Bernard and Syksy have trouble hitting the increasingly agitated spirit, which flares and roils more and more unpredictably. The apparition manages to find a gap in Zaijka's magical wards, draining its fill of Syksy's wits before it closes.
Khardir continues to keep his opponent in check, giving it another wallop as it tries to attack him.
Vibenia comes to with a start, only to find a screaming raven tangled in her hair. Having been pecked back to her senses, the ranger graps Dusk by the scruff and pulls her into one of the cubbies, giving Zaijka the opening she requested.
The benefit of going through so many traumatizing and terrifying fights in such short order is that encounters such as this one start to lose their debilitating impact; where before Bernard might have been undone by the sheer horror and strangeness of what they were fighting, now he simply grits his teeth and focuses on the one thing he can do.
Slashing the hell out of his foes.
"Ha! That all you got?" Syksy says with a grin as she swings again.
With an opening in place, Zaijka rushes forward and sets a hand on Khardir's shoulder, and ethereal lines trace the outlines of his armor as well.
Her focus on shaking Nisany from her daze, Vibenia's hastily fired shot skitters into the wall. "Nis, snap out of it love. We need everybody to get out of this mess!"
Bernard and Syksy cut their foe into ethereal ribbons, letting the tortured spirit out of its misery—a gust of musty air, like a weary sigh, heralds its final end. Zaijka's wards shield Khardir from retaliation as the dwarf holds the other end of the line, delivering another blow on his opponent. Noting that the vanguard is done at their end, he staggers into one of the cubbies to make way for the heavy hitters. Obviously, fighting the geist single-handed has taken its toll on him.
Vibenia shakes Nisany free of her daze. With no visible wounds to heal, the gnome unleashes a burst of brilliant energy to burn away the remaining apparition.
Taking a deep breath and not allowing himself to feel even a twinge of victory, Bernard drags himself around the corner of the alcove, shoulders aside his friends as he works his way down the corridor, and steps into the remaining undead's vicinity, stealing himself and swinging his burning blade as he draws close.
"Let me know when you wanna tap out," Syksy eagerly calls out to Bernard from the other side of the room.
Vibenia takes aim, firing over Bernard's shoulder at the tattered undead.
As Bernard passes, Zaijka once more conjures her spell of protection; the lines of energy swirl over him, pooling inside the gaps in his patchwork armor and lending him an ethereal glow.
Bernard's sword draws a huge flaming rent through the spectral monk's torso, while Vibenia's strangely weaving shot tags it in the head—as far as you can tell, at least, with such concrete body parts being near indistinguishable from the ever-shifting mass of insanity. Nisany keeps pushing it back with waves of vital energy, further reducing its tattered form to a mere fraction of its former feverish furour.
The desperate apparition tries to reach for Bernard in another series of jumbled martial poses, but is repelled by Zaijka's magical wards. By now its screams of frustration sound more like distraught whimpers.
Gritting his teeth, willing the creature to fall apart, Bernard hacks at it again.
Growling at her failure to help, the narrow passages, and the general horribleness of everything that is this vile place. Waiting a beat to see if the others can move that soul onto the afterlife so she can hang on to those bursts if need be.
Bernard's final blow severs whatever otherworldly forces have kept the monk's spirit in thrall, sending the tortured soul to its final reward in a burst of flame. In the aftermath, the thrashed dormitory feels much less oppressive and unsettling. The sounds of combat do not appear to have drawn attention.
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Vibenia takes a deep breath in relief as the last creature is put down, running her fingers through Dusk's fur she looks to Nisany first, as she always does after a battle, frowning in puzzlement that the other's wounds didn't seem to be affecting her the way they usually did, but at the same time relieved that she wasn't in pain.
Looking at Bernard, Khardir and Syksy, her expression shifts to one of concern, as she sees a...slackness in her other girlfriend's body language that was completely out of character for the person, who even when relaxed, stood almost perfectly at attention from years of training.
