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"There goes my idea of a Grease spell" Elisai mutters, as she follows the ranger up the stairs.
Kiley scrambles up the stairs after Elisai and Delendir. Once more, she tries to tackle the ranger.
This time, she manages to get a firm hold on him.
she screams into his ear.
Once the pint sized fighter catches back up to Delendir Sunday lunges at him as well to no avail.
Even with Delendir's enormous strength, he is no match for the five others combined. He is dragged down under the weight of all of them, held still until he gradually regains his senses.
When he does, he remembers very little of what had happened, only that something very evil had occurred, and he had been at the same time both enraged and sorrowful.
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"Then next time help instead of just looking on like a mummy Daud!" Tal says frustratingly.
"We don't know what took over and what would have happened. Next time act a little sooner if you will."
Tal calms down some what and continues "Clearly something magical was happening here, let's avoid the books for now and continues on towards where we heard the screaming last time."
"I... tried..." he says weakly as he looks at the floor.
"Ahh... what was that" asks Delendir as he recovers "Something took my mind, I remember a terrible shame " he looks to side and side "Ei, I hope none of you abused me while I was out of mind..." "
Regaining composure the half elf stands up "I don't really know where the scream came from last time Tal. Should we go to the first floor, I would prefer to avoid the bookshelf room. Although if you guide me through with closed eyes I can try to make an effort. I don't want to see all that again"
As Delendir starts asking questions after returning to his senses a twitch runs across Sunday's face. "No, your fine. Just don't read any more strange books." he says gruffly.
"Since we're already down here, why don't we finish off the rooms on this level before we head back up? I think there was a door still unopened in the library wasn't there?"
Sunday distractedly nods in agreement with the priestess.
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[b]"Sounds good. Most secrets are stored away in basements anyway. Though I believe we already have seen plenty so far. I suggest we burn this place to the ground when we are done. It is rotten to the core.
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The group re-enters the room, making sure to avoid the books, for now. Delendir performs his usual theatrics with the door, and when he finds nothing amiss he opens it, revealing with a bit of humor a small corridor of about ten feet ending in another door.
After a brief search reveals nothing of interest, the ranger proceeds forward, opening this new door and then entering into the chamber beyond.
Piles of broken stone, dirt, and a few ruined pickaxes line the edges of this room. The floor in the middle of the room has been torn up to reveal an ancient set of stone spiral stairs, obviously of much older construction than the surrounding basement, winding deep into the bedrock below. a foul stink, like that of rotten meat, wafts up on a cold breeze from the darkness.
The ghouls grab at Kiley, tearing into her flesh with claws and teeth!
As you all enter the room, Kiley seems to stand still for a moment, seeming concerned. The next thing you know, she is thrashing about as though she is being attacked, screaming in pain and terror. Claw and bite marks, angry red and bleeding, appear on her exposed flesh before she finally calms down and stops thrashing. The whole thing could not have lasted more than five seconds.
"Ki-KILEY!" The young man screeches as he grabs the fighter and tries to pull her away from her unseen attacker.
"W-what's there Kiley?!" Delendir looks around the room carefully looking for hints of any invisible creature "Is that quasit again?"
As the ghouls come for her, Kiley screams in fear as she scrambles back. She tries to fight them off, tries to get away, but to no avail. She was going to die here. She was going to die!
Then it's over. The ghouls are gone. The young woman looks down at her arms and legs to see blood slowly soaking into her pants and shirt. Was it real? Was it all an illusion? Was this place slowly making her mad?
She looks at the hole. The terror, however, is too fresh, too real. She looks away and curls up on the floor where she'd fallen and begins sobbing.
"Kiley..." Sunday's voice creaks out as she curls up and begins crying. Falling to his knees he scoops her into his arms and cradles her head. "It's okay, we're all still here. Everything's fine. Everything's going to be fine."
Taking out his potion he pops the top and tries to get her to drink.
Rocking back and forth with Kiley his own thoughts started to come apart, he'd promised to keep her safe, and he couldn't even accomplish that much.
Delendir looks at the couple worried What is happening to us?
"Kiley..." the half-elf let's the girl recover her composure, without pressing her to explain what has happened.
Meanwhile he checks the whole going down.
"Kiley," Jessica cries out in distress as the small woman is mauled by things that aren't there. She quickly kneels and begins checking the wounds for infection before she tries to heal them.
