Hawkren draws an odd instrument from his belt - a set of capped wooden staves linked by chain. It looks like a collapsible ladder missing at least half the pegs necessary to make it useful. He gives Lluvia a curt nod indicating his readiness.
Spell Effects:
Mage Armor - +4 AC - 3 hours
Stalking down the road on his way to the candle makers. Wrapped in dark clothing while using his Goddesses weapon as a walking stick. Constantly shifting his head around looking for anyone who might be willing to pick a fight with him over the songbird emblazoned clearly on his vambraces, it certainly would not be the first time. Though now he is not sure if he wants the fight to try and change their twisted views or just to feel.
Stopping at the door when he hears voice that do not sound like the candle-makers. Slowly opening the door. Watching a bunch of people he does not recognize as locals move about, It has been a few days since he bothered to come into this vile town.
Stepping through the door, What are all of you doing in here? Last I checked it is still illegal to enter a building welcomed. A man in dark leather armor stands in the doorway. The songbird of the Shelyn is clearly shown on both his vambraces. A lit stone floats around his head illuminating his red rimmed eyes and slightly gaunt features.
"Nothing is illegal as far as the investigation of the Umbral Court is concerned, friend." Prae replies coolly, eyeing the even newer-newcomer.
"I see you openly bear the sign of the Dark Prince's sister. Perhaps you would care to explain that?"
As the party discusses politics, Hawkren and Lluvia set to the task at hand. The shadowy rogue readies herself for what dangers lay beyond the door. Hawkren's eyes are peeled for danger as he brandishes his exotic looking staff ready for any more golems to bust. Sadly, he is greeted with a domestic sight.
A cursory glance reveals a modest but small bedroom.
A chandler’s working clothes lie scattered around this simple
room. A mattress lies along the wall, and stacks of ledgers
block access to the wardrobe.
Dario spins around as a new voice joins the group. Did we throw a party and forget about it?
"Who the devil are you?" The Professor's elven eyesight helps him see the symbol of Shelyn on the man's armor. "Glaive and Songbird. Prae, you're right, he's a Shelynite. Get him inside and close that bloody door. The next thing you know, the Mayor himself is going to waltz in!"
"Listen, we're here to help with the illnesses. The Baron indicated the Chandler was working on a cure, but we have yet to find any sign of him. We're concerned that something happened to him. The Baron is sure that it has something to do with the Shadow Plane, so we're looking into it. We're helping." Dario emphasizes that last work, perhaps trying to convince himself of the same thing.
Lluvia looked through the room trying to find out whether is anything of notice. The room of lonely man, she guessed, besides being hesitant to dig through dirty underwear she felt uncomfortable with intruding into someone's private sphere, still it had to be done.
Without divirting her attention from what lay in front of her she remarked: "Darkness instils us with fear, the fear of the unknown. And yet it also veils unseen beauty." She realized full well that given the impressions from the dirty room ahead this statement was a bit of a stretch and had to smirk at the thought. Lluvia's own reverence for Shelyn ended the very day she became a widow and she had come very close to her dark half-brother in the aftermath. But things change and she had established respect for The Eternal Rose, even though she was longer one of her followers.
Turning around she added. "Something unsanctioned by the power of the Umbral Court goes on in this town", or so she hoped. Even if their pale representative did not know about it this could still be a play of the powers in this country. "I am here to expose and defeat what may challenge the Court's power, even though I am obviously not from Nidal. Your blessing in that endeavor would be most welcome." There was no defiance in her eyes, just respectful expectation. To fake absolute loyalty to the Umbral Court would only raise suspicion in her case, it would be better to admit that she had the point of view of an outsider. That she acted with a mandate of the Umbral Court (if implicit) and respected its absolute authority was important, however. Focusing on the job and working together was important as well, if such suspicion dominated their thoughts during combat it might very well be their end.
The Varisian scans the bedroom with both eldritch and mundane vision. It provides a useful way to steer clear of this storm of rival ideologies. He throws the new-new-comer a casual but friendly wave, not choosing to enter the conversational fray.
Spell Effects:
Mage Armor - +4 AC - 3 hours
Glancing over at the older man then shutting the door once the illness is mentioned. Leaning back against the now closed door before responding, My name is Kraimir and if you are looking into that vile illness then I offer my aid.
Then looking back at the Dhampir with just a touch of bitterness in his voice, I should think the Songbird explains what it means. But so that I can be certain there is no possible confusion I will explain myself.
Pulling himself off the door and straightening up, I am a holy warrior of Shylen. I am not hear to make any issue with you or any of the local anymore. I wish to help this illness end is attack on this town and then I will leave this place. Holding his arm up, Is my symbol going to prevent me from helping in this?
Zaitherin, watchful as always, starts at the appearance of the Shelynite. Drawing a necklace with the holy symbol of Gorum upon it, she shows it to Krasimir.