"Syksy...you alright love?"
After a moment of recuperation, you continue to seek Armiger Viterri. A spiral staircase at the back of the formerly-haunted dormitory ascends onto a small landing , from whence it continues up into the bell tower above . Firelight issues from under the doors to the northwest , as does the acrid smell of alchemicals. By straining your ears, you can just make out the clinking of glass and the sounds of shuffling feet.
Moving along, you find numerous statues of robed men and women—various Iroran saints—occupying the niches along the curving hall . You note where Maffei used chalk to mark out the secret door , though leave it untouched for the moment. Finally, after traversing the length of the winding hallway, you come to an intersection : a closed door leads to the south, while an arched doorway opens into a library in the west.
Since the creature guarding the library is vigilant enough to stymie an infiltrator as skilled as Maffei, you decide to move carefully along the wall and without light, those who can see in the dark guiding those who cannot. Once everyone has slipped past the open doorway to the west, you close the door behind you.
You find yourselves in a small chamber . The ceiling is low, making the space feel cramped. Metallic coffins with vents in their lids form a line along the southern wall of the room. Numerous large stones are heaped atop the easternmost and westernmost coffins. A foul smell of decay emanates from the latter.
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"I feel f#!%ing great!" Syksy excitedly replies with a hop. "C'mon, let's find Viterri and kick some monster ass, or vice-versa, or at the same time. Let's go. Let's go. Lessgolessgolessgo!"
-----
As they continue their search she continues with her extra animated mannerisms, "And we're sneaking, and we're sneaking..." she sings to herself as they advance. When they enter the coffin room she calls out. "Viterri, you in here? Monsters? Corpses? Hellllo?"
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Zaijka goes wide-eyed at Sysky's babbling. Zev had said allips' attacks could drain the sanity of their victims...but just how many hits had Sysky taken? "Sysky - come on, shh!" she chimes in in a whisper. "It's a - it's a new game, ok? We all have to be very quiet - whoever is quietest wins."
Syksy pauses for a moment before letting out an ”Ohhhh, gotcha.”
Turning back to the room she calls out in a stage whisper ”Viterri? You in here?”
Bernard follows at the rear of the group, sword held down by his side, wincing at every clank of his heavy armor.
When they reach the doorway, he remains there, guarding their rear and casting nervous glances behind them, expecting, at any moment, for a legion of grioths to materialize out of the darkness.
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When they enter the coffin room she calls out. "Viterri, you in here? Monsters? Corpses? Hellllo?"
Syksy's initial shout results in a muffled yelp and the noise of something hitting the westernmost coffin-lid from the inside—and then a long, pained groan.
Turning back to the room she calls out in a stage whisper ”Viterri? You in here?”
"No," a woman's voice echoes from the vents on the lid, "it's Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II. Are you gonna let me out of here or what, dumbass?!"
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Following and watching Skysy yell and stagger around. Gotta be something I can do about that. Sucking in a breath when something talks back. Grabbing a hold of Skysy's arm and pulling her down a bit.
Putting her tiny gloved hands on either side of the Hellknight's face, "Before you run in there. Please trust me."
Assuming Skysy doesn't pull away Nisnany will rest her forehead against Skysy's and a bit pf smoke rises from her fingers.
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”Of course sweetness, what’s up?” Syksy asks as Nisany gets her attention. And then the haze subsides. ”Oh wow, I can see s!%* again, what’d you do? Are those coffins?” she asks with a kiss while the gnomes lips were in range.
At the disgruntled snark of the entombed hostage Syksy just nods. ”Yep, that’s Viterri. You wouldn’t know if these are trapped do you?”
At the disgruntled snark of the entombed hostage Syksy just nods. ”Yep, that’s Viterri. You wouldn’t know if these are trapped do you?”
Viterri huffs in frustration. "Well, not from the inside. I'd probably have set something off by now..."
