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Torean grunts. "Shax. Bad news. He's a cruel bastard. He lives in a realm called Charnelhome, an house the size of a city on a slanted bluff. Each of the rooms contains a different death trap or horrific guardian. Shax will send victims into Charnelhome so he can watch them try to escape, often posing as a fellow prisoner so he can experience the victims’ despair."
"We should be searching this place for secret doors and traps. Especially if Shax is being revered here." True to his word, Torean begins searching the room for anything out of place to indicate a hidden chamber.
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Pandora listens carefully trying to avoid showing Tilly she is scared herself. Kneeling in front of the girl she says calmly "We will do all at our hands to save him sweetie." she tries to sooth there with some strokes before turning back to the party.
"The door to the west is like the one in the mural below. My guess is it is linked to the foundation of this house, and probably to Shax himself. We will have to explore that for the Blackros family, also checking if those balconies lead to secret places." she looks at Tilly then at the ground "But now I would prefer to focus on finding Tilly's father. There should be some mud tracks, I guess they went south of here"
Pandora looks for tracks, specially to the south. If no one says anything against, she follows the way in that direction after the team has scouted for traps.
If the tracks lead to the west door, she proposes that way instead, swallowing in tension.
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Not finding any traps the mud tracks seem to had subsided and are nigh impossible to follow after the stairs leading into the room.
Pandora begins to head south to investigate a bit more. To the south is an expansive hallway and balcony.
An elaborate garden wraps around Ostergarde's second floor. Cold environment plants thrive in this forgotten mountain country. The rain outside looks to have increased in intensity.
This chamber looks to have once served a commander at arms. The posh room contains a large mirror and armoire.
The door further west appears to be locked with a very nice looking lock.
These twin, open-air turrets are topped with crenellations. They would offer a magnif icent view of the surrounding countryside, were it not for the raging storm.
Several rooms on Ostergarde’s second floor once offered guests a cozy respite, but they’ve been stripped down and refurnished with cots.
Though Pandora peers into several doors she does not find any signs of mud being dragged about.
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As the group explores the top floor, Chaul will keep his detect magic going, on the look out for traps or other old bits of forgotten arcana.
After the tour completes he comments "There are only two doors left to go through, that one with the lock - which probably doesn't have Tilly's parents behind it - or that other one." he adds, gesturing to the door in the room they first entered.
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Torean does not see any traps and the doors open easily enough. Inside lies a walk in closet. Pandora and Tilly hide around the corner in anticipation.
As the group opens the doors a clang of gears is heard and Chaul and Takkit are riddled with arrows as a steady stream pours out from the corner of the room from hidden slots.
Tilly jumps in fright as the trap snaps and arrows fly all about the room.
The majority of the arrows slam into Chaul's vital areas causing him to fall to the ground in a heap. As Chaul falls Takkit receives the remainder of the arrows in his chest. His breathing begins to get very labored as he looks about in surprise.
Tilly begins to cry as Chaul falls to the ground, seemingly dead as he continues to bleed.
Chaul (-4/38; bleeding)
Takkit (39/59)
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Sudden pain, and then blinding light.
Before him, Chaul sees the gates of heaven. So many times during his life has he reached out and wrested them open. Now however, they stand open before him. A face beyond beauty, and a world without pain stand just beyond them. Slowly he takes a single step forward.
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The vision of paradise fades as the gates slam in Chaul's face.
His body wracked with pain, Chaul fearfully opens his eyes, sure for a moment that he has been rejected and sent to a less salubrious final destination.
Slowly the room and bearded face come into focus
"Arrghhhh" he screams at the fearsome sight. Then realization come to him.
"Ahh, I mean, thanks. Oh Sarenrae I hurt. What happened?"
Climbing slowly to his feet, Chaul's eyes mist a little. "I saw her. Well, I think I saw her. It was beautiful."
The priest looks around, and realizes he is not the only one badly injured. Limping closer to Takkit the cleric reaches out once again to the invisible doorway and wrest it open, calling on his heritage to again bathe the room in heavily radiance.
He then allows the doors to close, before running a revitalized hand over his own wounds.
