Maddy continues to press forward and strikes again with her sword, doing her best to keep Matty and everyone else safe. She sees the creature hurt Evelina and her protective nature makes her aim more deadly.
Evelina, cool but implacable anger lending precision to her strikes, lands another severe blow. Martok's spear strikes the strange creature again, leaving it severely wounded but still on its feet...though not for much longer. Because it is then that Madison, recovering from her last clumsy swing, puts all her weight into driving her greatsword directly at the junction between amorphous shoulder and rubbery neck. The blade bites deep, and the strange creature falls to the ground, obviously past any rescue.
Examining the table's contents more closely, you see several tomes on Taldane culture, social conventions, and history scattered across the tabletop. It seems that, whatever this creature was, it was using the books in this library to improve its impersonation of Lady Argentea. Taldor isn't the only topic covered in the library's impressive collection, though - the books on the shelves cover everything from the arrangement of the Outer Planes to the history of ancient Shory, from bestiaries of magical creatures and treatises on dragon dietary habits to scrolls detailing esoteric fey rituals.
Besides the door that stands open behind you, smaller doors open to the left and in front of you. From what you can remember of Hatch's description, the south door leads to a hallway off which two guest bedrooms lie, and the east door leads to the hall with the portal to Nazhena's chambers.
Still shaken from the sudden attack and fight, Matt ran his fingers through his long, pale hair, calming himself with the familiar gesture. After a few breaths, he said, "Let's go south and eliminate the spare bedrooms before we make our way to the portal."
Still shaken from the sudden attack and fight, Matt ran his fingers through his long, pale hair, calming himself with the familiar gesture. After a few breaths, he said, "Let's go south and eliminate the spare bedrooms before we make our way to the portal."
Martok made sure everyone was Ok before going to check on the creature vanquished. "So you've met this thing before or was the real Lady... whatever you met?'
He then checked the creature for anything useful and backed Matt's plan, "Aye, let's try and make sure nothing sneaks up behind us. The bedrooms need to be inspected first."
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Cithembi, spear poised to strike, blinks as Madison's blade fells it. He relaxes now that the threat is passed and looks over the library curiously. Wondering if there might be magic scrolls hidden here, he suggests, "Perhaps we might scan this room for magic first, friends? Witches might well keep magic in their libraries, yes?"
Freyja joins Cithembi in looking over the books. We must take these. she pronounces. This is a small library in itself. They will be valuable later for all sorts of things. At Cithembi's recommendation she will cast Detect magic and scan the room.
As part of her scan she notices that Evelina is wounded and offers Here, let me tend to that.
Evelina remained a little shaken after the fight, as she waited for adrenaline to wear off and for her blood to cool. However, Martok's question brought her back to reality. "No. That ain't Lady Argentea." She said sadly, "Just another trick.."
Not particularly interested in the tomes, Evelina limped towards one of the lower shelves to sit down quietly. Other than a nod and a quiet "Thanks" to Freyja as her wound was tended to, she said little as she waited for the others to search the library. Instead she kept her eyes mainly trained at the ground and occasionally picked at her ruined pant leg.
Maddy whirls to face Matty, "You ok?" Seeing him nod, she relaxes a little but doesn't put her greatsword away. She nudges the body with her boot. "Anyone know what that thing was? And why was it pretending to be a person? Do you know this Lady...Argentea, was it?"
While the others look around at the books and papers, Maddy moves over to Evelina. "Sorry I couldn't stop that thing from hurting you. You all better now?" She sees the diminutive woman picking at a hole in her pant leg. "Good thing you're good with a needle and thread. You'll be able to patch that up right quick."
Once the group is ready to proceed, Maddy goes to open the next door making sure that her sword was at the ready.
Evelina nods that she's okay, but regarding the pant leg she replies in a quiet, unsteady voice, "Can't fix the blood stains..." Letting out a melancholy sigh, she rises and follows Maddie to the door. "Sorry...Shouldn't mope..." she mutters, as she tries to pull herself together and readies a hand on her weapon. 'I've got your back...if somethin's on the other side of that..."
Matt joined Freyja in checking the library for magical objects. "I agree that many of these books would be useful, but how many can we realistically carry?" He certainly wasn't volunteering to lug them around.
Freyja and Cithembi search the room, using spells to tune their vision to any magic auras the objects within might contain, but nothing in the room shows any sign of being affected by wizardry. Meanwhile, Matthew takes a chance to survey the books, trying to decide if the knowledge they contain is worth the inconvenience of carrying them along. Scanning titles, he decides to focus his search on the broader anthologies rather than the narrower topics, hoping to maximize each book's value for its size.
With the library quickly searched over, the group elects to stay cautious and search the bedrooms to ensure no one waits behind. While a sound precaution, it turns out to be an unnecessary one - both bedrooms are devoid of any human (or otherwise) presence, though both are scattered with belongings.
