"Honestly perhaps we should fire them," Kira sniffs dismissively. "I keep trying to give Toulbe a chance for our mother's sake, but this is completely unacceptable."
She glances towards Pellius, wondering how long they want to keep up the ruse. She'd kind of thought they'd just bluff until everyone was in position.
For now she just moves into the center of the room. If fighting breaks out, she can try to down two of them with a color spray before they know what's happening. "Perhaps we could have the orchestra line the walls? Literally surround people with the music. Unorthodox, but very impactful."
Still confused by what is going on, one of the women speaks up again.
"Certainly, my lord, my lady, if you will wait here I will send one of my colleagues to fetch the lady Luculla, our leader."
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In her patch of shadow, Adonara stifles a somewhat predatory grin. She has nothing against the low life, as such, even though she looks elsewhere for the wherewithal to keep her in tea and bread and butter, but she does think these Spiders could do with a bit more decisiveness as to whether to offer posher folk deference or defiance.
She can feel time and the weight of the world weighing against the magic of her blessings, though, so she resolves to take the first opportunity to put these Norgorberite creatures in their place. She waits until the mentioned colleague is dispatched, and then, as soon as there’s one less person in the room, unfolds herself from hiding…
Pellius nods as the woman leaves, noticing that his companions looked ready to attack.
"Good, thank you. And you are right, dear... the orchestra could be along the outside... surrounding them with sound. Hm... give me a moment, I will try a few bars more and tell me what you think."
So saying, Pellius begins singing a song from the opera, but as he does it is clear that he is throwing magic into it that his companions will feel. As he does, he turns so that he is no longer facing Kira, giving her a nod as he does.
Valekar silently marvels at Pellius's skill in managing the situation. The man was clearly made for the stage.
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“I tire of this, Pellius,” Adonara says as she steps forward with a crack of her whip, trying for grandiose theatrical menace for the benefit of the women lurking in this sordid hole. “This smacks of treachery, but I say this place will – already does! – belong to the Savoured Sting!”
She’s probably enjoying the villainess role a bit too much. The unfeigned fanatical gleam in her eyes helps, in any case. “You there,” she snaps at the hapless Spider she flicked her weapon at, “See to your revolting creatures upstairs. By the goddess, one way or another, you’re going to feed them before I leave here.”
The second changeling is shaken by Adonara's words and goes to feed the otyughs.
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Adonara settles comfortably into a dramatic pose that she hopes isn’t too stylized. In any case, she’s a dancer, not an actress, so attitude and gesture will have to do the heavy lifting for her.
She stalks about, curling her whip into her hand again caressingly, and chewing with small, ladylike bites on the scenery as she waits for the person in charge to make her entrance.
She directs a worried glance at Pellius – narrow-eyed, for appearance’s sake – and hopes this Luculla doesn’t march in with the better part of a thieves’ guild and slavers’ ring behind her.
Kira (barely) maintains her composure as Adonara suddenly appears. The cultists are too confused to work out what's going on, which is good, because she doesn't know either. Maybe this will be like Hocum's Phantasmagorium, and they'll be able to explore the place without fighting anyone at all?
"I was wondering when you'd decide to join us." She waves a hand dismissively at the whip. "Really, must you flash that thing at everyone you meet? These people have been quite helpful; no need to scare them half to death just to test out the ambiance." She eyes the wall with a look of disgust. "I'd say we already have quite enough ambiance to go around. The acoustics are stunning though, so perhaps this will work after all."
These people are something. Takes a long ass time though. All the groups I've run with before would have just gone tactical and pulled these goons apart. This works too though, way less risk involved and if all it takes is some patience, who am I to judge? Ryker rests uneasily as the Changeling slips past him to the Otyughs and they wait for the boss to sort things out.
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Kira (barely) maintains her composure as Adonara suddenly appears. The cultists are too confused to work out what's going on, which is good, because she doesn't know either. Maybe this will be like Hocum's Phantasmagorium, and they'll be able to explore the place without fighting anyone at all?
"I was wondering when you'd decide to join us." She waves a hand dismissively at the whip. "Really, must you flash that thing at everyone you meet? These people have been quite helpful; no need to scare them half to death just to test out the ambiance." She eyes the wall with a look of disgust. "I'd say we already have quite enough ambiance to go around. The acoustics are stunning though, so perhaps this will work after all."
“It’s part of the ensemble,” Adonara protests, the tip of her tongue moistening her lips as her gaze takes in the remaining inmates of the room before moving on to make a show of studying the rest of the décor. “And, I assure you, what I flash is very much in demand.”
