Dayo moves up and looks the giant taxidermy in the eyes.
"This is so... Horrible. Who would kill a creature, only to then display its corpse? And why?
Eoghan frowns at Justin, but does as he's told anyway. With hunched shoulders, as if knowing what's going to happen next, he steps forward, poking each taxidermied head with his bastard sword carefully.
"You see, Dayo, people hunt these things for sport, and display them as a thing of pride. I can understand showing off a bear you've killed, but something like a stag... I mean, they're fierce, but not a fair challenge, I'd say. Unlike this thing I'm squeezing past right now."
Eoghan tries to not touch the thing in the middle, whatever it is.
Oh, and a Perception, just in case.
"Can you imagine the rows and rows of heads I'd have if I did something like this?" Vitro tut-tuts as he peers in, fingers ready to wiggle in case of taxidermic insurgency.
"Where I'm from, when someone does a great deed, or overcomes a physical menace, we praise them with stories. We engrave their scale patterns on seashells. But to leave a body for... Display... That would be... The only word I can come up with in Common is 'unthinkable'."
Dayo keeps pace with Eoghan.
The floor creaks dangerously as Eoghan slides into the room.
A rather gruesome antique—what appears to be a mummified monkey head—hangs on the northern wall here, its tiny mouth gaping. A bellpull extends from the monkey’s gaping mouth. A ratty throw rug partially obscures a foul stain of dark-colored mold on the floor.
The monkey head is magical.
Eoghan stops for a second, looks around bewildered, then carefully moves on.
"Er.. I think something happened? I could swear I could smell fire, but now it's gone? I might also be slightly too heavy for this place, I can feel the floorboards moving underneath me. I'm not sure if this is a good idea."
"Anyway, a weird monkey face ahead, and a stain of... something on the floor. I guess you can come up now, seems safe so far."
Dayo closes his eyes and momentarily prays to Apsu for guidance.
Eoghan thinks the floor will hold him, as long as he doesnt do anything like jumping around.
"Where I'm from, when someone does a great deed, or overcomes a physical menace, we praise them with stories. We engrave their scale patterns on seashells. But to leave a body for... Display... That would be... The only word I can come up with in Common is 'unthinkable'."
Dayo keeps pace with Eoghan.
Eoghan shrugs. "Eh, to each their own. Rich people tend to want physical reminders of their greatness. Stories can be forgotten, or misconstrued. A statue is a lasting reminder. I once partied with a woman who kept a tooth of every monster she killed, and told stories of all her battles getting those teeth. When she died, we put all those teeth on top of her grave. Was pretty impressive."
Eoghan chuckles for a bit.
"You should've seen her panic when we fought those oozes. No teeth to take. That was a funny moment. People take pride in the strangest things."
Without even noticing, Eoghan's hand brushes his magical bastard sword, to check if it's still there.
The monkey head is a minor wondrous item called a hungry decapitant. When the attached rope is pulled, the head gives out a shrill simian shriek akin to an alarm spell.
Dayo shivers slightly.
"When we are finished here, we should ask the Mayor to burn this place, and build something new. Perhaps a new orphanage. The fresh air would do the children wonders."
Can the rope be carefully untied or the monkey head just picked up so that doesn't happen?
As Justin steps outside, about a dozen of the mangy looking ravens land on the wall of the old building. Their white rheumy eyes stare at the ratfolk with interest.
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*caw*
"I love stories! What were their greatest deeds?"
Dayo sighs.
"What good do stories of dread do?"
He heads towards the backroom .
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Eoghan carefully lifts up a corner of the rug with the point of a weapon.
The stain under the rug is about 10 feet across, a swirling pattern of dark blue, sickly green, and black mold that grows in a spiral. The rug covers the stain, and is otherwise dry.
Carefully stepping across the gross rug, you enter what looks to be the dining room.
A mahogany table surrounded by chairs sits in this in the middle of this room. Twin fireplaces loom to the west, while to the east, stained-glass windows obscure what could have been a breathtaking view of the Lost Coast.
Each window depicts a monster rising out of smoke pouring from a seven-sided box. From north to south are depicted a gnarled tree with an enraged face, an immense hook-beaked bird with sky-blue and gold plumage, a winged centaurlike creature with a lion’s lower body and a snarling woman’s upper torso, and a deep blue squidlike creature with evil red eyes.
You recognise the plant monster as a Treant and the bird as a Roc
The squid thing is just not any sea creature, it depicts an actual Kraken.
The leonine monster with the wings and womans head is an Androsphinx
Eoghan experiences a sudden rush of vertigo and starts wobbling back and forth, finally regaining his balance after a few seconds.
"Whoa, that was... unexpected. Not sure if this is a magical effect or something, but better keep it covered with the rug, and maybe try to avoid stepping on the rug. There's some powerful trompe l'oeil going on here."
Eoghan steps over the rug and squeezes into the dining room, careful not to disturb any more furniture.
"A treant, those are generally benevolent.. a roc, wild and dangerous but not truly malicious... some critters I don't know.. and an androsphinx, supposedly wise and benevolent riddlers. This was probably there before things went yuck here."
Eoghan inspects both the door to the north and to the south to look for any traps.
"I'd suggest trying the northern door first, since Dayo is already in front of it, then the door directly behind me."
This dusty room features a long couch caked with white sheets of wispy fungus. Eddies of dust skitter along the warped floorboards as if caught up by a slight breeze, yet no wind is noticeable in the air.
The dust is being disturbed, almost as if an invisible person were pacing violently back and forth before the fireplace.
"Do you think the Necromancer has already left?"
Dayo moves in, to the edge of the couch, and to the next door.
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Dayo emerges from the side room after mere moments, but the look on his face is one of terror. His eyes lock on to Justin, dressed neatly in his skirt and tiara.
"Lorey," he whispers, "No! I won't let him take you!"
He drops his broadsword, races over to Justin, and attempts to grab him.
Vitro immediately gestures at the door of that side room to Open/Close -> Close it.
In a confused voice: "Who is Lorey?"
"Shhh... You're safe now," Dayo says as he tries to carry Justin out of the house.. but.. Lorey's put on some weight.. I think Dayo is heavily encumbered..
"Oh no, Dayo's been possessed! Snap out of it, Dayo! I won't lose another friend to mind-tricks!"
Eoghan tries to make himself as large an obstacle as he can be (not difficult, given his size), and tries to block Dayo's path of egress. He won't make direct attacks against him, but he will defend himself, if necessary.
<3
Pressed between a gigantic Eoghan and a room full of closed doors, Dayo simply clutches Justin close and sobs.
"Please! There is great evil here! All of my other children have disappeared. Lorey is all I have left," to which Dayo strokes Justin's hair as though it was shoulder length.
"It's not safe here! The basement... Terrible things happen down there! Please, you must listen to me!"
Vitro steps to the door and sets himself to lean into it so it can't easily be opened.
"So what exactly did you see down there... what's your name?"
"I'm... I'm Kasanda. I live here. My husband... He's in the basement. I don't know what he's doing down there... But I fear for my children," the petting continues. "Will... Will you help us?"