"I don't know, I don't know!" Marr pleads with Grellik as he inspects the piano, and turns his attention to everyone.
"Listen, I BELIEVE you about the Vessel! This storm... It makes sense with the legends I've heard! It's just like the play, The Bowl and the Bard! Fire in the sky, lightning pouring out like rain. The third act climax had many of these elements in metaphor, and it was ABOUT the Vessel, at least some time in the past and remembered only by traveling story tellers."
Then he shakes his head, focusing. "But I didn't know it was here! I don't know where it could be! ... Lord Frostheight." Marr says, suddenly, addressing his master which is no where to be seen.
"... I... I BELIEVE them! I know that this isn't my place... But the storm, it makes sense! The things they are saying are likely true, it's the only explanation I can fathom other than a direct act of God..."
"Lord!" Farlyse says from the doorway near Trissae, peering into the room.
She looks around confused, but follows Dolson's lead.
"There is a battle outside, a siege! I have seen it with my own eyes. They are not lying about that. Wen and Silvers are holding the gate from what looks like an army of Dazers, sire. Some manner of enchantment is concealing the true reality beyond the walls of this mansion... It wasn't until Darkwhisper dragged me outside that I saw... My lord, the Shields haven't much time. They need my reinforcement!"
.
..
"..."
From the corner of the room, near the double doors in the back of the room with the piano, behind the toppled table and wine, Lord Frostheight's voice emerges from thin air.
"... Sharks..." He speaks, pain still in his voice from his injuries. He sounds stressed, as if trying to come to terms with what he's hearing, and forced to make a decision.
"... Why do you think that this... This blasted BOWL is here? Why?! We're the only ones here! Except for...- "
He cuts himself off, and silence returns.
Cavell shakes his head, trying to clear it as he gradually returns to reality. "What happened...was that Sapphire?" he winces and looks down at his wounds.
Adrien looks down at his wounds, and while they pain him, he notices little blood. A shallow slash on his forearm, about 5 inches long looks more like a wound in dead flesh than in a living arm.
He turns his arm one way then the other, looking at the odd wound. "Seems she's getting more insistent. No hard feelings, Frostheight? You can come out, I'm only interested in stopping Brundon and stopping this madness," He says in the direction of the disembodied voice.
"Yes... Sure. No hard feelings." Frostheight says with a distinct pained tone. While it sounds like he accepts that Adrien only attacked him because of some possession, it does not become visible.
"But I am not HIDING, Cavell. I am invisible, as my aide tried to keep your ghost from killing me. You'll have to be content with not seeing me for the moment... Where is that potion..."
Then comes the sound of an uncorked vial, and then drinking. When Frostheight speaks again, there is less pain to his tone. "There is no Brundon here, Cavell. I've never MET a Brudon. I don't have any Brundon to offer you, but if I had one in my trousers believe me I would!"
Adrien can tell what square Frostheight is standing in now, the man is no longer hidden. However, with his form invisible to eye, he has the benefit of full concealment.
Grellik laughs harshly"Ah yes, not hiding indeed! Well, it is understandable. Adrien is a fierce opponent, and without Farlyse in the room, and ones foes bound, what is a poor aristocrat to do?"
"If you are not here either to meet with or to oppose Brundon, then what are you here for? Oh and lets have the layout of this mansion. We may have to search individually if what you are saying is true."
Trissae lowers her hand to allow Farlyse an unobstructed path into the room. She is silent and tense as she glances first from Adrien then over to Grellik. With her other hand she draws the lyre, and then plucks a chord.
Farlyse enters into the room to try and lay eyes on her lord, but is unable to see him. From the doorway, a single lyre note reverberates out to join the piano.
"I am here... ONLY because commanded so." Lord Frostheight begins, annoyance clear in his voice. Not at Grellik, or even the questioning so much, more about the entire situation of it. He doesn't want to be here, with or without the addition of the Sharks and their bowl talk.
"Lord Amberglow has ordered it of me, and since I am his hands in this place, I do as commanded. He is the only other one here, and we are here for it."
"Lord Amb... Charles of Amberglow is HERE?!" Dolson asks, surprised by this news.
"He's in this mansion? With us? This whole time? Whatever for?"
"He is." Frostheight responds "Would you mind removing the music off of the piano, my enormous guest." he adds quickly to Grellik in a neutral tone, as if needing to hear himself think.
