Azemi looks aghast while continuing to drag the dead weight. ”No ma’am. I need to leave before,” he motions to the manor, ”they start to remember themselves. Lord Avaric doesn’t let anyone into his wine cellar anyway.”
"That's what happens at the Blood Moon Festival?
All of the cursed ones remember that they are vampires?
At midnight, I suppose?"
When Azemi mentioned his need to leave soon she asked, "Oh. Should I be worried about what will happen?"
Theophilus is seen pulling his starched white collar up to his chin.
The White Rabbit is seen wearing a plethora of garlic gloves around his person. He is even willing to sell some.
"Sir not just the vampires, the ghosts and ghouls, and what have you. You'll be dead if you don't hide soon."
We should hurry and be about our business!
The White Rabbit is seen wearing a hazmat suit.
Mara decided is was worth pressing the man for more information. Checking that no one else could overhear her she told him, "I'm worried about someone who might be held prisoner here on the estate. Have you heard about a man called Erich Zann? I think he's a musician. It sounds like he's in great danger!"
"It's important, if you know," Ci Ci adds. "If we can find him and get him out of there, it will ensure the end of the Blood Moon Festival for all time."
That's probably true...
Because assuming we are not especially subtle in extracting Zann, then Lord Avaric will find out.
And he will object.
And then, Gorum willing, we will kill him.
Azemi continues to drag his coworker away while the party talks to him. He pauses before answering, "Lord Avaric was bragging about how he captured him. I don't know where he is. Supposed to be some big prize for Lord Avaraic."
I am thinking that we either hurry to find him before midnight; or we go and negate everybody before midnight then look for him.
”Perhaps this forbidden wine cellar of his might be the first place to look,” Ci Ci offers.
Mara asked Azemi, "Can yo give us directions to the wine cellar? Naturally we didn't hear it from you."
Azemi explains that their is a door to the wine cellar through the kitchen but that it's locked.
Back to the kitchen
A large iron stove rests against the east wall of this kitchen space, and a long work table stands against the north wall. A variety of containers fill the pantry shelves to the south, now spilled and destroyed. Blood, and burns from acid and fire now mar this area.
Theophilus looks around at the ruined kitchen aghast!
Whatever happened here could be just what we need for this particular locked door?
He then shakes his head.
CiCi got a Disintegrate?
The White Rabbit whispers into Theo's ear.
Oh? I could summon a Hezrou (demon) who can then cast Gaseous Form on 3 of us?
Mara conferred with the others, "We could potentially use a short-range teleport to bypass the door. I could check to make sure the space beyond is safe ahead of time."
Ci Ci draws her dagger and holds it out. ”This blade is made of adamantine. A strong enough wielder could use it to sever the hinges or the lock bolt.”
"That's an idea, Mara. I also have these Gloves of Reconnaissance to look through the door."
"Cerise, that is certainly an option if we think that subtlety is a lost cause."
Good plan, Dervak. You rub you gloves together and pierce that door! Let us know what to expect and I shall summon Benedic!
Dervak places his gloved hands against the door and concentrates, seeing through to what is on the other side.
"Aha... there is a trap door in the floor inside the wine cellar. Heading someplace else."
Theophilus smiles. The Witch then preforms the proper(ish) ritual of summoning Benedic!
Benedic
Once the Herou appears, it smiles and licks his lips.
The White Rabbit giggles.
Theo does not. Instead, he orders Benedic to use his Gaseous Form on 3 of them to bypass the door. He also orders him to stand guard in this kitchen.
Noone gets by you!
He Hexes Benedict too.
Nodding, Mara concentrated, causing her precise location to become uncertain. Then she walked towards the door until she randomly appeared on the other side of it!
Entrance
This darkened chamber has masonry walls and flooring, and is featureless except for two corridors that lead east and south and a heavy-duty, wall-mounted ladder that ends in a small chute with a door to an upper floor.
You see a thin crack in the wall indicating another secret door, there is no apparent locking mechanism on this side. You also find a small concealed button.
Yellow Chapel
Rows of wooden pews are angled toward the curved far end of this small chapel. Identical statues of a fanged female figure with bat wings stand to either side of a small altar. Mounted to the wall behind the altar is a wooden statue of a ghostly figure in tattered robes with its arms crossed. The craftsmanship is superb, with gold leaf applied to the statue’s robe. A faint coppery odor lingers in the air, and offerings have been left on the altar to honor the robed figure.
Mara decided that some orcish courage would help her think clearly, so she recited a prayer and approached the alter. She started chanting and studied the robed figure.