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As the group moves about the second floor, Eladrian takes a special interest in the commanders room. With his history of service to Magnimar, he knows quite a bit about military affairs and is interested in what might be found as he takes his time looking about.
When he hears the commotion, Eladrian runs to join the others and posts himself over his comrades, fear etched into his features. "By the gods, this place should just be burned to the ground. Is everyone ok?
His eyes scan the room, but his concern blinds him..
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Pandora tries to close Tilly's eyes as Chaul hits the ground "Do not worry sweetie. Chaul will recover, you will see, he is faithful of Serenrae, she will not allow him to fail here"
The woman seems worried though, until Torean succeeds to reanimate the fallen cleric. She breaths relieved and smiles satisfied as the aasimar calls for his healing magic restoring back things.
"Are you ok? That was hard... I am sorry for you. Thanks for taking the lead. Is it safe now?" asks the woman, and in case the place is safe now, she will help the others to search the just opened room.
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Torean is able to awaken Chaul with some slight healing. Tilly breaths out a sigh of relief as he stands back up and opens a small portal to heaven's warm glow completely healing himself and Takkit.
Eladrian searches through the commander at arms room and just pulls up clothing sized for a small clothing and a disguise kit.
In the back of the walk-in closet the group uncovers a sliding door. Opening the door reveals a stout ledge that hangs over a shaft that descends 35 feet into Ostergarde's secret dungeon complex. A series of iron rungs lead down the dark shaft.
The iron rungs descend from a vertical shaft and continue all the way to the floor, leading into a clear pool filling the bottom 10 feet of the room. The chamber’s walls depict Asmodeus in all manner of triumph. A stone stair rises from the pool to a dais on the room’s eastern end, where several dark robes hang on hooks. An ornate double door in the east wall provides the only visible egress from the chamber.
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"This place seems a ceremonial space. From what we know, members of the Kastner family used this room to cleanse themselves before partaking in diabolical rituals elsewhere in the secret dungeons. Participants would disrobe in the master bedroom and proceed naked through the narrow tunnel to emerge into this cleansing pool, where they would consume a draught of poison. If the drinker’s faith in Asmodeus was true, consuming the pool’s water would stave off death." the woman makes a pause "I am pretty sure the entire ceremony was a sham, and the poison was nothing but a placebo designed to test one’s devotion. The water in the pool is merely water and is not an antidote for any true poisons."
Pandora looks carefully at the doors in front "It seems this is the only apparent exit to the inner dungeon" and she helps check them.
She will then move to the back to protect Tilly and check the waters for any hidden exit or left object.
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"What is it Torean? Did you find a secret passage?" the woman tries to look over the stout dwarf shoulders "That might be the submerged passage they were using from the preparation room to reach this ritual place? I remember something like that in the books the Venture Captain Ambrus Balsin gave us to read about the mansion"
Observing the great doors she says "I am not willing to explore water tunnels I do not know where exactly they lead... specially when there is another clear direction to continue the exploration"
Pandora approaches the big doors, and pushes them open coming inside the next room.
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Eladrian assists Torean and sees the same secret passageway as Torean and Pandora open both doors simultaneously. Looking back at the robes Eladrian realizes that one of the robes looks a bit different from the rest.
Torean follows the secret passage through to an open chamber. This circular chamber holds fresh spring water, which rises to just under the height of the floor. A hole in the ceiling allows a bucket to descend into the clear waters.
Pandora peers through the doors to find a long hallway leading south and a portcullis barring entry to the east Two sets of stairs flank this 50-foot-long corridor, sinking the avenue 10 feet under the lip of an overhanging balcony. A horrifying mural of the Nine Hells covers the entirety of the 50-foot-by-20-foot west wall.
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"Indeed, the barbarian peoples of my homelands are probably better than the corrupted by the demon people who lived in this house..." Pandora looks worried at the chamber she just opened.
"This direction does not look better... ok, let's follow your route Torean, just if Tilly is able to come with us" Pandora looks at the child, and if she seems ok, the woman goes into Torean's corridor after closing back the doors.
Once in the water room "Mmm... this looks as some kind of well"
Pandora looks for any other exit there.
