Tybalt delicately moves in front of the woman? Then turns guiltilly when the man shouts behind him. From his pocket the small owl pokes his head with a soft hoot.
"Hey, sir. We aren't here to whack you." He says in a thick accent.
Res follows Tybalt and Leandro down the stairs. When they suddenly stop, he peers around them to look at the statue of the woman before them.
"She has a waxy complexion don't you think?" asks Res wryly as the grip tightens on his aspergillum.
At the sudden shout, Res turns toward the sound ready to strike!
"Time to end this" Volidrian says, drawing his bow.
The two shopworkers prepare to lunge with their meaty waxen arms.
Map. I placed you where I thought was reasonable based on your actions prior to combat starting.
Volidrian takes a 5 foot step to block the line to
Anuqa and unleashes a hail of arrows at the male shopworker.
Dr. Tovanarish aims his crossbow likewise at the murderous male Mannequin and fires
Volidrian's second arrow strikes the creature, however the man seems quick to react and the arrow does not strike a vital area.
Dr. Tovanarish's second arrow also strikes true.
Res observes the Volidrian and Dr. Tovanarish's arrows sink into the waxen male. He moves toward the female wax figure raising his battle aspergillum high, calling out "Gorum, your servant is ready to fight!"
,
Res strikes the other golem with a crushing blow, although like Volidrian he observes some damage resistance.
She strikes back at Res with a club-like hand, swinging with crushing force.
The other golem rushes at Volidrian, swinging with his heavy hands.
Leandro sweeps his sword from its scabbard and steps up next to Res,
The tight quarters of the basement make it difficult for the paladin to wield his blade effectively.
Tybalt leans back, his thighs hitting the edge of the table; "Oh my, please Madame Tussaud, don't tell me to mind my own Bees Wax. Or else I'll be Fired." He looks to the man, "That goes for you too! You are a Model Employee, it's no use giving him the cold shoulder or direct us to you Magic Manager."
"These guys look dangerous. Hopefully, they're allergic to magic missiles."
Leandro fails to strike the figure in front of him, while Anuqa's magic missiles dissipate ineffectually when they come in contact with her. They appear to be immune to that sort of magic.
Dr. Tovanarish continues to aim for the make
Volidrian will drop his bow and pull out his scimitar and attack.
"No fire in my arsenal. If I can't burn her, I will try to cut her in two!" Res drops his battle aspergillum and draws his greatsword.
Inspired by Tybalt's chant, Res's magic greatsword cuts a wide arc and strikes the female wax figure across the midsection.
Dr. Tovanarish hits the creature with his second shot as Volidrian cuts at it with his scimitar. Res strikes the other with aspergillum.
The broad-shouldered male strikes again at Volidrian.
The lumbering female strikes at Res.
"Friend Tybalt, we're all just candles in the wind," Leandro rejoins as he slides into better position to attack.
This time Res is able to duck away from the female wax figure just in time and avoid her blow. Res feels the adrenalin flow as finds himself back in a fight after such a long drought. He takes a playful stab at Tybalt, "Tybalt, maybe you can melt it with all of the hot air you are always spouting!" Res laughs as he counters the creature's swing with another sweeping slash with his greatsword.
Tybalt nods to the others as he moves to stand near Leandro and Res. "Hot Air? Balloons, my friend. These fellows are the half wicks, despite their strength they need to splint."
;
"Feh, so fire it is." Anuqa then intones the words to a spell and his hand is limned in light.
"Feh, so fire it is." Anuqa then intones the words to a spell and his hand is limned in light.
[dice=Touch Attack]d20+5
[dice=Fire Damage]1d6
Tybalt fails to strike at the figure, but Leandro finds his footing and carves at her with his blade.
Anuqa's fiery touch ignites the hulking male figure.
Res misses with his strike.
Volidrian has taken a couple of hard knocks but he stays on his feet and continues attacking.
Move action to study target.
Dr. Tovanarish Fires off two more bolts at the male
Volidrian's strike fells the male golem, while Dr. Tovanarish's arrows strike and take down the female.
Both of the waxen figures crumple to the ground with a dull thud, their motionless forms staring blankly at the floor.
"Is everyone ok?" ask Res. "I wonder what other abominations are lurking down here?" Res, chants to Gorum, and a powerful healing energy bursts from his holy symbol. "If you are in need of more healing, please let me know." He then carefully searches the room while he waits for the others to answer.
Leandro scoots over to stomp out the flaming waxman so the shop won't catch fire.
