She had to say this, the necrophilliac elf was agile, she couldn't believe this person was a necromancer, she was to tumbly, more like what she'd have expected from Korriban. With no way to get close, and not about to hit her companions with a spell, Lantressa once again sent a volley of missiles, this time sending them straight into the elf.
Teodor channels again.
Korriban runs down the stairs and flanks with Callie. He feels her tale bolstering him as he stabs at the elf, although he tries to knock her out rather than kill her. "Nice moves, Harlequin. But, you're not the only one who can do that. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender."
"Urgh! What is it with you people and spraying things?!" The elf cringes, her hand darting backward, as Callie greases the door. "Sweet Pallid Lady, if I didn't know better I'd swear you had some kind of--argh!" Lantressa's missiles slam into her as Riceak quaffs a potion and moves up, crowding her into the door. Korriban drops down to face her as well, stabbing at her, but the blow glances off her...dress? Teodor summons the healing light of Groetus again as his spider vanishes, with a crackle and a whiff of ozone.
"Grrrrr...think you're some kinda big deal, huh?! Well, you're not the only one with magic, Tails!" Waving her hands and muttering something, the elf gestures at the door and it opens with a click, swinging into the room beyond. She darts through it. "Haha! Lonnie, Donnie, Johnnie, Ramirez, come greet our guests!"
Beyond her, you can see a dining room laid for a nice banquet...though it looks as though some of the food has begun to attract flies. Eight corpses sit at the table, of which four are zombies, posed and mechanically going through the motions of eating. At her call, those four begin to struggle from their chairs; on the gallery level, the fifth zombie staggers to the head of the stairs and down the first few, approaching Teodor. "Arrrrrgggggh..."
Initiative
Teodor
Foes
Callie, Korriban, Lantressa, Riceak<----
Corpses: HP: 12 each | AC/T/FF: 12/10/12 (orange 10/8/10) | Fort +0 Ref +0 Will +3 | CMD: 14 | DR 5/slashing
Crazy Elf: HP: 22 + 2 nonlethal | AC/T/FF: 21/15/16 | Fort +4 Ref +10 Will +4 | CMD: 21 | evasion, uncanny dodge
Callie rolls her eyes at the elf's clever casting, but sees she does have some arcane skill along with her athleticism. Skill-wise, the lass kind of reminded Callie of herself, if Callie were a deluded, zombie-loving twit, at least. She can't remember ever being that annoying or devoid of sense of reality, even during shiver dreams, and that was saying something.
Callie also logs mentally that the woman called to the "Pallid Lady" and remembered Riceak call Urgathoa the "Pallid Princess." This apparently was all connected after all.
Anyway, the spell no longer being useful, Callie dismisses the grease with a flick of her wrist (). She decides to cast her own spell--given they did have a few minor things in common, why not borrow a page from the elf's book?
She halts her storytelling, pausing to say dramatically, "To be continued..." And then ends her performance (). Given all the spellslinging and potion drinking going on, not to mention rapier-deflective dresses, she felt like it wasn't being very helpful anyway.
She casts vanish (), not bothering to be defensive since the elf still has no melee weapon out. She then darts through the now-open doorway, running into the room past the zombies and elf who should, ostensibly, be unable to see her. Trying to guess where the elf might continue her retreat to, she picks one of the two doors on the far side of the grisly scene in the dining area, using her still-enhanced speed to go the long way around and stop in front of the door--hopefully blocking the elf from running through it. Of course with our luck, she'll try the other...
"I've no wish to hurt you, but you're getting boring. Zombies? Again? How blasé! I mean, desecration the bodies of these overfed, over privileged s&*!stains of humanity is funny and all, but you think too small. No artistry. Surrender or know The Lord's End."
Riceak quickly and swiftly closed the gap again. He swung his sword so fast his two swings looked like he had attacked just one!
"Well now, seems we have crashed your party! It's only fair I guess since you crashed theirs! You see? I made a funny! And it was even funnier than any joke you've ever made or will make! Hahaha!"