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Torean pops back over to the main group. Hey, ya'll. Eladrin and me found a secret passage over here. Looks like it's a well up to the main floor. Seeing as this place reveres Shax, I say we follow the secret passage. There's likely to be more traps in the main passage."
He returns to the circular chamber and begins helping Pandora check the nearby door for traps.
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Pandora follows with Tilly close behind. Tilly emerges shaking and wet. Do you think the thin men took Momma and Pa this way? I miss my Pa. She says as she begins to cry.
Pandora and Torean search the northern door and do not find any traps. Opening the door reveals a chamber that was once the manor’s storage area, but it now holds several rows of cots. In all, 21 cots sit abandoned and a set of stairs leads up to the main floor.
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On the map it looks like there is a ladder going up in C2.. is that correct?
Is there anything missing to explore in main floor? We have one room upstairs
Torean inspects the cots and sees that they have all been used, though it doesn't seem like they have been used for many days.
Eladrian inspects the robes. Grabbing it he sees that it is adorned with small embroidered figures representing undead creatures. Checking he bottom of the well just reveals the passageway from which everyone just entered.
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Torean casts Detect Magic to scan the robes to see if they hold any magical protections. "Most of you won't like this idea, but should we put on the robes? I could imagine a trap like the front door that would activate if someone not wearing a robe were to pass." He pauses. "Of course, the robes could be cursed too."
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"Hey, this robe is magic. I can't tell what it does though. Maybe someone else can tell" He holds up the robe.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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I would like to explore the main floor room and the locked room before we leave the manor, although I am ok to leave it for after the big corridor dungeon
Chaul inspects the portcullis and peers through the bars.This grand chamber overlooks a sunken hallway (area D2) via a balcony. Other than the balcony, an additional exit provides access to this chamber from the north. On the north entrance, a portcullis stands. There was once a southern entrance, but it now lies buried under several tons of rock. On the chamber’s eastern edge, a tricky lifting mechanism protrudes from the stone wall. In the chamber’s center, a desk faces the balcony and the grand mural beyond. Two portals have been carved into the stone floor; their recessed lines are stained reddish-brown. It is difficult to tell more than that from Chaul's distance.
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Pandora tries to help the party, but after a while it seems they are not going to make it.
Pandora sweetly tries to calm down Tilly "Wait here a moment. Pandora will come back in a moment. We have to clean this house from evil" She then suits her bow at her back, as well as Takkit's hemp rope, and starts climbing up the balcony.
Assuming she reaches the top, she tries to fix the rope to some place, like the desk, and hold it herself while giving a signal for the others to climb.
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With everyone's aid the group is able to get the portcullis up enough to allow the group through to further examine the room.
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As Chaul begins to wash away a portion of the dried blood a globe of darkness suddenly surrounds the group as a pair of emaciated figures that look like horned human skeletons smothered in a bone tight hide of slimy leather emerge from the shadows of the wall.
Tilly screams loudly. THE THINMEN! as the red Babau reaches a clawed hand at Pandora.
Pandora (37/48)
Eladrian
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Babau Demons
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Takkit
Torean
Chaul
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"Oh! Bastards!" Pandora, unable to see, tries to touches Chaul guiding herself to move away of the creatures attacking her "Tilly move out of the darkness!"
Pandora touches the components in her pouch and finally finds something that might be useful, the unmistakable hard hair of a bugbear. She starts casting an alter self spell becoming a bugbear!
As her new senses allow her to see the environment around she starts shouting "They are two! I am a bugbear now! Attack the demons not me! I am Pandora!"
She then starts singing to inspire courage to her allies.
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pandora steps back and transforms into a bugbear in the darkness as she is now able to see the two demons. Listening to Pandora Tilly turns and runs under the desk. The two demons pay the little girl no mind as Pandora begins to sing.
Eladrian assumes a defensive stance in the chaos as the two demons grip longspears and stab them past Eladrian and Chaul at Takkit and Torean. The two spears arc past twice in quick succession as the demons snap gaping maws full of razor sharp teeth at Chaul and Eladrian.
A spear stabs into Takkit's side as Chaul is raked by jagged teeth across his neck.
Inspire Courage +2
Pandora (37/48)
Eladrian
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Babau Demons
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Takkit (38/59)
Torean
Chaul (24/38)