Devon purrs and kicks in her sleep, perhaps dreaming of chasing mice.
Ashira draws her dagger and tries to harry the creature into Say'ri's flail.
Say'ri's flail smashes huge chunks off the thing; it snarls in reply and lashes out at her once more, but - perhaps weakened by the damage it's suffered - it fails to land a hit.
Ashira 16/20
Devon 20/20, asleep
Eli 16/16
Say'ri 15/24
Thing - 26 damage
"Guide the flail!" Eli yells as he throws himself at the accursed sand being. Foggert follows suit and dives beak-first at the thing's eyes like he were a feathered arrow.
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Ashira casts Create Water on Devon to wake her up.
Devon yowls as she is splashed awake. "What? Oh, hells!" The catgirl rolls over and slashes at the sand creature with her claws.
The assists are enough for Say'ri's flail to land another solid hit; the thing looks momentarily astonished, and then enraged, and then nothing as it crumbles back into sand.
"Ugh. Stupid sand monster," Devon grumbles, shaking out some loose grains from her armor. She's going to need a bath tonight to avoid chafing. "Everybody alright to press on?"
If so, the rogue will lead the way upstairs.
"Would you like me to wash the sand out of your fur?" Ashira teases.
"Actually, that would be nice. Do you give sponge baths?" Devon teases back.
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"No." Ashira replies with a sly grin. "I give showers. Cold ones."
She starts casting Create Water, but watches for Devon's reaction.
Devon yowls and quickly steps away, ears flat against her head, tail thrashing. "Okay, you win!"
Ashira laughs and smiles from ear to ear. She feels a lot better now and looks at the group with compassionate eyes.
Ascending the stairs, you find yourselves on a balcony, which wraps around a twenty-foot-square opening in the floor, overlooking the inner courtyard below and connecting the rooms of the second floor. Above, a square skylight in theceiling provides natural light to the ground floor and ventilation for the entire building. To the southwest, two small staircases ascend from a landing on the grand staircase between floors.
Six different sets of doors lead off of this balcony.
You can see where wooden railings once provided a barrier around the balcony, but now there is nothing between you and a drop back down to the sandy courtyard on the ground floor.
Devon nods and opens the indicated door.
"Sure. Like, how many more undaddies can be roaming these halls, right? I got a feeling we're nearly outta the woods."
"Forgive me, but where did you say you travelled from, Eliyajah? You have some very interesting phrases."
"Oh, justa lil' hovel in a country called Cheliax. Swamps, peat, mosquitos, and more family than you can shake a stick at about sums up my origins, heh!"
"Oh, I've heard of Cheliax. It's quite a large country in the northern lands, isn't it? Tell me a little of your family, do they know that you're in another continent looting the dead for riches? How did they react to it?"
Opening the double doors, you find yourselves in a spacious room with another entrance/exit on the eastern side. The aged remains of dressers, a large bed, and a divan lie in ruins. The husk of a hornet's nest - grey, papery and devoid of life - occupies one corner of the ceiling. the spaces in the northeast and northwest corners look as though they were once closets, although their wooden doors have all but fallen off their hinges and heaps of disintegrated fabric mingle on the floor. Between the closets stands a single lacquered dresser covered in dust.
Almost as soon as you enter, a spectral figure - a young girl, possibly? - gives a small shriek of surprise and terror and flees as quickly as possible, passing right through the doors on the other side of the room!
"Uh, nope!" Devon says, shaking her head. "Let's not go that way!"
She searches the room, paying particular attention to the dresser.
Eli frowns at Ashira at the notion that he's a common thief. "I imagine they reckon I'mma be building myself a dowry of sorts. That, and you know, gathering enuff experience to actually reel myself in a fine woman. Part of the dowry, aunt Cornelliya would say."
He then hushes as a spectral girl flashes by and turns a whiter shade of pale. "Shhh! This is why we dun speak o' girls when it ain't appropriate! Let's focus!"
Ashira - you got nothing; partly because it was too brief a glimpse. You wouldn't be surprised if a place like this didn't have a few unquiet spirits, though.
Devon discovers that the dresser is actually a fake: what appear from a distance to be drawers are cleverly carved handles and the whole thing appears to be on runners. A good push would slide it along the wall, presumably revealing whatever was concealed behind.
Before you can test this, a high-pitched scream sounds from the other side of the door the phantom figure went through...
"... maybe she 'ad dreams and aspirations of making it big in the Taldorian opera scene? ...", the wizard suggests with a feeble voice.