"The statues depict the demon lord Zura," she whispered to the others. "Not surprising, given the circumstances."
She said a prayer and scanned for magic auras.
Dervak will cast Echolocation.
"Another secret door here. I don't see a lock. I could try to break it down if we need to."
Theo decides to follow Mara's actions by casting some buffs.
The Witch then proceeds to search for anything that looks like a prisoner.
He orders Frederick to tidy up a bit by placing everything not glued down into a bag.
Mara begins to detect magic on the statues and the rapier on the alter right as Frederick starts to abscond with the goods. Two things happen when the unseen servant loots for his hatter. First the center statue's arms unfold revealing a symbol that worms its way into your mind, infecting it with alien thoughts and feelings.
Second a blast of psychic energy explodes from the rapier as Theo places it into one of the party's extra dimensional spaces.
Dervak reels from the magic of the horrific symbol, but he manages to resist its effects.
"Uh... I'm not sure that gold and jewels are worth the risk."
Theophilus' face freezes in mid surprise at the eruption of shit!
All clear!
The Witch then dabs his forehead with a clean handkerchief.
"Watch what you're doing there!", Mara hissed as Frederic triggered a trap of sorts. "Let's remember why we're here; Mr. Zann has got to be around here somewhere."
She left the chapel and continued south from the secret door, coming upon a maze-like area. She looked around for clues as to which way to go.
Ci Ci scrutinizes the arrangement of the altar to determine if it is set up for a ritual to be completed in the near future.
Ci Ci suspects that the traps were meant to guard the altar. However she also believes the statues were a part of some necromantic ritual as they continue to radiate such an aura. She is unsure what the precise nature of the ritual is.
Before Mara is a tangle of winding and twisting corridors. Skulls and small grave markers cemented into the masonry cover the walls from top to bottom. The air is particularly cold as you approach the labyrinth.
To the west and east the passages are blocked by iron portcullis, blocking further access.
Mara slowly tried to navigate though the maze. Fortunately, the cold air didn't particularity mother her.
Theophilus looks down both side passages to see the iron portcullises. The Witch then watches Mara begin navigating the maze in front of them. While she does that, he summons an earth elemental.
Theo smiles at the others.
Dervak still contemplates smashing down the secret door to the east.
And, should CiCi tell him about the idol, he would contemplate smashing that as well.
He has learned quite a bit more of subtlety and sophistication, but he is still a Bloodrager and smashing does have its uses.
He holds his ground for now.
Ci Ci can’t be sure but destroying the statues would prevent further rituals from taking place and possibly disrupt any that have already occurred.
Mara tentatively enters the maze confident in her ability to get through it with little difficulty. However as she moves through it, the chill of the air becomes more acute heralding some unseen danger.
A spectral hand reaches through a nearby wall into Mara’s solar plexus, her muscles seized at the pain of her innards nacrotizing.
Mara cried out as something incorporeal reached through a wall and touched her. She concentrated, causing her form to waver. Then she hastily withdrew saying "Something reached through a wall!"
"Something's in here with us...."Peakaboopolo!" Ci Ci cries, drawing on her power. She fills the immediate area with a shower of sparkling motes.
"I don't think so Cerise - Mara said it is inside the wall! Destroy the idol!"
Dervak casts Shield and uses Barroom Brawler to pick up Ghostslayer.
The spirit apparently does nothing at all, perhaps it's laying in wait to strike again.
"Send the elemental to find out which wall it is in, and then Disintegrate the wall!"
Dervak could have a truly excellent Round 2 action lined up if that works... or then again maybe not.
It's not the best plan, but it's something.
(If Rockwell was around to hear Dervak's suggestion, the poor little earth elemental would have wept for his own demise), but as it is; Rockwell continues to scout using Earth glide 40' per round to find the artist fella that nice Theo wants him to find.
Theophilus screams like a little girl when Mara comes rushing by him out of the maze shouting something touched her through the walls!
He then decides that it is unseeming to be crying like that, so he sniffles instead.
He then decides to not be in front of a maze with an incorporeal touching son of a b!@$@ roaming about! He strides south toward the other not incorporeal touching iron portcullis.
Suddenly, the White Rabbit appears, kicks Theo in his trouser leg, points at Mara, kicks Theo again in the trouser leg, and disappears.
Theo bashfully retraces his steps and lays a hand on Mara's arm.
Rockwell does not sense something that could be the Musician, only something large lurking around a corner.
Mara explained to Theo, "Whatever it was drained some of my vitality!"
She moved to the portcullis blocking the hall to the north and examined it.
"Maybe going through the maze isn't a good idea; perhaps we can force open this portcullis."