The air around Jarha's body shimmers as waves of aetheric energies flow from his body . He shifts to the bottom of the steps , gathers aetheric energies , and unleashes a telekinetic blast (actually a sling bullet wrapped in aetheric energies) intended to knock over the retreating assassin:
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Jarha's telekinetic blast knocks the assassin hard into the stairwell wall, but he keeps his balance.
Absinthe smoothly steps over the corpse and follows the assassin up the stairs, rapier leading the way. "Somebody get that fire under control!" she shouts without looking back.
"On it!" shouts the elf witch.
Melianthe begins summoning a Medium Water Elemental.
Segang 5' steps and uses the full round to fight the fire. He kicks and stomps and uses his cloak as needed, more focused on putting the fire out than protecting himself from the hear. Part of his strategy is to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading.
Seren smiles darkly as his shadow shimmers slightly and he calls up an image of a small white dragon, the size of a man, in the flames in the northwest corner. Its nostrils puff with frost.
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Absinthe steps up after the assassin, jabbing with her weapon. Seren summons an illusory white dragon, drawing a confused look from Segang. For his part, Segang tries to smother the fire with his large feet and cloak, fending it back some.
Melianthe starts a summoning spell.
The Red Mantis lays into Absinthe, slicing her twice with his sawtoothed blades before backing up another step.
The fire spreads slightly, expanding along the wall to the north.
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Having not put out a square of fire Segang takes a step back, pulls a healing potion and drinks it.
"Jarha! Healing needed!" Absinthe barks as she follows up, stabbing at the assassin once again.
Jarha, silently but shimmering with kinetic energy, steps forward after Absinthe and manipulates the aether surrounding her to heal her wounds. It is a painful but effective procedure.
Seren breathes in deeply, pulling on his shadow and forms a bit of that pseudo solid stuff in his hands blowing it ontonthe dragon which he then moves to a spot to get s full cone on the fire avoiding Segang.
The dragon breathes extreme cold, real ice forming where it strikes and the disappears.
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Jarha turns his kinetic powers onto Absinthe, binding her wounds but leaving her slightly gassed. She presses the attack, following the Red Mantis up the stairs and stabbing him in the thigh with her rapier. The assassin stumbles, but manages to keep his footing.
As Segang gulps down a healing potion, Seren's shadow-dragon breathes cold and frost over the flames, buffeting them back a foot. Melianthe completes her summoning spell and a man-sized water elemental springs from the floor boards. She gestures at the blaze and it immediately reacts, spreading its liquid form across the fire and quenching it completely. A few moments later, all that remains are scorched boards and steam. The elemental reforms and looks up at the assassin.
The Red Mantis, obviously wounded, continues to fight. As with his companion, he is suddenly surrounded in a shroud of blood-tinged mist. Again and again, his sawtooth sabres slash down at Absinthe mercilessly.
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"More healing, please!" Absinthe calls out without looking back, her rapier dipping low, then rising high in a vicious movement aimed at evisceration.
The Red Mantis is suddenly engulfed in a shroud of blood-tinged mist as he slashes down at Absinthe
[dice=Sawtooth Sabre vs Absinthe]1d20+13; [dice=Damage]1d8+10
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Absinthe takes a hit from the assassin, but side-dodges the follow-through, using her momentum off the wall to bring home a final stab. Her rapier runs through a gap in the man's shoulder plate, sinking deep. With barely a sigh, he crumbles to the steps.
As you watch, the blood mist that surrounded the Red Mantis blooms, disintegrating the assassin's body and leaving behind only his equipment. You look back at the first dead assassin and see the same happened to him half a minute ago.
Segang cheers for Absinthe as her blow strikes true and fells the foe. Well done my friend! You are both clever and brave. He puts his hammer away and retrieves his dropped scythe before toeing the body of the mantis the nearly did for him. Were they waiting on us? he asks. They sure seemed ready. That fire was planned to spread. I wonder what they hoped to burn up here? We must search this place well.
Absinthe crouches and searches through the dead assassin's things.
