Jimmy struggles to fall asleep as he keeps getting hair in his face and it tickles his nose. He eventually falls asleep but is restless.
The sound of Niamh and the damphir talking wakes him. He lies in bed listening for Gwen
Gwenhwyfar wakes up at the usual time. She sighs as she realizes that there is no real chance to do her prayer time somewhere where he sun can be seen.
She sits just up on the floor and has her prayer time with Destinée right there in the room.
Gwenhwyfar silently sneaks out of the room not to wake Tauriell
She approaches Niamh and Gnaeus. As she sees he is still asleep she puts er finger on her lips to tell Niamh to be silent. She casts as silently as possible the dispell magic to remove the charm monster from Gnaeus.
As she is done she tries to wake him. "Hello Mr." she calls from still 10 feet away.
Niamh becomes hungry and takes out an apple pie. "Breakfast?" She asks the dhampire and Gwenhwyfar before she cuts it into pieces and starts to dispense it. She knocks at Jimmy's door first as she knows that Abomentolor and Tauriell are probably still sleeping.
Gnaeus wakes up anxiously looks around but as Sorshen is nowhere to be seen calms down again. He takes a piece of the offered pie and takes a bite as he notices that the black haired girl is still standing there looking at him.
The door to Jimmy's room opens as Niamh knocks at it.
"What is your name?" Gwenhwyfar asks.
Jimmy stays in the room. Listening to Gwen talk. Wondering how things will turn out
Swallowing his bite he replies "Gnaeus Gnaru."
Gwenhwyfar explains to Gnaeus "I'm Gwenhwyfar. And I dispelled that charm monster Runelord Sorshen cast on you. I don't know how that feels to you but you are now free again to do as you like."
"But before you do so there is something I need to tell you first. The mean woman that ordered you around yesterday isn't Sorshen."
"Good morning, mylady" Niamh bows with a grin and closes the door behind her. "Breakfast for you." She looks at the door making sure it is closed and whispers to Jimmy "As you are already awake you might have noticed Gwenhwyfar dispelled the charm."
"I know. I've seen her two or three times in her true form. I guess she is some kind of demon." Gnaeus interrupts Gwenhwyfar.
Gwenwhyfar is confused. "No. I mean that might be but the one we're with is not that demon Sorshen. We have our own Runelord Sorshen imposter."
She waits a moment for the information to sink in. "And normally our Sorshen isn't mean at all. She just wanted to make you believe she is her. So if you're angry at Sorshen for charming you into being her slave please don't direct that anger at our Sorshen, ok?"
Gnaeus starts to laugh but it is no happy laugh "From mighty fighter and caster to everyones pet dog. Isn't it great?"
As Jimmy doesn't say anything Niamh turns around leaving the piece of pie and walks out of the room. "Any creative idea how to wake Abomentolor this time?" She asks into the corridor.
Turning around and pulling the pillow over her head she mumbles "Or on me."
"So what are you going to do now that you're free again." Gwenhwyfar asks.
"Don't you dare to do that!" Niamh tells Gwenhwyfar and touches Abomentolor's door. It swings open and Niamh spreads her arms and casts a light above her head which her hairs reflect so it looks like a gloriole around her head.
"I'm going to run as fast and as far as I can to keep it that way." Gnaeus replies.
"And if you like to keep your life and you freedom I suggest you do the same. The Gray Maidens that lately arrived here didn't make it as far as you. They are the newest pets of Sorshen. Everyone who comes in her becomes either her pet or gets killed. She has a pletora of minions either charmed or true loyals waiting for you on your way. But she might simply come herself and kill one half and charm the other."
Abomentolor wakes up as Niamh shouts into his room. To calm his sudden anger and to improve the gloriole a bit Abomentolor casts spark on Niamh's hair to set it aflame.
Niamh ducks away. "Hah! You can't burn me!" She closes the door but then opens it again. "This is no challenge!" The halfling grabs a piece of pie and walks into Tauriell's room. She sits down onto the bed. "Tauriell? I have apple pie for you." Niamh holds the piece under the elf's nose.
"You're lucky today. But I'll get you tomorrow!" Tauriell states and takes the pie. She puts it into her mouth and lies her head on the pillow again.
"Halflings are always lucky." Niamh states and stays on Tauriell's bed.