"It seems followers from many different faiths have sent their Chosen here to aid in this endeavor. You assistance, and discretion, are welcome."
Tunring to address the group as a whole, she gives a stage whisper.
"Now if it isn't too much trouble, the Professor and I are trying to commit some larceny in the name of helping this Gods-Forsaken town. Try to keep your conversations to a dull roar, will you?"
Your search of the room went unabated as your colleagues spent their time bickering about their feeble gods and politics. You had a greater mission - to find anything worth looting or discovering hazards which would hamper your part- err yourself. The room was very much lived in, as the owner's lack of organization and care of the room was very evident. Clothes covered every walkable inch permeating the air with musk. In your search you uncovered a total of 13 silver pieces and a trap door buried under a pile of clothes.
The trapdoor seemed to open from the outside. Before removing the handle to access the lower levels, something stopped your progress. You heard a slight ticking coming from the hinges. Much to your surprise, it was trapped.
You joined Lluvia in her search of the room. While Lluvia was busy dealing with a trap door, your eldritch vision bore no results. It seem that the Chandler spent very little time in this room. However, you managed to find a fine crafted dagger tucked under her mattress. The blade was of Nidalese craft and contained a jewel inset within the pommel.
Spell Effects:
Mage Armor - +4 AC - 3 hours
u
"I would appreciate that... changing the scene unprofessional." Lluvia remarked when she heard the sudden ticking. Why now, damn it? "Speaking of a lack of professionality: I believe I just triggered a trap", she remarked without changing her cordial tone. "You better stand back."
With her free hand she dug for her fine mechanic tools in her equipment. It may be too late now, but maybe the actual mechanic only triggered once the pressure was released, in which case she still might prevent the worst.
Prae senses that she's telling the truth, and nods quietly.
"You have my blessing, so long as you don't cause any trouble. There will likely be some moment in time when we have solved this mystery and I no longer require your assistance. Up until that point, we shall work together to take this threat down."
"You and I both know of the tensions between our religions; it is within my right to be suspicious of one such as yourself following Shelyn. That being said, I do believe it is in our best interest to figure out what is at the center of this unrest, and I will not turn down any aid at doing so. For now, we are not enemies."
"Lluvia, what kind of trap do you think it is? Does it threaten us all, or just you?"
"Clockwork, timed trigger. Hard to say, but stay clear of the room. Trying to fix." she said just loud enough so that she'd be heard while she tried to maintain her concentration.
Dario returns his attention to the room and is about to step in when Lluvia announces that she may have triggered a trap. "Everyone, step back! Let her work!" He watches the young woman deftly work at the mechanism. "Very good, Lluvia..."
Nodding to the Fetchling then smiling at her ending statement to the group. That smile vanishes when the Dhampir continues the conversation. Glaring at him, For now then.
Now that you were aware of the trap, you took measures to ensure that no harm would come to the group. You brandished your set of tools and set to the task at hand. The trapdoor contained a pressure sensitive device, probably something that would spring out and stab you in the face, set forth alarm or both! Despite your comrades racket concerning religious politics, your probe managed to release the spring causing a bright flash and sudden thud from beneath. The ticking stopped and no bodily harm came from the trap.
However, disarming your comrade's ideological matters concerning faith was another issue...
"It is disarmed." Hopefully no silent alarm had been triggered. For a moment she set upright with eyes closed and called an image to her mind that always helped her finding peace: Steady rain glitterig in half light.
"You might want to have a look - it's a trap door." She assembled her tools and stowed them thoroughly. Then she opened the trap door, careful to not activate the mechanism after all, if only for a small slit - she didn't want the light from her Ioun Stone give away the her presence. Was this merely an in-door access to the workshop or was there something more to it?
She maintains her typical nonchalant half smile, but raises in fluent motion to her feet and performs a curtsey. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir Kraimir. I am Lluvia."
Raising an eyebrow at Lluvia's curtsy but offering a slight bow back at her. It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Though the Sir part is unnecessary.
Dario smiles at Lluvia. "Good work. Nice bit with the spring there. Sharp." He nods to her and approaches the trap door. The Professor kneels down to examine the door while she introduces herself to Krasimir. He speaks over his shoulder to the newcomer. "Professor Dario Westone. I'm a traveling scholar."
Slowly, Dario opens the door, using the light from above to provide ample illumination for his elven eyes.
Dario is greeted with a 10ft ladder that leads downward to what appears to be a storage room of sorts. Large boxes mark much of the room. As Dario peered about, he noticed a slick color on the ground and a vaguely humanoid shape among the boxes...
"I know." answered Lluvia to Kraimir's remark. Her face showed no motion, only a grin hushed over it as she turned to Dario, to see what he found.
"Thank you." she answered his compliment and took a position besides him to see what he found. "That's strange. Might be plague victims..." She took a piece of cloth from her backpack and tied it around her head so that mouth and nose were covered. Then she started climbing down the leader. The setting was frightening, but liingering up there would not help.