Lantressa just rolled her eyes at the appearance of more zombies. She made the same chant and gestures to send more bolts of force into the necromancer.
As Teodor's light fries most of the zombies, causing them to stagger in their chairs, Callie vanishes and darts into the room while Riceak moves to engage the elf. She ducks his first blow, but the second catches her in the side. "Argh! Alright, I'm gonna make you--" And then Lantressa's missiles clobber her, knocking her out cold!
Initiative
Teodor
Foes
Callie, Korriban, Lantressa, Riceak<----
Corpses: HP: Blue 8, others 3 each | AC/T/FF: 12/10/12 (orange 10/8/10) | Fort +0 Ref +0 Will +3 | CMD: 14 | DR 5/slashing
Crazy Elf: HP: -1 + 2 nonlethal | AC/T/FF: 21/15/16 | Fort +4 Ref +10 Will +4 | CMD: 21 | evasion, uncanny dodge
"Korriban, I'm watching you. No funny business."
Korriban is confused as his rapier bounces off of the elf's dress. She then opens the door and, at the sight of the numerous zombies, Korriban's eyes widen. "What the s**t?! Bad place! Bad place!" When the elf goes down from Lantressa's spell, Korriban smiles, turns to her, and says, "Nice one, Tress!"
Korriban looks at Teodor and says, "Not going to happen. Come on." He then breathes deeply, runs in and tries to stab at one of the zombies.
Korriban lunges for the nearest zombie, but only succeeds in skewering a rotting chicken off the table (gross). The zombie from upstairs staggers down them, following Teodor, while the others struggle out of their chairs and turn on the intruders--you! The two nearest shamble toward Korriban and grasp at him; he manages to dodge the first one's grasping claws, sending it crashing into the table, but the other connects solidly with the side of his head! The other two zombies stagger around the table, also reaching for Korriban...
Riceak beheads one as it staggers past him, not noticing him in the doorway as it's intent on the target that first presented itself. The elf just lies on the ground, blood trickling from her nose.
Initiative
Teodor
Foes
Callie, Korriban, Lantressa, Riceak
Corpses: HP: 3 each | AC/T/FF: 12/10/12 | Fort +0 Ref +0 Will +3 | CMD: 14 | DR 5/slashing
Crazy Elf: HP: -2 + 2 nonlethal | AC/T/FF: 21/15/16 | Fort +4 Ref +10 Will +4 | CMD: 21 | evasion, uncanny dodge
Annoyed that her plan was likely too little too late--but also relieved they don't have to keep chasing the elf--Callie at least takes advantage of her position to try to dispatch the unaware purple zombie as it moves away from her.
She fades into view as she relieves the zombie of one of its legs.
She then moves around to the other side of the table to assist Korriban with the remaining zombies.
And that zombie too, becomes an ex-zombie.
"Someone tie the elf up before she comes to!"
Korriban's eyes widen in confusion when he sees what he has skewered. "Chicken?! Wha-" He then sees the zombies swinging at him. He ducks under the hands of the first one. However, he does feel the blow from the second one on his head. "Ow! Okay, now I'm getting angry..." He then sees Callie appear and dispatch two of the zombies. He smirks. "Way to go, Blue!" He continues to stab at the zombie in front of him.
As Callie cuts down zombies left and right, Korriban managed to accurately skewer a zombie this time, but his slim blade doesn't seem to hit anything vital...the zombie just keeps reaching for him!
Lantressa saw that the zombies were going down without her help and knew that the others could handle them. She wanted to make sure that elf wasn't faking her unconsciousness and went over to her, dropping to her knees to straddled the elven woman, and leaned in very close to her lips to try and feel if she was still breathing.
Not trusting Korriban, Teodor works on tying up the elf.
After taking down both the evil elven jester woman and one of the zombies, Riceak heard the moaning of the zombie moving downstairs. Realizing that the priest would be at the undead's mercy (or lack thereof actually), the swordsman quickly did an about face and went after the monster, slashing it with two attacks!
