Vasile shows her neck to them. "It's called a choker. They're usually underground, but are rumored to be all over the Shingles."
Hathin moves towards the indicated basement after giving a curt thanks to the one that informed them.
Suleiyel smiles and nods graciously at the mayflies who tell them where to go. As they get closer, he puts a hand on his club and scowls. I should've memorized "light".
Before they go down, Vasile casts Dancing Lights, renewing it every minute while downstairs so the group has light if there is no light down there.
The group advances to the underground storage area. The smell of mildew and wet soil permeates the dark and damp area, which seems to be nothing more than a carved-out cave. All over the area, you can see backdrops, tapestries, props of all shapes and sizes, and other various stage tools. Off on the left side, there looks to be an opening leading to another room.
Hathin slowly steps forward with eyes open until he can see into the next room...
Perception:
Pakak trusting his darkvision joins Hathin and peers about
Vasile keeps next to Hathin, keeping her lights back if he'd like them away.
For all that it was his suggestion, Suleiyel follows behind, loathe to be in front in such a creepy locale. Nevertheless... "I'm impressed by your control over those lights, Vasile. How does it work? The only light spell I know has to be cast on an object." The curiosity in his voice is clearly genuine.
Vasile talks backwards to the elf, but keeps her eyes forward. This is actually the first spell I ever learned. You first have to manifest the orbs, and then you can direct them. You've got to keep them within 10 feet of each other, however. You can also form them into a roughly humanoid shape, but I don't do that often, because it looks pretty creepy. Especially in the dark.
The cautious elf chuckles dryly. "Thank you. I very much appreciate your restraint right now."
You enter into the dark room, keeping close together as you advance. As you peer into the room beyond you can see much of the same in there, with large boxes and miscellaneous props.
The vigilant elf's long ears twitch. "Hear that? A clicking... not like a creature. Reminds me of the machines that the gnomes in Omesta use."
"I don't think I heard it..." Pakak admits. "You know what direction it came from?"
"Sounds like it's coming from the room ahead."
Before entry, Cezar notices the darkness and, in a very Cezar-manner, whimpers quietly as he takes a hold of Vasile's sleeve. After a step or two into the room, he decides to cast Light on his own hand, holding it out meekly in the opposite direction of Vasile's Dancing Lights.
When Pakak and Suleiyel start talking about a noise, Cezar stiffens up, eyes wide and staring right at them.
Well then, that sounds like a good place to look.
VAsile directs her Dancing lights into the room, after Casting it again to renew the duration.
Hathin slowly approaches in the direction Suleiyel pointed.
You can see into the room, and nothing out of the ordinary is catching your attention. You listen carefully for the noise Suleiyel was talking about but no one, himself included, can hear it now.
Suleiyel's brow furrows. "That is so odd. I can't hear it anymore. Perhaps we could check in the boxes?"
Realizing how that might sound, he absent-mindedly reassures the short human. "کی طرح اپنی بہن کا کہنا ہے کہ ہے، فکر نہ کرو. ہم ایک دوسرے کے ساتھ مضبوط ہو."
Shield (specialty if allowed at this point in training),Burning handsx2
Pakak moves with Hathin, muttering "I got a bad feeling about this."
Hathin continues with the slow approaching until he can see where he could not before.
Vasile keeps right behind him, keeping a loose hold on his shirt.
Hathin makes his way into the room, closely followed by everyone else. The room is much the same as the last one, walls caved out of the earth and various stage tools lying about. In the far corner, behind a large box, you see the figurine at last. She is sitting with her knees to her chest, staring at something she has clutched in her hands. You cannot make out what it is.
Hathin calls out to the doll "Ho lady, what have you got there?" club still stowed and nothing in his hands to show any sort of foul intent.
Pakak seeing what Hathin is doing, also makes no threatening gestures or signs as he stays just bit behind his fellow orc blood.
"What's going on?" Suleiyel whispers to Vasile, since he can't see from where he is.
"It looks like we've found her. She's holding something." Vasile moves forward, hoping she'll be less imposing-seeming than the orcs.
"You alright there, hun?"
The doll turns her head around unnaturally far, clutching whatever she has in her hand closer to herself and saying in a singsong voice, "Hello. How are you today?"
"I fare well lady" inching closer as long as no alarm is seen "And you?"
The figurine returns, "I am happy to see you today." It's face keeps perfectly still as it says so. It's posture becomes slightly defensive, as if protecting whatever it is holding, though it stays seated and makes no move.
Seeing her response, Pakak takes a step back to give her more space, though at the same time he recasts Detect Magic to see if it tells more about whatever she's clutching.
Vasile stays where she is. That's good, we're happy to see you too, but I think it's time to go home.
Suleiyel stays where he is. I wish I knew what was going on, but those things give me the creeps. And it's getting kind of crowded in there.
With Vasile's dancing lights in the other room , Suleiyel pulls out one of the candles that he uses to study after dark. Lighting it with his flint and steel, he muses to himself. With all the magic that I know, I could still use a lantern, or at least a lamp.
Hathin sits with a thump opposite the doll, cupping his hands near to his shoulder and allowing his familiar to drop unseen out of his hair and into them. Clutching the precious bounty before him, he allays the feeling of concern from his centipede with waves of confidence. Presenting his clutched hands for the doll to see, Hathin asks "I have something very dear to me here... would you like to see it?"
The doll's attention shifts wholly to Hathin when he sits opposite it. Its head tilts slightly as it watches him. When he poses his question, the doll says, "I would like that very much." After saying this, the doll trembles in a strange and violent way, in a manner not unlike a seizure. It lasts only a second, and the doll goes back to watching Hathin immediately, ignoring whatever made it happen.
Moving his hands forward a few inches, Hathin then pauses before continuing "But if I show you something special... could you show me something special too?" taking note of the seizure, but not seeing any reason to change his tack.
The doll stares into your eyes, and after a few tense moments nods slowly to you. It moves its hands forward to cup them in front of it in the same way you have yours while never taking its eyes off your own hands.
Hathin extends his hands and freely opens them to show his familiar, a common centipede that appears as though it is reared up upon the last half of it's body and it's head moving around as though surveying the environment.
Hathin has a smile on his face, though his eyes are upon the doll's hands.
The doll's head tilts again as it inquires in its singsong voice, "Is that your something special?" It stares at your hands, not yet opening its own.
"It is... a friend of mine and confidant both."
The doll seems to give a slight nod and then opens her hands. In them she holds what looks like a pretty hairclip, with a small metal butterfly on it. She looks down to it as she says simply to you, "I left it here." She shudders slightly after saying this.
"It is beautiful... when did you leave it here?"
Pakak keeps his voice soft so not to intrude too much on Hathin and the doll, "There are two auras overlapping. The one all of the dolls share, and then another... but I can't tell you much about that second one. It's disturbed the first somehow, but I'm not sure on the specifics."
She says to Hathin slowly, evidently not hearing Pakak, "The time when I... when I died." The doll hangs her head, and begins to jerk more rapidly. She stands up suddenly, taking an aggressive stance as she screeches in a very different voice than before.
Initiative: