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Darc, adopting a stance that seems to come naturally, kicks repeatedly at the loathsome thing on legs... again and again he kicks out - yet, for all of his ferocity, only one of his attacks actually hits.
...yet maybe the attacks have unsettled the beast, for when it attempts to stab at Darc, it wavers and flails ineffectually.
...and, despite all of the ruckus, still no-one approaches from the western doors.
"Begone," Tella says as she focuses her thoughts on the creature once more.
Her eyes widen for a moment before she flinches away from the horrid creature and clutches her head in pain.
The Stirge immediately sees what looks like child-sized hands pushing out from the spider creature. "By the gods, it looks like there's a child trapped inside that thing!" He continues to weave and bob, trying to fool the creature before he strikes.
He would like to avoid slicing the apparent child if possible.
As Darc kicked out at the creature, he notices the child inside as the Stirge calls out too. A child, encased in a prison of spikes, what cruel beast would do such a thing. Darc stops his attacks and starts to admonish the boy in a stern voice, "Stop now young one, whoever punished you like this, it was not us. But if you continue you will suffer under my hand. Stop now and you will not be punished further." He wags his hand at the child, as a teacher scolding a naughty boy.
Ruby and Darc, between them, give the creature enough reason to flee... but, perhaps starved of prey, it continues to attack...
...and succumbs to the inevitable. Once more the Stirge swings his blade, and this time the skittering thing cannot survive the devastating blow... screeching, the creature is virtually sliced into two as the metal edge of the sword cleaves through flesh and 'thunks' into the damp floorboards. Quickly, the flaccid body of the beast deflates - with the group concerned that they may be about to find a consumed child, it is some relief to see that it becomes flat and empty against the floor... no evidence whatsoever of anything having ever been contained within it.
Fearful he may have made a terrible mistake as he slices the creature, the Stirge lets out a sigh of relief as no child is found within. Still the entire affair has him ready to take it to Mean. "I don't know how a creature like that gets into the oven, but I bet Urias Mean does. I think it's time for some answers."
After cleaning off the mess from his sword, the Stirge is seen casting a spell on it. He then readies himself for the next door--the one Elise is guarding--checking for traps or sounds beyond.
Elsie nods silently and steps to one side of the door, ready for the Stirge to lead the way.
"Just another day in the Blight," Tella replies bitterly as she rubs her temples and keeps her eyes closed, "though, most aren't quite so adamant about rejecting my magic. I'm afraid I wasn't much use in that scuffle."
If everything seems clear, the Stirge wordlessly signals the party his intentions so they can prepare, then opens up the next door.
Once the group are satisfied it is safe to proceed, the Stirge pushes open the door, leading into a smaller room beyond. Hundreds of books line shelves in this room. The books glower over a peculiarly fleshy alchemist’s laboratory whilst a grim collection of grinning masks and hoods hang from hooks and chains suspended from the ceiling. There are many more hoods than masks, and most of the hoods are double ones - as if the wearer was two-headed. Among the disturbingly fleshy pigskin hoods, hoods made from sacks with eyes cut out, and single huge hoods is a saggy double hood that has had the second hood sewn into it at some time.
Distressingly, the laboratory has clearly been used to experiment upon a selection of the captive felines - several dead cats, shaved and cut open, are pinned to the workbenches within the room.
...there is a single exit, to the west, from this room.
As Darc looks into the room, he stops and looks around at the others. "This is plenty confusing, all books and masks, not my field at all." He stands guard and watches as the others investigate.
Elsie shudders as the scene unfolds before her eyes. "This...this is...horrifying..." Swallowing her bile at the revolting scene she picks around a couple of the hoods. "What did he use these hoods for?"
The Stirge is curious about the masks, especially the ones that aren't doubled up. He wonders if there's any indication of an ally or accomplice in those masks.
Other than that curiosity, he seems most interested in guarding the next door. He assumes they are close to their destination, and that an attack might come their way. As such, he keeps a watchful eye.
Tella nearly faints when she sees the corpses of the tortured cats. It takes her more than a few moments before she's able to distance herself enough to be able to look at things properly.
The examination of the hoods reveals nothing other than a willingness of the wearer to don grotesque constructions... and, moving on, the group consider the library of tomes. They have barely considered the titles when a voice, garrulous and vile to listen to, calls out...
"Come out... weapons down and we can talk..."
Pushing the door open, the Stirge reveals a cluttered living room furnished with comfortable oak chairs, a large table, and a small stove. The walls have several cupboards, while across the chamber are several cages and huge bell jars; the animals within start screaming and yelling and howling... and there, stood in the middle of the room, are two rat-like men and, standing behind them, a two-headed man!!!