Lantressa quickly ascertains that the elf is, in fact, still breathing and doesn't seem to be faking it--a fact confirmed when Teodor bends down and begin binding her. Riceak steps over to the zombie descending the stairs and neatly decapitates it, while the other zombie flails ineffectually at Korriban. He and Callie, though, make short work of it, and a strange hush falls over the rooms. You all catch your breath, as the last few minutes have been an action-packed whirlwind. The elf, for her part, lies on the floor, unconscious and now bound. She seems not to be in any imminent danger, but there's no indication that she'll wake up any time soon...
Combat Over
The map could still be useful.
Callie exhales, now that it seems over. "Let's keep her with us. I don't want to leave her somewhere only to see she's slithered away when we weren't looking. Is she stable? I would think Kroft would want her for questioning if possible."
She looks around, nose crinkling at sight and smell, now that she has time and less adrenaline to process it. "I feel like she was leading us on a 'tour' of the necromancy done here the way she was running around. We need to figure out what she wanted us to see... and what she didn't. I wonder if that 'Rolthy' is here, or was. I've heard of a necromancer by that name..."
She walks around, poking gently at the zombies with the tip of her sword--trying not to mutilate the corpses more than get a good look at them without having to get too close. Partly this is to be sure they're really down; partly this is to get a good look at their clothing and any features recognizable in spite of their rapid decay. "Poor sods. Cods-headed half-nibs the lot, I'm sure, given they were attending a 'forget the plague party' and all... but no soul deserves being denied Pharasma's embrace. There's always a chance they could come back better the next time." She tries to prod a hand into plain view to see if she recognizes a signet ring. "Perhaps as cows. Or fruit bats." She shakes her head, still talking, half to the group, half to herself. "Hopefully dispatching them has done the work needed. Still, when we're done here, I'm burying them. Don't expect you lot to stick around. There's a lot to do here before though anyways."
When she's done there, she opens the west door in the dining room.
"I'll ...do the Lord's rites for them."
Korriban groans. "Thank Calistria's a** it's over! So many zombies! Why are there so many zombies?!" He takes a few deep breaths. He leans his rapier against a wall and puts the wand back into the spring loaded wrist sheathe. He picks up his blade and looks around. "Yeah. Poor guys. No one deserves this." When Callie brings up Rolth, Korriban frowns. "If Rolth is here, then we're going to be in for a fight. Teodor and I have faced his minions before in the Gray District. We're going to have to search the mansion. Top to bottom. Kill off all the undead we find. And, this is just me. Take anything we can find." He looks at each of the corpses, trying to recognize them.
He then looks through each corpse for loot. He also searches the room for anything of interest or valuables.
Finally, he checks the two closed doors for any trouble on the other side before Callie opens them.
Riceak is a bit confused.
"Who is this Rolth person y'all are speaking of? He sounds familiar...But I agree we should cleanse this place of all undead. Also Teodor, since we are fighting undead, maybe summoning celestials would be helpful. And yes I know you don't tell me how to swing my sword, but I'm just saying: celestials are really helpful!"
"I find celestials offensively self-righteous. The Lord has no use for them. Our friends come not from some false, fleeting heaven, but from beyond."
Korriban looks at Riceak. "Rolth. He's a necromancer. Teodor and I haven't fought against him. But we and a couple of our other friends broke into his hideout in the Gray District. He had skeletons, giant snake skeletons, little blue derros and a weird human guy as henchmen, and a crazy giant monster made from different corpses. They even had a live prisoner. We had to retrieve the body of a Shoanti brave that he had chopped into pieces. Afterwards, I went back to see if I could find anything else in terms of loot. Completely deserted. Most of the remaining stuff was gone. Something didn't feel right. I got out of there as quickly as possible. This Rolth seems like a dangerous a**. Especially if he had a hand in all of this."
