Mierul laughs musically, and her hoof stomps on the ground. [b]"Is Nadya well? I'm afraid I know not of any daughter, although I have not been introduced to the dungeon here. Cervin, isn't it? Perhaps I can soothe you two with that tune again..." She purses her lips, and begins to softly hum the same Varisian folk song from the night at camp.
Arkady stays quiet, his eyes darting around to take in the scene.
Alright, how do I make this work again to take us back?
Meanwhile, Nadya is surprised by the sudden disappearance, and almost immediately begins pacing the hallway. "We should not have let them go alone. Now we are stuck here with this." Nadya kicks one of the bodies of the guards on the ground, and he moans softly, obviously still alive but still unconscious.
Arkady looks around and sees another set of tiles behind him and Arkady. He looks at his hand, and the blue crystal is still glowing.
Arkady notes the tiles, and prepares to pull Cervin back onto them if he gets "the feeling".
Pressed up against Arkady, Cervin leans over and whispers briefly.
"If you can get us out of here now, do so."
Yagello tightens his grip on his blade and tries to reassure the warrior woman, "Nadya, stay strong. They will be back soon, hopefully with your daughter in tow. Here, drink this last potion so you'll be ready in case they need our assistance."
Despite his firm words, Yagello grows more uneasy by the moment and yearns to get some word from his companions.
Arkady nods and steps back, drawing Cervin with him. I hope it is just as automatic going down as it was going up ...
As Arkady leads Cervin onto the tiles, the crystal glows again, and ice grows quickly up their legs, quickly freezing them in place. Mierul smiles and blows a kiss before the room disappears once more, and the two are back in the main hall where Yagello, Nadya and Nevinia are waiting, standing in a shallow pool of water.
Cervin steps back, shuddering.
"Well that was terrifying. THank you Arkady, Erastil is with us." He looks to the group. "So that horned woman we met on the road, Mierul, is up there. She had the sort of attitude of someone who believes she is in control, and claimed to know nothing of Nadya's daughter."
He scowls at the teleporter. "That... strange magical thing. There has to be another key, or another way to activate it. One key for all of this makes no sense. Do any of the guards still live? Can they be questioned?"
He pauses. "Unless we have a small army heading down here now. We need to be vigilant."
Nayda looks around the room at the bodies of guards. She walks up to the one she kicked a moment ago while Cervin and Arkady were gone, and kicks the leg again. The man moans again. "This one still alive. Maybe heal and ask questions." Nadya grits her teeth, uncomfortable about not making progress, but frustrated about not having a better plan.
Nevinia moves to the guard on the ground, and examines his body. "Nadya is right. I can heal his wounds, and then maybe he can help us."
On her shoulder, Tzerny caws to remind everyone he was here. He then jumps into the conversation. "Better tie him up first! We don't want to have another fight on our claws."
Arkady looks wistfully at his own wounds as Nevinia speaks of healing the guards, but not having a better plan to figure out what to do next, he says nothing and keeps an eye out for trouble.
Cervin nods, using his handy rope to bind the guard.
"I can be convincing but we may need some muscle to get the guard to talk. Is anybody good at interrogation?
Arkady scans the room again, but does not notice any new auras in the room, only the ones on the gear he had already taken.
After Cervin binds the guard, Nevinia briefly touches the guard to heal him.
"That should be enough to wake him," Nevinia says, backing away cautiously. The open wounds close, and the guard groans softly but more loudly, although his eyes remain closed. It's not clear if the man is pretending to remain unconscious or just taking a bit of time to be roused.
Cervin frowns, strumming his bowstring.
"There's also the fact that I don't speak the language. He's probably pretending to sleep. Hrm."
Yagello shakes his head from side to side, a deep furrow forming over his brow.
"I'm not sure if we're taking the right approach here. What are the chances a common foot soldier has the answers we seek? Well, the die is cast, so we might as well proceed."
He moves to within a few inches of the man's face and claps his hands as loudly as possible.
Cervin shrugs helplessly. "They're stationed in this tower, they'll at least know something. We can't go up there two at a time with that woman and the Gods know what else waiting for us. I mean, he'll at LEAST know where they keep prisoners."
Cervin blinks as Yagello claps in front of the guard, and manages a smile at the simple, but effective trick.
Arkady steps up and waits for the guard to stir before questioning him.
As the guard wakes up, Cervin says a quiet prayer and then tries to do something entirely against his nature. He draws his bow, and aims it at the face of the guard. His face goes steely and he waits for the guard's eyes to open.
"How do the teleporters work?! You see I am a holy man, I will spare your life if you talk! Uh, someone translate for me?"
Arkady modifies Cervin's words just slightly as he translates. "Den hellig krigeren er sint, men vil spare ditt liv hvis du snakke sannferdig. Hvordan teleportere arbeidet, og hvor er innsatte?"
The man's eyes fly open, although he doesn't move. He coughs slightly before speaking.
