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Dellan runs his fingers along the Harrow deck and feels his throat clench. Not trusting himself to speak, he hands the other items to the party and gives the box with the cards to Raybin.
Katia... where is she? Is she alive? He left her in the hands of Father. Now that he truly knows what kind of man he is, he worries often about her fate. Now he has something to constantly remind him of that wretched anxiety.
He doesn't ask permission, but simply wraps the deck in a piece of cloth from his bag and places it inside.
Ray sifts through the deck, letting his mind go blank as he works, feeling the threads of energy weaving through the deck of cards. Yet something is amiss. The threads have large gaps in them...
He finally looks up. "A deck of illusions. Neat trick, this. But all the Jacks are missing. Throw out a card and it makes a random image of a creature or humanoid. The Jacks make a human druid. Weird..." He holds it up. "Anyone want it? It's worth a pretty penny if we can sell it."
Argus watches Dellan curiously, but decides not to impose. It's just a deck of cards, and it seems to have affected him. Perhaps it's worth asking him about it later, but for now he leads them to the south doors. "R-Ray? If you w... would?"
Bob flutters up to perch on Ray's head in an absurd rendition of a hat while the occultist peers at the keyhole and door jambs, looking for danger.
Ray throws open the doors, even more confidenter that they're super ultra mega safe and NO ONE WILL EVER DIE EVER
Mercifully, there is no trap on the door. It swings open to reveal a library, or what's left of it.
This elegant library is in shambles. Piles of shredded books are heaped untidily throughout the room. A small desk is scarred by deep grooves across its surface. Several large, umbrella-shaped masses of parchment and torn paper hang from the ceiling. Sliding double doors lead out of this room to the north and south, and a narrow glass door in the west wall leads to a small semicircular balcony. The glass of the door is badly cracked.
Ray stops the group at the door, pointing at the wads hanging from the ceiling. "Great. Wasp nests. A lot of 'em, by the look. I don't suppose anyone has copious amounts of fire or insect repellent? Maybe a swarm suit?" He sighs. "Didn't think so. I'd kill for an alchemist right about now, they're good at exploding things. The number of wasps that could be in those nests, this room is incredibly dangerous."
Argus steps up to the door and peers in curiously. He looks from the nests Raybin points out to the cracked glass door. He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Am-manteia. Do you see the d-door? The glass one, c...cracked? W-what if we shoot it, then shoot a n-nest to rile them up, then close the d... door? W-would they fly outside?"
He looks to Raybin, since he pointed out the wasp nests, to see if that plan would work.
Ray shrugs helplessly. "Man, I dunno! I just know how to spot a wasp nest. I never studied their freaking behavior patterns."
Amanteia shrugs. "It's worth a try, I suppose. If it doesn't work, we have the alkali flasks that we found. They should be pretty effective."
Ray shrugs and turns to Amanteia. "Get them ready. I'll ready some fire of my own. Dellan? Mind making use of that sling to get them riled up?"
Argus sighs and stows his glaive to pull out an alkali flask in each hand, ready to throw them as soon as the wasps attack.
Amanteia stows her crossbow and pulls out a flask, then nods at Dellan.
Dellan steps into the room and launches a bullet at the wasp nest. Almost immediately, hundreds of wasps begin pouring out of the nests, buzzing in anger at the intrusion.
Argus (33/33 hp)
Amanteia (22/22 hp)
Dellan (24/24 hp)
Raybin (19/19 hp)
Swarm (0 damage)
Bold may act.
Amanteia slinks her way into the room, shuddering at the sight of so many angry wasps. She tosses the flask at them.
Ray strides into the room, Bob flapping frantically on his shoulder, and raises the slender blasting rod, focusing his mind to call forth a wave of superheated flame from it.
Argus strides farther into the room and hucks a flask at the swarm.
Between Amanteia and Ray (and Argus lulz), the swarm is incredibly diminished, but it's still barely kicking. The wasps fly toward the center of the room, swarming Argus, Ray, and Bob . The stings are numerous and threaten to overcome the trio.
Everyone manages to shrug off the poison, but Bob, in his seriously injured state, is barely able to stay on Ray's shoulder.
