Still able to see the thing that started this brutal melee, Petracleus focuses all of his efforts upon bringing it down...
"#*%*"
Loosing track of the invisible foe Damion will move over and attack Theodora's target
...success!
...Success!
...overruling. This combat is getting tedious...
...miss
...possible hit
...hit
...Daimon
...hit
Monster Status
Wrath of Strahd hp 0/80
Cursed spirit #1 hp 19/19
Cursed spirit #2 hp 0/19
Round 5, continued
Theodora attacks the cursed spirit of a man-at-arms. Her magical falchion crackles as it passes through the ghostly spirit, offering some resistance on the swing. The spirit seems to fade somewhat. Daimon then breaks off from the invisible thing he's fighting to turn his attention to the spirit fighting Theodora. An unseen fist pounds him in the back as he breaks off the attack. Undeterred from the attack, Daimon's blade also crackles as he swings through the incorporeal spirit, and it winks out of existence.
Echanging glances with Verran and Ireena, all three change their positioning to give Petracleus and Verran the ability to try to play off each others' moves. While Ireena misses, both Petracleus' rapier and Verran's mace connect with something solid in midair!
Shaking off the feeling of drain from the cursed spirit, Countessa drops back and lets loose a quarrel at the invisible thing. While the wizard's shot is high, Celowyn lets fly an arrow... which sticks into something solid unseen in the air.
The sound of a scream of anger and anguish echoes through the room, and a strong gust of wind blows through the room from where the invisible thing had been. The wind carries a faint odor of decay, but is otherwise harmless. Celowyn's arrow clatters to the floor.
Round 6
The remaining cursed spirit's glowing red eyes fix onto Daimon, and it floats over to him. Its ghostly hand reaches into Daimon's chest, and Daimon feels the chill of the grave leech out his life-force.
Countessa, seeing Daimon's blade pass through the spirit, opts for a weapon that she is certain will affect the incorporeal thing. She draws her wand of magic missile and blasts two magical missiles of force at the phantom.
Theodora steps up to the remaining incorporeal enemy and attempts to strike it with her magical weapon. "Return to peace, spirit."
With the invisible force and one of the spirits destroyed, the entire party turns its attention to the remaining cursed spirit. Attacked from all sides, it fades from existence.
With the fighting over, the rooms seems deathy still.
Taking a breath and a moment to assess his injuries, Petracleus keeps his rapier in his hand... and looks for other unseen enemies...
"Verran, would you mind healing the group a little? Your channeling is far superior to mine." Theodora asks the cleric politely as she assists Damion in searching the room.
Daimon: You think that the door to the west may have moved in its jamb a bit... almost as if something had been leaning against it and then backed away.
Petracleus: You still have that magical lute.
Damion will dart over and shove open the door trying to catch a glimpse of whoever ( or whatever) might have been watching.
Hefting the lute in his hands, fingers stroking the woodwork and lightly strumming the strings, Petracleus tries to determine what magical properties the instrument has...
...his concentration though, is broken as Damion rushes across the room.
Celowyn draws an arrow and covers Daimon as he opens the door to the west.
Daimon opens the door to reveal an ornate bath chamber, lit by a single candle. Red satin curtains hang over the south wall. A large, ornate bathtub sits in the middle of the chamber.
Crouched on the floor near the door is Gertruda. She holds a lit candle in one hand, and looks up with an expression of fear. She relaxes slightly when she recognizes Daimon. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Troll! I heard what sounded like fighting in there... the Count told me never to open that door or go into the room because it was haunted! I'd never heard noise in there before!"
"Are there are any other areas the Count warned you about?" Theodora asks the girl, trying her best to avoid a sarcastic tone.
Gertruda seems a bit more comfortable speaking with Theodora. "Well, Lady Knight, the Count told me to stay here in my chambers unless summoned. He said that he would be greatly displeased with me if he found me skulking about the castle... so I've pretty much just stayed here. He's taken me downstairs to the dining room for dinner a few times, but usually a butler, a maid, or one of the ladies-in-waiting brings my meals to me here."
"We should be on the move. The Count knew where we last were, and I've no doubt that he can still track our movements somehow. The quicker we find him, the faster we can bring this "game" to an end." Countessa's face is a mask of anger and steely determination.
