"We probably should deal with the fiend first," Nicoleta says as she sighs in resignation. She looks over the double doors. "Any naysayers?"
"Just give me a clear line of fire." Vox replies.
Softly glowing ivory tiles adorn the walls, floor, and ceiling of this room. Four wooden benches sit in the center of the room, facing an upraised area on which an executioner’s block sits. To the north, an intimidating-looking greataxe hangs on display on a sturdy weapon rack. An iron door in the west wall, just north of the main double-door entrance, bears a narrow window, currently closed via a sliding metal slat.
The fiend known as the Mother of Thorns is here. Appearing as an emaciated woman with thorny vines growing from her eyes and fingers, the creature hisses with fury upon spotting you. "Intruders! Shall I scar your pretty faces that you might fit in amongst the Maidens? Come on, then!" She glares at each of you, including Vox, apparently seeing through her invisibility!
The fiend attempts to dominate Vox! Fortunately, thanks to Roz's magic circle against evil, the attempt fails!
The upside of being an archer is that you don't really need to look your target in the face, just know where they are.
The other upside is bombs.
The mesmerist smirks at Nicoleta's suggestion before nodding. "Yes. I think she would look nice with a bell."
---
Aurelia stares down the thorny monster, attempting to hold it in place for her companions.
Nicoleta laughs at the fiend's challenge. "You can certainly try!" she declares as she dashes forward to attack, her hands covered in sparks.
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The fiend succumbs to Aurelia’s spell. Unable to break free, Vox and Nicoleta swiftly demolish her, slaying her with minimal effort!
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Aurelia identifies the ring and then scoops up it up before slowly making her way over to her girlfriend. As she walks, she makes sure the ring is well seen during her approach. As she closes the distance, she takes a knee and looks up with a sincere smile.
Holding the ring out she looks up at her says, "Peaches, will you ... protect me?"
Aurelia's actions seem to completely catch the dhampir off-guard. She looks from the ring to the woman on her knees and then back to the ring again. Unsure as to if she's asking more than what she's asking, Nicoleta seems unsure as to how to answer.
She opens her mouth a couple of times, but the sarcastic comments she like to respond with initially seem out of place. "I will always protect you, Aurelia," she finally says with no edge to her voice at all. "I love you."
Aurelia slides the ring onto Nicoleta's finger and leaps not to her feet, but straight up into the monk's arms knowing that she will catch her. She wraps her legs around Nicoleta's waist and with a fanged smile she says, "I love you too." before leaning in to kiss her.
"How romantic!" Roz swoons, wrapping her arms around Vox's waist.
"Really?" The drow asks, pointing to the dead fiend and the torture implements. "Apparently Io has been giving me all the wrong ideas..."
Nicoleta holds her love tightly, returning the kiss as her hands roam perhaps a bit much. When she finally sets Aurelia back on the ground. "So," she says, clearing her throat. "The fiend's down. We should head back the other way." One toughened hand reaches up and brushes at her face.
As they head back out, Nicoleta pulls off the other ring she's wearing and hands it to her lover. "Here, since we're giving each other rings."
Going back the other way, you come to a long cell block. Each cell contains little more than a hard cot and a chamber pot. Once used to house criminals, they’re now used to hold women who’ve proven unwilling to serve as Gray Maidens or resistant to the training. A dozen women stare gloomily at you through the bars. Doors exit the cell block halfway down its length.
"What will you do if I let you out?" Vox asks the first woman they come across.
”Flee far from this place. The Maidens are a lot crazier than they advertised! I don’t want to be indoctrinated into this cult!” the woman says. Most of the others nod in agreement.
"Fine. Head back out the way we came, ignore the red head, she is no threat to you." Vox says, working her way down the cells with her lock picks.
"I'll reiterate;" Nicoleta says with emphasis. "We will deal with the woman you pass. Take no action against her."
The women nod in agreement, quickly running off once released.