"He's been working on a way of stopping this sickness since the start of it. And since it appears to be tied to the storm as well, he's devised another ritual to attempt to stop it."
Then another brief, thoughtful pause. This time, his voice is a bit more concerned... "If there is an enchantment on this building preventing us from seeing the fight outside... then... That magic is probably his."
"So yes... Lord Charles of Amberglow is here. He's in the cellar. Right now... Performing a potent magical ritual with some sort of BIG magical focus... ... ... Errhh... What did you lot say this BRUNDON person looked like, again..?"
A fit of coughing rings out between the stone walls of mansion's cellar. It had been the perfect place, created so that visiting dignitaries were afforded space for ritual magics within the comfort of their own temporary home. Since the mansion wasn't occupied during the outbreak of the Bowl's energies (a deliberate decision) it gave him all the space he'd need to covertly interact with the artifact!
The coughing subsides, blood captured on a heavily stained handkerchief, The emaciated from of Lord Charles of Amberglow, the aide to Yartar's Waterbaron, limps across the floor, his weight leaning against a walking stick like a crutch. He approaches a glowing glass vessel, which sits in the middle of a stone floor painted with magical runes.
Peering within, he speaks in a wet rasp. "It's nearly time! To me, I need your strength!"
From a wooden stand near the entrance to the room, a large raven ruffles its feathers and then flies through the room before landing on Amberglow's outstretched arm.
"CAWWW" it screeches, lifting a wing up to Amberglow's sunken cheeks and withered lips.
With a dry tongue, the nobleman reaches out and takes one of the bird's feathers into his mouth. Pulling it out with a twist of his head, he then quickly swallows it whole.
His posture straightens, his vigor returning to him. As he limps over to a partner pair of runes drawn onto the floor a few feet behind the bowl, he pulls up his walking stick and draws a bright glyph into the air before him from its glowing tip.
"Let us begin!" He declares, and all the paintings on the floor begin to glow as the glyph in the air dissolves across the them. The raven takes flight, back to its stand.
"This time, I do it right! This time, I take EVERYTHING!"
"CAWWW!!" The raven agrees.
"If he's the only one here, then he is Brundon, and he's the cause of all of this. What's the quickest way to the cellar? We're going to stop him, and we're not waiting for you to think over your loyalties. So help us if you want to save Yartar, or keep out of our way, Frostheight."
Cavell looks to Marr, "You coming?"
His blades are still drawn, ready.
"No, not Marr. Marr, drop your spell."
After a quick nod from Marr, Frostheight's curling mustache and sword-damaged shirt appears with the rest of him in the corner of the room.
"I go. Marr and Vandeross, you both assists the Shields outside. As for you lot..." he says directing his attention to the Sharks. "He is MY lord, my master in my doings within this city. If he has been using me while perpetuating this catastrophe behind my back, then he has things to answer for."
"I can show you the way to him." he finished, speaking low.
Once the bogsharks have finished any planning or preparations, they may tell him to lead the way.
Cavell finally sheathes his swords, looking at Marr. After a moment of thinking, he turns to Trissae, "Your silence trick...bad for mages? I think we'll need it."
Cavell will sneak ahead once Frostheight shows them the way, action will depend on what he sees in the cellar.
Grellik gives an 'are you serious?' look toward the direction of the voice, but he will take the music off nonetheless. he sets it on he bench and addresses Frostheight again. "I have never seen him myself, but Adrien might have a better idea. In any case, he is correct. This building is the source of the plague, and if he is responsible for the illusion engulfing this mansion, and also the only other occupant, then he and Brundon must be one and the same."
"As for you, Wizard, after the remarkable insight and judgement your lord here has shown in his dealings and attitudes....I would make up my own mind about whether or not to join us in the cellar. My magic is meager in comparison to a pure student of the arcane, and of a narrow focus--we could use your talents."
"And let me apologize for not acknowledging your return, Trissae. I take it your foray into life as a beast went well? I see no other protocol than to cautiously approach, allowing Mr Cavell to employ his particular talents to lend us the upper hand"
Grellik will give Adrien a decent lead and sneak behind
I will get a level up post posted later, and I'll go ahead and roll for my final HP
Trissae's gaze fixed on the revealed Frostheight. Without breaking that gaze she addressed first Adrien then Grellick.