"I thought we left you hiding in a closet, girl. Braver than you let on it seems."
"Thank you, Mr. Troll!" She peeks through the door at the dusty, abandoned dining room. "Did you see a ghost?"
"Several ghosts in fact. That is why it's important that you stay safe in the closet." Theodora says in a slight scolding manner to Gertruda. "Do you now see why we believe the Count is a bad man?"
Once everyone is gathered about, Verran will call upon the Lady of Graves to seal their wounds. Given her reaction to his scars, the priest makes a point of not engaging with Gertruda.
Channeling the healing power of the Lady of Graves, everyone feels some of their strength return.
At that, Gertruda says, "Um... I think I'll just go back to my room now...?" She backs farther into the bathroom.
Countessa asks Petracleus to take a look at the magical lute. She casts a spell and examines its aura.
"It's not my usual area of expertise, but I've seen craftsmanship like this before! It's of elven manufacture, specifically by the elves of the Meriani Forest in Varisia. This instrument is called a Celwynvian lute. Instruments such as these are crafted with three special tunes, named here..." The wizard points to some Elven script inlaid in gold onto the neck of the instrument. "Each of those three tunes conjures a magical effect, each once per day. The first tune can delay the effect of poison. The second can stop an enemy in their tracks. And playing the thrid tune third can manifest illusory duplicates, seemingly making yourself appear to be a small band."
Item description: Celwynvian lute.
- The ghost of the Sarenite paladin Lady Shantia said that, before Strahd killed her, she had been in possession of the fabled Sarenite artifact Dawnflower's Radiance, a powerful holy sword. She had last had it at the top of the highest tower in the castle. That tower is most likely the one you entered this floor through.
- You found and opened a secret door in the fireplace of Strah's library. The door was behind a blazing fire in the hearth.
- The Varisian fortune-teller Madame Eva said of Count Strahd, "You shall seek him in his castle. And while he will find you many times, you will find him but once... You will find the master of the castle in the place where officers of an ancient prince once sat, upholding him from below. I see a place of shadow and despair, beneath the main floor of the castle."
- The burgomaster Ismark Kolyavich, the village priest Ilya Danovich, and Ireena all spoke of an ancient holy relic, the Talisman of Barovia, which seemed to have special powers over the undead, including Strahd himself. The talisman was stolen from the Burgomaster's home five days ago, and its theft heralded direct attacks on the house.
- When asked about the talisman, Madame Eva said "Ah, the Talisman of Barovia. It is powerful tool of holiness, and protects against the forces of darkenss. Yes, that would be one of the tools you shall need, is it not? You are wise to enquire about it. Let us see...The Lord of Barovia has claimed the talisman for himself. Yet, he cannot use it. As a cruel joke, he has placed it on his own throne in Castle Ravenloft. You must recover it from there before you challenge him."
- Shortly after arriving at the castle, after meeting with Strahd over a dinner you all chose not to eat, Strahd appeared to ensorcell your friend Merrick in some manner such that he seemed to be positively inclined to Strahd's words. After a brief physical altercation, Strahd grabbed Merrick's shoulder, spoke some arcane words, and they both disappeared.
"You look tired from the battle with the ghosts, Petracleus. Let me use this wand to fix that." Theodora says with concern as she touches the bard with the wand of Lesser Restoration.
"We should find a way up the tower to try to find Dawnflower's Radiance next." Theodora suggests to the others. If no one objects, Theodora heads to where the stairs are likely to be.
Petracleus, gently stroking the strings of the Celwynvian Lute nods in appreciation as Theodora lifts the dull ache that had tired him so... musing, "For now... maybe you would allow me to look after this fine instrument? If Countessa is right then I may be able to aid you when we next encounter any of Strahd's minions... and, in the meantime, I do believe I could lift our spirits with some songs from my youth".
And then, frowning slightly, "Strahd has proved an elusive quarry indeed... if Madame Eva is to be believed then we will need to head downstairs once more but, before then... the Sarenrite blade? It would be of some help I think? ...and would lend purpose to the Lady Shantia's death".
Damian grunts his agreement. "Let me check that door."
Daimon does not discern any traps on the door to the east. You recall that's where the two cursed spirits in the recent fight had floated through.