The eastern bedroom is filled with the heady scent of perfume and furnished with a mirrored vanity and chair to one side and a narrow bed to the other. Atop the bed's covers are a full-length dress and a set of high-quality riding clothes in the Taldane style, both accompanied by a wealth of accessories, including shoes set on the floor where an occupant's feet would be. From the unusual contents, you guess that this is where the creature you fought in the library has been staying.
The western bedroom is furnished simply with a bed made with black-and-white linens, a pine desk, and a small brass-banded storage locker. A five-foot-tall mirror hangs on the wall opposite the door. On the desk chair hangs a traveling cloak you immediately recognize - it's the one Mierul wore when you first met her in the Irrisen wilderness. By habit, Freyja scans the room with her aura sight; the storage locker is the only thing to react, and she can see three auras, conjuration, transmutation, and abjuration, with the transmutation aura stronger than the others.
Freyja can not help but admire the clothing laid out and gathers the noble's outfits up saying Were I to wear such finery I don't think I would be under-dressed even if I sang for a king. She only stows them away now, but an onlooker might think she wishes to change into one of the outfits.
In Mierul's room Freyja points out the locker and notes the enchantements emanating from withing. Mierul is not exactly our enemy but she does not stand at our side and fight either. She will have to understand if we borrow some of her items in order to have a better chance of winning the day. Freyja continues to concentrate on the locker and tries to identify the enchantments within.
Evelina looks a little uncomfortable as Freyja begins rifling through Mierul's stuff, but after thinking for it a bit, she concedes, "I guess it would be a dead giveaway if we took all this other stuff and left her stuff alone...but maybe if something looks sentimental we could try an' give it back?"
"We might return it after we have won here, yes?" Cithembi suggests. "Then there will be none to report her."
Martok frowns at the whole situation, "I hope we didn't spare her life only to steal from her."
He then mutters something about giving stuff back and readies himself to continue exploration.
I said borrow you people. If its something we can use then lets use it. After all she is not using it at the moment.
Maddy stands guard at the door. "If the magic is helpful to us, take it and let's get going. The sooner we find the children, the better."
Matt had no compunctions about taking from the forlarren. He still wasn't sure why the others were treating her so gently. Turning his attention to the magic items, he tried to determine what they were.
With the bedrooms confirmed empty, you continue along the rounded hallway and open the door at its eastern end, shuffling carefully into the small antechamber it empties into. Before you is a wide, roughly triangular chamber that narrows to a small hallway to the west; beyond it, you surmise, is the hallway to the dining room that Matthew had filled with conjured webs while fighting the atomies.
A plush crimson carpet stretches the width of the room, beginning at the western doors and ending at a small alcove to the east. The alcove's floor is raised into a small dais, and its top shimmers and scintillates as the downstairs ice crystal teleporter had; thus, you guess that this is the teleporter to the upper floors. In the center of the room's length, the carpet is flanked by twin ice sculptures depicting nymphs, at once beautiful and terrible in their countenance. All the chamber's walls are covered in mirrors, and their reflected reflections make the chamber into a microcosmic infinity. Another door stands opposite you to the north, currently closed.
Mirrors and more mirrors. It wasn't that Martok thought of himself as ugly but this many mirrors was starting to bother him.
"Do you think the witch is spying through these mirrors?"
He added, "Can anyone operate that teleporter thingy?"
He neared one of the mirrors and tried on a funny face before turning back to his companions for an answer.
Evelina tugs at the lock briefly. "I dunno if we can open that...I mean I could try, but it would take a while an' I'm still not sure I'd get it open. I guess we'd better bring it, though...Like I said, it'd look kinda suspicious if we cleaned out an entire library, but left Mierul's stuff behind..."
--
Evelina gives Martok a lost look and a shrug, "I ain't got any ideas how to use it, other than searchin' the rest of these rooms for a clue...or someone who might know the password."
It seems we must search for a key. I suppose one could be in that box.
Maddy's brow furrows in concentration as she thinks back to what the forlarren had told them moments ago. It takes great effort but she's almost positive that she remembers something. "Didn't Mierul say that someone named Radosek has the key? I doubt you'll find one in there. If we need the key then we find this Radosek and take it from him."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The mirrors had also been bothering Matt. "There are lots of uses for mirrors in magical theory, and not too many are friendly. Let's hope she's just really vain." Still, he couldn't help examining them more closely as Evelina worked on the lock.
"Do you want me to smash the mirrors?" Maddy asks her brother. She makes her way to the next door and listens. "Should I open it?"
Withdrawing a set of delicate tools from her bag, Evelina sets to work on opening the chest while Matthew and Martok investigate the mirrors and Madison moves to examine the door. After a couple of minutes' work, her efforts prove fruitful, and the lock opens with a tiny snick. Inside are three crystal bottles laying atop a pile of neatly folded and stacked traveling gear. Two of the bottles are fairly simple and unremarkable, but one is coated with ice even wrapped within a blanket, and the liquid within glows an intense cyan that glints off the bottle's facets so that it sparkles.
Nice work Evelina. Freyja compliments. I am glad we did not try to break open the little chest. We might have broken all three potions. Freyja turns her attention to the bottles.
