Grimnir eventually comes out of it and howls in frustration.
"Ah couldnae do anything!" he bellows.
"Well done, lad. Ye've saved us all!" he says to Reigan.
"I'll bet this stuff is worth a fortune."
He starts collecting spider corpses, making sure to stay away from the stingers.
"For medical purposes, of course."
"We've got to watch out for more of those bastards. That was terrible!". Gerard follows the others.
Reigan, quickly putting down the dream spiders, breaks from from the webs after the threat is neutralized. When the group seems to be done babbling, he appears to have retrieved several of his bolts from the corpses of the spiders.
"I see that you lot are back to normal." he says, unperturbed. "Should we see what is down that hole first or look through this doorway?" he asks as he moves to the hole and looks down.
As the rest of the group recovers, the swirling spirits around Reigan seem to dissipate back into the aether.
"We've got to watch out for more of those bastards. That was terrible!". Gerard follows the others.
Actually, except for the puking, I found it quite an experience, if not exactly enjoyable.
Well, I suppose now that the webs are gone we could take a look."
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Peering down into the room, the group can see quite a bit with all of the webbing burned away.
Exposed beams and broken timbers indicate that the original ceiling of this large parlor fell away some time ago, creating this two-story chamber. Thick tangles of iridescent webs string together debris around the room’s perimeter. To the west, several tables littered with a complicated arrangement of flasks, alembics, and cauldrons surround a shiver still, which emits a strange, bitter smell.
This chamber is the heart of the cult’s drug trade, containing the necessary ingredients for the production of shiver: clean water, pure alcohol, and freshly harvested venom and webbing from their prized clutch of dream spiders. The materials are collected and mixed here.
"Should we destroy this stuff or take it?"
"Take it! We may not be drug dealers, but this stuff can be used for a lot more than getting a high. Many drugs first start out as medications and I know, for a fact, that snake venom may be used to produce an antitoxin for the very same venom. If you want to make sure it is not used for objectionable things, sell it to a church that does healing stuff."
Grinner nods an affirmative. No objections from him, as he is conflicted whether to or not and doesn't seem to care either way.
"Is all of this volatile? Last thin we need is to be jostled while moving it and it blows all of us to the Nine Hells!"
"Beats me. I'm no alchemist. But usually drugs are either injected or consumed, rarely are they contact. We should be safe enough. But I'll carry the stuff if you're nervous."
You better be right. Some day your greed is going to kill you dead.
Grimnir shrugs, not very interested in the alchemical find. He wanders toward the open door to the east and looks through.
Reigan leaps down to join Grimnir, but decides to stay against the wall opposite from the opening. "What do you see, Grim?" he asks, honestly curious, but not curious enough to check himself.
Seeing that there is no immediate danger, he calls back up to the room above. "Cherry! You can come join us! The rest too! Grim is taking the lead."
Terry boldly steps into the room, more to prove he is not scared to himself than anything else. He HATEs spiders larger than a soccer ball, and this place looks like a large spider haven.
"That's OK, I can pop through first this time. It's just spiders after all."
Anyone with a decent sense motive should be able to tell its mostly just bravado.
Reigan takes an exaggerated bow as Cherry leaps down and joins him and the dwarf. "Be my guest, Cherry." he says with a wink.
"Lead us to victory!"
Gerard falls into his usual spot at the back of the group. "Let's keep after it, boys."
Terry heads south and pops a look though the door on that side.
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The group slowly makes their way down to the ground floor, securing a rope back up as they do so as not to crumble the loose boards next to the hole.
Once everyone is down Grimnir heads over to the open doorway to the south. Polished mahogany walls and wooden floors shift abruptly to rough, crumbling rock, giving way to the foundations of an old temple incorporated into the house’s architecture. A beautifully aged glass mosaic of a butterfly spreads it wings between weather-beaten marble columns adorned with an astrological motif. To the west, the stout slats of an old wooden stage have been forcefully pried up and piled near a stone altar carved from the island’s bedrock.
The Caligaro clan has explored religion for centuries, beginning with the family’s founding Korvosan patriarch, who sought to save the decrepit Desnan shrine he discovered along Old Korvosa’s shoreline by building his estate around its crumbling foundations. While his descendants’ devotions have changed over time, the preservation mostly remains. The Old Wall’s gigantic stones provide the backdrop for a wooden stage bearing a large rock altar.
Rough-hewn stone steps beneath the stage descend to another level below the manor.
Gerard makes sure to cast Detect magic while looking around the new room. He focuses on the butterfly mosaic and the altar to start.
"How deep does this rabbit hole go?"
Grinner takes a quick look around.
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Gerard and Grinner move into the room as gerard scans the mosiac for any signs of magic while Grinner peeks down the vast stairs leading even further down. Gerard finds no means of magic within the room.
Moving into the room the pair quickly hear the eerie echoes of childlike giggling and may perhaps see small footprints imprinting in the dust of the stone floor.
Suddenly Gerard is slammed from the back from some malevolent force. No true form can be detected, yet a sense of force and hulking malevolence is undeniable in some creature's presence.
Terry
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Monster
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Reigan (35/45)
Grinner
Gerard (45/44)
Grimnir
Reigan, seeing Gerard slammed backwards, leaps back and says a prayer to Pharasma. "Protect me, Mistress of the Boneyard." His readied hand crossbow sweeps across the room as there seems to be no threat visible. "Can anyone see invisible creatures?" he asks hurriedly.
