A large room is revealed beyond the doors. A variety of artwork and keepsakes are displayed on the walls of this chamber: a tapestry depicting a royal court, an oddly melted lump of iron on a pedestal, a fine heavy mace hanging on the wall, and a broken staff lying on another pedestal.
"Must be Klarkosh's personal chambers, or maybe his trophy room," Wymond observes.
"So on top of everything ese, he was also a vain little jerk," Lukas huffs. He walks around the room, examining the various items (just looking, no picking up!), seeing if any of them have any sort of placards of descriptors on them.
Frizz goes to look at the royal tapestry.
Frizz, you don't recognize the crest embroidered on the tapestry, though it's safe to say that it represents a noble house somewhere. It looks expensive and bulky.
Lukas, no placards.
"So on top of everything ese, he was also a vain little jerk," Lukas huffs. He walks around the room, examining the various items (just looking, no picking up!), seeing if any of them have any sort of placards of descriptors on them.
"I mean, we figured out that much just from him flappin' his jaw," Wymond snarks. He goes to take a closer look at the mace.
That mace is a very finely crafted weapon. It bears a sigil on its head that Wymond has come to associate with magical accuracy.
Perf checks out the staff for magic.
Perfire detects no magic in the room other than the mace. But that broken staff was definitely once a magical item.
Frizz checks out the melted metal and looks around the room for any hidden treasures.
If I had a cool room like this I would totally have a secret compartment for the best goodies... She thinks to herself.
Lukas eyes up the mace, then turns back to his companions. "You think it's safe?" He asks as he tentatively gestures toward it.
Seeing as no one is screaming at him to not do so, Lukas picks up the mace and tries to figure it out.
Frizz says "Nice find Lukas! We could use that now for sure, but let's definitely come back for this other stuff. Maybe one of the wizards we find can fix that staff or something."
She moves to inspect the door to the north.
"Hopefully that staff weren't Jharun's or Tiawask's," Wymond says.
The door to the north doesn't appear trapped, Frizz. But you dear a sound there. Like some sort of scratching? Rapid, but faint.
"Some sort of scratching coming from that other side. get ready for more of those demone cats. Remember, Wymmie? The ones we fought with the eye demon. Could be them or maybe some other scratching." Frizz rattles off as she readies her sickle before pausing and turning.
"Actually, you better go first." she says to the two taller men behind her as she steps aside from the door.
Wymond nods and tries the door to see if it's locked.
Lukas looks very concerned. "I was never fond of cats. My aunt Joanna had a most ill-tempered one," he suppresses a shudder at the memory.
Wymond opens the door, revealing a stone corridor that turns out of sight a few dozen feet away. There is a single door on the east side of the hallway.
Standing several feet back is, of all things, a raccoon. It sits up on its hind legs and chitters at you, running backwards a few feet and then it coughs, very much like a prim woman clearing its throat. Finally, it speaks!
"My master needs you," it says in a soft, high-pitched voice. "He's through this door."
Perfire says "It's a familiar."
"It's name is Rebecca," says the raccoon. "And it's a she, thank you very much. My master? Needs help? In there?"
Lukas eyes up the raccoon suspiciously. "Rebecca, the last wizard we met down here was a real jerk. I hope your master isn't like Klarkosh or all of us are about to have a really bad day," he says crossly.
To no one in particular, Lukas quietly mutters, "And now I'm arguing with raccoons. Sister Ursula said there'd be days like this, but still...!"
Rebecca sniffs the air and puts her hands on her hips, looking both annoyed and adorable.
"Was the last wizard you met nearly dead? Because Jharun is nearly dead. Are you going to help him or not?"
Triath, having been a familiar himself, nods immediately and gives her some concerned grunting.
For his part, Wymond says "Jharun? We was actually lookin' fer him. Of COURSE we're gonna help him! Lead the way, Priscilla!"
As he follows after them, he gets some rations from his pack.
"An' here, you look like you're really hungry," he replies kindly.
Rebecca approaches shyly and quickly grabs the dried fruit Wymond hands her. She nibbles on it and then runs back to the door expectantly.
Wymond tromps over to the door, testing it to see if it's locked.
"Jharun? You in there? We're here to get ye out."
Lukas turns to the raccoon. "Priscilla, is he alone in there? Anything else to worry about?"
