passed.
The air is still heady with the scent of flowers, and the merest lingering hint of the exotic pipeweed, and there is the quiet buzz of insects and the intermittent lilt of birdsong. The stream continues to chuckle its way between the trees.
To one side of the garden, there is the looming gothic ediface of the Chapel, while on the far side is the mysterious East Wing, while the known madness of the West Wing lies behind you.
Celeste mourns her now stretched undergarments, shifting uncomfortably as she tries not to think where they've been. "East was where we were going, oh so long ago?"
Corlan nods. "Let's do this."
Lucia draws her longsword and begins to stalk purposefully toward the East Wing. Why do I feel like I'm walking west to get to the East Wing? she asks herself with a hint of annoyance.
The path of amber-coloured bricks that the group is following continues its meander through the garden, but the group feel that they are making progress, as the masonry walls of the east wing draw nearer.
Eventually the group emerge from the shadows of the trees into a cleared space before a large mahogany door set into the stone wall. A large wrought iron knocker cast in the shape of a scowling face hangs on the door. Before the door, someone appears to have cut down one of the trees in the garden, as there is a solitary tree stump. A blackbird perches on the tree stump, holding something shiny in its beak. It turns its head and looks at the group as they emerge from the trees.
Lucia stops in her track, mostly to avoid startling the bird into flight. She stares at the avian, trying to figure out what it's got in its beak. Something important, no doubt!
Lucia can't see much of the shiny object in the creature's beak, but the bird itself catches her interest. It's eyes are cloudy and greyed over, its feathers dull and dusty, and its movement stiff and jerky.
"Hmmm...either someone's been using that bird as a featherduster or it's blind...or undead," the warrior woman quips quietly.
Corlan follows Lucia's gaze.
If he seems something compelling, or the others want to play with the bird, he'll go along with that. On the other hand, if the group approaches the door:
Corlan too notices the curious state of the bird. The bird itself seems unperturbed by the scrutiny. It hasn't shifted from its position, but continues to stare in the group's direction, still holding the shiny, golden object in its beak.
"I'm thinking we should have someone approach a bit closer, so we can see what the little birdy has got. I nominate Sister, unless there are any objections?"
"Maybe wave something shiny for it?" Is Celeste's suggestion. Reasoning that birds steal shiny things and we could make it drop the key with some more tempting bait.
we could make it drop the key with some more tempting bait.
Just 'shiny gold object" so far.
Lucia sheathes her longsword and gets out her longbow, fitting an arrow to its string.
"Plan B," she whispers when she notices the others looking at her.
Sister, "Why is there a ring in my eyebrow ? Is it for hanging something off my face?"
Corlan nods to Lucia and follows suit. "On three?" he whispers.
"It looks like Sister may still need time to process whatever happened back in that clearing," Lucia whispers back to Corlan. Then she nods and adds, "On three."
for
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Lucia's arrow flies wide, but Corlan has a much truer aim. His shaft plunges through the breast of the bird.
Instantly the bird rises several feet from the stump, revealing strange grey tendrils extending from its feet into the center of the tree stump. The tendrils begin to thrash and writhe, and the body of the bird is thrown free, like a discarded puppet. Then with a 'thwip' the tendrils are rapidly drawn back into the treestump. There is a strange gurgling roar, and a wide toothy mouth opens on the treestump. At the same time, several of the 'roots' that had been surrounding the stump begin to move and undulate, hauling themselves out of the group to reveal themselves as tentacles.
Casting mage armor on sister (is she acting on Mordan init?)
yes, forgot her. She can go on your init
Sister will wait for Mordans spell then charge
(charge, power attack)
"SISTER! That is NOT the kind of thing you rush forward to greet!"
Ignoring her own words, Lucia drops her longbow , draws her sword as she advances , and hacks at the strange creature .
for
Celeste drops an Interstellar void on the thing.