"Whatever you need from me, I got your back." She responds to Adrien with a pat of her lyre. "Before we enter, hold up, I have an enchantment to put on you to help out." She continued with a smirk.
After Grellick replies her smirk turns to a scowl. "Well enough, though clearly it ended too soon. Speaking of advantages, all of you - don't forget the gift Feng gave you.. don't let it go to waste, we'll likely need it here." Triss finally breaks her gaze and Nods to the crew, then strides forward to accompany Adrien's lead.
"I... I can't!" Marr replies to Grellik, his face pale at the thought of confronting Lord Amberglow in combat. He wasn't made for this kind of thing, to him physical violence was just supposed to be a thing for stories and plays, not to be carried out by his hand and spell. His sorcery was practiced for theater, as was his will.
"I might... I might be able to help the citizens of Yarter better..." he says softly, his eyes dropping to the floor as he clutches nervously at his robes. "I'm sorry... I- I can't..."
He quickly follows after Farlyse, to help the Shields and Sharks out in the rain of the entrance yard...
Ozz snorts as Marr retreats outside. "Soft." he diagnosis, before turning to the group, and giving the assembled four others a severe look.
"Anyone have a healing potion?" he asks, still half-frozen from his time stuck in an elemental.
After this is addressed, he follows to group, trying to be light on his feet.
"I'll go down first, you four following quietly. If I am about to betray my master for what he's done, give me the chance to speak with him first. Confront him, see for myself that your words ring true."
And he shrugs. "Knowing you all, I doubt you'll give me much lead here, but please... Steady your blades for at least long enough for me to look into his eyes." He narrows his own, attempting to summon up some amount of resolve.
It's clear from the look on his face that he doubts that a band of highwaymen would honor this request.
+?
AFTER PREPARATIONS
Frostheight leads Grellik, Adrien, Trissae and Ozz to a doorway in the next room, and opens the door with a key he has. It swings open revealing a dark, stone staircase descending for 15 feet before light can be seen at the landing from the room beyond.
Frostheight leads the way down, with the sharks sneaking in tow. As they descend, the sounds of murmuring can be heard in the air, and a pink and white glow from beyond mixes with torchlight.
The landing at the end of the staircase is a fairly large opening filled with a couple of desks (one covered in papers and the other in a make-shift arcane lab), and a bunch of barrels and crates. Two torches burn in a wall segment between two openings into a far room, the segment all of the barrels and crates are pushed up against. The murmuring, and pink and white glowing is emerging from the far room, which appears much bigger than this portion through the two doorways arches looking into it.
In the left doorway stands a wooden rack with coat, hat, and curious raven upon it. With its black eyes on Lord Frostheight, the nobleman gives the group a look and appears to be planning on walking forward toward one of the openings to go speak with Lord Amberglow, were no one else to take advantage of the initiative and beat him to it.
INIT
Adrien
Trissae
Ozz
Grellik
Frostheight
Grellik give Marr a disappointed look, and turns to go down the cellar. "Well, if you find your courage, you know where we will be." Ozz's assessment pains him some, but he does not contest it."Aye, it may be. But still, he has helped his friends, in the way he was able."
"By all means, Lord, do as you will. I have no desire to kill an innocent man, if indeed Amberglow is not the same limping man we seek. Though make haste, I am not sure how well I can restrain Mr. Cavell, if the situation starts to smell of something less than honest."
When they reach the room, Grellik will creep slightly forward to look over the papers, though he does not touch them.
After Trissae casts her spell on him, Cavell disappears ahead, down the staircase and into the basement. He hugs the wall, creeping closer as he draws his longbow (waiting until Trissae catches up if we're not in round-by-round speed yet). Once he has sight on The Limping Man he'll draw a teleport arrow and fire.
If that hits and he teleports over there...
He drops his bow and draws Sapphire's Sabre and Trollsplitter, one in each hand, and attacks!
And then uses Action Surge to attack twice more!
Trissae utters a whimsical verse, a prayer perhaps?, a musical moral boost?, her intent becomes clear as she gestures rhythmically with her hands and then with her index finger "boops" Adrien upon the nose. In an instant he falls completely invisible, gear and all.
"You are as invisible as the wind, use it to your advantage." She says in a whisper with a smile.