The doors open onto another hallway. The western wall of this tiled hallway is a row of bars that cages a smaller room within, accessible by a heavy iron gate. Within the smaller room sits a desk, a filing cabinet, and a table. A window in the bars allows for a place to perhaps pass objects from the hall to the cage.
Two Gray Maidens in full regalia stand guard in the hall while two more are beyond the gate. Those near you shout in alarm and draw their swords while the others ready their bows!
Aurelia takes the offered ring and slips it onto her hand, admiring it for what it means more than what it actually does. "It's beautiful." she says, staring at it as if it were something she had purchased just for her.
- - -
Aurelia casts a spell to try and blind the Grey Maidens.
Vox waits for Aurelia's spell and then shoots one that seems to have avoided the worst of the glitter.
One Maiden is blinded while the others resist the glitterdust. Vox's first arrow barrage takes out one of the archers, and she wounds the second one.
The blinded Maiden clangs her sword against her shield before spinning it with a flourish, trying to demoralize you. The other near you steps up to attack Nicoleta while the archer fires on Vox. Luckily, all of their efforts prove fruitless.
Vox retreats down the corridor, vanishing to confuse her foes.
Bored by the Maidens' ineffectiveness, Roz gestures to the bow-wielding maiden. Unfortunately, she manages to resist the oracle's compulsion.
"Thank you for asking, I'd love to dance," the dhampir says with a laugh as one of the armed women steps up to her.
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Aurelia casts hideous laughter on the one that is near Nicoleta.
The Maiden falls over laughing from Aurelia’s spell. The one attacking Nicoleta falls down dying as the monk trips her and brutally stomps her into submission! The blinded one swings ineffectually before Nicoleta and Vox quickly take her down and dispatch the laughing woman as well!
There is a choice of paths here, so you head left first. Easily dispatching another four Gray Maidens standing guard among their quarters, you reach the end of this hall. This large room has been outfitted to serve as both a study and a bedroom. Several important-looking documents sit on a table to the south, while an elegant suit of mithral, feminine armor is on display to the north.
A powerfully built elven woman in full Maiden regalia stands at the ready here. Her scarred face bears a bitter expression. She raises her sword in a salute, then speaks a command word to cause the blade to burst into flames!
Vox shoots the woman, and only then remarks "Show off!"
Nicoleta nods solemnly in response to the salute before assuming a ready stance, her hands crackling with energy.
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"Oh that's a neat trick. I want to know how to do that." Aurelia comments on the sword bursting into flames.
Feeling like she's in the mood for some laughter, she turns to the flaming sword woman and says "Why so serious?"
The elf blocks Vox's arrows, but Aurelia spell has her on her back, rolling with laughter. Even as Nicoleta pummels her, she continues to laugh all the way until she falls unconscious from the brutal beating.
Tisharue has full plate, +1 heavy steel shield, +1 flaming longsword, belt of physical might +2 (Str, Con), 15 gp
The armor on display is a suit of +2 invulnerability elven chain.
An investigation of the papers on the table reveals that they are records for the indoctrination of Gray Maidens that track conditioning, scars, and other methods of brainwashing. Notes in the margin, written in Elven, indicate Tisharue’s concern that the leader of the Gray Maidens, Sabina Merrin, has undergone far less conditioning than all other Maidens have endured.
"They purposefully scar these women?" Nicoleta asks incredulously. "What the f&$* for? It doesn't make them better warriors. Does she just want to make sure no one is prettier than she is? I hate to piss in her oatmeal, but my girl, here," She slides a hand around Aurelia's back, "puts the queen and all her psycho-b~*+%es to shame in the looks department."
She considers the rest of the content.
"If this woman was concerned, do you think there's a chance we could flip Sabina?"
"Perhaps." Vox says, examining the chain shirt. "Aurelia should wear this. She would be our best chance to change Sabina's mind. But you need to know her weak points first." The drow adds with a grin. "If we can find some time then I can find out..."
