Round 2
-------------------
Rillka - moves, total defense
Albert (Captivated, Fascinated)
Ser Andreas - bluffs, Bull Rush vs TDL, misses
The Dancing Lady (-26 hp) - maintains Dance, steps, grapple vs Albert, fails
Kesten - moves, drawing bow, shakes Saorise
Saorise - moves, performs
Seraphina - moves, shakes Albert
Albert - casts frigid touch, spellstrike vs TDL for 26 damage
Albert's spellstrike is swift and decisive, taking the fascinated fey off guard. The magic of the attack rips through her and she makes a pained hiss, her gaze sharpening into awareness again.
She takes a step in pursuit of the retreating magus and begins her dance anew, swaying sinuously like a charmed snake.
Seraphina notes the glazed expressions of the cavalier and bard as they turn again to stare captivated at the bloodthirsty lady of the keep. She calls to Kesten, "Pull the Baron back, quick!"
The soldier grabs hold of his ruler and drags Ser Andreas back toward the stairs, allowing the purple mists to swirl into the gap, blocking his view of the dancing fey again. Though he still gazes fascinated into the mist.
Seraphina steps into his prior spot, hoping to block access to the fey's male prey. She shakes Rillka free of her fascination and breathes a sigh of relief when the halfling doesn't succumb to the mists again.
Shockingly, The Dancing Lady's gyrations cease again as she again falls under the spell of the purple haze. "She's under again! Albert, you still with us?" She asks, unable to see his face.
Fortunately, Albert's will and fortitude have kept his wits about him and he feels certain that he will not fall to the fell fey's dance again!
Round 3
-------------------
Ser Andreas (Captivated, Fascinated)
The Dancing Lady (-26 hp) - steps, begins Captivating Dance
Kesten - Drags Andreas back 5 ft
Saorise (Captivated, Fascinated)
Seraphina - steps, shakes Rillka
➤Rillka
➤Albert
Pressed back against the wall, Albert grimaces as the Lady steps closer and begins her dance again. Sensing that the allure is no longer working on him, he grins as he shrugs off the effects of the haze surrounding him and steps up beside the fey to have room to maneuver.
His blade arcs with electricity as he channels the last of his arcane power into it, chanting as he casts a spell to force even more electrical power down the blade and into the Dancing Lady as he swings, discharging it into her body.
Emboldened by his resilience, Albert steps back into the fray, bringing the electric force of a lightning bolt to bear down on the fey. For a bare snapshot in time, her very bones seem to glow from within her flesh, lighting up the purple mist in a near blinding glare.
And then she crumples to the floor in a smoking heap, the smell of burnt flesh mingling with the mist.
Seraphina blinks her eyes rapidly, staring at the fallen fey with an expression of awe before she begins to laugh uproariously and then succumbs to her own spell, gazing placidly into the pretty purple mists.
Rillka stares at the swirling mists, content in their chaotic ebb and flow, the swirling patters and hues.
Once the mist disappears, she relaxes. She will cast detect magic and point out anything of interest to the tall folk.
Breathing fast as he takes in the last of the euphoric must, tinged with the charred smell of the electrified fey, Albert scans the room.
Taking a cue from Rillka, he activates his own ability to detect magic as he sheathes his sword.
"Find anything interesting around here, Rillka?" he asks.
With her dying breath, the Dancing Lady utters a stream of unintelligible syllables, pointing a trembling, sparking claw at Albert.
Fortunately, the magus' willpower allows him to resist, though a momentary flicker of weakness through his muscles tells him he should be very glad the curse did not land.
The Dancing Lady possesses a number of treasures salvaged from the ruins and stolen from her victims: a life-sized alabaster statue of a nude, dancing elven woman (worth 900 gp, but weighing almost 500 pounds), a masterwork harp, a small, carved jade statuette of a coiling snake (worth 75 gp), and an ancient filigreed elven water clock (worth 1,000 gp, but weighing 200 pounds). The Lady’s bed is covered with a snow-white bearskin coverlet (worth 50 gp). A finely carved, wooden wardrobe beside the bed holds two royal outfits (worth 200 gp each), three courtier’s outfits (worth 30 gp each), and several other tasteful, once-expensive articles of clothing (heavily stained with blood and torn). A small wooden coffer atop a rosewood table contains 3 vials of exotic perfume (worth 100 gp each), a gem-studded tiara (worth 350 gp), and an elixir of love. A nearby chest holds 431 sp and 370 gp in leather sacks.
