Speaks up for what felt like the first time in forever, and asks plainly " Commander, have you thought anything to your faith? Or a symbol of your faith placed in your room? I feel this could be a curse no mortal could have laid. My companions say it is magic, and thus, I believe only the gods can trap so many for so many times. Do you have a person of faith you could speak with?" Nehama is trying to work with what they have given her, but even her piety was not enough to give her an idea of what caused this
Herrnarrell stares into the distance at Raurniel's "We've identified the direction of the item that the curse seems to be tied to. Seeing as you are the only one whose memory is unaffected by this magic, I would be willing to bet that the item is personal in nature, and therefore the most obvious location would be in your chambers. Sarrissa has the right idea though. We would need your assistance, and obviously your approval, to properly identify which items would be likely candidates for the focus. It is possible that we will be able to identify it immediately, but with magic of this scale, I'm not sure it is likely."
The commander shakes her head. "I am afraid I cannot leave here. Every time I leave this floor, I am prevented. Our priest of Sehanine only laughs when I bring her my plight. She says the Seldarine would never curse a group so. Even when I press her, she says that only an artifact or some other object of great power would so blindly curse people. I cannot leave, but if you bring something you find to me, I can tell you if it is mine and what it does. Although, i cannot think of anything of mine that could possibly have caused this curse."
Raurniel gives a wand smile, her eyes watering for the first time you have encountered the strong commander. She trusts you, perhaps out of desparation, and beleives you are the key to saving her. But, it's also clear she has nothing else to offer.
Pero turns to his allies, "While we are here it may be worth our time to investigate the library. Perhaps we can find information out about the foe from our time".
Nivian nods, and starts toward the library and personal rooms, with Detect Magic up, and attempting to follow the magic tied to Raurniel.
Henris pipes up. "Could we have something signed and sealed by you giving us permission to do so? That way no one thinks we are attempting to commit theft or anything of the sort."
"A library is an excellent place to start in any event," Iym said.
"Of course" She quickly provides a short letter giving the travelers permission to explore the keep and take anything they find interesting... within reason
Nods and then states to her companions " It seems some of us are going to search the library, and some the commander's personal chambers. Why do we not met back here in say... 2 hours? That should be enough time to look through both, and give you in the library time to search on our foe. If the library holds good information, we may circle back there. Commander Raurniel" She states with a sound of confidence, turning to the woman " I may not be as high in the temple as your priestess, but I can assure you this, by us coming, the Goddess has not forgotten, nor abandoned you. Sometimes it takes the right mortal hand. And we will not forget the service you provided to us now, nor for your past military actions. I do ask however, do you mind if we find information about our foe, can we either take it with us, or study it before we correct your curse?" After receiving her answer, where good or bad, she would go with Herrnarrell and anyone else going to the personal chamber.
Henris will assist in searching Commander Raurniel's quarters.
"Well stated Nehama!"
"Well stated Nehama!"
"Yes, the library then," Iym agreed.
and.. i was gonna update but i don't know where everyone else wants to o.
gonna give one more day.. and then i'll post. .
Sarrissa walked over to stand behind Iym. The excitement of visiting a library that no longer existed in her time was more than she could contain as her weight constantly shifted back and forth as they waited.
Just think of it Jerr-Dann. We'll get to see information lost to the ages, read about things that no one was read about in centuries. Oh the stories we could discover. Can you believe it?"
Yes. I have already seen them.
The travelers ascend the stairs, and Nivian keeps herself open to the Weave throughout the tower as she walks. She sees no working of Art along the stairs. But, she does notice that as they ascend, the walls grow dank. The tapestries gradually grow worn and moth-eaten, becoming tatters. Cobwebs and dust fill the air and ceiling.
The door at the landing creaks open, collapsing to dust at the travelers' fingertips. The door opens to a large dining room. The table and chairs have long since collapsed to ruin and a layer of dust covers the floor. The travelers decide to split, half going west towards the bedroom and half towards the library.
Nehama, Henris, and Hernarrell head north and west through a small corridor. The hallway is dank and cold, as though it has been ravaged by time. They open the first door they come to. This is clearly Ruarniel's room: it has all the trappings of a commander's room. As they step in, an overwhelming sense of misery fills them. They have amounted to nothing! They couldn't save the people in the Halfway Inn, and they won't be able to save these poor souls now! A ghostly image of Raurniel appears in the room, sobbing at her bed.
Will take
Nivian, Sarrissa, Iym, and Pero head through the eastern the door. They open the door to a round keep. A circular skirts the walls around a central opening leading to the floor below. Stairs lead down to the floor below and a door leads to the east on the other side of the keep. Blood splatters cover the walls and floor. As the travelers enter the keep, ghostly soldiers made of blood pull themselves up from the splatters. They brandish their weapons, moaning.
takes and is frightened for 1 round.