BEFORE PREPARATIONS
Dolson grins at the disappointment for Marr from Ozz and Grellik. "It's the down side of working with a pacifist you see. They have no mettle to do what must be done." He clips his words short, stern, and raises an eyebrow. "Clearly none of us here share his burden." he finishes, sardonically.
"SIR! There are too many coming over the walls!" Silvers shouts, trotting her horse to the other side of the walled yard to knock out a ice-frosted dazer before it could reach the injured Burke, who swung feebly with one of his short spears. His side bleedsfrom wound made by a burst of lightning.
"F&$%!" Wen shouts, pushing a dazer back with his shield to gain enough time to crane his neck around and seeing the problem. "This isn't working!They'll just overwhelm us from this position, we need to push them away from the walls or else the building is compromised!"
"Could we take cover inside of the mansion, Sir?"
"No way! Those elementals will tear right through it!" Rast objects. "That fire one lit that little house up! If we take shelter inside of the mansion and they reach the building, the fire ones will burn it down, and the walls will get knocked down by ice and acid!"
"Could we just let them, then? If the mansion gets brought down, maybe whoever is working this storm will die to."
"Gods damn it." Wen shouts at the sky, standing shoulder to shoulder with Farlyse and Braga and trying to hold the mouth."Can't let them die. Our mission isn't the kill the bad guy, it's to turn this blasted bowl off!"
"Shit." Swears Torea. "We're going to have to push them out of our bottle neck, aren't w-"
"ALRIGHT MEN!" Wen roars over the rain, wind and lightning. "We push out into the streets! Silvers, Farlyse, Braga, Rast and Caira! Push out into the street at the right. Everyone else that isn't injured or dead, we take the left. MARVIN! WITH ME!"
Together they begin to make an effort to push out, knocking out dazers left and right. A few errant bolts and spells kill who could have been saved, but no opportunity was allowed to do otherwise. The cost for being too gentle was too high. As they started sweeping into the streets to clear the wall, Wen's shouts could be heard over the melee.
"F#~@ THE GODS!"
"F!~% THE GODS!" his team shouts back in response, smiles momentarily touching their lips as the push through on grim gallows humor.
Standing before a glass bowl the size of a table which glows with energy, is an old man. He stands tall, his eyes lit with supernatural energy as he gestures at the bowl. He is richly dressed, like a nobleman. The fabric he wears appear of finer quality than even Frostheight's, and the hand opposite of his walking stick bears several rings on wrinkled fingers.
Runes melt off of his walking stick's tip, flowing with his arcane words toward the bowl. Suddenly the bowl turns blue, and the temperature in the room drops dramatically. The heat of the man's breath curls from his lips like clouds as he chants, and energy begins to flow from the bowl, down a series of runes and to the mage's feet.
The old man is Lord Charles of Amberglow, the aging aide to Yartar's Waterbaron. The 2nd most powerful person in the city, just beneath Keldorna, the Waterbaron herself. It is common gossip that he has been growing unwell for over a year, now.
Grellik looks around after talking to Frostheight and swears to see Adrien gone "By the Gods, my words were truer than I knew. Come, we had better get down there if you want a chance to reason with your Lord." And he will follow Adrien, as quietly as he can
Trissae hits Adrien with an invisibility spell and he descends first down the staircase and then into the room past some barrels. Seeing the old man
He unlooses a teleportation arrow taken from Sapphire's supplies and fires it at her betrayer and delayed murderer. The arrow nears the man before the glass Bowl, and ripples as if passing through protective energies. Despite deflecting just a little, the arrow strikes the old man and Adrien teleports invisibly to his side.
Drawing blades, Adrien unleashes a tide of slashes. The old man begins trying to defend himself, but his movements are slowed, surprised. Still, Adrien can tell that the man is swift, nimble, and magically protected. In the end, Adrien scores many blows on him. Despite his aged stature and clearly non-athletic build, Adrien is surprised to find that the man still looks full of fight. Clearly he has some training behind his frame.
Amberglow: -50 HP
+bonuses
The other sharks are not far behind.
BATTLE MAP (currently unaltered from Adrien's movement, but he is in square N-4.
Trissae enters the room just in time to not see Adrien loose an arrow and then Teleport (because of invisibility...), and then the sounds of battle comes from the other side of the wall.