Andreas finally shakes off the magic that was affecting his mind. He lurches forward as if he was still charging. Stopping short brings him around to the reality that the battle is over.
umm...what happend?
Is everyone ok. Anyone hurt?
He shakes his head to further clear his mind and then looks around the room.
This place will prove to be a very defensible position out here. First though we need to secure the rest of this place. I suggest we leave anything that is not magical behind...for now. If everyone is willing, we should move on and search the grounds thoroughly.
Rillka moves to the coffer, opening it carefully, and handing the vial to Albert, Only this...
Shaking her head as the effects of both the Dancing Lady's entrancing presence and Seraphina's intoxicating mist wears off, Saoirse looks around, taking in the aftermath and noting the lingering sparks jumping across the fey woman's corpse and the blood dripping from Albert's blade.
Looking around the room with a distinguishing eye, she lets out an impressed whistle as she quickly runs through the value of the room's trappings. "This is impressive, almost regal, she has clearly been preying on the surrounding area for a while...can't disparage her taste though."
Albert gingerly takes the vial from Rillka, examining the fluid inside by swirling it around, his eyes squints as he inspects the eddies of magic in the color.
"A love potion? She seemed to have sufficient powers of seduction on her own. Maybe she acquired it for someone else?"
"Alright, shall we check ut the other towers before coming back here to set up camp? Saoirse suggests.
"The Quickling is still out there somewhere, so let's be careful."
Albert takes his Pearl of Power from his pocket, concentrating on it as it briefly shimmers.
"There," he sighs. "I hope it will be enough to prevent being poisoned by our quick little friend," he says as he tucks the sphere, now dimmed, into his tunic.
The northeast tower is open to the sky, its roof and interior levels having fallen away long ago. It looks as if the fey have been using this tower to pile rubbish, broken pieces of furniture and assorted rubble.
Seraphina points through the doorway, "I can see bones too. Some of them look human." Not that this revelation is particularly surprising.
"That doesn't sound good...I suppose that could be what's left of her victims. Probably worth looking into, no?" Saoirse suggests.
Saorise steps into the tower, peering among the bones and broken junk. She notices a second too late that the bones appear well gnawed just as a roiling mass of hundreds of starving rats boil out of the shadows in a feeding frenzy to scrabble through the doorway, swarming over everyone they can reach. Scratching with their needle-like claws and biting with their tiny teeth, Saorise and Seraphina are overcome with revulsion at the assault of vermin.
Surprise!
-------------------
Rats! (Blue) - move
Rats! (Red) - move
Round 1
-------------------
➤Albert
➤Saorise (nauseated)
Rats! (Blue)
Rats! (Red)
Seraphina (nauseated)
Ser Andreas
Rillka
Kesten
Creatures with the nauseated condition experience stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.
Overwhelmed by the abject horror of being swarmed by rats, Saorise staggers further into the room, trying to free herself of the hungry swarm.
Surprised by the sudden flurry of rats descending upon him, Albert steps back and casts his newly prepared Shield spell upon himself.
Albert and Saorise duck out from the scrabbling mass of vermin as they continue to bite and scratch at the Sorceress, Cavalier and Soldier. One of the groups follows after the Magus and swarm over him and Rillka both.
Seraphina stumbles into the tower after Saorise and retches violently onto the floor, then she retrieves a wax stoppered flask of reddish-orange liquid from her belt pouch and holds it out toward the bard. "Alchemist's... Fire... won't hurt me..." She gasps out before heaving again.
Kesten steps out from the ravening mass of rodents and slashes wildly with his longsword. He clearly slices through several of the furry bodies, but it has less effect than he would expect.