"Okay, let's try the east door first where those ghosts came from, then move up the tower afterwards." Theodora says with a hesitant sigh as she opens said east door.
Theodora opens the intricately-carved door to the east, raising her torch to illuminate the dark room, and she steps inside.
A door of intricately carved wood stands at the west end of this dark hallway (through which she has stepped). Intricate details still stand out clearly on the door's surface. The door seems to almost shine with a light of its own, untouched by time. Yet, on each side of this door there is an alcove filled with a darkness that shames the night. A figure stands like a shadow within each alcove, still as the cliffs of Balinok. A heavy wooden door bars the exit to the east.
The contrast between the light of the door and the darkness of the alcoves either side sends a shiver along Petracleus' spine... if there had been any goodness within this castle then the scene here would maybe have replicated that.
Yet, other than those which Strahd has lured here, there is nothing good to be found within these walls...
Humming, almost inaudibly to himself, Petracleus looks to see whether anything here is imbued with the arcane...
Petracleus does not detect any magical auras.
Upon closer inspection, the figures shrouded in the shadowy alcoves are empty suits of rusting armor standing on pedestals.
"Let's keep going, this is just a hallway." Theodora says to others, waiting for the group to form behind her as necessary.
Once everyone is ready to move on, the paladin looks over the door briefly then opens it.
Petracleus laughs with a bravado that he doesn't truly feel...
I'm jumping at shadows here... Strahd's got inside my head already.
"Shall we?" with rapier in hand, he strides into the corridor towards the heavy wooden door...
Celowyn moves behind Theodora, nocking an arrow and covering her friend.
Not seeing anyting immediately suspicious, Theodora opens the door. Beyond is a landing for a spiral staircase that leads both up and down. Lit torches are in sconces along the walls of this staircase. A strong breeze rushes down the stairs, causing the torches to flicker violently.
"Let's go up from here." Theodora suggests with some eagerness, perhaps hoping to find Dawnflower's Radiance more quickly via this route.
Countessa follows the others into the corridor.
"Upwards... and into the light", Petracleus smiles
Damion peers at the stairs suspiciously
You climb about 40 feet up the stone stairs, against a strong breeze that blows in your faces and causes your torches to flicker.
You come to a dark landing ten feet wide and twenty feet long. A cold draft of wind rushes down the spiral staircase on the north end of the eastern wall and whistles mournfully through the room before blowing down the stairs to the south. An iron-bound wooden door leads to the west. On the north wall hangs a framed portrait of a handsome, well-dressed man with a serene yet penetrating gaze. An ornate Kelesh rug covers the floor before the painting.
"Let's see what's on this floor, maybe look around in this room first." Theodora suggests to her comrades as she investigates the landing.
. Damion looks about suspiciously (actually, 'suspiciously' is his normal resting face so that was a little redundant.)
You cautiously move into the small room. Theodora doesn't notice anything particularly unusual, but Daimon notices two things about the painting...
First, the subject of the painting bears a remarkable likeness to Count Strahd, although in the painting, he appears to be a young man of perhaps 25 years.
Secondly... Daimon is nearly certain he saw the eyes of the painting following him!
"We know that Strahd, for it must surely be he, has been watching us as we explore this place... if I had to guess, I would say that this painting is probably another means by which our gracious host can observe us..."
Theodora shakes her head with sad disapproval, "Naturally he would have someone spy on us in the most creepy fashion possible."
If Petracleus doesn't find any magic in the painting or the room, she then attempts to carefully pull the painting off the wall.
Damion will casually walk up and stab the painting in the eye...
(power attack)
(sneak attack)
Verran simply arches his eyebrow at Damion's...direct approach to the problem.
Petracleus begins to cast a spell, and Daimon draws his sword and moves toward the painting.
At both of these actions, the image witin the painting suddenly gets an alarmed look on its face, and begins silently speaking words and making arcane gestures!
... 50 feet!
Round 1
The spell cast by the image in the painting goes off: Its final gesture is pushing its right hand forecefully toward Daimon (all from within the painting.) Daimon feels an invisible force slam into him, throwing him backward... and down the stairs!
Daimon tumbles down the spiral stairs, bashing against the stone walls and risers. He manages to catch himself after falling about 25 feet down the stairs.