Elisai looks very unnerved. Sure, she could handle your standard necromancer, or someone coming at her with a sword, but invisible enemies creeped her out over anything else she had encountered so far. Elisai takes a guard position, and goes into a defensive stance, in case there should be further attacks.
Kiley coughs as the potion goes down. Her wounds close, though the blood remains, and her entire body trembles like a leaf in autumn being blown by the wind. For the next few minutes, she just curls up in Sunday's arms, hanging on to his shirt as if she was afreid that if she let go, he'd vanish.
"I-i-i-it w-w-was h-h-horrib-b-ble," she mutters into his shoulder, "A-a-a-ald-d-dern w-w-was t-t-talen b-b-b-b-by g-ghouls, Th-th-then th-they c-c-came f-for m-m-m-me."
The small woman bites back another round of sobs and buries her head into Sunday's shoulder, soaking it with her tears.
All Sunday can do is hold onto Kiley for dear life, looking worried and helplessly from her to Jessica and back.
Delendir returns from the stairs exploration "There seems to be no danger on the stairs. Are you ok Kiley?" he waits for the girl to answer "Whenever you feel ready, we can continue downstairs"
Jessica thinks for a moment before she says, "Give me 10 minutes before we continue on, I'd like to clean these wounds good just to be safe." Jessica then begins to clean out the wounds thoroughly in the hopes that it will prevent any disease from taking hold.
Calming somewhat Sunday switches between holding Kiley and imitating Jessica's actions in an effort to help somehow.
Delendir also tries to help, if possible.
A few of the party look after Kiley, attempting to patch up the ragged wounds left on her by...well, whatever that thing was. After a few minutes, they have done all they can do for the moment. Her wounds appear mostly healed, though she still seems a bit shaky.
The dark stairs beckon, the bottom of the spiral case beyond anyone's vision. Or, the rest of the house awaits, should the party decide upon that course.
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"Let's head down into the belly of the beast. Get ready for more ghouls." Tal says and summons three orbs of light for his companions.
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"P-p-please d-d-don't make me g-go d-d-down th-th-there," Kiley begs as she clings painfully tight to Sunday.
Giving Kiley a few reassuring, he hopes, pats Sunday nods and looks up to the others. "Me and Kiley will probably stay up here to keep an eye out," he says before turning back to Kiley. "No one will make you go down there, or even stay here, it's whatever you want to do," he says softly.
Elisai frowns "The last time we split up, I ended up blind, and Sunday almost died! If you two want to stay up here, thats your choice, but it creates a number of dangers for everyone. If you run into trouble up there, there is a chance we couldn't help you in an acceptable timeframe, and if we run into trouble down there, then you cannot help us either".
Elisair shrugs her shoulders, "Personally, if I was scared, then I'd prefer safety in numbers and stick with my friends but hey, if you don't think Tal, Jessica, Delendir and myself couldn't help keep you safe, then you have a bigger issue here than just being worried about a ghoul attack".
Sunday turns to look at Elisai, his sleepy face flat instead of angry. "We couldn't keep her safe just now when she was attacked. What if that happens again?"
"Sunday, she could trip over a rug and break her neck getting out of bed in the morning, and we couldn't really protect her from that either. Sunday, I don't want to be insensitive but you standing by her side earlier did not prevent her being attacked, and it could only get worse if you two go off alone. Imagine if you ran into 4 ghouls while we were away, could you still protect her fighting four to 1? Or even two to 1? Where would any of us be without Jessica patching us up time again, Delendir spotting any trap before it slaughters us, and Tal's magical skills obliterating enemies, like the swarms we just ran into. All of us have been able to defend Kiley in the past, and there is no reason why we would not continue to do so to the best of our ability. You know that walking away now risks more townspeople dying, and you two staying here and leaving us to deal with this evil on our own is both disrespectful and shameful toward our friendship."
Sunday hangs his head. "I know I'm useless... but I just want to keep her safe."
With that said he raises head, a glare working into his gaze. "But I also don't see how making her do something she doesn't want to do and will likely endanger her is disrespectful towards this perceived 'friendship' of yours. Nor do I care."