"Might be a victim of the trap. I thought I heard a fleshy thud just a moment ago."
Keeping quiet Kraimir moves to follow.
Zaitherin follows as well, grumbling softly to herself.
Dario allows the others to go down the ladder. He waits at the top, glancing at Prae. "Who is it down there?"
While Dario waited at the top of the stairs for his allies to explore the room, the party descended into the darkness. The room was cramped with a lone door to the east. Though the room once had a semblance of order, candle making supplies lay strewn about the room as if there was a panicked struggle. In the corner lay a puddle of slick liquid and the remains of a slain humanoid.
Lluvia approaches the body carefully to have a slowly to have a closer look at it and figure out who it might be and what the person died from. She stops near it and uses the tip of her rapier to check whether the puddle comes from dried blood, as she suspects.
Standing at the top of the ladder, not having deigned to descend into the basement, Prae calls out to those below.
"So? Is it this chandler we've heard so much about?"
Hawk closes in on the crate containing a magic aura. He examines the crate cautiously for an obvious open side while he analyzes the eldritch aura more thoroughly. "There's something interesting within this crate. I'd suggest we leave it alone until we've finished up down here." He regards the dark cellar with a skeptical eye.
Hawkren spends his time looking about the room for anything of value. He does find a sizable lockbox tucked away under a canvas sheet within a nearby opened crate. Interesting enough, there's an ornate candle with an onyx stand in the same container. As Hawkren pondered the possibility, something caught his attention as 2 clouds of staggering darkness bound from the box!
HP Tracker
Monster 1:
Monster 2:
"Watch out! Some sort of smoke monster! Prae, get down there!" Dario slides to the side to allow Prae a direct path down the ladder. Then he begins trying to direct the others from his higher vantage point. "It's coming around the crates! Move!"
"Ooh, how delightful, it's undead!" Prae calls out, loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Although I've never seen an undead quite like this one..."
"Some sort of incorporeal undead." Dario cranes his neck to try to get a better view. "You need to use magic or magic weapons to hurt it."
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"I am not a fan of undead creatures. But I can put it down if we need to do so!"
Trading out his bow for his Goddesses Glaive and once he is able he will move down to attack it.
While the strange manifestations' appearance surprises Lluvia, she is not as afraid as she objectively should. They don't even clearly appear to be threat and the situation has something unreal.
As the one who entered the room first and is deepest within it she might get into a flanking position. With the notion that they can be harmed with weapons, she tries a normal fencing thrust right into the middle of the one which Kraimir attacked.
"Stay your weapons! This creature of shadow is quite holy to our church, and I would approach it before resorting to combat."
Prae quickly moved down the ladder, trying to get himself as close to the cloud as possible before his companions began beating the glorious thing.
As he moves closer, he extends his arms towards the creature, as if in worship, his spiked chain wrapped tightly around them. Strange sounds begin to emanate from his mouth, as if he was establishing communication.
Krasimir's eyes widen, You have got to be kidding me! Shaking his head but waiting to attack, Your funeral.
Lluvia raises her rapier from a threatening to a defensive position and tries to give "Prae" the space to do his work. She certainly does not approve of his fondness of undead, but he was entirely correct that combat should remain a last resort and by no means used simply out of the fear of the unknown.
She listened attentively to his words.
It becomes clear under the artificial and magical light that a pair of shadow like creatures emerged from a nearby crate. Their forms twisting and stretching with elongated fingers hungering for light, life and all that which they cannot possess. Strangely enough, Praetorix places himself before the duo and subjugates himself before a lengthy discussion of whispers incurs.
"ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ... ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਮੇਰੀ ਜੀਭ ਨਾਲ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਧੰਨ ਹਨ ...
ਮੈਨੂੰ ... ਫੇਡ ਤੱਕ ਦੀ ਦਲੀਲ ਹੈ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ... ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਰੱਖਿਆ.
ਕਿਤੇ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਸਾਥੀ ਦੇ ਇੱਕ ਦੀ ਪੇਸ਼ਕਸ਼ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਕਸ਼ਟ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ. ਮੈਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਿਫ਼ਾਰਿਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਜੀਵਨ ਦੇ ਅਹਿਸਾਸ ਲਈ ਕਿੰਨੇ."
Mortal...you are blessed to speak my tongue...
We...have been ripped from the fade...and thrust into this world.
We will spare you lest you offer one of your companions. We long for the touch of mirth and life.
Lluvia looks somewhat embarrassed as she lowers her weapon altogether and leaves her combat stance. "If you would kindly extend my sincere regret to the entity I hurt?" she asked Prae.
Leaving the conversation to him she turns her attention the body again.
Throwing a hand in the air and mumbling, Why am I even bothering?
Shifting on his feet, Are we really letting that thing go?