She interrupts her innuendo to reassess the markings on the wall with (deliberately) poorly-disguised impatience. “As to ambiance, hardly. It’s just, as Pellius said – your taste is impeccable as always, dear child, if dilatory – that it won’t do to have it all in the open from the beginning. We have to capture the shock, the turning point, the climax…”
“The audience needs to feel it as if the demons’ claws are in their own hearts,” she enthuses alarmingly. I hope he knows what he’s doing. If we can talk around their leader, the first thing should be to determine their allegiances, both secular and sacred. Slavers or otherwise, if these are Daughters of the Mask, we should drive them out of Kintargo completely. And take them for everything they’re worth, but that goes without saying, surely. Do the job the Hellknights couldn’t.
[i]After about 5 minutes the changeling that went to talk to the leader comes back and says,
"The mistress will see you now, please follow me."
Valekar follows cautiously along behind the others, watching for any traps or threats.
I hope this is not a trap he thinks
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Adonara makes sure to smile fearlessly at the invitation, even as inwardly she tenses, wondering how deep the complex extends, and what sort of mess might ensue. One might trust a Calistrian to be wary of being surrounded by scoundrels and rogues on their home territory: there is honour among thieves, so to speak, or at least professional respect.
It doesn’t help that she can feel the energies of the blessings layered over the Ravens dissipate, but she concentrates on keeping an eye on their route to the Spiders’ leader for any potential complications should a rapid retreat prove necessary. The goddess will see us safe through, she reassures herself.
Ryker brings up the rear of their parade. He intentionally walks obnoxiously slowly, trying to add space between any straggling foes and their boss. If we keep them from boxing us in, even if they rush us we'll be fine. And then we still keep the tactical advantage of staying together while they're spread apart.
Pellius smiles widely and nods.
"Of course of course! I look forward to hammering out the details with her."
As they go, Pellius attempts to keep track of anything that might be noteworthy on the way, either as a possible hazard if they have to fight their way out, or that might be worth snagging should negotiations allow them to have unescorted access to the place.
On the way Pellius you just notice a trap in the floor that the guards are careful to walk you around (C4).
The ceiling of the room you are taken into is a long chamber rising to a height of twenty feet, the shallow vaulting supported by stone pillars. Significant sections of the walls and floors have been inscribed with etchings of tiny letters, while statue filled alcoves stand guard along the walls. Each of these statues is made of stone and depicts a feminine figure although the details seem more like they were formed in clay that was allowed to harden rather than carved directly from rock. The westernmost statues depict the woman as a beautiful winged figure, while the easternmost depict her as skeletal, with the middle statues depicting a transition between the two forms. To the east, a stage supports a stone altar presided over by a seventh statue of the same feminine form, her right half skeletal and her left half beautiful.
On the stage is a female figure wearing a chain shirt and carrying a sickle. At he side are two more of the guards.
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Adonara decides she likes this less and less as the Ravens are led before another stage, and more unusual iconography. Surely all this couldn’t be part of the show when it was still the Lucky Bones, with drugs and gaming to cover over the trade in slaves? And it doesn’t look very Norgorberite at all.
If anything, of the more common cults she knows of, these images are most reminiscent of depictions of Urgathoa, though in that case she would expect even more profuse representations of undeath. If that is who that is, it’s an offense against our Lady’s purity of desire. In any case, this whole place reeks of rank blasphemy, Adonara hesitates only briefly before drawing an uncompromising conclusion.
Reluctantly, she reminds herself to play nice and follow Pellius’ lead. Perhaps, she thinks, she can even charm a straight answer out of the woman before her. Luculla’s presence also suggests another consideration.
“Very well, Pellius, let’s see what deal your friends have patched up for us,” Adonara says dryly, maintaining her role of unreasonably demanding producer as she turns the preliminaries over to the singer. While she speaks, however, her gaze flickers between Luculla and Valekar, as if to ask the latter, Is this the woman who left the flower at Wex’s guild?
She gathers herself into a pose of strictness just barely on the correct side of politeness, murmuring to herself, “Let it never be said that the Lady Erycina lacked for patience.”
While she waits, she looks discreetly for any signs of trap mechanisms or another way out of the room, just in case.
If he's allowed to, Ryker hangs out in or near the doorway. Damn. Didn't expect people who hide in the basement of a ruined building to worship rainbows and sunshine, but why do they always have to be THIS deranged? First Wex, now this? What sort of freakshow do these people worship? Kintargo deserves better than this, if it wasn't for the efforts the others have put forth already, I'd say starting a fight to end them would be for the greater good of the city! While Pellius gears up to speak, he eyes up the nearest foe.
