"Look all, perhaps we'd best all go into the room with Teo before he pulls the lever again." Callie waves them forward.
With a sigh, Matoska follows Callie into the room and gives Teo a reproachful look.
He lets his gaze wander around the chamber, wondering about strange mechanisms that allow the walls to shift and rotate.
Korriban walks into the room. "Let's just try to stick together. Wherever we get sent."
"Hold on tight!"
https://youtu.be/ItRfMZ3qyQw
As you all cluster into the small chamber, Teodor pulls the lever again. As expected, the room rotates, bringing you all around to face the first chamber that Teodor and Callie saw.
But now, there's someone in it.
A gray-haired man, middle-aged but still lithe and clearly fit, stands before you. His clothes are ragged, and he's smeared with filth, but his grip as he clutches a javelin in one hand is steady. Another javelin is on his back, and a small blade tucked into his belt. It's Vencarlo Orsini!
He stares at you for a moment, and then bursts out laughing. "My friends! I can't believe it. It's really you?! I can't believe I've met you here...when I first heard the gears move again, I thought that it was someone come in here to finally kill me." He grins with relief.
Although you're mostly happy to see Vencarlo again, something seems...off about him. His smile's too tight, and his words feel too formal. This seems too good to be true.
Wait a minute. Vencarlo is missing two of the fingers on his left hand. This man isn't.
Crap.
Taking in the stranger's scent--and his hand--Matoska steps out in front of the others with a snarl and shifts back into his human form.
Dropping into a fighting stance, he bares his teeth at the man. "You are not Vencarlo Orsini. You've too many fingers on your hand, whatever you are."
"Something is off for sure."
Matoska and Teo's word is convincing enough for her. Callie flicks her sword into her hand and points it in the general direction of the man's throat.
"Who are you, and where is the real Vencarlo? I am only asking once." She jabs her blade forward (not harming him but getting uncomfortably close) to punctuate "once."
Lantressa gave a surprised cry at the appearance of Vencarlo that turned into a sigh of relief as he spoke to them and identified himself. She thought this might be easier than expected until the others began to demand to know who he was and gave a compelling reason why. She was now on her guard and ready for a fight if it turned out one was in the offing.
The non-Vencarlo looks visibly surprised at Matoska's transformation. They look slightly taken aback, as well, by your group's immediate move to confront them. Their eyes - so like Vencarlo's, but not - flicker from Matoska, to Teodor, and finally to Callie, landing, for obvious reasons, on the tip of Callie's blade. They break out suddenly into a smirk.
"Well, well, well. I'm not sure he even knew that you could do that, wolf-walker. Well played. Very well, I'm not Vencarlo Orsini. But I do know where he is. And I can help you out...if you help me." They grasp the javelin in their hand more firmly. "We have a common enemy, my friends. The man you know as Glorio Arkona. He's a criminal - you likely know this. But he's not who he says he is, and he's utterly ruthless. He sent you in here to die - and I suspect that he hoped you'd kill me while you were in here. If you accompany me back to the mansion above, we can bring him down together, and I'll let you take Orsini out of here. We're better off together, both there and down here - a fiend stalks this labyrinth, and she's utterly bound to Glorio. Let's throw in together. What say you? Join me, kill Glorio, kill the fiend if we must, and you can take your friend and go."
Matoska doesn't even try to hide his incredulity. "You say a fiend stalks the labyrinth, and here you are wearing the shape of the one we seek. You'd best have a compelling tale to persuade me that you aren't the very same fiend. I want answers, deceiver, or I'll beat them out of you!"
Korriban gets a huge grin on his face as Vencarlo makes his appearance. However, when the others point out the impostor's mistake, the swordsman gets a scowl on his face and levels his rapier at "Vencarlo's" throat. Hearing the impostor's proposal and Matoska's rebuttal, Korriban chimes in. "He has a point. Why should we trust you? We really don't trust Glorio in the first place. And how do you know who we're looking for and who sent us down here? How do you know all this? Have you been spying on us?"
"We don't need you to do anything we need to accomplish down here! You didn't answer either of my questions." She snarls low. "And I wasn't bluffing about 'once'."
And with that Callie swings at the impostor with a whirl of her blade!
As Callie lunges toward them, the false Vencarlo responds with preternatural speed. Dodging quickly backward , they pull their arm back and hurl the javelin at Callie - and it transforms into a bolt of electricity! The bolt flies toward Callie, who ducks, getting singed; behind her, Korriban hits the floor and springs back up with a roll and Lantressa manages to evade the worst of it.
"Very well," the false Vencarlo says, the sound of cold menace now clear in their voice. "If you'll not help me to slay Bahor, I can kill you and report my success just as easily." They draw the other javelin from their back.
Callie follows the stranger's step, darting into the room. Now able to see around the corner, she spots another lever similar to the one that you've been pulling in the corner of this room. Her first stab barely misses as the foe twists, and Callie's blade pierces nothing but their ragged shirt.
Initiative
Strange "Vencarlo"
The heroes!<------
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Lantressa managed to dodge the worst of the electrical blast and what little did hit her was mostly negated due to her natural resistance to such things. She wasn't pleased at this turn of events but it could have been far worse. She turned her gaze to the false Vencarlo as she chanted and gestured and then said, "So a woman died and got brought before Pharasma and her life was so balanced they didn't know what to do with her. She was given her choice of destination and she chose to go to the Abyss. Phasrasma looks at her and asked, 'Why would you want to go there? It's a terrible place!' The girl looks at her and says, 'but didn't you know? Demons are a girl's best friend!'."
After the following the imposter with the speed of a practiced swordswoman and using the opening to jab at their foe, Callie taunts the creature. "You're obviously not Orsini, he never would open himself up so stupidly!"