"I am well, thank you Sir Res," the paladin replies. "I hope we did not just take out the shop guardians for no reason."
"Those were interesting guardians," muses the sorcerer. "I can't imagine they were inexpensive to create or procure."
The workshop is full of tools, small parts, and other materials of the toymaker’s trade. An unfinished doll lies upon a table, but shows no indication that it is anything other than a mundane child’s toy, albeit one of exquisite craftsmanship. What papers you can find in this place illuminate nothing of great interest; they are mostly diagrams, sketches, and schematics of toys.
In a drawer, you find a candle of spirit protection that appears not to have been used in some time.
The short stair leads down into an additional lower room, containing boxes of small wood pieces, bundles of wax, and knots of human hair. Curiously, the room also contains two single beds, neatly made and coated with a layer of dust. There appears to be no further space below this cellar level.
Ezra retrieves his boots from the ... corpses? As he does he casts a keen eye over the bodies and the area in general
He suddenly fixates on a spider web, being a collector of arachnids. Was it a Latrodectus? The web certainly looked like it, but slightly off..
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He suddenly fixates on a spider web, being a collector of arachnids. Was it a Latrodectus? The web certainly looked like it, but slightly off..
Once the fire is out, Leandro wanders over to help look for the spider (Perception 11).
Any actions? As a reminder, you are in the cellar, and have also been in both rooms of the main floor. From the outside, you could tell there is a second story, as well as a garret above that.
"I see naught down here but an overgrown doll's house," Leandro offers. "We should check upstairs. I fear for poor Magritte." Leandro moves to head up the stairs but will yield if someone else wants to go ahead of him.
"It saddens me that the toymaker had no connection to living creatures. I wonder what drove this loneliness."
Anuqa looks at the stairs leading back to the main floor, wondering when one of the more physically imposing members of the party might take the lead.
"I am in concurrence with Leandro, now that we have run afoul of the location's guardians we should move quickly in order to lessen the time any potential enemies have to prepare. Following in that line of thought I would like to proceed ahead of the group so that I may check for traps, this seems a likely place for them."
Volidrian will start moving up checking for traps.
The short stair from the workshop leads back to the rear storage room, and from there up to the main shop. As you observed previously, there is a door behind the shop counter which you suspect should line up with the stairs to the next level. Volidrian examines the door carefully but finds that is it is not trapped and shows signs of regular use.
Beyond the door, a half-flight of stairs leads up to a dreary sitting room overlooking the alley behind the shop. Drab, worn furniture seems arranged to create a feeling of warmth and comfort, but the room shows signs of considerable neglect. The upholstery is dusty and moth-eaten, limp curtains block the daylight from outside, and a sad threadbare rug fails to tie the room together.
A few books lie scattered about on end tables, and a large roll-top desk stands in a corner strewn with papers. The room contains a few completed dolls - one atop the desk, one sitting upon a chaise beside another on a small chair, and a fourth resting on a low table beside a dusty lamp. An open doorway reveals stairs leading further up to the front second story.
“Hmmm. A scuffle perhaps?”
Leandro follows Volidrian closely up the stairs, waiting for the trap checking, and into the parlor.
With no actual pile of corpses in evidence, the paladin is too busy staring up the next staircase to look at anything in the room.
Volidrian looks around the room before examining the floor near the rug more closely.
Volidrian keeps his voice low and tells the party, "There's was blood here but it looks like someone has had time to clean it up. A trail of it leads to the next room."
Anuqa looks on in horror at the blood-stained doll that just winked at him.
"I think I found the source of the scuffle and the blood," he whispers to the group.
Indeed. The four dolls leap to life, their faces twisted in painted expressions of malice.
Roll initiative. Those who have not done so should still roll Perception checks, as there will be a surprise round.
"What the..."
"Let's see what can affect these things."
The doctor starts as the dolls leap to life
Tybalt gasps as the brief scary combat is over as abruptly as it started he shakes his head at the dead wax golem mannequins. "Wax Golems, you see...."
He trails slightly behind the group as they move back up the stairs.
Res picks up the candle and places it in his pack. He then retrieves his aspergillum. As he follows the others up the stairs, he pauses to look at the two unused beds. He whispers to himself, "Such loneliness, how detached from the world can you be to seek company from unreal beings and create this elaborate illusion?"
He then continues up the stairs; greatsword gripped in both hands, wary of what may jump out next.
Surveying the scene, he too notices the blood by the rug leading up to the next stair. "You're right, Volidrian. The injured victim must have gone..." His statement is cut off by the suddenly animated dolls.