Del pipes up from the back, "Apologies, good lady! Give us but a moment and we'll see if we can't get you out of your frosty prison." He turns to the others then and, in a quieter voice, suggests, "Perhaps we can try the key the guard captain kept and, if that fails, maybe Corum can... persuade the door to open?" He smiles and bounces his eyebrows playfully at this last thought.
Nasrin snarls once and nods to Corum, "Let's push this thing over."
Side buy side with the burly man she slams into the door...
he has been cut, burned and bitten. Already on edge the insult does not sit well with him. He can feel his blood begin to boil and when Nasrin suggests breaking the door down he is sorely tempted to vent his wrath. Eben if it is only on a door. He allows his anger to wash over him like a wave. Stepping back he aims a mighty kick at the door as Nasrin slams her shoulder againsst it.
Str
Corum and Nasrin brace themselves against the door and give it a good, hard shove. It remains as solid as ever though.
Del asks hesitantly, "So.... we don't care to try the key?"
Surprisingly, they does not fit the lock.
Greyston watches as Corum and Nasrin try and brake open the door and failing. "Force isn't all the option.." He then steps forward. "Hang in there we will get this door open. He shouts through the door. "With the key not fitting Maybe Roadesk has it? I could try and disable the lock but it would take me awhile, I know some of you have spells cast." Greyston says looking over the door and lock.
"Ready your tools, Fenris." In the mean time, Nasrin nods to Courm again and lays her strength into the door.
Corum steps back and this time he sprints at the door and crashes into it with his shoulder. The door remains locked and resistant. Corum stares at it with hatred.
Star
"right then you swine."
He tries one last time, hurling himself again at the door, spittle and curses flying from his lips, his wild hair streaming behind him and his eyes burning with rage.
Str
At the bird attempt, the lock cracks, the door splinters and flies open to crash against the wall.Corum stands in the doorway, his chest rising and falling, veins standing out along his arms as he brings his rage back under control.
"Damned door weren't gonna beat me."
With a final grunt of effort, Corum's boot smashes against the door, just beneath the lock and it splinters, flying wide and slamming against the icy adjoining wall.
The scent of perfume fills the air of this small bedroom where several dresses styled for a Taldan noblewoman lie neatly arranged on the bed. A mirrored vanity and chair sit by the door next to a wooden chest, and a larger mirror hangs on the wall between two windows.
A woman with golden curls stands behind the bed, it looks as if she has pushed it somewhat toward the door as if in an attempt to barricade it. She clutches something small and sharp in both hands, a jewelled hairpin and with a wavering voice, demands;
Who... who are you...?
To most of you she is shockingly familiar. It is Lady Argentea Malassene.
Nasrin looks into the room, with s snarl she says, "We saved you once. How did you get here now?"
Del's eyes widen in surprise to find a Taldan noble trapped within the room, then widen further at Nasrin's words. "Saved her once already? You don't mean this is Lady Argentea, do you?"
Saved me once... What do you mean? Radosek has kept me here for weeks now. She says, eyeing you suspiciously
Greyston frowns as he looks into the room seeing Lady Argentea. "Lady Argentea... No we rescued you from the bandits, you should be back in Heldren." He then looks back at the others.
Del scratches his head as confusion ripples through the group. "Oh really? You've been here for weeks, have you? Well!" He claps his hands together once and smiles broadly. "That can only mean one of two things. Either the Lady Argentea you all rescued from banditry and worse was an impostor," he pauses briefly for added effect, "or you are, dear lady!" He ends his suggestion with a flourish of motion by bringing Ruby up level with the woman in the finely appointed room. "How to figure out which is which though? My, what a puzzle!"
"Tricks and traps. It seems the witches gave us a doppleganger so the world would stop trying to rescue you." Nasrin steps into the room heedless that her appearance may very well startle the noble woman. Then again, even if it did occur to her, she would likely continue anyway. "I want a closer look at you." Nasrin's face shifts subtly, elongating as she adopts a wolf's sense of smell. She sniffs the room, dizzied by the perfumes, but trying to focus on the woman's scent.