The man who called out to the group wears voluminous attire that is colourful, if faded, with sewn remnants of at least a hundred other items made into one eye-catching patchwork. However, not one but two heads fight for space through his torn collar, and while one is handsome, with an oiled moustache and neatly groomed hair, the second is a sack of cankerous flesh. At least three mouths open up from this monstrosity, and a look of blind idiocy crosses the abstract features of this unwelcome additional visage.
"Mister Mahaas, I presume? As you can see I am unarmed and armored, would you be willing to answer a few questions for me if I step into the room," Tella asks from her place behind The Stirge.
Indeed, the man in the room is most certainly the fellow that Tella saw in her vision at the Ghat...
"And who are you, to be trespassing in my home? Uninvited, unknown, unwanted... tell me, my pretty, why should I not let my friends have their fun with you..."
...it isn't obvious, from the way that the man looks around, as to whether his 'friends' are the wererats, the increasingly crazed animals in the cages here or even the spider-like creature from the oven - what is obvious though, is that this man does not mean his 'guests' well.
"We are here to see that justice is done, and believe me, if you wish for your next guests to kill you slowly, then by all means, set your friends on me," Tella replies, obviously unimpressed.
Elsie eyes the rat-men closely and lowers her blade, but she does not sheath her weapon. "Perhaps you should have answered the door when we knocked then." She responds to the freak in a level tone. "Now we only seek some answers. Be truthful, and we shall take our leave. Try to mislead us...and we will see justice done."
The Stirge sheaths his weapon, holds open his hands, and eases into the room. "You want to talk? Tell your rats to stand down. Then we talk."
Other than that request, he seems content to let the ladies do the actual questioning.
Darc stays back, quiet and silently as possible he puts his index finger across his mouth, pointing for Ruby to stay clear of the door. Indicating she should stay hidden until the matters in the room resolve themselves either peaceably or reinforcements should be required to help their companions.
"Who are you then? The watch? The family? Some upstart vigilante gang? No, no, no... let's not talk of 'justice' - there's no such thing!!!" Pulling a rapier from beneath his garishly coloured cloak, the man nods at the wererats... who approach with their yellowed teeth bared...
Elsie stares at the wererat with a fearful look, unwilling to be subjected to the curse their bite hold. Springing into action she dashes around the lead wererat and stabs hard at it with her rapier.
Seeing that Mahaas is rearing for an attack, the Stirge unsheathes his sword as quickly as he sheathed it. He takes two quick steps forward and brings his blade down hard on the wererat north of him. If he successfully strikes, the magics on the blade trigger as well, calling forth a powerful scream at the Wererat that only it can hear.
; .
"Try not to kill Mahaas. I don't have a way of getting information from his corpse," Tella tells the others flatly before intoning an arcane chat full of power and strength and touching Darc's shoulder.
"Just because you don't believe it exists in this fetid cesspool of a city doesn't mean that it won't come your time to receive it, Mr. Mahaas," Tella says as she crosses her arms and faces the man squarely, "I've seen the fates that await those that believe themselves above the law, both of mortals and of the divine. Last chance to surrender peacefully before things get ugly... for you."
The Stirge's blade, screeching with a noise that is imperceptible to everyone except its doomed target, smashes down upon the slow to react wererat... with a crunch of bone and a fountain of gore, the creature collapses to the floor.
Snarling in anger even as the second head starts to babble in a crazed high-pitched voice, Mahaas skirts around the room until he finds himself in an advantageous position to attack Eliseera... rushing in, he stabs at her with his rapier... he catches her with a brutal blow that leaves a deep wound. And, off balance, Eliseera can't protect herself against the very thing that she feared... a deep bite from the lycanthrope.
Elsie staggered from the blood loss, immediately retreats from the fight.
Before Eliseera withdraws, the Stirge attempts to attack the second wererat, bluffing a strike before swinging for real.
;
He will then take a step closer toward Mahaas.
Ending the lycanthrope's life with a brutal flourish of his sword, the Stirge turns the odds very definitely in favour of the investigators...
"You've seen what they are willing to do. Don't you think it'd be a good idea to surrender to me," Tella asks as she walks up behind The Stirge, infusing her words with mystic power. Her eyes glow white as she unlocks the power of her psyche and unleashes upon Mahaas' mind.
Darc skirts around the room, until he is close to the two headed Mahaas, seeking to rip the rapier from the creatures grasp and rasp into the things ear, "You won't be needing this. You are without hope, give up and my friends might even feel generous and let you go with your life." Darc's words and deep slow and full of controlled anger as he awaits for the thing to respond to Tella's special powers.