From what you can see, there are no traps or even locks on the coffin-lids. Vibenia notes a trail in the dust, leading from the door to the easternmost coffin, but she quickly concludes these are Azmur's footprints. The piled stones are heavy, though it would not take Bernard and Syksy more than a few minutes to clear them off.
Bernard steps into the darkened chamber and makes his way cautiously toward the covered sarcophagus, where he props his blade against the wall and sets to work hauling the stones off the lid.
He's careful to not simply dump them on the floor, for fear of the reverberations alerting their enemies throughout the monastery, but works quickly and efficiently, enjoying the direct simplicity of the task.
"There," he says quietly when the last stone is removed. "Let's get this lid off of you."
And with that and a nod to Syksy, he helps slide the stone lid around, revealing the upper right corner.
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Vibenia smiles as she watches Nisany heal the damage to Syksy's mind, her heart swelling, at the tender moment.
Nodding to Bernard, Syksy moves over and gets in to position to carefully remove the lid of the coffin. ”Watch your fingers. And your head.”
Smiling as a bit of normalcy comes back. But even with the voice being known there is still tightness in her stomach as the two work together to open the coffin lid. Stories far to often have undead waiting for their next victim coming out.
Zaijka watches from a distance as Bernard opens the coffin, standing ready should any surprises emerge.
From the coffin emerges a young Chelaxian woman—no more than twenty—clad in banged-up dark breastplate, with close-cropped black hair and dull, grey eyes. She is bruised and bloodied, though none of it is fresh except for the welt on her forehead. As soon as she has stuck her head and shoulders out of her prison and has gotten a good lung-full of the rotten air, she lets out a string of foul expletives.
”F*cking took you long enough,” mutters the Hellknight. She then glances around nervously. ”...uh, the Field-Maralictor isn’t here, is she?”
Bernard moves to one side, wiping the dust off his hands as he looks to Syksy.
Lowering her crosbow, Vibenia chuckles at the Chelaxian woman's abrasive way of expressing gratitude. "Your commander is outside of this place, having created the distraction to get us in here."
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"You're welcome," Syksy says in a sugary sweet tone, "Like Vibe says, Ermacora and Fusco are brining all the heat on themselves so we can A, rescue you after you got picked up and B, find more intel on this damn dragon. Now, in the least amount of whine possible, where is the rotting half-orc?"
Lowering her crosbow, Vibenia chuckles at the Chelaxian woman's abrasive way of expressing gratitude. "Your commander is outside of this place, having created the distraction to get us in here."
Visibly relieved, Viterri climbs out of the coffin and stretches, groaning miserably all the while. She is slight of build and very short for a human.
"Who're these guys?” she asks Syksy, with apparent disinterest. "The local militia or something? Whatever, never mind, someone just give me a damn weapon."
"You're welcome," Syksy says in a sugary sweet tone, "Like Vibe says, Ermacora and Fusco are brining all the heat on themselves so we can A, rescue you after you got picked up and B, find more intel on this damn dragon. Now, in the least amount of whine possible, where is the rotting half-orc?"
The battered Hellknight shrugs and gestures vaguely towards the westernmost coffin. "Follow your nose. I don’t know anything about a half-orc, but there sure as hell is something rotten in there."
Bernard and Syksy quickly clear the coffin of rubble. Removing the lid reveals the dead corpse of a half-orc in an advanced state of decay. The man wears a boiled leather coat, and there are multiple sheaths for long knives at his belt, though all of them are presently empty. Little of his demise can deduced from the nearly liquefied remains, but the scratch-marks on the inside of the coffin-lid tell a grim tale. None of these scratches amount to a decipherable message.
However, Zaijka does surmise that Hapscot’s mouth is intact enough for the corpse to speak, under the application of the proper rituals.
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"My girlfriends, my new uncle, best friends Zaijka and Zev, AND your saviors," Syksy answers anyway with a smirk.
When asked for a weapon the Armiger will offer the mouthy Hellknight her old nodachi. "Don't break it please."