The raccoon sighs. "Not until that robot comes back. You've got about an hour."
Wymond, you hear a faint moan from beyond the door, which doesn't appear locked.
Alarmed by the raccoon's reply, Lukas frowns. "Another robit? OK miss, don't worry, we'll get you two out of here."
Lukas stands ready to back Wymond's play at the door, not even thinking it odd he just addressed a raccoon as "Miss."
Wymond opens the door.
Rows of iron bars anchored in the floor and ceiling divide this room into three smaller cells. In one of the cells lies a thin and haggard elf on a simple straw pallet. He is unconscious and barely breathing.
"He lost consciousness yesterday," says the raccoon. "I can't wake him. He was beaten, but he's mostly dying of thirst and starvation. His name is Jharun... but you said you knew that. There will be...a...reward." Rebecca slumps down, the adrenaline which kept her going now spent. She is conscious, but utterly exhausted.
for the previously mentioned check
Lukas takes a moment, and finally realizes just how badly the animal and its master are faring. Nodding at the door to the cell, Lukas says, "Frizz, please do something about this?" Then, against his better judgment, he picks up the raccoon.
"Let me see what I can do for you, then we'll see to your master..."
Lukas will give her a little more food and water if possible. (He'll find some way to get her a drink that does NOT involve sharing his waterskin with a raccoon!)
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After recovering from a fit at laughter over a talking racoon, because she had read a story about a talking racoon that hung out with a treant...
"Uheeheheuuhhhh.
Yea.
Yes.
I can open the door.
Ain't this supposed to be the wizard we're here to find?" she asks, point a finger askew at the bars.
Rebecca perks up a little under Lukas's ministrations, but Frizz fails to get the lock open.
"Yeh, he is," Wymond comments. "Frizz, ain't you got Klarkosh's keys?"
"yeaYeaYeaYea, but where's the fun in that." Frizz sighs as she pulls the keys from her bag and sets about finding the right one.
You easily manage to open the cage and get to the unconscious wizard.
Frizz rolls the elf to his back and begins a strangely methodical process of treating a patient.
"Ya know, INeverHadTheChanceToTryThisOneInPersonBeforeBecauseICouldNeverFindAnyoneSta rvingInACageInAbsalom.IEvenWouldCheckTheJails.AndTheseVudraniBooksOnMedicin eThoughTaughtMeTheBestWayTo..." she rambles on describing the various steps as she completes them.
Jharun's eyes open weakly.
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Jharun licks his salted lips his hands grasping at the air for a few seconds trying to find some purchase to hold unto and feeling disconnected and disoriented for long moments his heavy eye lids finally pry themselves open and he blinks and things come to focus as he is able to weakly pull himself up. He stammers in elven water? and looks at the strangers around him before smiling at Rebecca.
Rebecca says to the crowd looking expectantly Jharun would like some water. He requires food and water because we've been trapped here for days without it. Come on please help us more?
Wymond nods and hands Jharun his waterskin and some of his rations.
"Name's Wymond. Wymond Dwerryhouse. We're here to rescue ye."
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Twileck, she escaped the clockwork men and ran deeper into the Spire. Have you seen her or sign of her? Oh thank you Wymond Jharun takes small sips of the water and takes a small bowl off the floor and dips the rations in small amounts in water eating it like a soggy broth and feeding more food and water to Rebecca.
"Name's Frizz Doctrina. Frizz for short--don't you move too fast now." Frizz interjects as Jharun beings to move about.
"I'm not done fixing ya up. We're only on step 60 of 115 for caring for the malnourished in Curious Chiurgeon: A Guide to Medicine, 5th Edition..."
She busies about the elf.
"What does Twileck look like? We haven't met anyone that introduced themselves with that name. But then again, most people we've met are just plain mean. Was Twileck a minotaur?!? Which wouldn't be good because we slayed the minotaur..." Frizz rattles on.
"oh, and did you have a magical staff that was broken? Because we found one of those too. And did you know that Wymond wasn't a dwarf until just recently...."
Lukas nods at the elf, "My name is Lukas Vanivek. Soon as you can get up and get moving, we'll get you out of here." He suppresses the urge to ask him about the journal pages of Sister Ursula's. Inheritor willing, there'll be time for that later.
Nodding down to the raccoon, Lukas asks, "Apart from her, is there anything else of yours down here we have to retrieve?"