"Really? I would have thought a priest of the Lord of the End would find the summoning of celestials to his liking, since celestials wish to see the end of all evil, and the eradication of something would please your deity would it not? Not to mention, we are fighting undead and I'm pretty sure necromancers have no problem calling forth fiends to their sides so it might be wise to have some help from heavenly beings from time to time. Just saying," Riceak replied, hoping that his words meant he had won his debate with the odd priest.
"Oh! Well then...I guess we will need some celestials aiding us if this Rolth is as dangerous and vile as you say he is. I wonder if he is behind this plague. He seems to be the type to do that from your description of him. I guess it is best we start cleansing this place of evil then and hope we find some clues to what happened here."
"Heaven, hell, angel, demon, good, evil. Makes no difference. Everything ends. I call my friends from beyond. And you know nothing of my Lord. There is no pleasing, there is only truth. Everything ends. When the Lord ends your god or your devil, he feels nothing. Both are insignificant. "
Although Callie and Korriban examine the bodies closely, they don't immediately recognize any of the corpses--likely very minor nobility or members of the merchant classes.That would square with what you know of the Carowyns--they were never the biggest movers or shakers in Korvosa.
The one possible exception, thinking back, is the zombie dressed as a Galtan Queen on the second floor. Given the elf's commentary, that may be the corpse of Olauren Carowyn herself--the "lady of the house."
Korriban takes a quick listen at the door, but hears nothing; when Callie pushes it open, she finds a tiny vestibule with a door leading to the yard and another leading north into what's revealed as a small, well-tended living room. It's surprisingly clean and free of corpses...perhaps it wasn't being used for the party that fateful evening.
Though Korriban does a quick survey of the room and there are some objects of worth like jewelry on the corpses and some of the nicer flatware on the table, there's nothing of significant value. The costumes are actually pretty cheap (and most of them are now ruined by the stench of undeath and crossbow-bolt-induced holes, to boot).
When Korriban listens at the eastern door, he hears nothing.
"Riceak, I'm not a theologian, but I'm pretty sure if a priest summons a creature, it's from a realm his god is connected to--and thus approves of." She might be totally making this up, but maybe it sounds good. She sighs. "I too would prefer not to see fiendish creatures summoned, but I am not willing to take up the argument with Groetus, either. If you do, let me know how it goes."
Callie follows Korriban into the parlor to help poke around. She calls back into the dining room, continuing the conversation. "As for Rolth... the three of you've actually tangled with his minions before? That's... an interesting coincidence. I'd only heard whispers of him before. I wonder if Kroft suspected his involvement in this missing persons case, but couldn't say it for lack of evidence, and that's why she asked us to work together."
As they finish with the parlor, Callie suggests next steps.
"Let's do the other door through the dining room. Probably goes to the kitchen, by process of elimination. Be prepared for whatever these folks might have done to the scullery staff."
She points to the door leading out into the yard. "Unless we want to go outside and check out the outbuilding instead."
Korriban sighs. "Without a doubt, the zombie in the Galtan Queen getup upstairs is the lady of the house, Olauren Carowyn. That is not good." He then takes what jewelry from the zombies that is there. He sighs in relief as Callie opens the doors to zombie free rooms. He looks through the living room for valuables as well. When it comes to the next room, Korriban says, "Let's look through the bottom floor. Then the yard. Then upstairs. We're probably going to have time before the elf wakes up."
Korriban looks at everyone as they discuss why Teodor doesn't summon celestials. "Look guys. I don't understand it either. I have no clue when it comes to magic and summoning things. However, Teodor has been summoning those types of creatures since I met him. And they've really helped us out. Just as long as he doesn't summon anything evil, like devils and demons. Then we'd have a problem."
When Callie asks about Rolth, Korriban looks at her. "It wasn't the three of us. Just me and Teodor, along with our friends, Gadriel, Adoros, and Diamon. Lantressa had joined our motley crew after." When she suggests that Rolth might have something to do with the situation, Korriban shakes his head. "I doubt it. Kroft didn't know about Rolth before our mission to the Gray. And I haven't heard about Rolth before then. We were given the job by the Shoanti for their burial rites. Kroft told us that his body would be at the Gray. We just stumbled upon Rolth's lair. If Kroft had an idea that someone like Rolth was involved, she'd let us know."