"Jeg ... Vennligst!" he pauses to cough again. "Det er en kode for å utløse gulvet. Når du står på flisene, sier 'En samling i hallen, ta en, ta oss alle', og du vil bli tatt til matsalen."
The man closes his eyes, as if trying to ignore the party standing over him.
Cervin looks at him urgently.
"What did he say Arkady? What did he say?"
Yagello watches the exchange between Cervin, Arkady, and the guard with some displeasure before his patience grows thin. He puts on his most menacing scowl and begins swinging his sword from side to side.
He progressively moves closer to the guard, swinging the blade with enough force that the man can hear the "Whoosh" sound even if his eyes are closed.
"He gave me a pass phrase that triggers the floor to take you to the dining hall."
To the guard, he asks, "Hva med innsatte? Vi leter etter en jente."
Cervin lets out a breath and slumps back.
"Perfect, then we can move in force. I don't trust that horned woman. Well, largely because she appears to be working for the enemy, but beyond that."
The man keeps his eyes closed. "Det er ingen fanger som jeg har sett. Av kurset, jeg har ikke sett alle rom her ......"
Cervin frowns, looking worried.
"They're the tower guards. There wouldn't be a secret dungeon. Well, perhaps they're keeping Nadya's daughter in some of the opulence upstairs. Something about this doesn't make sense though."
He looks at the group. "Do we have what we need? Are we ready to continue our approach?"
Arkady nods ruefully. "As ready as it is possible to be with no magic and barely walking. What do we do with Olaf here?"
Nadya grits her teeth, and draws her axe and pick out, and walks to the alcove. She stops just before the tiles. "I ready to go first."
Cervin takes a moment to tie up the guard. He kisses his holy symbol and says a small prayer over the guard.
"You have our mercy, thank you."
Standing, he nocks an arrow and moves to stand behind Nadya.
"Nadya and Yagello take the front, and then Arkady and I, followed by Nevinia?"
"Agreed. Ready"?
Arkady stands with his rapier in hand, prepared to activate the crystal.
Yagello nods at the others,"Yes, I am ready as well, and my apologies Cervin, you were right about the guard. He did give us some useful information and helped further our mission. I must remind myself that the end of a blade is not the only solution to the world's problems..."
He steps into position but then hesitates and turns back for a moment.
"Wait a second, we should be as strong as possible before we infiltrate the next level. There's still that one remaining healing potion, and Nevinia, do you have any healing spells left?"
Nevinia searches her bags, and produces two more potions. "I have two healing potions left, but after this I have nothing left. My powers are spent for the day."
"We cannot wait long here!" Nadya exclaims, growing frustrated. "We must attack now or find better place to stay."
Arkady takes a potion, then confirms everyone is ready before activating the transport.
"One to Yagello or Nadya, whoever needs it more, and then advance!"
Yagello and Nadya step onto the tiles, and Nadya recites the phrase. As before, ice crystals begin to form from the floor, growing upwards only in a few moments to completely encase Yagello and Nadya in ice. After another hear beat, Yagello and Nadya are in the dining room described by Yagello and Arkady.
Across the room, Mierul stands up to greet the newcomers. "Ah, the Varisian's friends! Come, you were so nice in sharing your food with me before, we will be feasting here shortly, please join me!"
Nadya visibly tenses at the sight of Mierul, her hand ready to draw her axe.
Sensing the apprehension in his friends, Yagello tries the opposite tact with the strange horned woman. He smiles broadly and bows slightly in her direction.
"Well met, my lady. I do have a hearty appetite building in my belly. What kind of feast have you prepared for us?"
"You know, I'm not exactly sure what Mig is preparing today!" Mierul laughs musically. "I would bet that he is preparing one of his stews. Please, sit down." Mierul points to the curved table between them. Yagello does not feel that she is overtly lying, but still doubts Mierul's intentions as she seems to enjoy the comforts of the tower.
Cervin nods over to Arkady, and steps onto the tiles with the Varisian. He carefully works to pronounce the words.
"En samling i hallen, ta en, ta oss alle!"
If that doesn't work, Cervin tries the words in common as well.
The strange magic envelops Cervin and Arkady, and they see Mierul in the same place, speaking with Yagello. The area around the tiles is getting crowded.
"Ah, my friends are back!" Mierul exclaims. "I was just in the middle of inviting you to a feast, come sit at this table, I'm sure a hearty stew will be available soon!"
Cervin leans wearily against the wall and straightens himself up. He smiles back at Mierul.
"Mierul, let's drop any pretenses, shall we? We just stormed this place and are currently looking for Nadya's daughter. How about you speak plainly to us about what you know, and if we can expect a fight out of you or not."
Yagello nods towards Cervin and Arkady and then turns back towards Mierul, the smile now gone from his face.
"I agree with my friend here. I don't want to believe you're part of the nefarious dealings in this tower, but you strangely flippant about the whole matter."
His skin begins turning red and the veins enlarge on his neck as he continues, "When we ask about children being taken, we need something more substantial from you than DAMNED TALK ABOUT STEWS!"