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Kira approaches a very calculated distance away from the new figure. "Greetings. I am Adu, this is Pellius." No need for a code name there; he'd already used his real one. "With the Opera House temporarily unavailable, we're looking for a more...unique stage to showcase our production of Count Giova." She sighs dramatically. "My half-brother, Toulbe, supposedly arranged for us to meet with you. Unfortunately, it seems he rather exaggerated his efforts in that regard. As usual. So. Where shall we begin? The acoustics around the stage are wonderful, truly, but if we don't clean up some of that blood we're going to scare away our audience."
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“This is why we don’t let the talent get their grease-painted hands on the practical side of things,” Adonara mutters cattily in a completely audible aside, backing up Kira’s story in character.
“Come now, Adu,” she cajoles, walking up to support Kira in case things do get messy (and taking note of the alias – I wonder if that should make me Ciri next time), “live a little! That’s the whole point! To face one’s basic, instinctual nature, to gaze into the abyss, and know it can be overcome…”
“Some suitable illusion would allow us to make good use of the space as it stands with a revelation at the dramatically appropriate moment. Like the writing on the wall in Dann and the Bel Chasseur,” Adonara turns to the woman on the stage with what she hopes is a winning smile as she tries to remember some titles of what pass for classics in the depraved Theatre of the Real and develop some plausible, intriguing details. “You may have heard of our private performances. Rains? The Red Wedding? Countess Urora was particularly pleased by Pellius’ showing in the latter. I myself have danced in an adaptation of The Duchess in Bad Faith.”
"And we'd be happy to encourage our audience to consider supporting your ... ceremonies." She lays it on a bit thick, stopping just short of naming her best, reckless guess of what cult has taken over the Spiders' lair.
"Do you take us for fools, you conveniently found your way to our lair looking for somewhere to stage a proiduction, you are all heavily armed. I think you came here treasure seeking, I am afraid there is no treasure for you here."
Kira, unfortunately you are unable to recognise the symbols.
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Goddess damn all inconveniently perceptive devotees of evil, Adonara prays inwardly, with enthusiasm.
Despite impending disaster, she is unable to resist a rather quippy attitude even as she tries to soothe ruffled feathers and extricate the Ravens from the immediate predicament. “Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been called a gold-digger, but honestly, darling –”
She holds up a hand in a mollifying gesture before sweeping her wrist and slowly uncurling her fingers as she counts off, “– in the first place, we’ve only just met; secondly, heavily? This is light, compared to some of the costumes our actors need to practice for. I take it you’ve somehow never heard Victory of the Hellknights?”
She floats a few bars of the aria that precedes the famous opera’s climax, which sees most of the company on stage in plate armour, before continuing, “Third, your lair is guarded by rather overzealous otyughs. Nonetheless, if it would reassure you, artists as we are, we could return in shirtsleeves at your convenience.”
Ryker rolls his shoulders as the woman calls them on their B.S. Welp, we positioned as well as we could. Fun'll start any second now... The man takes several steps towards the group.
"Oh I don't think you will be returning anywhere."
As she says this another figure appears next to her. It appears to be some form of devil wielding a glaive and with a hideous, twitching beard.
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Not good, not good! Adonara struggles to contain the shock caused by the devil’s sudden appearance. Maybe not an Urgathoan after all? I thought they went more for daemons? Whoever they are, they’re happy to get into bed with hellspawn, anyway. Figuratively speaking.
"Oh I don't think you will be returning anywhere."
“I beg to differ,” the irrepressible courtesan briefly holds up one last finger in objection, before switching to Infernal, expecting that the unfortunate turn to negotiations will provoke Kira’s peculiar linguistic inhibition.
Adonara’s next words are brief and harsh, as if twisted by the nature of Hell's own language, but the fanatic zeal behind them is all her own. “<Cut them down. All of them.>”
Head thrown back, she spasms with the force of her belief, uncurling spells and whip in a single flurry of motion and faith.
Luculla easily manages to dodge out of the way of Adonra's attack.
[i]Pellius starts to sing - bardic performance: Inspire courage. +2 to attacks, damage, and saves vs charm or fear.
The devil moves to Adonara and tries to attack with its glaive, but misses.
One of the cultists moves across to attack Ryker but misses (I think you can have an attack of opportunity Ryker as I think you were readying?)
Another cultist moves across to attack Kira, but again misses.
Valekar increases the enchantment on his bow, adding the *flaming* effect, and then casts *snowball* into his bow as he steps forward. He fires twice at the cultist by Kira.
plus
With Pellius' song ringing in his ears, Ryker takes a wide swing with his blade. Unfortunately, he telegraphs the maneuver quite well... Gonna make me work for it, eh? Fair enough, I can respect that!