"Well, the elf was the one who mentioned 'Rolthy' so he definitely is involved. If you've encountered his work before, it's either an odd coincidence you've come across it again, or he is becoming disturbingly ubiquitous." Callie shudders at the thought.
Teodor moves to the lady of the house. "Not all the gold in Abadar's vault would have been enough to protect you from your end. You spited the poor and hopeless of this city. THE LORD'S SPITE IS FAR MORE PERMANENT!" Teodor spits on the body.
Korriban shudders. "I hope that this is all coincidence. I don't want to think about Rolth stalking us and becoming all-knowing."
When Teodor gives his piece over Olauren's body, Korriban kneels down next to it. "You may not have the best intentions for dealing with the plague. But, no one deserves your fate. We'll avenge you. We'll avenge everyone here. And we'll make sure you get a proper burial."
"I will ensure their rites be appropriate. BUT we shall not avenge these. Find our missing person. Find what was done to them. They did not deserve this. Compared to what is coming? These rich a*#@#*%s got off easy. "
Riceak had stood quietly and now well he had enough.
"That depends on one's definition of easy, and my definition is that they did not get off easy. No one deserves to be turned into an undead and frankly I'm actually surprised by the fact that a priest of Groteus would suggest that they got off easy because weren't they forced to continue existing when they should have departed this life once they were killed? Surely a follower of Groteus would see the wisdom that by freeing these poor souls from their forced undead existence, we are actually doing your master's work. Surely, even the undead must fear your lord of the end am I correct? And back to my argument of using celestials: I'm just saying that if we were to run into a fiend or even a vampire it might be useful to have some holy help if you get my meaning. Just saying," he said, his smirk hidden behind his helm.
Then whispering to Korriban, the swordsman asks, "Really? You sure he's not crazy? While I'm thankful for his magic and healing, I must protest his lack of respect for the heavenly beings. I am a follower of Desna and I also say prayers to the empyreal lords as well so you can see why I am a bit concerned by his words. But...if you can vouch for him, then I'll take your word and give him my trust as well."
Lantressa moved from the elf's body while the woman was tied up and went to lean against a wall and listen while everyone talked. She heard Riceak and Callie mention preferring to avoid fiendish creatures and said indignantly, "If you have a problem with fiendishness then I assume you have a problem with abyss spawn like myself?" She scowled atht the thought and said, "just keep in mind that not everything that fits the fiendish description is necessarily evil, some of us are just unlucky in our origins."
In typical fashion Teodor was being crazy, the status quo for him, and she simply rolled his eyes at his declarations. This was the first she'd heard of the Necromancer "Rolthy" and she was quite attentive as her tail lashed in agitation. She actually found Riceak's issues with Teodor's summoned creature's highly amusing and laughed, "You'll never convince Teodor of that, though I tend to agree with your observations. It takes all kinds and Teodor is certainly in a class by himself." She sighed as she stood away from the wall and continued, "Really, I think this discussion would be better held later when we weren't in the middle of a house full of dead, and not so dead, bodies."
"Swordsman, you know The Lord like Korriban knows a clitoris. The living end. The undead end. The dead end. EVERYTHING ENDS. Time is of no matter to the Lord. He is the Last God. The one who will treat the death of your god or goddess with the same dispassion as this filth-in-flesh, or the Queen or myself. I hope undeath was somewhere close to the misery these folk dish out, but I'm not optimistic."
"I suggested we find our lost one. This boarding school bourgeois murderman threw shade at the Lord. That does not go unanswered."