She flinched back from the levelled crossbow
What are you doing? I... I don't know what you're talking about! She sounds frightened and upset. Creatures attacked my caravan in Taldor. There was a... Troll I think? And flying things. They killed my men and when I woke up I was here. I only knew I was in Irrisien because Radosek told me there was some... Portal.
Watching from the wings Elleross listens carefully as the person behind the door calls out in what appears to be fear.
this seems a little off to me. Why imprison someone here when cages of ice seem to be the flavour of the month? he thinks to himself as he watches Nasrin and Corum try and force the door open.
He can see the warrior growing more and more agitatated as the door resists him and soon he is almost frothing at the mouth with rage as he slams it open.
What he sees beyond is in equal measures disturbing and surprising.
we have met before my Lady but as my companions have already surmised it may not have been the real lady Argentea .
he says as he watches Nasrin sniffing at the woman, the wild girl seems wary of her and trusts not what she sees.
The old judge listens carefully to her words and weighs up the truth of what she is saying.
He is not sure, her words seem genuine enough but he knows all too well how devious these witches can be.
let us see if we can discern the truth of what we see before us
Speaking the arcane words of power he begins to scan the room and the woman before him, seeking any magical auras that will reveal the truth.
Greyston nods at Del. "An impostor, but for what purpose? They assumed someone would come save her and take out the bandits.. it all seems to far fetched." He then tries to think back to when they rescued the first Lady Argentea. We've seen a lot of strange things here... could the one we saved be an agent? there's bigger plans than what we thought here. Unsure of it all he looks at Elleross hoping for something if anyone could work this out its him, he could teach us all a lot.
Corum stands open mouthed and confused. The lady before him cannot be here. They rescued her and left her safely back in Heldren. Something about this is not right. He points at the woman who cowers before him.
"Who are you?"
"Corum, I think this is the Lady. We rescued the first 'blonde taldan' we found. We found what someone wanted us to find."
Sapphire's brow furrows in suspicion.
Weeks? I had not realised we had been out from Heldren that long...
she cocks her head, racking her thoughts for a way to resolve the situation, prove which was the real lady, and then it came to her
If you truly are the real lady Argentea, you can tell me what was in the jewellery box you had in your carriage, no real lady forgets such things...
her blade remained out and ready as she waited for the woman's response
A necklace. Of pearl and diamond. Look please, take me with you. Radosek has been a beast! He hasn't touched me yet but I fear his patience with me is growing thin.
She begins to sound somewhat desperate.
I don't know who you are but you're my best chance of getting out of here, please help me!
Upon hearing the woman's answer, Sapphire immediately brings her blade up in a guard position
Ware enemy! she shouts to the others.
Addressing the woman again she adds
Not even close, there were several pieces in there and you chose to guess instead of picking one. We don't enjoy being lied to so you have one chance to explain... don't waste it...
Del shrugs, "I was going to ask her the name of Oppara's most popular playwright, but baubles proved to be a shrewd choice. Nicely done." He smiles broadly at Sapphire, offering her an approving nod, before nonchalantly loosing a bolt from Ruby.
HP: 25/25
AC: 18 (14 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+8/+4
Grit remaining: 2/2
Hero Points remaining: 2
Regular bolts remaining: 76/80
Cold Iron bolts: 40/40
Ongoing Effects
Vigilant Loading
Gunslinger Initiative
Con Damage: 1
It all happens so fast as Sapphire works it out and Del fires off a bolt. "Wait, we need to find out why! Explain yourself." He stares at the supposed Lady. I don't even remember what was in that box are we 100% certain?
Elleross finishes the spell as Sapphire makes her proclamation and he watches with incredulity as Del casually fires his weapon the bolt seeming to leap from the bow in its eagerness to taste blood.
STAND DOWN! he calls out his voice surprisingly powerful given his advanced age and usual reserved manner.
Del put up your bow. I detect no magic here, she may be who she says she is. You cannot condemn her for forgetting what trinkets she had in her jewellery box. This is not proof of anything! What if you are wrong? he says echoing greyston's concerns.
Turning away from Del he looks toward the Lady to see how badly she is hurt.
Standing in the room with the woman, Nasrin is torn-she knows how deceptive the witches and their fey are, but the old wolf may be right. She steps towards Argentea and snarls, "Explain!"
