"Found more rooms." Regina called down the stairs, advancing to what looked like the library's upper level area - though unless a room had stairs in it, what was above and what was below were rarely related. (Maybe a fireplace below a bedroom in a normally cold climate, but that was different...)
"I was wondering about those dead plants, if perhaps something killed them. Reckon that this key might open the locked thing in the back room?"
Remembering how the previous note had walloped Jennifer, Aurora poked the envelope with one gloved finger.
The envelope was poked, but did not ignite or explode. Sadly, it didn't do much of anything.
Calmly, Regina wandered over to the eastern door and cracked that open, too, trying to see as much of the area as she could before she went back down to rejoin the others.
Solomon produced a small knife and endeavored to open the envelope and read (or observe) the contents within. "Did someone find a lock to which this key might pair?" He asked off-handedly.
Rather than poking at the tome, Regina returned to the stairway. "Found some more books, including one it looks like the owner was repairing. Might be relevant." she called to the others.
Solomon... endeavored to open the envelope and read (or observe) the contents within.
Cracking the seal, a spark flicks out, zapping the good doctor with a minor jolt of power. Nothing else seemed to happen.
The paper itself, in shaky writing, said,
It came, we know not what, from beyond the places where sane men dare dwell. We called out, seeking answers to the end of one of our fellows, soon to be cruelly taken by a dread poison of the Fey. And it answered.
We knew enough not to allow it inside, and the House refused it entry. But not to its agents. Human blood...what defines it? How polluted must it be before it counts as Other? Too polluted for the Wards. They slipped inside, and the cold came with them.
Fools are we for calling, but fools are they for answering. We trapped them, sealed them with our very name, the cause behind our creation - Truth itself binds them below, in the temple of forgotten things. But we are bound as well, and cannot be freed. The cold keeps us here. Together in a death grp neither can escape.
But now, I fear an agent stalks the halls of our home...
"Well, everything took a turn for the creepy, didn't it? So, these guys, the Order of the Swallow, contacted some nameless horror that sounds right out of Lovecraft's books, and something came, bringing that frost we witnessed. Wards couldn't keep it out, since it was human enough - well, they didn't keep me out either. Then they trapped themselves in, all while binding the creatures, in the... temple of forgotten things?"
"Oh, right! By our name you shall enter? Is it possibly Swallow? Let's try! Uhm, unless that could free whatever is bound there. Perhaps let's wait a minute. Want me to try and take another peek to that cold room?"
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"Oh, right! By our name you shall enter? Is it possibly Swallow?"
"'Ordo Hirundo'," Jennifer suggests.
"Ah, yes, perhaps Latin would work better. So, should we try it? Or get up and see what Regina found?"
Is the snowstorm happening outside?
The storm is outside the building.
Yeah, the storm came from AC-2#s door, and yes the green area is the greenhouse.
Valda looked around. "They do seem to like Latin," she agreed. "They seem the type to use a Latin name. Whether we go up or down, I'll leave up to you guys."
"Let's head to the basement where we'll find a big pentagram, or something."
Solomon nods to Jennifer. "After all this, I could do with a simple pentagram. That's much more my speed anyway." He produces a flashlight and wiggles it in front of him to make a small show of it. "Better safe than sorry. Shall we?"
Regina sighed and shrugged slightly, but headed down to rejoin the others in checking the basement.
"One step at a time, allons-y!"
"Well, given the lack of a stairwell heading down, it seems apparent that the entrance is either hidden, the secret door in the Library, or both." Valda shrugged as the little band headed for the library.
Nodding to Jennifer, she murmurs "Ordo Hirundo." The door opened with a click and swung open silently, well oiled hinges "Huh. I guess this is easier that I thought." Glancing down the passage, she noted, "Looks like a single way down." The heavy wooden stairs are clean, but worn, a indentation worn into the wood.
"Welp, we get nowhere just standing around." Regina said, taking the lead and heading down the stairwell.
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Jennifer follows Regina down.
The stairs descended a good thirty feet before a sudden, abrupt change occurred. As sharply as if someone had cut it with a knife the cleaning ceased, smooth dry stone turning to a dripping, fungus coated mess with. Approximately 20 feet further down a set of heavy doors sit, bound in papers and ropes.
"...Want me to torch it?" Regina asked, looking at all the fungus. If nothing else, some sustained heat to burn off the fungus and ensure nobody would trip was probably the best course of action, right? Right!? ...Well, assuming nothing else got set on fire... Cough.
Descending after the overeager girl, Aurora scans the area. "I'm no expert, but fire in a closed room doesn't exactly sound wise."
"Pfft, like I let physics get in the way." said the girl who could turn invisible when she wanted to. "Besides, I don't have to do a huge cone of flames unless I really want to. I can narrow it. Or, for that matter, just do some acid instead. A quick burst shouldn't be enough to get rid of a lot of the fungus without really damaging the floor underneath." Physical objects were surprisingly resilient to her acidic bursts. ...Also much less likely to go up in flames.
"I was thinking about smoke and oxygen, actually. But they may be harmless. Mister Doctor? What can you tell us?"
Confidently, Aurora stepped over towards the door, looking at the papers.