Nicoleta holds the armor up to Aurelia, sizing it up against her. "Vox is right. You'd look pretty hot in this, Sweet Cheeks," she says. "Put it on and let's keep going."
"It looks really heavy." Aurelia complains as Nicoleta holds it up, "Are you sure?"
She relents and slips into the armor and maneuvers around in it "Alright. Not so bad, I suppose." she admits.
Nicoleta nods approvingly. "And it does look pretty hot," she says before reaching and attemping to grope a chainmail covered breast. "I see some drawbacks, though."
"You won't mind when it keeps her with just two holes." Vox snarks, gathering up the remaining items and disappearing once more.
"We can make some aesthetic tweaks without compromising the magic of it," Rozalia offers. "You know, make a peekaboo window for the cleavage, cut out the middle bits to show off your belly button. Form over function, I always say."
You head back to the previous junction, heading north this time. This grim chamber is outfitted with all manner of torture implements: a rack, several cages, a cramped stockade with spiky bars, and smaller tools of torture like thumbscrews and iron boots sitting on shelves. Three hapless women cower in the cages, showing signs of having been recently tortured. A caged-off area to the west serves as a guard post.
The guardians of this room are ready to receive you. Three Gray Maidens stand shoulder to shoulder, forming a shield wall and blocking further access to the room. Behind them stands a blonde woman who matches the description of Kordaitra Destaid, second-in-command of the Gray Maidens. And beside her floats a hideous monstrosity--a pale face framed by glossy black hair hangs in the air, trailing viscera from the ragged stump of its neck like a grisly tail. You recognize the face as that of Arbiter Zenobia Zenderholm!
"Maidens! Hold the line! Capture these intruders!" Kordaitra shouts.
"You won't mind when it keeps her with just two holes." Vox snarks, gathering up the remaining items and disappearing once more.
"Shows what she knows," Nicoleta says to her girlfriend with a smirk. "You've got more than two holes to have fun with." She gives her a quick kiss and then moves to follow the invisible elf.
Aurelia nods to Roz, "Oh, I like that idea Roz! Let's do that!" before she listens Nicoleta's and responds with a wink following the kiss.
---
"Now you see me . . ." Aurelia states, snapping her fingers and causing her, Roz and Nicoleta to disappear as she casts invisibility sphere.
As the party disappears, Kordaitra calls out, "Stand firm, Maidens! Hold the line!" Her underlings keep their shields up to focus on defense. "Zenobia! Burn them out!" she then commands.
Zenobia quickly complies, casting two spells in rapid succession! Divine flames scour you moments before greasy unholy energy claws at your spirits!
Nicoleta dodges the divine flames entirely, but she's unable to resist the effects of the unholy energy. "I guess we know now why the Arbiter is following the Queen B&$##," Nicoleta says with a sneer as she dashes forward to engage with the left-most maiden.
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Aurelia cries out in pain before from the attacks! She casts a spell on Kordaitra Destaid to hold her in place.
Vox dodges most of the spells and the unholy energy practically flies off her again. Since she's still invisible she takes aim and shoots Zenobia.
The flames burn Roz but she shrugs off the unholy energy. She casts a mass healing spell to offset everybody's wounds save Nicoleta's.
Vox badly wounds Zenobia with her arrows, though her third shot is deflected away by the undead woman's protective spells. Kordaitra resists Aurelia's spell of paralysis. Nicoleta trips and takes down one of the Maidens but the other one blocks her last two attacks with her shield.
Zenobia casts a spell of bull's strength on Kordaitra before flying away at top speed, passing through an open door and out of sight! "In Asmodeus's name!" Kordaitra declares as she challenges Nicoleta and moves in to attack! The monk dodges her swing. Another Maiden would have scored a lucky hit if not for the mirror images that appear--she strikes one of them instead!
Vox moves down the corridor slowly, disappearing again as she does so.
"Oh bite a bag of t$~@," Nicoleta snaps back in response to Kordaitra's declaration.
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