The woman ducks instinctively as the bolt whistles over her head.
Explain what!? You're crazy! She cries. I told you, creatures took me from my caravan and I woke up here. For weeks Radosek I have rejected Radosek's advances. I don't know where I am, I don't know who Radosek is really, I haven't left this room and I don't know who any of you are or why you want to hurt me! tears begins flowing freely now as she is shaking with fright
Relieved that the bolt flew wide of its mark the old judge fixes Del with a hard stare.
what if you are wrong? You could have killed her! If your judgement is as lacking as your aim then you may have tried to kill an innocent woman. he says angrily his temper rising as he struggles to forgive the impetuousness of youth
sapphire may be onto something but it is circumstantial at best, she seems to be telling us the truth as far as I can tell, the stress of her abduction, the fear for her life may well have muddled her memory. It may be the necklace she describes was in her baggage but not that box. You don't know! he says bluntly
stand down, please. We need to be certain. he says Looking at del and sapphire.
Turning back to the terrified woman he says
I apologise Lady, that was unfortunate but we have concerns that you need to alleviate before we can trust you. It may well be that you are mistaken about the contents of that box, there were several necklaces in there. Though none of them bore a diamond. he says adopting the same confident tone he had used in a thousand courtrooms in the past there was however a ring within that box which cannot be mistaken for any other. The real lady Argentea would have no problem identifying what it was and describing it to us.
So, I ask you now. What was the ring? he asks simply, he knows her family signet ring was within the box and she must know it too if indeed she is who she says she is.
You definitely get a sense that something isn't quite right but given the whole crazy situation of being teleported halfway around the world and locked in an ice tower that probably isn't surprising
The Lady looks as though she is about to answer, wiping away tears with the heel of her hand when suddenly you begin to hear the sound of boots thudding on the ice coming your way!
"Ah! No time for this now, we have company incoming." He turns to look at the woman and begins to close the door. "Stay here, we will come back for you when we have dealt with the guards that are coming."
"Corum, Nasrin brace the doors we have to try and funnel them in." Greyston then pulls out a bomb different from the ones he normally uses there seems to be two different liquids inside the vial their colours not mixing at all showing of orange and green.
Corum's head spins. He does not know whether to cut the woman's head off or shield her from Del's bow. He looks around as the sound of boots come from down the corridor. "I can't deal with this. It is witch stuff. I can deal with them though."
He strides into the corridor and takes up a ready stance. Legs braced and axe held at the ready. As he waits for his foes to come to their doom he stokes his inner fire. Thinking of all that befell him and his mother starts the rage. The anger washes over him, adrenaline surging through his mighty thews, increasing his power and speed.
Elleross attention flickers from the woman before him as he glances toward Greyston and Corum.
He frowns slightly as he returns his gaze to the lady Argentea .
an inconvenient interruption my lady. Rest assured we will continue with this line of questioning he says to her. He can feel something isn't quite adding up here but he can't be sure it isnt anything more than the results of her apparent kidnapping.
Elleross, there is something amiss here, as much as you wish to believe otherwise. There is no fear in this lady, she was not frightened when she responded to us at the door, she was annoyed... and no matter what you might think of trinkets in a jewellery box, I can tell you any woman, especially a lady, keeps track of their accessories. She should have been able to name something in the box, and yet...
the sound of boots thudding down the corridor cuts Sapphire's argument short, she retreats out of the room with a drawn blade to help Corum deal with the new threat. As she exits she shouts over her shoulder
Don't take your eyes off her!
The old judge shakes his head slightly as Sapphire justifies dels attack .
such ladies of money and position have more jewellery than sapphire realises, every social event demands a new gown, new accessories. She may have dozens of such items. But only the one signet ring. We will see what she has to say about that soon enough he thinks to himself.
I am not saying you are wrong sapphire and I am no fool. something is amiss. But you are mistaken, the lady was afraid when first we attempted entry she feared Radosek had returned.
She only grew angry when Corum demanded the door be opened and of course she was locked in. Rest assured I will watch her. We will Deal with this new threat and then we will get to the truth of this.