This is hard for me. I am not all that good at figuring out magical auras. But this first one is a potion of cure moderate wounds. I am sure about that. I have no idea about the others. Matt? Martok?
This is hard for me. I am not all that good at figuring out magical auras. But this first one is a potion of cure moderate wounds. I am sure about that. I have no idea about the others. Matt? Martok?
The shaman shrugged, "Don't look at me. You don't see me reading from a any spellbook, do you?"
He then added, "Besides, we said we would only borrow her stuff and drinking a potion doesn't sound like borrowing unless you plan on spitting it back up. And that's just not nice."
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Matt examined the bottles carefully, then handed them back to Freyja. "This one is undectable alignment - never found much use for that. This one, however, is really interesting. Ice floe elixar if I'm not mistaken. Handy for both offence and defence."
Moving towards his twin, Matt motioned towards the door. "Shall we continue?"
Impressive. Freyja says. I will carry these and be responsible for replacing them should we need to use them. I guess undectable alignment could be useful if we had to bypass some trap or glyph that targets those of good alignment.
Evelina works on the lock with an uncharacteristic focus and is relieved when she finally hears a click. "Phew, I think I am finally gettin' the hang of this..." she mutters more to herself than anyone else. She gives Freyja a shrug as she takes the potions. "Since, it's just potions I don't think it's a big deal...Wonder why she had a potion to hide her alignment, though..." she muses.
"Guess we should get movin' again..." Evelina says to the others, as she tucks the pick back into her pocket and moves towards the next room.
Matt stared at the mirrors, remembering Maggie, and the sliver of mirror in her chest. Could the witch be watching them right now? He considered allowing Madison to smash them, then shook his head. "No, sis, best not. We might be observed, but we might not. If she looks later, and sees everything has been destroyed, then she'll know for sure there's a problem. Best, I think, to hope that there's nobody on the other side right now."
Martok grabbed his spear and readied himself to protect his herd.
"I don't like too many mirrors. Nobody needs to look at themselves so much."
He harrumphed, "C'mon, let's get moving. Maybe we should go see this captain; he may have a way to get upstairs."
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Agreed. Says Freyja agreeably.
Cithembi is happy enough to get moving again. "Best to move quickly, yes, friends?"
"Wait? So the mirrors can be watchin' us?" Evelina asks nervously. "Like by anyone? From anywhere." She shakes her head, as she follows the others. "Blaze was right...magic is scary..."
Before opening the door, Maddy holds up her hand to the others to silently shush them. In a whisper she says, "I can hear someone talking and if I can hear them, they could possibly hear us. I don't think they're in the next room but they're close." She pauses and makes sure everyone is ready. Keeping her voice low she motions at the door and states, "Opening it."
The door opens into a hallway that gently bends along the tower's cylindrical wall. To the right, a single door is set into the wall, leading to an outer tower; to the left, you can barely make out a large set of double doors set into the hallway's inner curve. Opposite the double doors is another ice crystal teleporter. From behind the door to the right, you can make out soft speech in a rough, commanding tone, though from the sound of it the source is facing away from where you stand. Ok, Пад'ёмнік ... рухацца ... і, кіньце! Цяпер, замарожваць! From the far end of the room, you hear a small crash.
Sharply, Madison yanks open door to reveal an imposing, thick-built woman facing toward the window. On the floor in front of the window is a wooden cup rimed with frost, with strange tendrils of ice extending from its opening and shattered on the floor around it, as if the cup and its contents were frozen just as the cup landed and the water splashed upwards. Surprised, the woman starts and swivels backward to face you. Her eyes go wide, and with an immediacy born of years of experience she lunges for a greatsword leaning against the far wall. You're the delivery girl's grunts! What in the Hells are you doing up here?!
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Round 1
Matthew - up
Hestrig
Martok
Freyja
Madison
Evelina
Cithembi
Matt considered trying to charm or bluff the woman, but decided that the odds were in their favour, so they might as well fight. Putting a hand on Madison's shoulder, he said, "Smoghh a'r oa faaurr." A surge of strength filled Maddy's muscles. He then stepped backwards, saying to his twin, "Step back, don't block the door."
As Matthew magically bolsters Maggie's strength, Hestrig jumps into action, stepping forward and swinging for Maggie with all her might. The blade crashes heavily into Maddie, nearly knocking the wind out of her and cutting a deep gash in her side.
Madison's wound looks serious, but Cithembi thinks it best to stop more wounds from happening first and *then* take care of it. He maneuvers to try to get a clear shot and throws his spear at the greatsword-wielding woman.
With spear already in hand, Martok steps inside the room and stabs at the captain, "Wow there. That was my friend you just cut. Try me on for size."
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HP 37/37
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 14
Conditions: n/a
Melee (+1 spear): +5 = +1(magic) +2(base) +2(STR)
Melee Damage (+1 spear): 1d8+4 = +3 (str), x2
4/5 mythic pool, 3/4 touch of flame
Spell used: n/a