Jessica, seeing another argument building, almost groans in esasperation...almost. She looks at the two bickering people and says, "First off you are not useless Sunday," she makes each word stand out with particular emphasis on the word not. "You are as important as the rest of us. Second, I agree with Elisai in that we shouldn't split up again, it nearly got half of us killed last time," she looks at Sunday specifically, "and that was not your fault or anyone elses so don't suggest it." She turns to Kiley, move up, and gives her a hug as she whispers into the other woman's ear,
Delendir frowns at the problem "I agree with Elisai, it is no good thing to split up at this point"
He then comfortably takes sit next to Kiley sheathing his bow "I will wait until Kiley is recovered and ready to continue with us, I am not dropping her here, not even under Sunday's protection"
The half-elf draws his cold iron dagger and places it within his legs "I know how difficult is to get rid from the ghosts of the past Kiley. But I can assure you I will deal with any new one that appears in front of us" pointing to the dagger within his legs he asks "Do you see this dagger?" the weapon is a fine elven design, with a darkwood hilt engraved with a large tree worn by the use.
"My mother gave it to me when I was a child. At that time I was bullied by other elven children in our settlement. I had nightmares every night where other elves will come and tell me horrible things about my mother. Every time my mother will come and sooth me, and she finally gave me this weapon which she explained me my grandfather used to defend her from the spirits of the forest" he takes the dagger and kindly places it on Kiley's legs "Ever since I had it, the nightmares disappeared, and the other elves gave a second thought before bullying me again."
"You can have my dagger now. It will protect you from those spirits pursuing you"
Riling up to respond Jessica predicted correctly as both her statements cut the words from him before he could speak them. With no outlet he just goes back to hanging his head.
Kiley swallows and nods her head at Jessica. She was badly shaken, but she wasn't about to let her friends go where she wouldn't, and it seemed that most of them were intent on going down.
"Th-there's not any way around it, is there?"
Sheathing back his dagger, a sadden Delendir stands up "I fear yes. We will have to endure this. We can skip it for a while, but most probably we will have to explore that basement in the end as I heard the scream coming from there" he turns to Tal "I know some of us did not like Foxglove, but he does not deserve the horrible fate that seems to float at this house. We can perhaps save him, if he has not left as the Sheriff said, and help Sandpoint while doing so. I don't like the perspective of having a haunted house so close to our lovely town"
The half-elf brings back his bow and readies at the beginning of the stairs. He will move down if the party seems to lean towards that approach, or he will follow upstairs if Kiley seems to find unbearable the stairs darkness.
"Th-then let's get this over with."
Small warrior picks herself up and retrieves her halberd. She sticks close to Sunday, her whole body trembling as she tries to get a grip on her fear.
Looking worriedly at Kiley Sunday remains silent as the fighter moves forward, keeping a wary eye out in hopes of spotting any more attackers, unseen or not, as he walked beside her.
After giving Kiley a few minutes to collect herself after the horrific ordeal, the party lines up and proceeds down into the darkness (I'm assuming at least one of your casters has 'light' prepared, and casts it to illuminate things).
The stairs end in a limestone cavern. The walls drip with moisture, and swaths of black and dark blue mold grow in spiraling, tangled patterns on the floor, ceiling, and walls. Rubble and broken bones clutter the floor, and a rhythmic sound -like the breathing of some immense creature - echoes through the cave from three tunnels, one to the north and two to the west. Of the two western tunnels, the southernmost one seems to be a relatively new creation.
"Do you hear that beast?" points out Delendir "That monster might be the reason of the weird events around the house. Let's advance even more careful from now on" the half-elf points towards the southern exit "What do you think, that exit now?"
Assuming no one is going to protest against it, the ranger tries to stealthily advance through the southern tunnel while checking for traps and other dangers.
Jessica stays near Kiley as they begin their decent, all the while keeping a watchful eye out and her glaive ready.
As the group moves along, after about sixty feet the passage widens out into a larger, kidney-shaped room. The cave stinks of rotten meat. The source of the awful smell is rather apparent, as corpses line the walls of the room. Three of them appear to be human.
Delendir spots movement on the far side of the room, as a huge bat unfurls it's wings, it's eyes glowing green. The desiccated flesh of the creature leaves no doubt it is yet another abomination of this horrible place.
Initiative:
Round 1: Tal,, Creature, Delendir, Sunday, Jessica, Elisai, Kiley