Del shakes his head gently at Elleross' rebuke, unflapped by the older man's sudden burst of emotion. As the others turn at the sounds of booted feet, Del keeps his eyes and Ruby fixed on the lady claiming to be Argentea. "You may have fleeced most of the others, but I'm not convinced you're who you say you are. Still, I'll grant you one last question." He assumes a comfortable, conversational posture in the corner of the room, though the ease of it is offset by the bolt gleaming in Ruby's cradle still pointed at the lady.
Del smiles warmly at her, "I'm from Oppara, actually. Of all the city's I've visited, it's still my favorite. And understandably so, wouldn't you agree? Why don't you tell me a little bit about our shared city, hm? Perhaps which theater house was your favorite? Or the name of the street your manor is on?"
HP: 25/25
AC: 18 (14 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+8/+4
Grit remaining: 2/2
Hero Points remaining: 2
Regular bolts remaining: 76/80
Cold Iron bolts: 40/40
Ongoing Effects
Vigilant Loading
Gunslinger Initiative
Con Damage: 1
Nasrin nods to Del and Elleross as she turns to head into the hall to meet the guards. Suddenly, some part of her paranoia screams, . She waits still next to the Lady, but keeping a wary eye on her. "Too convenient that the guards come to us as when get closer to her."
As Corum makes his way along the corridor to engage whatever comes this way, the door suddenly flies open and he is faced with several armed men.
Two rush past the lead soldier who opened the door and fire loaded crossbows at the barbarian. A fourth then pushes through and engages him in melee with a long, sharp spear.
Miss
Miss
Miss
Corum bats one of the bots out of the air as the other flies past and he simply side steps the clumsy spear thrust.
Meanwhile back in the room, Lady Argentea's face is a mask of fear as the boots stomp toward the room. She quivers and stammers at Del's question;
What...? Oh I don't know it was ... there's no time..!
She sees the determined look on his face despite the impending arrival of the guards and the look of fear melts away, replaced with a wry smile as she shrugs and says;
Huh, thought I had you for a second.
The woman's beautiful looks and long golden hair contort and twist and are replaced by a horrid, grey-skinned bald humanoid face with a large, yawning mouth. Two hands ending in large claws are suddenly raised toward Nasrin and slash out at her. The first rips across her belly but Del's bolt slams into it's shoulder, making the other claw cut nothing but air.
Hit
Miss
Del shrugs, an apologetic and clever grin on his face, "Your ruse was an awfully good one, I do admit. It's a shame it's turned out this way though, I'd bet you're better than anyone else in this tower at cards; and good, satisfying opponents are so hard to come by." He shrugs, "We could have had such fun, you and I. Ah well," before burying another bolt into the false lady.
HP: 25/25
AC: 18 (14 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +5/+8/+4
Grit remaining: 1/2
Hero Points remaining: 2
Regular bolts remaining: 73/80
Cold Iron bolts: 40/40
Ongoing Effects
Vigilant Loading
Gunslinger Initiative
Con Damage: 1
As Corum takes position in the corridor the door opens and several guards come through. Roaring a challenge he leaps forward. In his rage he forgets defence, hurling himself at his enemies like a cornered bear. The two archers loose their bolts. Corum hardly notices one graze his shoulder and ignores the minor inconvenience of the other nicking his side. He beats aside the spear of the third soldier and swings his poleaxe in a glittering arc.
Woth his feet planted he uses his waist as a pivot, delivering the blow with all his might. The wickedly sharp blade buries itself seed in the man's torso sending blood spraying across the wall.
pa
Dam
"She changed into something... but they have it covered. I've got your back Corum, something special I've brewed up this morning" He then shakes up the vial in his hand the green and orange liquids begin to swirl around and mix as the reaction begins to take place he lobs the bomb over Corum hitting the guard at the door.
The explosion is bigger more destructive but still controlled splashing out hitting the other guards but not Corum. The first guard is instantly lit up as the flaming liquid seems to stick to him.
Nasrin weather's the blow with a grunt and steps past the thing's guard, forcing it to turn with her and she brings her scimitar down, hard. The blade finds a soft spot and digs deep into the creature's flesh.
for
for
Snarling and lunging Jagar moves to attack! His teeth find flesh and with a crunch, the thing is dragged down.
for and