After handing it off she crooks her head to Vibenia and Nisany and says in a stage whisper. "I know what you're thinking, but don't expect awesome rescue sex from every cute Hellknight you rescue."
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Vibenia lets out an uncharacteristic giggle despite herself, sharing a grinning look with Nisany and Syksy before regaining her composure. "I'm pretty sure we hit the jackpot on the first try."
"Well, unless we have a way to make this corpse tell us what happened here, we may as well get a move on."
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"That you did, and I as well" Sysky replied while beaming.
When they aren't able to find anything of use, and Vibenia brings up a possible solution, the Hellknight promptly turns to Zaijka, "Got something cool for this?"
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Grinning up at Skysy, "I had not thought of that till you said that."
Her grin shifts to a happy smile at her huntresses opinion on the matter, "I agree."
And as things seem to go once anything good happens there has to be the bad. Looking over at the corpse and knowing she cannot do anything about tat. And instead looking over Viterri.
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"My girlfriends, my new uncle, best friends Zaijka and Zev, AND your saviors," Syksy answers anyway with a smirk.
"Well, I'm glad you've been having fun," says Viterri, deadpan. "Overjoyed, really. Meanwhile, we've been chased around the swamp by hordes of monsters, getting wounded and killed and entombed alive. But yeah, thanks for the help, or whatever."
After handing it off she crooks her head to Vibenia and Nisany and says in a stage whisper. "I know what you're thinking, but don't expect awesome rescue sex from every cute Hellknight you rescue."
Viterri gags over-exaggeratedly. "You're lucky I'm not a snitch, Kalma. Ermacora would skin you alive and roll you in salt..."
When asked for a weapon the Armiger will offer the mouthy Hellknight her old nodachi. "Don't break it please."
Viterri scoffs and grabs the weapon. She does a few practice swings and nods, though she does cast a jealous glance at the obviously magical weaponry carried by most of the group. "Just that you know, I've no intention of fighting a godsdamned dragon—I'd like to keep living just a bit longer before I need to go back into a coffin. However, I'm more than willing to find that Garundi b*tch who beat me up and crammed me in there, and return her the favour."
And as things seem to go once anything good happens there has to be the bad. Looking over at the corpse and knowing she cannot do anything about tat. And instead looking over Viterri.
Though she is bloodied, most of her wounds appear to be old ones, and though they might have benefited from proper binding and a more sanitary place of recuperation, none are badly infected. Azmur's "goodberries" might have aided in the healing process. Likely for the same reason, she appears relatively well fed.
"What the hell are you staring at?" snaps the Hellknight, noting the gnome's appraising gaze. "Remember, no fadoodling."
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"Viterri, I will put you back in the f+*+ing coffin," Syksy simply says in the trained deadened tone she used when engaging with Ermacora. "We've slain numerous monsters to this point, and Ermacora and Fusco sacrificed themselves so that we could come rescue you after you got picked off in the night. Dierdre and Loche died tried to get the weapons we need to stop this dragon."
At Viterri's "threat" Syksy just shrugs, going back to her normal tone. "I didn't rescue sex them, they rescue sexed me, I am nothing if not proper."
What catches her off guard is the freed Hellknight's reluctance to face the dragon. "Did they take out your spine when they shoved you in there? We're Hellknights of the Pike. We go where the monsters are so civilians don't have to. We die so innocents don't have to."
"She's our medic." Syksy curtle says when Viterri snaps at Nisany.
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"And she's looking to see if you need any help or healing, I'd assume." Vibenia adds with a glare. "And you'd do well to show her some respect. There's a good chance that before this is all over, she'll be the only reason you're still alive."
"Is she healthy enough to not slow us down, love?" she asks Nisany, essentially dismissing the abrasive Hellknight from the conversation. "If so, we'll track down that torturer and see what we can get out of them. This corpse is holding on to his secrets."
