Flare takes a moment to dig through her pack, and then places a small piece of stonework that she'd made that morning. A really simple piece with a sunsetting across crashing waves. She rested it on the arm of the throne, so that maybe if someone else came through, they wouldn't find the place completely lacking in beauty.
Cynthia waited patiently to be sure that the haunting effect was truly gone. Most things of this type didn't show up more than once a day or so. Most. She had no intention of dying just because of something like failing to imagine alternate possibilities.
Once the effect wears off, the cleric shakes his head and tries to regain some sense of himself. "What was that? What's a haunt?" Thalion straightens his armor, takes a deep breath, and head back toward that room to revisit the blood effect.
"Just think of it as a particularly persistent magical effect that occasionally shows up." Cynthia explained. "They're nasty and frightening, but as long as you're careful, it's possible to manage. Still, it's not uncommon for there to be more than one in a single area. We'll need to be particularly cautious when moving to new areas, probably having one person go in at a time."
You go back and the effect seems to have passed for now it doesn't return right away at least.
"I guess that means I'm up again..?" Flare asked, hefting the Polearm over a shoulder to 'rest' it as she headed for the room, ready to slip into her deadly dance at a moment's notice.
"Or thereabouts." Cynthia said, nodding slightly as she followed Flare in - after waiting for a few moments - and began to carefully examine the chamber for anything of note.
"No doubt more of the castle will be trapped in a similar way, this may be more difficult than we expected."
Riven would repeatedly cast Detect Magic as they moved through the area.
Updated map. The blood room is the circular area at the top with the stairs going up and down.
"Mostly empty. A few doors. Give me a heads-up if you spot any strong magic?" Flare asks as she continues to explore. She checks each door, in a clockwise direction, checking to see what's behind each as she goes, and keeping her weapon ready to defend herself, but still out of the way. Per Cynthia, she won't actually go up or down any stairs.
You head down the little hallway below the blood room and open the first door and find and office of sorts.
Trophy displays for armor and weapons, along with a large bed, an ornate writing desk, lie in shambles in this chamber, smashed to ruins. A thick layer of dust clings to everything in the room.
The dead captain of the castle guards still sits in the chair that would have been in front of the desk when you open the door he rises.
He wears a dragon helm and the bloodstained remnants of a destroyed suit of half-plate, and while his sword still hangs at his belt, he makes no move to draw it.
He is a wight. A very dangerous opponent who can drain the energy from a living being with his claws and anyone killed this way becomes another wight in less than a minute.
You all go before the enemy except for cynthia.
"Withdraw to the throne room." Flare says as she suddenly shifts her posture. "There's a Wight and we need to be able to all hit it to take it down! If it kills us, well become one, so stay back if you're not as protected!"
Victor drinks his Cognotogen immediately, feeling his mental prowess increase as he follows Flare's advice, withdrawing backwards while waiting patiently for the creature to enter into his sight.
(Fortunately I can move and drink at the same time!)
Thalion frowns at the mention of a Wight, and heeds Flare's advice and makes her way back toward the open space.
If she can safely do so Riven summons a lightning bolt about the size of a lance and hurls it towards the undead then immediately retreats with the others.
Once Cynthia gets as clear as she's going to, Flare withdraws to the stairwell/blood room, and turns to try to buy her allies more time... when/if the thing tries to come into range, she hooks her weapon under its leg and pulls.
Well victor moved as far as he could after taking a standard. Everyone else I just sort of grouped up.
"Yeah guys, keep going. Back to the throne room if you can, Flare called, an edge of panic in her voice. 'I don't want to be in here if that blood thing happens again... Flare thought, as she tried to keep her friends mobile.
Cynthia did as Flare requested, falling back to the throne area and working to keep well back from the Wight. She was... not very good in melee combat.
Victor backs slightly away, while drinking another extrac of his, hoping to see the Wight down the corridor and attack.
Since Flare had stayed in the room instead of following everyone Riven wouldn't be able to get in an attack so instead she'd fall back and ready an attack with her spear if the monster came through.