"Afraid not."
Terry moves into the room and readies an action to swipe at anything that gets close enough. Except for the good guys of course. 'good' being a loose term but you get the idea. Keep in mind he has the lesser talisman of sealed summons on at the moment. Not knowing what we face, I don't know if it applies.
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Terry tries to keep on eye out for what could possibly be assaulting Gerard but can't quite place what is happening.
Some sort of presence continues to assault Gerard as it shifts and batters him from the side.
Gerard hunches over in pain as his body jerks left and right from some unseen force.
Terry
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Monster
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Reigan (35/45)
Grinner
Gerard (21/44)
Grimnir
"Gerard, watch out!"
Grinner assesses the wounds Gerard was inflicted and decides to help him out. He casts Cure Serious Wounds.
He heads over to Gerald to cure his wounds.
Terry moves next to Gerard and starts pulling/pushing him from the room.
Gerard tries to cooperate with Terry and not resist his efforts at moving him.
Reigan follows the group into the room and sees that there is truly no enemy. "Keep your eyes peeled, folks!" he says firmly as he scans the room for a sign of the creature.
Grimnir steps into the room to help his companions, but can't see anything.
"I cannae see anythin'!"
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Reigan and Grimnir look about and also can't seem to find what invisible force is assaulting Gerard.
Grinner quickly hops down to tend to Gerard's wounds and is met with a forceful blow to his gut as he moves down.
Grinner can't figure out where it came from and tries to heal Gerard's injuries only to be met by another hard blow to the back of his head.
Grinner loses the spell as the blow to his head causes his head to spin
Terry grabs ahold of Gerard and begins dragging him from the room while Gerard tactically withdraws.
Both Grinner and Grimnir both feel a brush of air as the malevolent and powerful force bashes into them.
Terry
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Monster
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Reigan (35/45)
Grinner (20/52)
Gerard (21/44)
Grimnir (62/74)
With the others shielding him, Gerard casts See Invisibility, ready to try and even the playing field.
"You can't fight what you can't see - get yourselves out of the room and perhaps it will not be able to follow."
As it doesn't appear any enemy has been damaged yet, Grinner channels healing everything.
Seeing from where the attacks are coming from, Reigan realizes something dire. "My bolts are really only effective against creatures I can see, plus it's not magical." he says with a frown as he hears Terry.
"Good call, Cherry. I'm out of here!" he says as he moves back out of the room.
Not seeing anything to attack and worried he is facing another haunt, Grimnir backs out of the room with the others.
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Reigan follows suit and quickly retreats from the room as well. Grinner does what he can and sends out a wave of positive energy throughout the room, healing everyone within.
Gerard, finally free from the assault frees his mind to see that which cannot be seen. Inside the room he finds a naturally invisible outsider that almost seems to be made of air itself. The creature reeks of malevolence and pure hatred.
Grimnir moves with Reigan and leaves the room to join Gerard.
Terry
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Monster
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Reigan (45/45)
Grinner (47/52)
Gerard (44/44)
Grimnir (74/74)
Know. Planes
Terry shrugs and waits. He will hold his action until he can see the thing or it attacks someone in the same room as him.
Gerard couldn't figure out what that awful invisible thing was. He wasn't sure how best to attack it. "Maybe retreat is the best answer!?!"
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Terry holds back as he has no clue what or where to attack.
Gerard watches on in horror as the creature floats towards Grinner, raising it's fists into the air it batters them twice down into Grinner's back.
Gerard shouts out a quick warning just in time as Grinner sidesteps just in time.
Terry
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Monster
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Reigan (45/45)
Grinner (47/52)
Gerard (44/44)
Grimnir (74/74)
Gerard targets the invisible creature with his Mind Thrust spell, hoping that it would be susceptible.
Damage
"Grinner! Quit messing around and get out of that room."
Grimnir prepares to attack anything he can see.
"Back in haur! Bebbe th' spider webs will help us see it!"
*Ribbit* "Where is it? I'm coming."
Grinner withdraws to his party, hoping that is enough to not get attacked. He stands in front of Gerard to again try to protect him.
Terry waits in trepidation to see if the unseen assailant can follow them out of the room...
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The invisible creature's mind shatters as Gerard watches the form waver slightly as the remainder of the group continues to scatter all about the room, unsure what is going on.
Terry
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Monster (-42)
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Reigan (45/45)
Grinner (47/52)
Gerard (44/44)
Grimnir (74/74)
Reigan is still pretty sure that he can't help very much, but he tries his best. "Where is it, Gerard?" he calls out as the man points at it.
Taking aim at the general location, he hopes to hit it.
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Reigan watches as his bolt seems momentarily slowed in the air as if it struck some sort of material object.
The creature continues to invisibly stalk Grinner as it smashes a fist at the grippli's back.
Terry
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Monster (-47)
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Reigan (45/45)
Grinner (33/52)
Gerard (44/44)
Grimnir (74/74)
"Hey, Grinner, step back a little more. At least out of normal reach from the door. Gerard, you should get a little further away too and let the more armored ones stay in front in case it can follow. Now, where did you say it was, Gerard? I'm thinking of taking a swipe at it."