"That was cathartic," she admits. "Somebody search the other one and then let's move. Some healing would be appreciated."
"Would you like me to heal you kinetically? It is quite effective but I know it is painful. Or would you prefer I use my wand?", instantly pulling a simple wand out of the haversack hanging lightly at his side.
"Wand, please. Just top me up. I feel we may have more fighting to do."
Jarha mutters a prayer in a foreign tongue and touches Absinthe's shoulder with the wand twice:
Jarha looks at Segang's bloodied torso and says, [b]"I think you'd benefit from this as well."[b]
Assuming Segang does not object:
Seren walks over holding a hand to the gaping wound in his side, "Since you're passing them out."
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The assassins' gear includes 2 potion vials, 3 flasks of alchemist's fire, 3 sawtooth sabres, 2 leather armors, 8 daggers, 2 dark red cloaks and their mantis masks. The potions, armor, cloaks and masks radiate magic.
Jarha uses the wand of cure serious wounds on Seren:
And he uses it on Segang:
35 charges left.
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Jarha's assumption is the group will take everything from the assassins and examine it later, considering the continued dangers. Healing accomplished, he looks expectantly at Absinthe, who led the way before.
"Up the stairs," Absinthe suggests. "That's where the assassin wanted to retreat to."
"Do you want to sneak ahead, or do you want me to investigate invisibly?"
"Save your power; one's stealth does not require ethereal energies," Absinthe says, winking at Jarha before she ghosts ahead.
Intrigued with the assissin's gear Segang will pick loot them while Absinthe explores, picking up the potions, vials and masks for now.
As she moves forwards, Jarha feebly stutters after her, "Actually, it really costs me nothing to go invisible, but if you prefer..." He will then go invisible and follow Absinthe 15 feet behind.
"Ah, the competitive spirit of those who want to rush into death by themselves ... smack me if I ever return to that line of life." Seren muses.
Absinthe pads up the stairs silently, Jarha following invisibly a few moments later. In less than a minute, she calls down an 'all clear' to the rest of the group.
The majority of the second floor is dominated by a training room, with its high ceiling up to the rafters, primarily used to practice sword fighting. Practice dummies stand in the western corners, to either side of a brick fireplace. A fire burns inside, as down below.
Adjacent to the training room is Vencarlo's bedroom. It appears well lived in, but the bed is made and hasn’t been slept in recently. A desk and chair sit next to the bed, and a small clothes closet is to the north.
There is no other assassins. The only sign that they were here is that the floor around the fireplace has been subtly treated with alchemist's fire.
Still invisible, Jarha will begin a slow thorough search of the rooms, looking for secret exits or compartments; hints about use of the rooms and what may have happened to Vencarlo; loot... taking 20 if time permits (which would give a total of 31 on perception).
Segang will go back down stairs and complete the looting of what remains of the bodies. He will then start searching those rooms, taking 20 for a 29.
Absinthe starts investigating the desk, but only after one of the sprllcasters has scanned the room and given the all clear for magical traps.
You fan out, searching Vencarlo's home carefully.
Segang checks out the remaining rooms downstairs, finding a weapon workshop, bathroom, pantry and small study. Each of the rooms is clean and orderly, but like the rest of the place, seemingly unusued for several days or weeks. The study has two cabinets filled with books pertaining to sword fighting techniques and philosophy.
Absinthe examines Vencarlo's desk, finding it quite mundane. Papers found on the desk are mostly accounting documents and ledgers for Vencarlo’s academy. It appears that up until the death of King Eodred II, Vencarlo’s academy was doing rather well, but then business turned bad as students failed to show and Vencarlo took an increasing number of breaks from teaching.
Jarha finds the only thing obviously hidden: a well-disguised panel in the east wall of the bedroom closet. Within is a tiny compartment holding a metal iron lockbox. The box has an extraordinary lock that rejects all of Absinthe's attempts to open it .
Well, we obviously need a key. Has anyone found one? Segang ask before he offers i have this? he hoists his adamantine earth breaker.