Argus (23/33 hp)
Amanteia (22/22 hp)
Somnius (5/5 hp)
Dellan (24/24 hp)
Raybin (10/19 hp)
Bob (0/9 hp, staggered, nauseated [1 round])
Swarm (29 damage)
Bold may act.
Grasping Bob by the talons to help him stay upright, Ray backpedals away from the swarm of stinging insects to (hopeful) safety.
Argus swats at the wasps as he backs up, then throws his last alkali flask.
Argus's flask hits the swarm and bursts, burning away the last of the wasps with an angry hiss.
There are many, many books and documents strewn about the room. You could spend the time to search it, but it will take at least an hour (eating into your protection spells).
Amanteia reaches up and pushes a strand of hair that had come loose back into her bun, then stands up straight and clears her throat. "I suppose that could have gone worse. Ray, is Bob okay?"
Ray nods. "Yeah, he's alright. Dellan's channel undid the harm." He turns to the raven and says in Celestial, "You know you don't have to come with me to fight wasps right? You hide every other time a fight breaks out."
Bob nips fretfully at a few stray stings that still hurt. [color=blue]"I thought they wouldn't sting me 'cause I got wings."[/color]
"Bob, that is the dumbest goddamn thing that's ever come out of your mouth, and that's saying something."
[color=blue]"We could have been wing buddies!"[/color] Bob caws mournfully.
Argus nods. "Of c-course. But first..." He turns to Ray. "M-Master R...Raybin? Do you m-mind?" He gestures at the doors south.
Once the doors are checked and cleared for traps, he'll open them up.
Ray nods and checks the doors for locks or traps.
None of the interior doors seem to be locked or trapped (except for one very important door, obviously). Argus swings the door open.
This study has several tall wingback chairs, a small writing desk, and a peculiar iron statue of nine bearded snails climbing a rocky waterfall. One sliding double door leads north, while another leads east, and a wide glass door opens onto a small semicircular balcony to the south.
Ray steps over to the strange statue and takes a look.
Argus lets Ray scope out the door. Once he gives the okay, the paladin opens it up and takes the lead.
The door swings open without resistance. A cabinet with a large, shattered terrarium occupies the north wall of this room. The south wall has a spiral staircase leading upward with a thick purple curtain that obscures the space beneath the stairs. A sliding double door exits to the west.
Ray moves to the curtain obscuring the space under the stairs and carefully pulls it aside with the warhammer.
Argus steps into the room, glaive up, ready to jump to someone's defense if needed.
As Ray moves into the room, he catches a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye, near the curtain. There is a giant bug hiding in there! Seeing that it's been spotted, it emerges from the curtain. The end of its proboscis drips with a nasty green fluid.
This is a giant assassin bug. It can shoot poison every 1d4 rounds! Oh, and its bite also carries poison! Have fun!
It points its proboscis at Ray and a jet of stinking green fluid shoots across the room and threatens to coat Ray and Bob.
Ray dodges the stream but, in doing so, inadvertently puts Bob directly in the line of fire. Bob feels distinctly ucky.
Bob barely manages to fight off the effects of the poison.
Bug (0 damage)
Ray (19/19 hp)
Bob (9/9 hp)
Bold may act.
Ray curses. "Dammit! Get out of here, Bob!"
He charges the creature and swings the adamantine warhammer at it.
Bob caws feebly and flies out of the room.
poison stream in round 4
Ray breaks one of the bug's wings with the hammer, and then the bug unleashes hell on Ray. With no witnesses in the room, Ray isn't even sure what exactly happened. All he knows is that the bug started going nuts and then he was bleeding profusely from multiple wounds, one of which now has the distinct burning sensation of a poison entering the bloodstream .
Ray feels his reflexes slowing and fears for how much worse it's going to get.
Bug (4 damage)
Amanteia (22/22 hp)
Somnius (5/5 hp)
Dellan (24/24 hp)
Argus (32/33 hp)
Ray (3/19 hp, 2 dex damage, poisoned [3 rounds])
Bob (9/9 hp)
Bold may act.
"Raybin!" Argus cries out, and rushes into the room, stabbing at the creature with his glaive.