Cavell stabs at his back, then slashes across it as he whirls around the old man invisibly. Sapphire's sabre hisses through the air towards its hated foe.
After attacking, he uses his Bonus Action to Hide and moves silently around him, backing away to F3. He glanced towards the stairs, mentally counting.
No longer surprised from the assault of invisible swords, he old man speaks a quick word, and paired with a gesture a Red Shield appears in the air. It's partially translucent and over-sized. The shield, without blemish, magically reacts to intercept the attacks of the invisible swordsman.
Adrien's first attack is just barely blocked, intercepted by the shield. He was about to get around it with his second attack, however, and cut the man's forearm.
"Someone's in here!" The man exclaims toward the bird, after Adrien stealths away. "Qeetch, seek them!"
The bird ruffles up its wings and peers around the room, bobbing its head first in one direction, and then another.
TRISSAE
Trissae grits her teeth, she's uncertain if Brundon/Amberglow has somehow discovered Adrien. She had planned to ambush Frostheight at the bottom of the stairs, sensing he would betray them, but now she had neither the time nor patience to spare.
With haste she ran into the large cellar room with arcane runes and magical glow. Upon not seeing Adrien immediately she breathed a sigh of relief to herself and then addressed Amberglow.
"Look no further Fiend!" She Said with a hiss, her eyes dart to meet his.
Ozz follows Grelliks lead.
GRELLIK
Grellik creeps down the hallway, his hopes dashed as he hears Trissae shout. "It appears that the battle is joined. Too late for stealth now--we must hurry. If it is possible, I will allow your parlay, Frostheight, but I can make no guarantee of that now." My nomination as team leader may have expired without my knowledge, it appears. Bargrivyek's flail! We had better be right about Brundon!
he will no longer sneak, and enter the room, ending at q-12.
upon entering the room, .
"He is drawing power from The Bowl, 'Lord.' I think that your words will have no effect on him, though I will not silence you."
he will use Shield against an incoming attack by Brundon or a Large opponent
he says to Trissae, eyeing Amberglows' wounds "I heard your shouting. What has happened?"
Frostheight hurries down the stairs, deviating from Grellik by choosing the left entrance into the cellar. Looking into the rune-filled room and over the glowing glass bowl brimming with energy, he spies his lord standing at the end of the glowing glyphs.
"Lord Charles!" Frostheight calls out. "Your ritual! Is it truly to end the storm? OR to control it?! What are your intentions here?!" He shouts.
Lord Amberglow first looks to the unruly bard that charged into his ritual room, and then the large shapes looming up behind her. Then, his attention was caught by the largest of the three speaking with a new figure on the other side of the stone partition.
"You have led these bandits to me, Myer?! You have allowed them to dig their blades into me?! ME!? What I choose to do with the storm is above your station, Myer! I speak with the authority of the Waterbaron, and if you assist the bandits, then you will share their fate!"
He gestures toward the bowl, and stinging ice sweeps suddenly out from its glowing maw, lashing out toward Frostheight before curling inward. A line of ice traces itself in the air from one side of the partition, then around the bowl, ritual glyphs and himself, and right toward Trissae before finishing the rough circle back at the other end of the stone partition.
Dex save DC=20
Full damage on failed saving throw, half damage on success.
The ice quickly solidifies and thickens into a sturdy, icy wall, distorting the sight of Amberglow and the Bowl within. Cool air chills off of the ice wall, causing breath to fog in the air and ice to creep along the stone material of the room where it contacts the ice wall.
On the side of the wall with the visible Bogsharks, large sized icy hands begin to form out of the side of the icewall as energy from the bowl pours against the wall from that location from within.
Also, the raven has vanished completely.
Adrien activates Cursed Sight as a Bonus Action and searches the room for anything hidden.
He'll also move over to H9.
Trissae twirls with a sharp spin inside to avoid the wall, however the sudden slickness of the ground catches her footing and she slides safely but ungracefully forward.
"Thug!" She shouts in anger as she glares at Amberglow.
Sliding away the lyre, Trissae flicks her wrists in the air and weaves arcane letters above her head. Uttering arcana beneath her breath she then sings out, "♪ You say all things pass, in-to the night! And I say, Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong..♪"
As a ring of mystical energy whips out and slams against the ice wall.
Won't you listen to me...♪" Then she darts toward the bowl drawing her sword.