Surprise!
-------------------
Rats! (Blue) - move
Rats! (Red) - move
Round 1
-------------------
Albert - steps, casts shield
Saorise - moves (-5 hp, nauseated)
Rats! (Blue) - move
Rats! (Red) - move
Seraphina (-9 hp, nauseated) - steps, draws flask
➤Ser Andreas (-7 hp)
➤Rillka (-2 hp, nauseated)
Kesten - steps, attacks Blue for 6 damage
Round 2
-------------------
➤Albert (-3 hp, nauseated)
➤Saorise (-5 hp)
Rats! (Blue) (-6 hp)
Rats! (Red)
Seraphina
Ser Andreas
Rillka
Kesten
As the swarm surges forward, Albert swings his scimitar wildly at the mass of rodents
As the rats overtake him again, he feels his stomach twist in his gut, and finds himself unable to concentrate. He takes another step back, trying to refocus.
With a quick nod, as the worst of the nausea subsides, Saoirse takes the vial from Seraphina, hurling it at the area where the two swarms of rats overlap, hoping to do as much damage as possible. "Fire incoming!!"
Standing his ground, Andreas slashes out at the rats.
Rillka lets out a shriek and staggers backwards against the tower trying to get out of the rat swarm, she fumbles for her wand of burning hands and prepares to cast it as soon as scorching her friends isn't a side effect of the casting.
Saorise's toss puts the burst of Alchemist's Fire right into the thick of them, earning a shrieking chorus of pain from the burning vermin. And splashing only Andreas with a bit of flame as hews into the mass of them, sending the remaining rats scattering.
The remaining swarm reels away from the Magus and heads for Kesten instead, but his opportunistic strike is enough to send the last of the rodents fleeing.
Nothing of value is recovered from the rubbish pile, but as you make your way to the south, Saorise notes that a wooden door made from roughly-cut timber planks, obviously of newer construction than the rest of the keep, blocks the entrance to the next tower.
"Anyone have a way of checking to see if the door's trapped? It looks newer than the rest o' this place." Saoirse points out.
Tall Folk would be good at finding traps... at least once. But otherwise, not me, despite what people say about my kind.
Rillka casts prestidigitation to get the rat gunk off her and the others lest they all catch the pox or plague or worse.
Albert inspects the door.
"I do know a bit about how mechanisms work. Let me see if there's something connected to the door."
"Nothing unusual that I can see. Should be safe."
Andreas nods and opens the newer door.
We can send supplies out this way to repair any damage to the structures. Let us clear this place.
Andreas opens the door and triggers a spring-loaded device that whips down from above the doorway, stabbing him with a spike at about chest height.
Inside, the 40-foot-tall southeast tower is also missing its roof, but interwoven, leafy vines and the forest canopy above provide a ceiling of sorts, shading the interior and allowing only dim illumination. Inside, the rubble and undergrowth have been cleared away to create a cozy living space, decorated with crude wooden furniture, sized for a Small creature, and bloody scalps nailed to the walls.
"*@#^%$!!!" Saoirse blurts out in shock, drawing her rapier as she steps back, her attention completely taken with the disastrous trap.
Rillka swears in halfling, then adds Sure, now you listen to me… concern in her voice. She keeps her focus on Andreas.
Albert presses his palm against his forehead. "Damn! Okay, I should have checked there. Sorry."
He scans around the room, hoping he can uncover something to show he's not completely oblivious.
That is going to leave a mark.
Andreas staggers backwards and then forward a bit. He collapses to the ground and rolls onto his back. Raising his hand up and points towards the wall at a clay urn. Then his hand falls back down, and he falls unconscious.
Seraphina winces as the big man falls in the doorway and then glances up to where he was pointing. She casts mage hand to bring the item down. The urn contains 119 gp, 131 sp, 27 cp, and a dozen different sparkling gemstones worth 1,800 gp.
"Well, looks like that Quickling has been about some banditry himself. I suppose it's time to see about some healing while the Baron... er, rests up." She pronounces diplomatically.
