The bird-woman pauses, then nods once.
She's a harpy. Don't know why she's not started yet but she'll be dangerous if she starts singing.
Bernard looks over the harpy. Any special reason you haven't yet? Something wrong with your voice?
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"Are you stuck here? Need something?" Kenji asks, cautiously taking a step forward, his hands up in a gesture of being unarmed (heh).
Morgrym looks around and at the bird like lady, holding his tongue and waiting to see what is going on by taking his cue from the others.
The bird-woman shifts her arrow to hold it in the same hand that's holding her bow, and raises her free hand to mirror Kenji's unarmed gesture. Then she reaches forward, palm up, extending her hand toward (but not quite touching) Kenji.
Kenji will reach forward that last bit and make contact.
Maybe its like a handshake? he thinks.
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The bird-woman tilts her head slightly.
This is my home. But we need not fight.
Her fingers twitch forward slightly to grip Kenji's hand.
This place is writ with a history of blood. You have unwittingly continued that design, but we need not succumb to it.
As the bird woman touches Kenji's hand, Lyraesel softly chants in druidic, enabling her to see the aura's of magic, should the woman be attempting some form of spellcasting.
Kenji blinks multiple times, but tries to roll with it.
"All right. Not fighting is good." Kenji says. "What can we do to rise above that history?"
Bernard starts a little at Kenji's replying to nothing.
Telepathy? This is new.
Morgrym looks startled at Kenji's response to nothing.
By the gods, what will come up next.
He then slowly lowers his Urgosh and then leans on it while waiting to see what else happens.
Kenji nods. "Sounds fine to me. We'll leave you alone then." he says with a smile.
Turning to the group, he explains. "She doesn't want to fight; we can leave her alone and she'll go on her way in a few days. Let's go."
Bernard shakes his head.
Wait a minute, if she's been here long enough to know "history" of this place then she's been here long enough to help us with Ameiko. She knows about this place and you don't even want to try and ask?
"It doesn't mean she has anything to do with Ameiko but you can ask if she knows anything about it, or if the demon-crow-man had that kind of magic" Lyraesel responds.
Clearly she can hear what your friends are saying, but can only be heard by you.
I know she probably didn't do it to Ameiko herself, but if there's, say, Bernard gestures with his hands as he creates the silly scenario in his head a 100-year-old curse that renders anyone who's female, of a certain age, and whose name starts with an A comatose to be awoken only after having her eyelashes kissed by a nymph or something, this harpy is our best chance at learning that.
Morgrym chuckles slightly, Now that would be a very specific curse, but I agree with Bernard, that she might be our best hope of finding if it originated here.
"The guy we killed was named Kikonu, and he came from the east. His group were in pursuit of a... my family, and he was with the ones who killed them." Kenji says, sighing."I don't think we need to fight here, guys. But you're right... we might learn a few things."
Turning back to the harpy, he shrugs. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask... Do you know anything about a curse that could put someone into a coma? My sister is suffering from it and that's partly why we're here."
Kenji repeats to the group what she told him. "It seems that there might be more somewhere else in this castle we need to search for, and soon."
He turns back to the harpy. "Thank you."
The harpy backs away slowly into the room, then shuts the door behind her.
"Odd," is all that Shalelu says.
"Where to now?" asks Spivey.
If she didn't have anything else to say about what to look for, I guess our best choice is to explore the rest of the floor. Let's just sweep across, exploring door by door until we find something useful. Stay on your toes though, obviously our thespian friend wasn't the only inhabitant in the castle.
With a nod, Lyreasel begins heading toward the next unexplored section of the castle, keeping wary of any ambush.
Turning right as you leave the room, you open the nearest door, which leads to the balcony. From here you can see the courtyard below.
An ancient-looking catapult sits atop the stone roof of this flattopped building. Moss grows on the catapult’s ropes and on the four round boulders sitting nearby.
Beyond, the balcony wall stretches to several guard towers, now empty.
Moving to the rooms south of the dining hall and west of the ballroom balcony, you discover several small bedrooms, all still in decent repair, though musty with the smell of bird feathers. A thorough search turns up no possessions or treasures, but they do seem to be reasonable accommodations for sleeping on a pallet that is better than just a bedroll on a stone floor.