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Bernard stands off to one side, studiously examining a notch in his blade, doing his level best not to blush at the graphic language, open demonstrations of affection, and the quarreling between the women.
It's a new world, he tells himself, frowning at the notch. Where physical relations are... openly discussed, and... not your business, Bernard. Just wait for something to swing at.
He turns the blade over. Rescue sex? What does that even...? Never mind, never mind. Not your business.
"Dierdre and Loche died tried to get the weapons we need to stop this dragon."
Syksy's tirade does quiet Viterri down somewhat, though she hardly seems motivated.
"I know," she mutters. "I was there."
What catches her off guard is the freed Hellknight's reluctance to face the dragon. "Did they take out your spine when they shoved you in there? We're Hellknights of the Pike. We go where the monsters are so civilians don't have to. We die so innocents don't have to."
Viterri shakes her head. "We’re armigers, Kalma. This is a bit above our pay-grade. You know I'd happily give my life it it meant a damn, but this is suicide."
"She's our medic." Syksy curtle says when Viterri snaps at Nisany.
The Hellknight squints at Nisany. "Uh huh. Just slap a bandage on it. I can fight!"
With your newly rescued squire in tow, you sneak back to the spiral staircase which leads down into the formerly-haunted dormitory and up into the bell tower. As before, firelight issues from under the doors to the northwest , as does the acrid smell of alchemicals. By straining your ears, you can just make out the clinking of glass and the shuffling of feet. Based on the echoey quality of the sounds and the relative scale on Maffei's map, the room beyond must be sizeable.
"This is the place," whispers Viterri. "Smells right, at least. What's the plan?"
Viterri shakes her head. "We’re armigers, Kalma. This is a bit above our pay-grade. You know I'd happily give my life it it meant a damn, but this is suicide."
"That may be, but we have to try, otherwise everyone in Belhaim is dead. And worse, if that temperamental iguana gets this mirror thing working properly." Sysky simply says.
~~~
"We're not really the sneakiest group, so blitz and beat their ass?" Syksy offers.
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Vibenia grins, turning to Bernard and taking a few steps back from the door. "Care to let whoever's in there know, Belhaim sends its regards?"
Suppressing a chuckle Syksy steps to the side as well.
Bernard takes a few steps back, rolls his shoulders, and then returns Vibenia's grin with a dark one of his own.
"On the count of three. One. Two -"
And with that he charges forward, turning and dropping his shoulder at the last moment to burst through the door with as much calamitous violence as he can muster.
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Focusing on tethering that red stand to her Hellknight and the Patchwork Knight. Reckless idiots.
Met with the combined weight of Bernard and his piecemeal armour, the door goes flying off its hinges. The candlelit space beyond must once have served as the monastery's kitchen, though the strange stains and smells which now permeate the room have nothing to do with preparing food. Various alchemical tools, books, and papers have been laid across the counters, and a cauldron of bubbling fluid sits atop a small fire burning in one of the many fireplaces along the western and northern walls. To the east are two large shelved alcoves for storage, now mostly empty.
A lanky Garundi woman stands near one of the counters, clearly in the middle of experimentation, though as Bernard crashes through the door she has already shifted her attention in your direction. Her hair is worn in utilitarian braids, and she wears a dark leather apron over a shirt of chain mail, with various alchemical odds and ends on the bandolier hanging across her chest. Somewhat more incongruous are the spiked flail hanging off the alchemist's belt, as well as the oddly flamboyant cloak hanging from her shoulders—shaped like the leather wings of a bat, it hardly seems like appropriate wear for a laboratory.
Taken aback by the sudden assault, Pentosh hisses angrily and fumbles for something amongst the many tubes and vials littering the counter.
It's a simple matter to allow momentum to carry him on, through the wreckage of the door, into the ancient kitchens, and right at Pentosh.
Bernard's war cry echoes off the walls as he charges right in, his burning blade sweeping a dazzling arc through the air as he strikes at the woman.