Success is 1 point of negative energy damage and no fear.
The travelers ascend the stairs, and Nivian keeps herself open to the Weave throughout the tower as she walks. She sees no working of Art along the stairs. But, she does notice that as they ascend, the walls grow dank. The tapestries gradually grow worn and moth-eaten, becoming tatters. Cobwebs and dust fill the air and ceiling.
The door at the landing creaks open, collapsing to dust at the travelers' fingertips. The door opens to a large dining room. The table and chairs have long since collapsed to ruin and a layer of dust covers the floor. The travelers decide to split, half going west towards the bedroom and half towards the library.
Nehama, Henris, and Hernarrell head north and west through a small corridor. The hallway is dank and cold, as though it has been ravaged by time. They open the first door they come to. This is clearly Ruarniel's room: it has all the trappings of a commander's room. As they step in, an overwhelming sense of misery fills them. They have amounted to nothing! They couldn't save the people in the Halfway Inn, and they won't be able to save these poor souls now! A ghostly image of Raurniel appears in the room, sobbing at her bed.
Will take
Nivian, Sarrissa, Iym, and Pero head through the eastern the door. They open the door to a round keep. A circular skirts the walls around a central opening leading to the floor below. Stairs lead down to the floor below and a door leads to the east on the other side of the keep. Blood splatters cover the walls and floor. As the travelers enter the keep, ghostly soldiers made of blood pull themselves up from the splatters. They brandish their weapons, moaning.
takes and is frightened for 1 round.
Success is 1 point of negative energy damage and no fear.
As they ascend the stairs upwards, to a floor of the tower that is showing the signs of age, Henris gets a very bad feeling. "This part of the tower doesn't seem restored - or else is clearly the location of the source of some evil magics. Regardless, this is getting creepy fast."
As they enter the bedroom, Henris suddenly feels the overwhelming sense of misery, of everything he's failed at, of how he's going to continue failing, and he will never be able to succeed. Though he begins to give in to despair, he remembers something his father once said to him: The only ones who truly fail are the ones who stop trying. Clinging to those words he shakes the feeling of misery off, replacing it with a sense of determination and a refusal to bend before this curse.
He looks at the ghost of Raurniel, crying and kneeling beside the bed, and whispers, "We should take care not to disturb that spirit."
Nivian starts singing a song to inspire courage in her fellow refugees.
Overcome by fear, Pero drops his sword and staggers back at the unearthly cold that has made his hands soooo numb.
As Herrnarrell steps into Commander Raurniel's room, it feels like every bit of anxiety and fear that he has ever felt flows through his mind at once and with a sharp gasp and short breaths he falls to his knees, defeated and drowning in self-loathing.
Iym screamed in terror.
Sarrissa stepped forward, shouldering past the others with her branched spear in hand. She would be their wall, their shield. She would protect her brethren, with her dying breath if need be.
Nehama falls to her knees sobbing, the knowledge she had doomed so many just to much for her to bear. She would hang her head, unable to notice anything in her shame and grief
As Herrnarrell steps into Commander Raurniel's room, it feels like every bit of anxiety and fear that he has ever felt flows through his mind at once and with a sharp gasp and short breaths he falls to his knees, defeated and drowning in self-loathing. Beside him, Nehama falls to her knees sobbing, the knowledge she had doomed so many is just to much for her to bear. She hangs her head, unable to notice anything in her shame and grief.
Henris, however, sees the haunting for what it is, and he is unaffected by the horrors within. The others' misery is short lived, however, and soon they come to their senses, severely drained by their brief brush with the crushing defeat of the past. As they stand, on wobbly legs, but Herrnarrell and and Nehama hear a book fall to the floor behind the bed.
Two of the soldiers grin and launch through the air, thrusting their swords deep into Pero's and Iym's chest. The two elves scream in horror and turn, dropping their swords and run out of the tower. Nivian and Sarissa stand strong as the bloody soldiers approach. The water spirit begins to sing an encouraging song as Sarrissa steps forward, shouldering past the others with her branched spear in hand. She will be their wall, their shield. She will protect her brethren, with her dying breath if need be. Nivian's song emboldens her, fills her with resolve and strength, even as its soothing melodies catch the fleeing Iym and Pero who finally regain their senses by the table.
Sarrissa lashes out with her spear, driving it into one of the soldiers. The corpse explodes in a spray of blood that coats Sarrissa and Nivian both. The haunt wails mournfully and then they all disappear, leaving the travelers alone in the tower. Faded blood still stains the tower walls, but it looks old, ancient. Sarrissa can tell that the haunt is quiet, for now.