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[i]Unfortunately Valekar's arrow misses the cultist.
The cultist in front of Ryker just manages to avoid his swing.
Luculla casts a spell which fills the whole room.
and are sickened.
[ooc]Block 5, your actions.
Ryker gives the cultist his full attention. "Dodge this, you filthy casual," he mutters, timing his swing to catch his foe right as they try to go in for another strike. Turning with the momentum of his heavy blade, he takes a step towards the door and eyes the other combatants. That Devil's got to go, but is it best to clear the field about first or after I've sent it back to Hell?
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Kira coughs as the spell overtakes her. "<What...what was that?>" This is no time for talking though, the cultists are already attacking.
She takes a cautious step to the right, which leaves her right in front of the cultist but gives her a good angle for her favorite spell. A bright array of dazzling colors rushes from her hands.
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"<I don't know, but I'm not going to let it stand,>" Adonara hisses back in Infernal, even as she chokes on the energies of the miasmatic blast.
Damned thing moves fast, and with the added reach of that glaive... Adonara decides to hold off on some of her trickiest spells until she's clear. If one of the others can draw it off...
Taking a first step back as she struggles for breathing room, Adonara swings her whip in a prodigious show of confidence, the weapon coiling serpent-like around the decoration of the unholy chapel. Her wild gaze lingers impossibly on each enemy in turn, ending with the bearded devil, as she snarls, "<I'll drag my teeth across your chest and taste your beating heart!>"
It's a testament to the depths of either her madness or her fanaticism (or both) that Adonara can make so outrageous a threat to a devil, no less, and sound like she means it.
With one blow Ryker slices the cultist in front of him in two.
Kira you know that bearded devils have damage reduction except against good or silver weapons; they are immune to fire and poison and they have spell resistance.
Both the cultist and Luculla manage to shake off the effects of the spell.
Pellius starts to sing, beginning to cast enthrall at the creature on the podium.
Thanks to Adonara's dazzling display all of the enemies feel demoralised.
The devil moves towards Adonara and tries to attack. Adonara you also take 2 points of bleed damage as the wound seems to fester.
One of the cultists tries to attack Kira, the other attacks Ryker, but both miss.
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Adonara twists back as the devil closes, arcing her whip back to coil around the haft of its weapon and yank it off course - but it's just too little against the blow's terrific momentum, and the glaive bites deep into her side.
"<&@!*%?$>" An unspeakable Abyssal profanity forces its way through the gates of her teeth, a prayer on its heels, in her thoughts. Not yet, goddess. Not like this.
Trusting his companions to take care of the remaining cultists, Valekar steps into the center aisle, scowling at the devil that hurt his new friend. Whispering an incantation to guide him true, he unleashes a pair of imbued silvered arrows at its chest.
plus plus fortitude (DC14) or be staggered 1 round
With a flurry of arrows Valekar strikes the devil and it howls in pain. It manages to avoid being staggered by the snowball effect.
Luculla casts a spell at Kira - (Command - DC15) and orders her to run away.
"You're next then?" Ryker asks as he uses his whole body to send his sword horizontally towards the cultist. With enough force, that wall could be your cutting board.
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Kira shakes off the spell almost before Luculla has finished casting it. <"You think you can command me? Let me see how well I can command you. Or at least your bones.">
She takes a step back so she's behind Adonara, (it's a tactical retreat, she's most definitely not hiding behind the much scarier woman), and begins twitching her fingers.
With one blow Ryker slices the cultist in half.
Luculla manages to shake off the worst of Kira's spell but still grimaces in pain.
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Taking another step back, Adonara grins ferociously at bay, trying to disguise her desperation. Via! Calistria might bring us together again sooner after all, love...
Despite everything, she tries her best to summon a distraction for the other Ravens, if it's the last thing she does. Even now, she retains her sense of irony, spite, and bitterness, and she calls out a prayer in Celestial that ends unexpectedly, "<Come to me now, demons of vengeance!>"
The blood is one thing, but trying not to leave herself open to attack as she raises her arms in evocation is something else, and she can feel her spell slipping away from her before it can come together.
Pellius' spell goes off aimed at the three remaining enemies. The devil and the cultist stand there enthralled by Pellius' song. Luculla manages to shake off the effect.
Not wanting to disrupt Pellius's spell, Valekar casts scorching ray into his bow and uses his arcane skill to enhance his accuracy before stepping back and firing a pair of arrows at Lucalla.
plus