Raising an eyebrow at the tiefling, he replied, "I never said I had a problem with tieflings. I have a problem with fiends but not those who carry their blood in their veins. I'm sure you never asked to be born a tiefling just like I was never asked to be born a Varisian who can't carry a tune to save his life. Yes I'm tone deaf and you can imagine how it feels for a Varisian to be unable to sing his family's songs without singing way off key. But I apologize if my words made you uncomfortable. I was merely suggesting ideas for potential tactics for when we encounter this necromancer and any further undead. Tactics which might mean the difference between defeat and victory. I've fought undead before while protecting Varisian caravans and pilgrims, and I can confirmed that having a celestial or two can be quite useful."
Then whispering to Korriban, the swordsman asks, "Really? You sure he's not crazy? While I'm thankful for his magic and healing, I must protest his lack of respect for the heavenly beings. I am a follower of Desna and I also say prayers to the empyreal lords as well so you can see why I am a bit concerned by his words. But...if you can vouch for him, then I'll take your word and give him my trust as well."
Korriban looks at the warrior. "He's a bit odd. Maybe a bit mad. But, his intentions are in the right place. He doesn't want Korvosa to die. So he's aiding. He just really hates rich people. Tend not to aid us commonfolk."
Lantressa moved from the elf's body while the woman was tied up and went to lean against a wall and listen while everyone talked. She heard Riceak and Callie mention preferring to avoid fiendish creatures and said indignantly, "If you have a problem with fiendishness then I assume you have a problem with abyss spawn like myself?" She scowled atht the thought and said, "just keep in mind that not everything that fits the fiendish description is necessarily evil, some of us are just unlucky in our origins."
Korriban scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Tress. My fault."
In typical fashion Teodor was being crazy, the status quo for him, and she simply rolled his eyes at his declarations. This was the first she'd heard of the Necromancer "Rolthy" and she was quite attentive as her tail lashed in agitation. She actually found Riceak's issues with Teodor's summoned creature's highly amusing and laughed, "You'll never convince Teodor of that, though I tend to agree with your observations. It takes all kinds and Teodor is certainly in a class by himself." She sighed as she stood away from the wall and continued, "Really, I think this discussion would be better held later when we weren't in the middle of a house full of dead, and not so dead, bodies."
Korriban nods at Lantressa. "Yeah. He's been a good man. I may argue with him from time to time. But, we've been working together for a while now. So, he's a good friend.. Let's get searching"
"Swordsman, you know The Lord like Korriban knows a clitoris. The living end. The undead end. The dead end. EVERYTHING ENDS. Time is of no matter to the Lord. He is the Last God. The one who will treat the death of your god or goddess with the same dispassion as this filth-in-flesh, or the Queen or myself. I hope undeath was somewhere close to the misery these folk dish out, but I'm not optimistic."
Korriban grumbles, face turning pink. "Great. Thank you, Teodor. Do I have to take the brunt of all of the jokes?" He remains silent.
"I suggested we find our lost one. This boarding school bourgeois murderman threw shade at the Lord. That does not go unanswered."
Korriban nods. "Right. Let's get looking."
Raising an eyebrow at the tiefling, he replied, "I never said I had a problem with tieflings. I have a problem with fiends but not those who carry their blood in their veins. I'm sure you never asked to be born a tiefling just like I was never asked to be born a Varisian who can't carry a tune to save his life. Yes I'm tone deaf and you can imagine how it feels for a Varisian to be unable to sing his family's songs without singing way off key. But I apologize if my words made you uncomfortable. I was merely suggesting ideas for potential tactics for when we encounter this necromancer and any further undead. Tactics which might mean the difference between defeat and victory. I've fought undead before while protecting Varisian caravans and pilgrims, and I can confirmed that having a celestial or two can be quite useful."
Korriban shrugs. "Well, I can't pull celestials out of my a** so I can't help there. If it does helps, I'm packing smoke bombs and other explosives. If there's something in the room, I can light a bomb, throw it in the room, and let the limbs fly."