Kesten volunteers to watch over the sleeping Baron while the party finishes exploration of the ancient keep. The last two towers contain no traps or lurking threats. The upper reaches of the next tower have completely collapsed, filling the interior with debris and rubble. Upon searching the wreckage of the southwest tower, the party turns up a long-forgotten elven artifact, a remarkably well-preserved mithral statuette of a beautiful elf woman wearing archaic robes, framed by an archway of mithral branches.
The northwest tower is the only one in the keep to have withstood the test of time — its walls still intact, as is most of its roof, though the wooden floors inside collapsed long ago. The door is of original construction and is beautifully carved (though obscured by moss) and barred from the inside.
"It's only fair I take the lead on this one," Albert says as he braces to kick the door, propping himself against the wall for maximum leverage.
Sairse takes a few moments to appreciate the elegant beauty and craftsmanship of the statue. Something abut it nags at the corners of her memory, though she can't quite pin it down.
Breaking the door down, Albert discovers a locked chest inside the final tower. Fortunately, it is small enough to carry away if need be.
Inside the chest are a fine velvet cloak (worth 10 gp), a gold necklace (worth 100 gp), a silver ring set with an emerald (worth 300 gp), a bejeweled masterwork short sword (worth 510 gp), a moonstone (worth 50 gp), 76 sp, and 31 gp.
Stepping back enough to avoid anything deadly as Albert kicks the door down, Saoirse follows the magus into the room. As he crouches down to inspect the chest, she begins humming an oddly inspiring tune.
Seeing the small chest, Albert takes some fine tools out of his kit and begins working at the lock.
Rillka follows along with the others, she says little and glances back to where they left Andreas, except to note that one of the women in the city was looking for a statuette or something of elven make, and had offered a fair price for it.
Saoirse lets out a low whistle, at the contents of the chest once Albert effortlessly unlocks it, quickly assessing the treasures within. As Rillka comments on the potential buyer for the beautiful statue she nods.
"Good to know, having a network of people who might find interest in some of the things we find will do the town a lot of good...keep commerce flowing." she notes, "If we've cleared everything, this isn't a bad place to hole up for the night...especially the Dancing Lady's chamber."
Albert turns to the aasimar. "I agree. I must rest and study my spells to be at my best. Andreas may need some time to recover, so I will take first watch."
You are able to collect your mounts and heal-up and have your evening meal in the ancient keep surrounded by beautiful elven architecture. You feel a strong urge to see good people of elvish blood dwell here again in the near future. The stonework alone is like a treasure unto itself.
Your meal and night pass uneventfully and the new day dawns clear, cool and breezy.
Fireday, Rova 15th, 4711 AR
Description: Clear
Temperature: Moderate
High: 71°F (21°C)
Low: 52°F (11°C)
Relative: Normal
Wind Force: Light
Wind Speed: 9 mph (14 kph) from the NW
But not all is well... Andreas and Seraphina are difficult to waken and rise with flushed, feverish faces and aching bodies.
Some healing may be in order?
"Cuts and bruises, minor injuries my magic can handle but what's affecting you two is a bit beyond my ken." Saoirse points out taking in Andreas and Seraphina's both being decidedly under the weather.
And me, I got hit by the speedy little guy and am feeling a bit sluggish; we should take the time to rest here.
"Ah sorry, Rillka, I didn't realize that strike had affected you that much. We should definitely rest, but it might be safer to get back to Tiressa's grove to rest somewhere safe, then head to Melianinse." Saoirse says, considering their situation and the condition of her companions.
Let us travel to the grove and inform Tiressa of what happened here. We can heal and then decide what our next move is.
"You have returned to us! Do the dark fey trouble our woods no more?" Tiressia greets you as you return to her sun-dappled grove. "Oh, but some of you have suffered for it. Let me see what I can do to help."
Under the good druid's care and after another night of rest, they both look much better. Duzz prepares lesser restoration but it still takes another night of rest before everyone is fully restored.
"We've dealt with quite a bit, some nastier than others, but we prevailed!" Saoirse replies with a smile. "We appreciate the safe place to rest and get patched up a bit."