Nivian uses Prestidigitation to clean the blood off everyone, including clothing and hair, hoping that will bolster everyone's courage as well.
"You guys okay? I think that what just happened is a pretty good indicator that there's something here."
"Uugghhh. By the gods that hurt." Herrnarrell shakes his head to clear the lingering... fuzziness and turns immediately towards the bed at the loud thud, readying his dagger as well. "Suddenly I consider it a serious oversight that I never learned how to actually detect or see arcane auras."
Feeling as if the life was sucked from her, and her will crushed a bit, she tries to comfort Herrnarrell, her voice still weak and drained, " Sometimes bad luck. Even for one with the Goddess." She steadies herself from the floor with her morning star out, then looks around as she hears what sounds like a book drop.
Unsure if they are alone now, she tries to sense if anyone is hiding
Henris, not knowing any healing magic, instead casts a cantrip that allows him to see magic auras.
"I know that one - my dad helped me figure it out." Henris's voice gets a little quiet at the mention of his dad, but he stays focused on the task at hand.
Slowly encroaching forward, Sarrissa stepped cautiously, her eyes darting around the room. She takes a moment to focus her eyes to seek out magic auras, then proceeds.
Nehama easily spots the book the ghostly apparition held: it's the sergeant's diary.
Battered, and shaken, the travelers cross the tower and open the doors. They open onto an open walkway atop the inner and outer walls of the keep. A starlit sky fills the night, and a warm breeze carries the scent of pine and flowers through the air. It's summer, here. At the other end of the hall, stand another set of double doors which open to a small room filled floor to ceiling with books.
The sound of rustling papers fills the air.
(to see the source of the rustling papers)
Pulling detect magic back up, Nivian looks around to see if there is a source of magic nearby that could be the curse. She also takes a look at the small room filled with books to determine if any of them are magic.
Having recovered somewhat from her ordeal, she notices the books is the sergeant's diary. Nehama then mentions to her companions as she retrieves the book from behind the bed, unsure what it could hold or what it would tell them. " Friends, I believe this may shed some light on our situation, if we care to read it. Do you wish to look for anything else?"
"Can't hurt to look around and see if there's anything else in here." Henris says, casting a spell to detect magical auras and looking about the room.
Iym cast his own divination and looked about.
"Papers don't usually move on their own. Usually."
Stepping out onto the walkway was refreshing. The warm air mixed with a cool breeze reminded her of home. It reminded her of a different time. The more she thought about, it the more she began to worry. Would they too become trapped by this, curse?
Do not give it pause girl. Press on. Follow your instincts.
She nodded in agreement and continued on. The doors were both grand and simple. The room beyond was less grand and more simple. It was smaller than she had anticipated, but no less occupied. Shelves upon shelves were almost littered with books. Whatever this curse, it did not seem to spare these tomes. She focused her eyes to bring the magical sight back and began to look around.
Pero, sword in hand nods in agreement with his companions.
He casts Detect Magic in anticipation of opening the door.
The diary is ancient, written in a form of elvish that has not been spoken since long before the Fall of Myth Drannor. It will take some time to decipher it. But, it definitely is Raurniel's diary. Towards the end of the dairy, one word constantly appears: Kiira.
Oddly, for an elvish library (even one belonging to a border fort), the room is completely bare of the glow from arcane sight. Indeed, the books here appear to be almost completely mundane: history, poetry, and strategy. Nothing here could be the source of the curse.
As the travelers examine the room, a child winks into being in the far corner of the room and steps up to a podium, a ponderous tome held in his tiny hands. He's bent nearly backwards with its weight. Long wizard robes trail on the ground, and the pommel of a sword towers over his head from a sheath strapped to his back. A gem on a silver thread about his head sits on his brow.
The child sets the book on the podium--he can't be more than seven years-- and sighs at the distance. With a small wiggle of his finger, the boy rises in the air and begins turning pages in the book. The source of the rustling pages.
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Iym cautiously approached the child.
"Well met, small one."
Henris looks over the diary, then sighs. "We may need time to figure this out. I can barely recognize some of the writing in there. Wasn't Kiira Raurniel's sister?"
Nehama shakes her head, having not recalled hearing the name before. " It is somewhat archaic. some of the eldest texts we had were in it. However, isn't Kiira also a shortening of another word? It could even be a place." She frowns in thought, tapping a finger against her bottom lip. She felt they where missing something, but wasn't sure what. She runs through her memory to check and see what this reminded her off.
Nivian waits to see if the child responds to Iym, and then asks What are you reading?
The boy looks up and smiles. "History."
** spoiler omitted **
"A most interesting subject," Iym said. "What history would it be?"