Lantressa moved from the elf's body while the woman was tied up and went to lean against a wall and listen while everyone talked. She heard Riceak and Callie mention preferring to avoid fiendish creatures and said indignantly, "If you have a problem with fiendishness then I assume you have a problem with abyss spawn like myself?" She scowled atht the thought and said, "just keep in mind that not everything that fits the fiendish description is necessarily evil, some of us are just unlucky in our origins."
"What I said was I would prefer fiendish creatures not be summoned. And at that, I said I was not going to argue with it. As it is, you are not a mindless, eternally hungry, hell-tainted monster, last I checked. You're a sentient woman capable of making your own decisions, and for as long as we work together, I sincerely promise I will judge you--or not--on those, and not on the accident of your birth." She looks Lantressa in the eyes as she speaks, to show her intent and meaning is sincere, without guile.
She raises an eyebrow at the group, and sweeps her hand around. "Given the way everyone else talks here, sounds like I am far more likely to be judged and hated by everyone in this room for my birth than are you. You're just a tiefling." Callie leans in slightly, half-smirking, with a mock conspiratorial whisper. "I was born a noble, to a mostly Chelish family. " The words she emphasizes she says in a tone to make them sound like she is saying "monster" or "filth." "Whom as we know, all universally and without exception do things like summon fiends merely to serve them breakfast." She waves again to the others in the room, and finishes sarcastically, "I'm sure soon as we finish this investigation, these fine and honorable souls will be sure to try to dispatch me and banish me to the darkest depths from whence I came, as of course, I so clearly deserve for merely existing. But hey, before we get there, let's at least clear out all the zombies first." She laughs. There is no bitterness in her voice (she really doesn't care what anyone thinks of her), just amicable snark.
She goes to open the eastern door in the dining room.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lantressa looked a bit abashed at the responses from Riceak and, particularly, Callie. She gave a contrite smile and said, "I'm sorry if I read into that what I shouldn't have." She looked at Callie then and moved towards her, "To you in particular I am very sorry, I can see how that would be a problem, one I didn't realize was even there." Standing behind her Tressa reached out her arms in an attempt to give Callie a brief hug, "Forgive me?"
As you bicker, the group heads upstairs to confirm the identity of Olauren Carowyn, which Korriban and Callie quickly do. Now that you're up there and not chasing a screaming, tumbling elf around at the same time, you notice a small pile of bodies on the eastern end of the gallery that weren't reanimated, many of which are slumped around chairs and holding musical instruments. Clearly these were the entertainers for the party...but Ruan Mirukova's body doesn't seem to be among them.
Back downstairs, as the debate about heritage and place in Korvosa continues, Callie heads to open the eastern door of the dining room. Doing so reveals a small passageway with a stairwell leading down to a lower level (a basement?) on the right-hand side, and beyond that another door, leading farther east.
Callie accepts and returns Lantressa's hug. "Nothing to forgive! All worth clearing the air here, I think."
Callie returns to her search. She is both upset and relieved to see the entertainers do not have Ruan among them. "This gives me hope he lives, and I fear I'll be disappointed mightily...."
When she gets back down to the dining room, she looks around in the new passage.
But sees nothing of note. She eyes the stairs. "Wine cellar perhaps?"
She taps the door on the same floor, then opens it, wondering if THAT goes to the kitchen or if her memory of house architecture is just completely upside down today.
Callie pushes open the next door, confirming that her instincts are correct: a small kitchen is revealed. There's a small fireplace, cabinets with dishes and silverware, and a preparation table for staging food to be brought into the dining room.
There are also two zombies--former servants, from their garb--seated at the table, crudely miming the carving of a great "pig." The pig is, in fact, the corpse of a huge man in a pig costume, trussed up like an animal.
The zombies are quickly dispatched, between spell and blade, leaving you free to explore the rest of the kitchen. There are two doors to the north; the one to the right leads directly into a moldering pantry, while the left-hand one leads into a small hallway connected to the entryway.
"May your end finally be final. And may those that did this to you end worse."
Teodor doesn't have holy water per se but he sprinkles whiskey from a bottle on the servants and takes a swig.