She steps to the side (to make easier room for others moving in to flank) again with skilled speed.
And she again lunges at the creature , fuelling her blade with arcane power .
Callie's first blow strikes the false Vencarlo as she lunges forward and slashes his stomach...but to her amazement (and, no doubt, alarm) it just glides off like water. The man smirks, though he looks more annoyed after he hurls his javelin and all of you manage to dodge the worst of its effects. He snorts slightly in response to Lantressa's joke, but Lantressa can feel that her magic had no effect on him - and it wasn't the fault of the humor. He continues to look cocky until Callie lunges again and the tip of her longsword pierces his shoulder. It doesn't sink in as far as Callie feels like it should...but when she pulls the blade back, a trickle of red blood does ooze out. The man looks back toward her, cold fury in his eyes and no longer smiling at all.
"This magical silver blade doesn't hurt him as much as it should!" Callie announces to the others, hoping they'll get the gist they should try other tacs.
Teodor doesn't know what this thing is, but he'll Doom it anyway.
Korriban scowls as the false Vencarlo attacks the group. Korriban jumps into the fray, running towards the fake and stabbing at it! "So, Glorio is someone called Bahor, huh? Thanks for telling us!"
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"Bahor's the fiend."
As the others leap into combat Matoska take a moment to center himself, performing a quick kata and envisioning his next move. Darting forward to join Korriban and Callie, the Shoanti launches a brutal kick at the non-Orsini's knee, attempting to bring it down.
Teodor attempts to doom this mysterious creature, but they ignore the curse; they also parry Korriban's stab with the javelin, and completely ignore Matoska's clumsy trip attempt. They flow easily back into the corner, and Callie steps forward, lunging after them to stab as they aim the second javelin at her. Her blow lands once more, but doesn't penetrate the strange being's skin! "He" smirks and completes the smooth throwing action; Callie manages to dodge the worst of the resulting lightning bolt, but is still scorched. The mysterious being draws a kukri from their belt and, facing down Callie with Matoska and Korriban close behind her, glances back into the room at the lever protruding from the wall.
Initiative
Strange "Vencarlo"
The heroes!<------
"Vencarlo": HP: 199 | AC/T/FF: 28/19/22 | F+15 R+16 W+15 (+2 vs. enchantments) | CMD 38 | DR 15/good and piercing | evasion | SR 25
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Lantressa cursed when her spell failed to take effect, though she somehow felt that it wasn't resisted, and the only thing she could come up with was that this fake had some kind of resistance to magic. She called out as she moved forward, "It has a resistance to magical spells!" Then she promptly began to cast a spell and a quintet of energy bolts shot out at the man.
Callie decides the party needs more chances to hit this guy. Focusing on casting her spell carefully...
And successfully casts haste upon all party members.
She then leaps, attempting to catapult herself off the wall and somersault over the false Orsini's head to land behind it.
She speaks of swordsmastery and how the creature doesn't deserve to wear the master's face.
Unable to reach to combat, Matoska bides his time.
Korriban takes a deep breath before running past Callie and trying to flip over the Fake Vencarlo, go off the wall, and land where the lever is to try and cut off the fraud.
Teodor doesn't bother getting involved in the bottleneck, the others were all more formidable warriors. He invoked Groetus, "Lord God Almighty, let this one's end come faster. Sharpen the blades of Korriban and Callie!"
Unable to get at the false Vencarlo through the press of bodies, Matoska instead draws a javelin and takes aim.
Lantressa's quintet of magic missiles slams into "Vencarlo," but they dissipate harmlessly across his skin. Callie casts a spell enhancing everyone's speed, and tries to tumble past the foe, but is forced to retreat as they lash out with the kukri and slice her arm! Korriban also tries to flip over the foe's head, but only makes it halfway as they pirouette, slice his leg, and send him tumbling back to where he started! Both Callie and Korriban's legs twitch, and the blade that "Vencarlo" wields crackles and sparks with electricity. As Teodor invokes Groetus, Matoska readies his aim and, seeing an opportunity, hurls his javelin!
As Callie and Matoska expect, the false Vencarlo steps back toward the lever. Matoska's javelin just barely misses their head as they duck, and Callie lunges forward to follow your foe. Looking annoyed, the false Vencarlo turns their blade toward her. Their first strike, so fast that Callie can barely see it, lands a cut along one arm that sends a jolt of electricity into her body, and Callie feels herself go rigid as her nerves ignite and her blade drops from her trembling fingers! The foe's backswing glances off Callie's armor, but the last opens a nasty gash in her side and is followed up by a punch that nearly breaks Callie's nose and sends her, crumpled, to the ground.
"ENOUGH!" they call. "Stop this now. I won't hesitate to kill your friend here if you press this attack."
"Vencarlo": HP: 199 | AC/T/FF: 28/19/22 | F+15 R+16 W+15 (+2 vs. enchantments) | CMD 38 | DR 15/good and piercing | evasion | SR 25
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"What are you, creature?! Why in all the Hells should we trust a damn thing you have to say when you wouldn't answer any of our questions?" Matoska's stance doesn't ease in the slightest, but but whatever this...thing, wearing Vencarlo's face, is...it's made it quite apparent that it knows how to fight yet it didn't choose to press its advantage. Despite himself some part of the Shoanti warrior's curiosity was piqued.
"I was afraid you'd turn on me if you knew who I was. But we do share a common foe in Glorio Arkona. Let's put blades down, and I'll tell you my tale and show you my face. Sound fair?" the false Vencarlo asks.
"Forgive my youngers, they've grown up violent. In a labyrinth, and against this foe, all allies are welcome." Teodor puts his scythe down.
Lantressa ceased attacking when Teodor started speaking. She was willing to let it talk rather than outright kill it. She was on her guard, though, ready for a return to hostilities.