Finally, south of the balcony over the ballroom, you push open a set of heavy double doors and come to what must have once been the castle's family shrine.
Dozens of paintings of a towering humanoid figure with four wings, a bird’s head, and a scorpion’s tail decorate the walls of this room, seemingly painted in blood. Old pews sit in a line facing the eastern wall, where a hideously defaced statue of a winged woman stands.
"At last, you have come," the creature hisses cryptically, raising its black feathered arms and causing its robes to sway. The interplay of dark robes with red bloodstains forms an almost hypnotic and disgusting pattern, and a confrontation seems imminent. Then, before you can react, it intones a pair of guttural words, and white mist rises from the ground around the creature, obscuring the area.
Bernard grins to himself.
Oh, are we hiding now? That suits me just fine.
Bernard slips along the wall, constantly scanning for the bird-man being as quiet as possible.
Morgrym grimaces as he sees the bird like thing, then calls upon the power of earth to support his strikes.
His axe starts to Smolder and smoke with a sickly greenish look, and starts to drip acid on the floor.
Letting out a soft growl in the back of her throat, Lyraesel drops into a low stance, calling forth her inner wolf. Her senses sharpening as she takes on a slightly more feral appearance, the druidess stalks toward the far end of the room, dagger in hand, a ghost in the mist.
Kenji shouts, "Heads down everyone!", steps into the fog, and unleashes a series of kicks that cause a fan of flames to erupt through the mists.
The smell of roasted feathers fills the air. Viv advances cautiously into the fog past Kenji...
...and suddenly shouts, "Over here!"
Suddenly there is an angry squawk and waves of sickening, cloying energy sweep through the room, tugging at you with the sensation of peeling away your skin.
Hearing Viv call out, Lyraesel dashes forward, dagger drawn, senses flaring for the creature's scent.
Torag I ask for your assistance.
Growling slightly as the wave of dark energy crosses over him, Morgrym moves deeper into the mass of fog following Viv's holler.
He finally moves up beside her, and sets himself for any enemy that moves past him.
Bernard shrugs off the worst of the attack and launches two arrows to where Viv says the monster is.
Viv lets out a battle cry and slashes with her small sword.
Shalelu moves into the fog, groping around and trying to get close to Viv.
Spivey releases her own burst of positive energy to counter the evil corby's channeling.
The bird-thing squawks from Viv's wracking blow and steps back into the fog, then casts another spell. A circle of darkness appears around Spivey.
EDIT: Darkness is a touch-range spell, so the evil bird-thing can't cast it as a ranged effect like that. So instead it moves through the fog (concealment prevents AoOs) and casts a sound burst at the intersection between Viv and Morgrym. DC 14 Fort save or stunned for 1 round. Remember that if you are stunned, you drop whatever you are holding.
By the gods, what is that racket
Morgrym drops his weapon as he grabs his ears to try to stop the vile noise.
And he staggers a bit trying to get his balance from the noise.
Lyreasel lets out a curse as the blast of sound assaults her heightened senses, the sound of her dagger hitting the stone floor ringing out.
Not attacking me, let's assume it doesn't know where I am.
Bernard manages to land one arrow in the creature, though the fog makes it impossible for him to get a really precise strike in.
Viv pushes her advance and stabs at the creature again.
Kenji tries to get a bead on where the fighting is all happening.
Shalelu does the same.
The corby releases another blast of negative energy!
(Will save DC 11 for half damage)
Her heightened senses perking up at the sound of Viv's strike making contact, Lyraesel takes a step in that direction, drawing her club as she does. Picking up the creature's scent more intensely, she narrows down his placement, swinging with her weapon, only to be greeted by the sound of wood slamming into the ground.
+4 vs spell / SLA
Morgrym grimaces as the wave of energy crosses over him again, and having lost track of his axe in the fog, he steps forward into the corby drawing his warhammer.
Torgag guide my strike
Lyraesel misses, but Morgrym's hammer lands with a smack.
Bernard fires again as best he can.
Kenji continues to try to find the fighting.
Shalelu homes in on what she heard before and tries to bring her sword to bear.
(Missed by THAT much!)
Viv continues her stabbing.