"You're lucky that your apple pie is so tasty. This makes it really hard to stay angry with you." Tauriell replies.
Niamh waves her hand. "You couldn't stay angry with me even without apple pie!"
"That would be true if you were cute. But as you tell me all the time: You aren't. Therefore I'd be careful with that without apple pie." Tauriell replies.
"No. I am cute. I'm the cutest person you've ever met!" Niamh cries.
Niamh isn't really crying
"Cry me a river." Tauriell replies. "I've always known that. That it took you so long to realize it is a shame."
Niamh stops the crying. "As you are awake now, could you kick Jimmy's and Abomentolor's asses for me out of their beds? I want to go on exploring this dungeon."
"I'm awake. But I'm still in this really comfortable bed. Why should I get out into this dungeon full of deadly creatures that want to kill me?" Tauriell asks. "And if I heard that right Abomentolor is one of these deadly creatures who wants to kill everyone waking him early."
Niamh sighs and crawls to Tauriell under the blanket. "There is no reason that would persuade you."
"What are you doing under my blanket? Do you want to cuddle? Who are you and what have you done with Niamh?" Tauriell inquires.
Niamh crawls out again. "I'm still Niamh." She stands up and walks out of the room and fetches her transverse flute and starts playing some songs she can play with the violin pretty well for practise.
Tauriell draws her blanket over her head and nibbles the pie in the dark.
"That is a rather depressing outlook on things. Do you know some details what to expect and where?" Gwenhwyfar asks.
"I've been only in several of the rooms myself and Sorshen brought me from one to another by teleporting. So I don't know how to get there and how they are connected. But when I came here a long time ago I did so with a wizard who paid me to protect him. He wanted to magic treasures in here. He had a map with several hidden doors drawn on it. On our approach we went down the waterfall and from a beach down there explored the dungeon. But we didn't get far."
"As for what to expect: There are the Gray Maidens. Alone they are not very impressive but they are many and well equipped. Then there are the demons bound to all and everything. I guess there were more centuries ago but there are still enough left."
"She has some lust sinspawns. They are like beautiful women but their hands feet and heads are ugly abominations of claws and teeth. All that and the traps you've seen yourself."
Gnaeus pulls out a stick and holds it to Gwenhwyfar "That's a wand of detect secret doors. I won't need it where I go. Thank you for freeing me and good bye."
Gnaeus gets up and leaves in the direction the group came from yesterday.
Niamh stops her playing. She calls after Gnaeus. "Are we going on now?" The halfling adresses Gwenhwyfar.
"Blessings to you for your new future." Gwenhwyfar calls after Gnaeus.
"Where would you want to go?" Gwenhwyfar asks.
Niamh shrugs. "I don't care. I just don't want to see that corridor any longer."
"I don't understand what you have against this nice corridor. But besides that: have you seen any door or alternative corridor we didn't take?" Gwenhwyfar asks the question in a more specific way.
"I don't have anything against that corridor. I just don't want to stay here any longer. It becomes boring. And Gnaeus gave you that detect secret door stick." Niamh responds.
"Are you talking bad-mouthing me behind my back" Tauriell asks from her bed in a sour tone.
"Tell me one characteristic of you we could talk bad-mouthed about you. Or do you feel pissed because we want to use that stick instead of your super secret door finder ability?" Niamh answers.
Tauriell comes out of her room. "Oh, you're talking about a magic stick. Save that." she says and touches the wall which opens and reveals the entrance to the next room.
Niamh's face brightens up.
This opulent marble chamber is dominated by an enormous bed that sits on a raised dais. The walls bear frescos of a woodland scene, with leering satyrs chasing nubile nymphs. A domed ceiling inlaid with mother-of-pearl rises twenty feet above the opulent bedchamber.
Double doors are to the right.
Tauriell takes a look inside. "If we had explored that yesterday we could have all slept together in one room."
"As I told you. Halflings are always lucky!" Niamh replies to Tauriell's comment. She walks to the double doors and looks them up and down for traps.
Abomentolor drags himself out of the bed takes his stuff and approaches Niamh. He holds out his hand and says "Give me a piece of pie. It's the least you have to do for coercing me out of bed."
"It's the other way around. You are lucky and should be grateful that I woke you instead of just disappearing with Tauriell and Gwenhwyfar and the apple pie." Niamh corrects the gnome and takes out a piece of apple pie for the him.