Mahaas, his strange mis-shapen head still screeching and whistling, is momentarily quieted... he looks towards Tella then towards the imposing figure of the Stirge - standing over the pair of swiftly despatched wererat - and then back to Tella. Fixing her with strangely attractive eyes, Mahaas lowers his rapier, "You... I could... maybe I should..."
His train of thought is abruptly stopped as Darc rips the weapon from his hands... and any desire to surrender seems to evaporate. Pushing away from Darc and moving through the junk of the room, evan as the various creatures in their cages and jars jump and scratch against their imprisonment, Mahaas pulls a vial of from beneath the depths of his cloak, "Don't none of you move... If you do, I'll burn you all just like I burnt that girl down at the river".
The vial, scorched glass and spherical, seems to contain liquid fire... boiling and arcing within the confines of Mahaas' 'bomb', even the untrained eye can see that this is no mere 'Alchymist's Fire'.
On seeing the bomb and hearing the confession, the Stirge gets really, really mad. He looks into Mahaas's eyes and issues a single command. "DROP!"
If this works and the area around Mahaas doesn't turn into an inferno, the Stirge will move three squares diagonally to engage him. Though he recognizes that Tella has a powerful charm effect she might try again.
Tella starts laughing, a gentle, chiming sound at first, but growing deeper, more sinister with each moment. Tella's form changes into her normal appearance. White hair, and deep, soul-drinking, black eyes. She grows taller and her clothing changes into dress of reds and blacks.
"Oh very well done! I am truly in awe of courage in immolating a poor, defenseless girl Mahaas, but I already knew that," she crones, her voice smooth as silk and as dark as a starless night.
"By all means, throw that at me, try to burn me as you burned poor Constance, although you probably only knew her as Chantelle. Toss your vial at me and learn the futility of trying to burn a fiend born of hellfire! Do it Mahaas! Do it or surrender and beg for my mercy! Grovel at my feet, worm! NOW!"
Tella concentrates on the vial, sending her will out to from a hand that catches it before it can shatter on the floor.
At the Stirge's word, Mahaas resolve seems to wither... he looks, or at least one of his heads looks, somewhat forlornly at the glass vial in his hand...
Seeing that Mahaas is about to drop the vial, the Stirge stays right where he is. "How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine, Mahaas?"
Elsie's eyes widen as she sees Mahaas refer to the burning women at the river. Knowing that vial was indeed the key to unraveling the mystery. "He must NOT drop it!" She exclaims, her wounds forgotten as she springs towards the misshapen man...
Darc's eyes close to mere slits of hate, watching intently Mahaas' every move. The muscles on the fighter's body tense up, ready to pounce. As he watches Eliseera plunge forward. "Nooo!" he shouted as a reflex to his friends Elise move. Darc gets ready to act, or react to Mahaas' actions. Either to rush and pull Elise from the conflagration should the flask burst forth into flame and death or to tackle Mahhas to the floor and stop his escape.
Darc, seeing Mahaas eyes fixate upon Tella, realises that the freak is almost certain to drop the vial... lucky then that both Eliseera and Tella are ready to avert the potential disaster - Darc's companion dashing across the room and, diving at the last instant, catches the falling container mere inches before it smashes...
With both heads growling at the friends, and the vial - Mahaas' apparent bargaining chip - no longer in his grasp, Mahaas thumps at a wall panel behind him... with the unmistakable sound of clockwork a, previously well-hidden, door swings open... and, just beyond this new exit, a 15 feet bridge out into the Castorhage night clatters into position. Shouting at the group, "You'll pay... I'll find you again - and next time, I'll have the upper hand!!!"
...rushing out across the bridge, Mahaas kicks at as he makes it across to the far side - and, collapsing upon itself, the majority of the rickety structure falls into the alleyway below.
"You're not getting away that easily . . ." Upset that his prey was on the loose, the Stirge makes the dangerous attempt to leap across to the other side.
He lets out a sigh of relief as he clears the gap.
Placing a hand on Darc, Tella lets out a soft clear note that seems to reverberate in one's head until it sounds like a chord.
[ooc]Casting Fly on Darc
"You have seven minutes, stop him, though I would like to catch him alive. If not, I'm sure he left something here."
Turning to the others, the investigator asks, "anyone else want to go after him?"
Elsie staggers to her feet, her heart pounding rapidly now realizing what her fate would have been had she miscalculated. She gingerly hands the vial off to Tella and secures her gear. "We may have the source of this outbreak, but we do not have all the answers! Hang onto this Tella while Darc and I go after him!" She exclaims while she dashes off after the Stirge.