The papers are oddly resistant to the damp, although several have soaked through, the ink running and mold taking hold. The ones that remain seem to be arcane formula.
"You're quite right, Aurora. I didn't realize any of you bothered with knowledge of the physical." Solomon responded without a glance as he stepped closer to examine the door. "And acid heats in contact with water. With all the moisture down here it could boil and splash. Someone could be injured. Let's leave the flora alone for now. If it becomes an imminent threat I'm sure we all know who's help to ask for."
The doctor stooped to set down his hand case before swiping a gloved finger across the chains. He then examined his fingertip for signs of rust.
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Again, about half of the ropes and chains binding the doors were corroded and uses, falling apart at the lightest of touches. The other half were impressively solid. One thing that was noticeable, however - all could be undone from this side of the door. Clearly, they were meant to keep things in, not you out.
"Well, we didn't come here to let a door stay closed." Regina said, shrugging and moving to unlock things to the group to proceed.
Aurora grabbed the resident pyromaniac. "Wait! I hate to be the voice of reason-" the raven on her shoulder cackled "-but I can't think of a single book where opening a supernatural prison goes well. Maybe we should try and find out whatever is closed in there? Or a lock for that key?"
Jeez, go down, don't go down... people had such a hard time making up their minds sometimes. "Well, there is that library I was exploring upstairs..."
Solomon frowns and taps the chains with his knuckle. "You know, Aurora does have a point. It might be prudent to exhaust our other options. It's encouraging at least that this seal is holding. At least in part." He picks up his case and turns back to the others. "Fine idea Regina. Let's go upstairs."
The papers are oddly resistant to the damp, although several have soaked through, the ink running and mold taking hold. The ones that remain seem to be arcane formula.
Before they head back up, Jennifer scans the doors and papers with her glasses to see if she can make out any of the strange writing.
Nurai followed after Valda, warily looking around the space concerned how it kept getting more and more like horror movie or fable about poking one's nose in places. The zoog looking up occasionally from their snug spot on the summoner's arm.
Biting her tongue against the various natural comments that came to mind at the dismissal of their knowledge, Nurai gave the papers - or potential fire fuel source depending on the point of view - a look over alongside Jennifer. Commenting to the zoog in Aklo, the tiny creature looked to the door to light up the area, before Nurai fished out her keys, and then a prism from the several keychain items. Casting quietly to herself while reading through the prism, Nurai tried to decipher the arcane formulas on the pages, giving them a few minutes consideration.
"If we need to keep something in, I can try mending the chains a bit..." she commented absentmindedly, far more use to the practical uses of casting than weird house mysteries...
Not surprisingly, the magic spells and arcane writings are designed to hold the door shut against any attempt to open it from within. It also seems like it blocks incorporeal and planar travel.
Valda nodded. "As much as recklessly rushing in sounds awesome, I'd really like to know what kinda horrible gribbly monsters we're dealing with. Let's me choose my ammo correctly."
"Just... stay behind me. Use me as a shield if you have to." Regina suggested, turning around and starting to head up. If they needed information... maybe that upstairs library had some, yeah? Might as well pretend she was at the library and go check that out.
"It all looks like it's meant to keep something in, these prevent the door opening from within...even has blocks on planar travel here and incorporeal there and... It's not surprising with the chains and everything but I've not seen much like this before. I've met some really nervous security-obsessed people but they were all concerned with keeping others out." Nurai said shaking her head, pocketing her keys as she turned and explained to Valda. "Haven't found anything about what we're looking at, or what weapon to use, but I don't think even Mama Ayaulym could squeeze a shadow out of those doors with what's on it...though not sure how much the mold and such has affected that" Nurai said with a shrug, pausing in thoughts. The zoog wasn't really reacting so the summoner had to guess they hadn't noticed anything that would set the tiny thing off...but with all of this, it was uncertain how much the zoog could detect. Nurai wasn't going to push the creature.
Nurai moved away from the door, ready to follow Valda and Regina to the library.
Six-feet tall Aurora looked quizzically at diminutive Regina, picturing herself actually wielding the ethermancer as a shield.
"Alright, Shieldmaiden, we'll take the front then. Spear and Shield, as it was in ancient times. Onwards, to raid a library! Knowledge is power!"
With exaggerated enthusiasm, she headed back towards the second floor.
The return to upper floor went smoothly enough.
Valda, however, pointed out something odd. "All the doors keep getting closed behind us. Huh."
"And that's not spooky at all." Regina said. For a moment, she considered making a joke about destroying all the doors so they couldn't be shut, but... everyone would probably take that seriously. Sigh. Oh well, it was what it was.
"That's either our invisible friend being tidy, or part of the ward that preserves this place. I'm not sure I care which." Solomon said simply. "Alright, I suggest we fan out and look for a key hole or anything bearing the name or resemblance of a swallow."
Jennifer tries to open the double doors that are across from the top of the stairs.
The doors opened onto an impressive bedroom with a massive double bed that would dominate it, if the room itself wasn't quite large. Various side tables, wardrobes, desks and mirrors make up much of the rest of the room. A small door to the east remains closed.
Jennifer slowly walks over to the desk to snoop around, scanning the room for anything unusual.