After hooking the Wight's leg out from under it, Flare shifts her weight, whipping the weapon around in a wide arc, before bring it down atop the prone creature. She didn't even wait to see if she actually hurt it before moving back down the hallway after her allies.
From the noise, it seemed the enemy had been tripped a bit further back... but, unfortunately, it was well away from Cynthia's line of sight, so there wasn't a whole lot she could do. Given her generally fragile nature, she felt no temptation at all to press her luck and rush forward to gawk like some schoolgirl.
The wight follows and Flare trips it. She strikes it while it's down giving it a minor injury. She then retreats back.
The wight gets up and chases on it's turn provoking an attack fro Riven and she stabs it. It stop there (at f5) and attacks Riven.
If that hits Riven also gains a negative level. Your go again.
Victor hurls a bomb, determined to crush the wight while his buffs are still active.
Indeed Victor trows his bomb and blows the wight to bits and pieces.
"I... Alright."
Flare nods, and looks over to Riven. "You do -not- look alright." she said as she moved over to look her over, where she'd been struck.
"Indeed. Being struck by a similar effect again could be... bad." Cynthia said, examining Riven carefully. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the kind of effect her manipulation of fortune could have stopped - perhaps it would be worth learning to manipulate misfortune as well. The Shaman seemed a little worried about continuing forward, given the degree of trouble the group seemed to be experiencing.
"What are you both talking about! What's wrong with Riven?" Thalion studies Riven carefully, wondering what has happened to her dear friend, one of few who knows yet appreciates his insatiable appetite for...
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see that you'd stopped, and if I had, I'd have stopped closer." Flare seemed to be taking it personally that Riven had been hurt instead of herself, if the defeated, slumped shoulders or the mouth twisted into a grimace... Or even the way her eyes were set had anything to say for it. Never mind the tone.
"I'll be fine, We can rest tomorrow." She didn't try to hide her injuries but she could walk so she would press on with the group.
Your eyes are drawn to the sword left behind by the wight. The longsword remains in it's scabbard which is blue and black the hilt gold plated and end in a birds head with blue emeralds for eyes.
Staying as far back as possible, Cynthia focused and began using Detect Magic on the sword, scanning it for any sign of lingering magical ability. Which wouldn't help much if someone had, say, poisoned the hilt just to mess with whoever picked it up... but hey, you had to start somewhere.
The sword is indeed magical.
Riven wasn't in the position to risk messing with the sword so she'd wait for others while she kept watch.
"It has a fairly impressive aura. Definitely magical." Cynthia observed, walking over and picking the weapon up. This wasn't a good place for an in-depth examination of the item. "Shall we move on?"
You examine the rest of the area and find the castle also has a theater...an inner courtyard that may have once been a great garden but now all the plant life has died and finally you find a temple dedicated to Asmodeus. That about covers the first floor. This assumes you just open the doors and peek inside without entering. Let me know if you decided to properly search these rooms before going up or down.
"Does just looking count as clearing out the floor or do I have to actually go in the rooms?" Flare asks as she looks through the doors... Then walks straight into the theatre without a second thought, looking around, drawn in by the architecture and acoustics.
"Best to thoroughly examine them, I believe. One never knows what sorts of things are squirreled away." Cynthia said, keeping well behind Flare but continuing to look around.
...And probably not missing much.
In the temple you find a hidden stash of goods. Two potions, three scrolls and a wand.
in the ballroom: Searching the ballroom reveals not only that a terrible
battle took place here long ago, but also that at least one of the aggressors in the fight possessed prodigious strength, judging from the deep gouges in the walls near the largest bloodstains (the gouges appear to have been created by an enormous axe or similar weapon in several places). You find nothing of value here.
Make a knowledge nature check.
Flare will do her best to keep resistance active on anyone who stays close to her, should something suddenly occur... they'll be a little better off.
"I... have no idea what could have done this." Flare says as she looks over the room, if she'd known anything at all, she'd have shared it, and maybe that would have helped jog someone's memory. But alas.
You notice a plan growing were several corpses are piled up and recognize it as an assassin vine.